Top Domestic Grosser 2017 (U.S only)

⇒ $610,725,821

Top Global Grosser 2017

⇒ $1,311,425,821

Highest-grossing films of 2017

Rank	Title	Distributor	Worldwide gross
1	Star Wars: The Last Jedi	Disney	$1,311,425,821
2	Beauty and the Beast		$1,263,521,126
3	The Fate of the Furious	Universal	$1,236,005,118
4	Despicable Me 3		$1,034,799,409
5	Spider-Man: Homecoming	Sony Pictures	$880,166,924
6	Wolf Warrior 2	United Entertainment	$874,000,000
7	Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2	Disney	$863,746,089
8	Thor: Ragnarok		$851,904,921
9	Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle	Sony Pictures	$822,057,203
10	Wonder Woman	Warner Bros.	$821,847,012

Here Are the Highest Grossing Films of 2017 and the Box Office Winners and Losers!!!

The 2017 calendar year has come to a close, and before we get too deep into 2018, now seems like a good time to look back on the 2017 box office and analyze the year’s big winners and losers. As always there’s a bit of disparity between the domestic chart and the worldwide chart, but there are also some films that were bona fide successes regardless, carried by either huge domestic, international, or a combo of the two.

It’s also important to keep in mind a couple of these films are still in release and will continue climbing. That’s certainly true of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which has secured the top spot domestically and could overtake The Fate of the Furious and/or Beauty and the Beast to top the worldwide chart. It’s a little too early to tell for sure, but it’s definitely possible—the film has already overtaken Rogue One and The Dark Knight to become the #6 domestic release of all time. And Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle seems destined to at least overtake Dunkirk on the domestic chart.

So before we dig too deep on who won and who lost the box office battles, let’s look at the raw numbers.

Here’s the Top 20 Domestic:

1.) Star Wars: The Last Jedi – $531,511,829

2.) Beauty and the Beast (2017) – $504,014,165

3.) Wonder Woman – $412,563,408

4.) Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 – $389,813,101

5.) Spider-Man: Homecoming – $334,201,140

6.) IT – $327,481,748

7.) Thor: Ragnarok – $311,500,126

8.) Despicable Me 3 – $264,300

9.) Logan – $226,277,068

10.) Justice League – $225,913,169

11.) The Fate of the Furious – $225,764,765

12.) Dunkirk – $188,045,546

13.) Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle – $185,224,946

14.) Coco – $182,455,513

15.) The LEGO Batman Movie – $175,750,384

16.) Get Out – $175,484,140

17.) The Boss Baby – $175,003,033

18.) Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales – $172,558,876

19.) Kong: Skull Island – $168,052,812

20.) Cars 3 – $152,901,115

And here’s the Top 10 Worldwide:

1.) Beauty and the Beast (2017) – $1,263,521,126

2.) The Fate of the Furious – $1,235,761,498

3.) Star Wars: The Last Jedi – $1,066,345,547

4.) Despicable Me 3 – $1,033,508,147

5.) Spider-Man: Homecoming – $880,166,924

6.) Wolf Warrior 2 – $870,325,439

7.) Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 – $863,732,512

8.) Thor: Ragnarok – $848,816,474

9.) Wonder Woman – $821,847,012

10.) Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales – $794,861,794

 

via Collider

 

‘Darkest Hour,’ ‘The Post’ Conquer Year-End Holidays Awards BO!!!

Filmmaker Joe Wright‘s Darkest Hour — starring Gary Oldman as the iconic Winston Churchill — is showing notable strength at the U.S. box office, beating out several major studio offerings during the Christmas-New Year corridor. The Focus Features title is the latest awards contender to succeed despite the overall strain facing the indie marketplace, which is essentially flat year-over-year. Fall releases Lady Bird ($31.9 million), Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri ($24.5 million), Victoria and Abdul  ($22.2 million), The Disaster Artist ($18.2 million) have all done well, while summer entry The Big Sick is the top-grossing specialty of the year so far with $42.9 million in ticket sales. Wind River was another summer indie hit, grossing north of $33 million domestically.

Darkest Hour and Guillermo del Toro‘s The Shape of Water, from Fox Searchlight, both waited until the year-end holidays to expand nationwide, timed to the Golden Globe ceremony on Jan. 7 and Oscar nominations on Jan. 23, while another group of specialty films used the corridor to launch in select theaters for the first time, including Steven Spielberg‘s The Post and Paul Thomas Anderson‘s Phantom Thread. Elsewhere, I, Tonya, starring Margot Robbie, skated into 49 theaters. Darkest Hour, initially launched Nov. 22 in four cinemas, looks to come in No. 7 over the four-day New Year’s weekend with $7.5 million from 943 locations for a domestic total of nearly $20 million through Monday. The critically acclaimed film — earning Oldman a Golden Globe and SAG nomination for best actor — will do bigger business this weekend than wide studio releases Downsizing, from director Alexander Payne, and comedy Father Figures. And it could even beat Ridley Scott‘s.

Darkest Hour is resonating with moviegoers on both coasts and across Middle America. The top 10 theaters include cinemas in Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Jacksonville, Fort Meyers, Atlanta and Nashville, in addition to New York City, Washington, D.C., and Seattle. The biographical drama should soon pass up Fox Searchlight‘s Three Billboards ($24.5 million), and has a shot at ultimately earning as much as $35 million-plus if it nabs an Oscar nom for best picture.

The Shape of Water, starring Sally Hawkins, likewise advanced into the top 10 as it expanded into a total of 756 cinemas over the holidays after first launching in two theaters in early December. The adult fairy tale is on course to gross $5 million this weekend for a domestic total of $17 million through Monday. Shape of Water is up for seven Globe noms, the most of any film.

Awards hopeful I, Tonya, starring Margot Robbie as infamous ice skater Tonya Harding, also used the holidays to grow its footprint, albeit more slowly. The film is projected to post a moderate screen average of roughly $17,000 this weekend for an early domestic total of $2.6 million. Neon and 30West, which partnered in acquiring rights to I, Tonya, won’t take the picture nationwide until Jan. 19, just before Oscar nominations are announced. Directed by Craig Gillespie, the movie is up for a Globe for best picture (musical/comedy), best actress (Robbie) and best supporting actress (Allison Janney). Among new specialty offerings, director Steven Spielberg‘s The Post, starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, is soaring in its holiday debut in nine theaters. Now in its second weekend, the Pentagon Papers drama — up for six Globes — is tipped to post a stellar location average of $86,111 for a cume of $2 million through Monday. Fox expands The Post nationwide on Jan. 12.

Paul Thomas Anderson and Focus Features‘ Phantom Thread, debuting on Christmas Day, should post a hefty location average of $72,000 from four theaters over the long New Year’s weekend. Actor Daniel Day Lewis says Phantom Thread, a magnet for critics, will be his final film. STX films also opted to debut director/writer Aaron Sorkin‘s Molly’s Game on Dec. 25, but decided to go out in 251 theaters. The movie, earning a Globe nom for best screenplay and best actress (Jessica Chastain), is projected to finish New Year’s weekend with $6 million. The true test for the film, which marks Sorkin‘s feature directorial debut, will come when it expands nationwide on Jan. 5. And launching in four theaters this weekend is Sony Pictures Classics‘ Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, starring Annette Bening. Facing plenty of competition, the film’s location average for the weekend should be about $12,000.

Sony Classics is also handling awards contender Call Me by Your Name, which continues to roll out slowly after debuting over Thanksgiving weekend. Now playing in 115 theaters, the film’s domestic total through Monday is a projected $4.8 million. Call Me by Your Name is up for a Globe for best picture (drama), best actor (Timothy Chalamet) and best supporting actor (Armie Hammer). One holiday specialty release that is struggling to find its stride is Scott Cooper‘s period Western, Hostiles, starring Christian Bale. The movie, which Entertainment Studios debuted in three theaters on Dec. 22, looks to post a screen average of roughly $9,500 this weekend from five theaters for a domestic total of $100,000 through Monday.

via The Hollywood Reporter

 

2017 U.S. Box Office Set to Fall to Three-Year Low!!!

The final number for the 2017 North American box office haul will decline by about 2.5% from last year’s record-setting $11.38 billion — even with “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” adding more than $400 million.

As of Christmas Day, the domestic total for the year was $10.68 billion, or 2.7% behind the same time frame a year ago. The final six days of 2017 are likely to generate somewhere between last year’s six-day total of $408 million and 2015’s six-day haul of $431 million, according to box office tracker comScore. So the final 2017 number will be between $11.09 billion and $11.11 billion — about $270 million behind last year’s final total.

“We will most likely wind up with a number around $11.1 billion,” Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with comScore, told Variety on Tuesday.

That would mean that the final domestic earnings will also finish slightly behind 2015’s $11.14 billion — the second-highest year on record. It will be only the third time that the industry has made it to $11 billion. Grosses hit $10.8 billion in 2012 and $10.9 billion in 2013, then slid to $10.4 billion in 2014.

Movie going in 2017 began auspiciously with unexpected hits from “Get Out” and “Split,” and “Beauty and the Beast” becoming only the eighth film to top $500 million domestically. “Guardians of the Galaxy 2” and “Wonder Woman” exceeded expectations in the early summer, and “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and “Dunkirk” delivered solid mid-summer grosses. But the rest of the slate sputtered, with the summer becoming the first in more than a decade to fall short of $4 billion. Gains in September with “It” and November with “Thor: Ragnarok” plus the stellar performance by “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” (with $396 million in its first 11 days) kept prospects alive for a year above $11 billion.

Total Christmas Day domestic grosses were $80 million, led by “The Last Jedi” with $27 million and “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” with $19 million. The total was $3 million behind Christmas Day in 2016 and $23 million behind 2015 Christmas Day. The final six days of the year are more active than usual for movie going in North America. The last six days of 2016 were led by “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” taking in $122 million. In 2015, the final days saw “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” dominating with $212 million.

“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” will probably fall between those two movies, followed by “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” which has taken in $72 million in less than a week, and Universal’s comedy “Pitch Perfect 3,” which made $26.5 million in its first four days.

via Variety

Disney Becomes Box Office Champ for Second Year in Row!!!

For the second year in a row, Disney has nabbed the domestic box office crown, with $2.27 billion already banked in 2017 thanks to its one-two punch of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” and “Beauty and the Beast.”

As of Dec. 25, Disney had a 21.3% market share compared with Warner Bros. at 18.9% and $2.02 billion, according to box office tracker comScore. That gap will widen during the final days of 2017, with “The Last Jedi” dominating moviegoing.

The two studios also finished first and second in 2016, when Disney took in $2.85 billion and Warner Bros. followed with $1.88 billion. And in both years, Disney released far fewer titles than other Hollywood studios with 16 in 2016 and only 12 this year, led by its live-action “Beauty and the Beast” reboot, which remains the top domestic grosser of the year with $504 million.

Disney-Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” was the studio’s third-highest earner with $389.8 million, “Thor: Ragnarok” with $309.1 million, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” with $172.6 million, “Coco” with $167.3 million, and “Cars 3” with $152.9 million.

Warner Bros., which released 31 titles, actually beat Disney to the $2 billion mark this year, hitting the milestone on Dec. 10. In its best domestic performance since 2009, the studio was led by “Wonder Woman” with $412 million and “It” with $327 million. The studio’s superhero tentpole “Justice League” disappointed with $223.6 million as of Dec. 26 — the 11th-highest of 2017. Christopher Nolan’s awards contender “Dunkirk” took in $188 million domestically and “The Lego Batman Movie” scored $175.8 million.

Universal finished in third with $1.49 billion domestically and a 14% market share from 17 titles. “Despicable Me 3” was its top grosser with $264 million, followed by “The Fate of the Furious” with $225.7 million, and surprise horror hits “Get Out” with $175 million and “Split” with $138 million. “Girls Trip” broke the R-rated comedy slump and was another over-performer with $115 million.

Fox followed in fourth with $1.37 billion and a 12.8% share from a leading 38 titles. The fate of Fox is in Disney’s hands following the Dec. 14 announcement of a $52.4 billion deal for Disney to buy 21st Century Fox assets.

Fox’s top domestic performer was “Logan,” Hugh Jackman’s final movie as Wolverine, with $225 million, followed by DreamWorks Animation’s “The Boss Baby” with $175 million. “Hidden Figures” made $167 million and “War for the Planet of the Apes” grossed $148.8 million. Both “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” and “Murder on the Orient Express” finished with about $100 million each.

Sony came in fifth with $948 million for an 8.9% market share from 23 films. “Spider-Man: Homecoming” was by far its top performer with $334 million, the fifth-best domestic performer of 2017. “Baby Driver” was Sony’s only other title to top $100 million with $107.8 million, although “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” will do so this week. It’s hit $89 million in its first week.

Lionsgate took the sixth spot with $879.2 million for an 8.2% market share with 31 movies. “La La Land” was its best performer with $120 million after reeling in $31 million at the end of 2016, followed by surprise hit “Wonder” with $115 million in seven weeks and “John Wick: Chapter 2” with $92 million.

Paramount switched places with Lionsgate to wind up in seventh with $522.7 million with a 4.9% share from 18 pics. “Transformers: The Last Knight” was its top performer with $130.2 million, followed by “Daddy’s Home 2” with nearly $100 million.

The final 2017 North American box office haul will decline by about 2.5% — about $270 million — from last year’s record-setting $11.38 billion. Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with comScore, said major and indie studio output was impressive and boasted titles that both garnered critical raves and inspired audience enthusiasm.

“Superheroes were among the best box office performers in 2017 as were horror films that in North America alone generated over $1 billion in box office,” he added. “Though R-rated comedies were resoundingly rejected by most audiences with a couple of exceptions, the year-end marketplace has provided a cinematic wonderland of awards-caliber specialty films along with the traditional big-budget holiday season fare.”

via Variety

‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Passes ‘Wonder Woman’ to Become 2nd Highest-Grossing Film of 2017!!!

We all knew that Star Wars: The Last Jedi would make a ridiculous amount of money, so the only question was “How much?” Disney has just send out a press release announcing that in only 11 days, the Star Wars sequel has surpassed Wonder Woman as the second-highest grossing film of 2017. Wonder Woman topped out at $412 million domestically. The Last Jedi has now raked in $424 million domestically and $420.2 million internationally for a worldwide total of $844.2 million, which is particularly impressive when you consider that it still hasn’t opened in China yet.

Right now, the 2017 domestic box office crown belongs to Beauty and the Beast (so Disney wins either way) with a total of $504 million. Beauty and the Beast also has the worldwide record for 2017 with $1.2 billion. It wouldn’t be surprising if The Last Jedi beats both of those numbers in the weeks ahead.

While detractors will point to the steep drop The Last Jedi as a way of showing that the movie isn’t as good as The Force Awakens or that fans are abandoning the property, keep in mind that the reason these movies have been so dominant in this frame is that they have legs. Although it’s possible that The Last Jedi falls flat on its face and comes up painfully short, the success of previous December releases (whether they’re Star Wars or not), indicates that audiences will keep coming back because there’s not much in the way of competition since January is such a wasteland.

Although it probably won’t reach the highs of The Force Awakens, I doubt anyone at Disney is super bummed that The Last Jedi has made almost a billion dollars worldwide in less than two weeks.

via Collider

‘All the Money in the World’ Opens With $2.6 Million, ‘Molly’s Game’ Is Solid at the BO!!!

Ridley Scott’s “All the Money in the World” — the final wide release of 2017 — launched with $2.6 million at 2,068 North American locations on Monday.

Sony is releasing the thriller after Scott revamped the film in six weeks, completely cutting star Kevin Spacey from the movie following sexual harassment and assault allegations waged against the actor. He persuaded Christopher Plummer to replace Spacey as J. Paul Getty in the story of the 1973 kidnapping of John Paul Getty III, during which time the oil billionaire was reluctant to pay the $17 million ransom demanded by the kidnappers

“All the Money in the World” scored Golden Globe nominations for Scott for best director, Michelle Williams for best actress, and Plummer for best supporting actor. Williams plays Gail Harris, John Paul Getty III’s mother, and Mark Wahlberg portrays Getty’s adviser. The film has been praised by critics, earning a 79% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The studio is expecting positive word of mouth and awards attention to give “All the Money in the World” a sustained run at multiplexes. The movie, financed by Imperative Entertainment, was pulled on Nov. 6 from AFI Fest in the wake of the allegations against Spacey and replaced with Jessica Chastain’s thriller “Molly’s Game” as the closing night film.

STX films and The Mark Gordon Company’s “Molly’s Game” opened solidly on Monday with $1 million from 271 screens in North America for a $3,838 location average. The movie has been embraced by critics, netting an 87% on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences skewed 58% female with 56% aged 35 and over.

“Molly’s Game” marks Aaron Sorkin’s directorial debut and chronicles the real-life story of a woman who ran an elite underground poker ring. Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Cera, Brian d’Arcy James, and Chris O’Dowd also star in the pic, which will expand to 1,500 domestic locations on Jan. 5.

Entertainment One and Mark Gordon Company financed the movie. Gordon, Amy Pascal, and Matt Jackson are the producers. “Molly’s Game” received Golden Globe nominations for Chastain and for Sorkin’s screenplay.

STX bought the project at the Cannes Film Festival last year for $9 million. Sorkin adapted the script from Molly Bloom’s 2014 book “Molly’s Game: From Hollywood’s Elite to Wall Street’s Billionaire Boys Club, My High-Stakes Adventure in the World of Underground Poker.”

“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” dominated the domestic box office with $96.1 million at 4,232 venues in its second weekend, including $27.5 million on Monday. Sony’s “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” followed with $55.4 million at 3,765 theaters, including $19 million on Monday.

via Variety

‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Speeds to $800 Million at Worldwide BO!!!

Disney-Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” will cross $800 million at the worldwide box office on Tuesday after less than two weeks of release.

“The Last Jedi” took in $27.5 million on Christmas Day on Monday at 4,232 North American locations to lift its 11-day domestic total to $396.5 million — already the 28th-highest of all time. “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” tops the domestic list with $936.7 million and “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” is in seventh place with $532.2 million.

The tentpole’s international take totaled $14.8 million on Monday. Several territories were mostly closed for Christmas, such as in the U.K., Australia, and Russia. The U.K. is the top international market with $67.9 million, followed by Germany with $42.6 million, France with $31.1 million, Japan with $29.6 million, and Australia with $27.2 million. It will open in China on Jan. 5.

With $791.6 million worldwide at the end of Christmas, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” already ranks as the 71st-highest worldwide grosser of all time, $1.3 million behind 1982’s “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.” “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is third on the list behind “Avatar” and “Titanic” with $2.06 billion. Last year’s “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” is 20th at $1.06 billion.

Movie going should be strong for the rest of 2017 since many patrons are on vacation. Sony’s “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” has provided the most competition to “The Last Jedi” since it opened on Dec. 20. The action-comedy has totaled $72 million domestically and took in another $49.5 million from 54 international markets during the Friday-Sunday period.

via Variety

‘Tiger Zinda Hai’ Ends 2017 With A Bang at the India BO!!!

Relax… 2017 may have been one of the worst years as far as the Hindi film industry is concerned [flops and more flops!], but the year has definitely concluded on a euphoric note. Tiger Zinda Hai has brought cheer, made the mood upbeat and the distributors/exhibitors – the backbone of the film industry – are sounding optimistic. The wave of pessimism has swept away, thankfully. Box office is breathing… finally!

Tiger Zinda Hai was expected to open big. A monstrous start was definitely on the cards. Going back a bit, one could gauge the enthusiasm when the trailer was launched. It being the second installment in the Tiger series also raised the expectations. Most importantly, the thought of watching Salman Khan in an action avatar, combating an international enemy, added to the hype.

Timing the film during festivals / holidays has become a norm these days and Tiger Zinda Hai stands to benefit because it opened prior to Christmas and New Year, which is celebrated in a big way worldwide. The business gets an impetus and the long holiday period gives the film an opportunity to recover a substantial chunk of investment, if the audience mandate is positive.

Budgeted at Rs 150 Cr [Cost of Production: Rs 130 Cr + Print & Advertising: Rs 20 Cr], Tiger Zinda Hai is an expensive film and Yash Raj has recovered the investment from pre-sales [Satellite, Digital and Audio rights] itself. The business accrued from India and Overseas theatrical is crucial because it’s an indicator of star power and content of the film.

As Tiger Zinda Hai continues to roar, Salman can heave a sigh of relief. Tubelight, which opened during Eid festivities, failed to recreate the magic of Bajrangi Bhaijaan and made holes in the pocket of its distributors. Tiger Zinda Hai had to deliver massive numbers and fortunately for Salman, Katrina and YRF [all three entities needed that big hit!], the film is all set for a meritorious run at the ticket counters.

Earlier this month, Fukrey Returns brought abundant sunshine in an otherwise gloomy scenario. The producers – Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar – had to pull it off to establish Fukrey as a brand. It was a gamble that’s paid rich dividends. Prior to that, Golmaal Returns emerged the highest grosser in the Golmaal series. Are sequels / installments the new mantra for success?

Umeed pe duniya kaayam hain. Here’s hoping and praying that the optimism and luck extends to the films slated for release in 2018 and they continue to set the cash registers jingling. Fingers crossed!

via Bollywood Hungama

‘The Post’ Scores Big Limited Release as Awards Contenders Compete at Box Office!!!

While “The Greatest Showman” isn’t performing as well as Fox might have hoped, the studio still has reason to smile this Christmas weekend as its major awards contender, “The Post,” is off to a great start in limited release.

Steven Spielberg’s recounting of The Washington Post’s acquisition and publishing of The Pentagon Papers opened on nine screens this weekend and is looking at a four-day start of $715,000, good for a per screen average of just under $80,000. The film has had glowing reviews with an 86 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes.

“The Post” stars Tom Hanks as famed WaPo editor Ben Bradlee and Meryl Streep as the paper’s owner, Kay Graham. Bob Odenkirk, Tracy Letts, Bradley Whitford, and Sarah Paulson also star. Josh Singer, who won an Oscar for his script for “Spotlight,” wrote the script with Liz Hannah.

Meanwhile, two other awards contenders, Focus Features’ “Darkest Hour” and Fox Searchlight’s “The Shape of Water,” expanded nationwide this weekend. “Darkest Hour,” Gary Oldman’s biopic of Winston Churchill, made $4.1 million from 806 screens to bring its total to $8.7 million. “The Shape of Water” expanded to 726 screens and made $3 million to bring its total to $9 million.

Finally, two other new limited releases hit theaters in L.A. and New York this weekend: Entertainment Studios’ “Hostiles” and Sony Pictures Classics’ “Happy End,” both rolling out on three screens this weekend. Estimates have “Hostiles” making $23,000 over the four-day weekend for a PSA of $7,600, while “Happy End” made $23,800 for a PSA of just under $8,000.

“Happy End” is the latest film from “Amour” director Michael Haneke, following a bourgeois family and their barely veiled tensions amidst the background of Europe’s refugee crisis. “Amour” stars Isabelle Huppert and Jean-Louis Trintignant star. The film has a 64 percent RT score

via The Wrap

‘The Last Jedi’ and ‘Jumanji’ Lead Christmas Releases While ‘Downsizing’ Bombs at the BO!!!

With an estimated $68 million, Disney and Lucasfilm‘s Star Wars: The Last Jedi remained at #1 for the second weekend in a row, doubling its closest competitor. The film, however, did drop 68% from its opening weekend, but that’s not as much as a surprise as it may outwardly seem, particularly due to the lack of business over the weekend, especially on Christmas Eve, for all titles. The film is expected to top $100 million by end of day tomorrow, which is expected to be huge for most all films in release.

In second is Sony‘s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle with an estimated $34 million for the three-day with the film expected to gross nearly $65 million by the end of the day Monday after opening on Wednesday. While this is well ahead of Sony‘s conservative expectations, you’ll notice this is well within Mojo‘s expectations.

Universal‘s Pitch Perfect 3 finished third for the three-day with an estimated $20.4 million and is expected to finish around $27 million for the four-day, holiday weekend.

Fox‘s The Greatest Showman debuted alongside Jumanji on Wednesday and will take fourth for the weekend with an estimated $8.6 million, which is expected to climb to $13.6 million for the three-day for a six-day cume topping $18 million.

Outside the top five, Paramount‘s Downsizing hasn’t had much of an impact with audiences, pulling in just $4.6 million for the three day and expected to finish just over $6 million for its four-day opening.

WB‘s Father Figures is the last of the weekend’s new wide releases and it delivered an estimated $3.2 million for the three day and should add another million or so on Christmas for a $4+ million four-day opening.

Additionally, two films expanded wide over the weekend beginning with Focus‘ Darkest Hour, which brought in an estimated $4.1 million and expected to reach nearly $6 million for the four-day. Fox Searchlight‘s The Shape of Water was the weekend’s other wide expansion and it brought in an estimated $3 million for the three-day and is expected to reach $4.3 million by the end of the day tomorrow.

via BoxOfficeMojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi	$68.5M	$365.1M	2
	Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle	$34.0M	$50.6M	1
	Pitch Perfect 3	$20.5M	$20.5M	1
	The Greatest Showman	$8.6M	$13.2M	1
	Ferdinand	$7.1M	$26.5M	2
	Coco	$5.2M	$161.3M	5
	Downsizing	$4.6M	$4.6M	1
	Darkest Hour	$4.1M	$7.0M	5
	Father Figures	$3.2M	$3.2M	1
	The Shape of Water	$3.1M	$7.6M	4

‘Coco’ Repeats #1 Spot Again as ‘The Disaster Artist’ Opens Strong at the BO!!

Disney and Pixar‘s Coco topped the weekend box office for the third week in a row. In fact, the only shake-up in the weekend top five compared to the last two weeks is to see A24‘s The Disaster Artist landing in fourth position as it expanded into 840 theaters this weekend following its strong limited bow last week. As for the weekend’s only new wide release, Broad Green‘s release of Just Getting Started struggled to finish over $3 million, barely eking into the top ten.

With an estimated $18.6 million, Disney and Pixar‘s Coco topped the weekend box office as its domestic gross climbs to $135.5 million domestically. While the film’s opening weekend was closer to that of 2000’s Tangled, it has since started playing closer to Disney‘s Moana, which also topped the weekend box office for three straight weeks last year following its Thanksgiving debut prior to ceding the #1 spot to Rogue One. Coco will do the same next weekend as Disney unleashes Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Internationally, Coco added an estimated $55.3 million from 35 markets bringing the film’s international cume to $254 million for a global tally reaching an estimated $390 million.

WB and DC’s Justice League finished in second place once again, dropping 42% and delivering an estimated $9.5 million as its cume now climbs to $212 million domestically. The film also added an estimated $15.4 million internationally this weekend as it crossed $400 million overseas and now tops $600 million worldwide.

Of additional note, Warner Bros. became the first studio in 2017 to cross the $2 billion mark at the domestic box office. Overall, 2017 is shaping up to be the second best year in the studio’s history domestically, while its worldwide performance is shaping up to be WB‘s best ever after it recently topped $5 billion at the global marketplace led by releases such as Wonder Woman, It, Justice League and Dunkirk.

In third, Lionsgate‘s Wonder delivered an estimated $8.45 million, which pushes its domestic cume over $100 million. Wonder also added $11.4 million internationally this weekend from 56 markets bringing its international cume to $29.3 million, which includes a second weekend at #1 in Australia where it has so far grossed $4.4 million.

Fourth position is where we find A24‘s The Disaster Artist, which delivered an impressive $6.4 million from 840 locations, pushing the film’s ten-day cume just over $8 million. A24 reports exit polling remained strong for the second straight weekend in a row as the film will continue to expand nationwide over the coming weeks.

The Disaster Artist is also underway internationally where it added $1 million this weekend from three markets, led by the UK with $915k after a limited opening last weekend and $744k in Australia, which also saw a limited debut last weekend.

Disney and Marvel‘s Thor: Ragnarok rounds out the top five with an estimated $6.29 million becoming the tenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to top $300 million domestically. Internationally, Ragnarok added a little over $3 million this weekend for an overseas total that now stands at $532 million for a global cume topping $833 million, which puts it ahead of Wonder Woman ($821.8m) and seventh for the year behind Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ($863.6m).

Elsewhere in the top ten, A24‘s Lady Bird continues its strong run, dropping just 17.3% and delivering an estimated $3.5 million for the weekend. The film’s domestic cume now stands at $22.3 million as it enters its sixth week in release.

It isn’t until tenth position where we find the week’s only new wide release, Broad Green‘s Just Getting Started. Industry expectations heading into the weekend were for a debut in the mid-single digits and even that appears to have been too optimistic as the $22 million production could only manage an estimated $3.18 million from 2,161 locations. The film received a “C” CinemaScore and critical opinion isn’t much better as it currently holds a score of 21 on Metacritic.

Falling just outside the top ten is Fox Searchlight‘s The Shape of Water, which expanded to 41 theaters this weekend (+39) and delivered an estimated $1.1 million. The film from Guillermo del Toro led the Critics Choice Awards nominations with 14 this past week and will continue to expand over the coming weeks. Next weekend it should add around 25 new markets bringing its theaters count between 150-200 theaters followed by a wider expansion on December 22 to 700-800 theaters.

In limited release this weekend, Neon debuted I, Tonya into four theaters where the film delivered an estimated $245,602 for an average of $61,400 per theater. The film will remain in four theaters next weekend with eyes on a wider expansion after the new year.

Next weekend sees the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi into ~4,100 theaters and looking to become only the fourth film to ever open over $200 million domestically while Fox is hoping their animated feature Ferdinand serves as a sought after alternative for families.

via BoxOfficeMojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Coco	$18.3M	$135.5M	3
	Justice League	$9.6M	$212.1M	4
	Wonder	$8.5M	$100.3M	4
	The Disaster Artist	$6.4M	$8.0M	2
	Thor: Ragnarok	$6.3M	$301.2M	6
	Daddy’s Home 2	$6.0M	$91.2M	5
	Murder on the Orient Express	$5.1M	$92.7M	5
	The Star	$3.7M	$32.3M	4
	Lady Bird	$3.5M	$22.3M	6
	Just Getting Started	$3.2M	$3.2M	1

‘Coco’ Repeats Second Week at #1 While Limited Releases Open Strong at BO!!!

Disney and Pixar‘s Coco led the post-Thanksgiving frame in what was a repeat of last weekend’s top five thanks in large part to no new wide releases this weekend. That doesn’t mean there isn’t anything to discuss as A24 enjoyed a great weekend with Lady Bird continuing its strong play and the studio’s much-talked about feature The Disaster Artist finished just outside the top ten in its limited bow from just 19 locations. Additionally, Fox Searchlight‘s The Shape of Water was the weekend’s per theater champ after opening in just two locations.

At the top, Coco added an estimated $26.1 million this weekend bringing the film’s cume to $108.7 million after 12 days in release. The result is no surprise and the 48.6% second weekend drop is smaller than both of the comps we’ve been using throughout its release as Moana dropped 50% in its sophomore frame and Tangled dropped 56%. Both films finished their domestic runs over $200 million, which is where Coco is headed.

Coco also added an estimated $69 million internationally this weekend for an overseas total that tops $171 million and a global cume reaching $280 million. New markets this weekend included strong debuts in France, Belgium and Spain along with excellent holdovers where the film actually saw increases over opening weekend. One market where the film saw an increase was China where it posted a $17.8 million opening, which increased 148% this weekend to an estimated $44.2 million. The film’s estimated, $75.6 million cume in China makes it the highest grossing Pixar release ever in China and third highest Pixar/Disney release after only Zootopia and Big Hero 6. Coco still has a long road ahead of it with openings in Australia, Italy, Brazil, Korea, UK and Japan to look forward to and it’s Japan release isn’t until mid-March.

Warner Bros. and DC Comics‘ Justice League finished in second place with an estimated $16.5 million, dropping 60% after the holiday weekend as the film’s cume now stands just above $197 million. Internationally, Justice League grossed an estimated $35.7 million in 66 markets bringing its overseas running cume to $370.1 million for a global cume that tops $567 million.

Lionsgate‘s Wonder delivered a third place finish with an estimated $12.5 million, pushing the film’s domestic cume over $88 million. The film also expanded internationally into 46 markets where it brought in an estimated $7.8 million, pushing its international cume over $12 million for a global tally that tops $100 million.

Thor: Ragnarok continued its climb to $300 million with an estimated $9.7 million this weekend leaving its domestic total at $291.4 million. The film also added another $16.2 million internationally as its global cume now stands at $816.4 million.

Rounding out the top five is Paramount‘s Daddy’s Home 2 with an estimated $7.5 million as the comedy sequel has so far generated $82.8 million. Internationally the film added 25 new markets and brought in an estimated $15.6 million overseas, bringing its international cume to $34 million.

Elsewhere in the top ten, A24′s Lady Bird brought in another $1.4 million this weekend as it expanded into 1,194 theaters (+403). The film’s cume is now just over $17 million making it the fourth largest domestic release for A24 all-time and it still has a long run ahead of it as it will continue to expand into the holiday season.

A24‘s impact was felt elsewhere as well. The limited release of The Disaster Artist fell just outside the top ten, as it led the fleet of new limited releases bringing in an impressive $1.2 million from just 19 locations for a $64,254 per theater average. A24 reports exit polling showed sensational word of mouth across the board and they’ll be counting on that word of mouth as the film expands into approximately 800 theaters next weekend with continued expansion planned throughout the holidays and awards season.

Fox Searchlight‘s The Shape of Water was the weekend’s per theater champ, bringing in an estimated $166,800 from just two theaters for an average of $83,400 per location. The film will add around 45 new theaters next weekend in 12 new markets and is expected to reach 700-800 locations by the Christmas holiday play period.

And Amazon Studios‘s Wonder Wheel, the latest film from Woody Allen, opened in five theaters with an estimated $140,555 for $28,111 per location.

This weekend also saw Paramount re-release James Cameron‘s Titanic for its 20th anniversary. The film played in just 87 theaters where it brought in an estimated $415,000.

Next weekend sees just one new wide release as Broad Green‘s Just Getting Started is expected to open in ~1,500 locations.

via BoxOfficeMojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Coco	$26.1M	$108.7M	2
	Justice League	$16.6M	$197.3M	3
	Wonder	$12.5M	$88.0M	3
	Thor: Ragnarok	$9.7M	$291.4M	5
	Daddy’s Home 2	$7.5M	$82.8M	4
	Murder on the Orient Express	$6.7M	$84.8M	4
	Lady Bird	$4.5M	$17.1M	5
	Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri	$4.5M	$13.7M	4
	The Star	$4.0M	$27.3M	3
	A Bad Moms Christmas	$3.5M	$64.8M	5

‘Justice League’ Tops $300 Million at International Box Office!!!

Warner Bros.-DC Entertainment’s “Justice League” has crossed the $300 million milestone at the international box office, thanks to a second weekend of $72.2 million at 31,450 screens in 66 markets.

With the U.S. gross of $171.2 million after 10 days, the superhero team-up has earned a total of $481.3 million worldwide.The top international performance for “Justice League” came from China, with a second-place $15.8 million on roughly 10,000 screens, lifting that market’s total to $83.1 million after two weekends.

The first weekend of Disney-Pixar’s “Coco” finished ahead of “Justice League” in China with $18.2 million —  making it the second-best opening ever for a Disney-Pixar animated release, behind only “Zootopia.” “Coco” also opened in first place in Russia with $3.1 million and generated another another $2.2 million in Mexico to lift its record-breaking total to $53.4 million.

“Justice League” generated its top international mark outside China in Brazil with $5.6 million at 1,617 screens for a 77% share of the top five 5 films and a two-week total of $24.9 million.

Mexico and the U.K. followed with $3.8 million each, both in their second weekends. Mexico’s total is $18.2 million and the U.K.’s has hit $16.6 million.

Japan saw the weekend’s only opening of “Justice League,” also grossing $3.8 million on 645 screens for a first-place finish. The results are 14% ahead of “Wonder Woman” and 7% ahead of “Thor Ragnarok.”

France generated $3 million on 681 screens, finishing ahead of the opening of local title “Le Brio” and lifting the two-week take to $10 million. Australia saw $2.4 million at 515 screens for an 11-day total of $10.1 million. South Korea produced $2.2 million at 740 screens for a $12 million cumulative.

The Philippines and Russia both generated $1.9 million. Russia’s total has hit $9.5 million, which tops the lifetime gross of “Wonder Woman” in that market.

“Justice League,” which teams up the DC characters in the same manner as Disney-Marvel’s superheroes, is a major bet for Warner Bros. The studio has not disclosed the production cost, which is believed to be as much as $300 million, so the international box office is critical for the film to become profitable.

Gal Gadot stars as Wonder Woman along with Ben Affleck as Batman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as the Flash, and Ray Fisher as Cyborg as the superheroes ally to save the world.

Fox’s “Murder on the Orient Express” grossed $17 million in 63 markets to finish third on the international chart and lift its foreign total to $122.6 million.

Paramount’s “Daddy’s Home 2” followed in fourth with $13.8 million in 25 markets at the start of its offshore runs.

Disney’s “Thor: Ragnarok” brought in $11 million in 57 markets to push its international total to $512 million and its worldwide gross to $790 million.

via Variety

Disney Scores Another Hit as ‘Coco’ Makes A Strong Debut at the BO!!!

With a strong, five-day debut Disney and Pixar‘s Coco joined the ranks of the many successful films Disney has launched over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Receiving high marks from critics and audiences alike, the film finished atop the weekend box office and is looking at solid returns throughout the holiday season. Additionally, WB and DC Comics‘ Justice League and Lionsgate‘s Wonder played mostly as expected as the three films contributed to a healthy helping of receipts at the holiday box office, outperforming the Thanksgiving three-day last year by ~4% with the top twelve combining for over $180 million.

With an estimated $49 million for the three-day weekend and $71.2 million for the five-day, Disney and Pixar‘s Coco delivered the fourth largest Thanksgiving weekend three- and five-day openings. As a result, Disney continues to own nine of the ten largest three and five-day openings over the Thanksgiving holiday with New Line‘s Four Christmases the only non Mouse House title remaining among the ranks.

Coco‘s domestic opening is a hair over the 2010 opening for Disney Animation‘s Tangled, which went on to gross over $200 million domestically. The question is whether Coco, a non-Disney princess title, can have the same longevity as a film like Tangled or even last year’s Thanksgiving hit, Moana, which opened with $82 million over the holiday five-day and went on to gross nearly $250 million domestically and nearly $650 million worldwide.

Looking into that future, one great stat is the “A+” CinemaScore the film received from opening day audiences, which broke down 53% female and 55% of all moviegoers were 25 years or under. To continue the Tangled comparison, that film also received an “A+” and 61% of its opening weekend audience was female and 57% were under the age of 25. Next weekend will give us a strong indication as to how the film will play moving forward when you consider Tangled dipped 56% in its second weekend and Moana just 50%.

Internationally, Coco was already off to a great start before this weekend even began after becoming the highest grossing release ever in Mexico where it opened at the end of October. This weekend it added several other markets including China and Russia. Its China debut came in at an estimated $18.2 million over the three-day weekend making it the 2nd highest opening ever for a Pixar/Disney animated release, behind only Zootopia. For now the film’s international cume stands at $82.2 million for a global tally topping $153 million.

Finishing in second place is WB and DC Comics‘ Justice League, which dropped almost 57% in its second weekend for an estimated $40.7 million three-day and a $59.6 million five-day. The film’s domestic cume now stands at $171.5 million after ten days in release. Internationally it added an estimated $72.2 million from 66 markets where its cume topped $300 million for a global tally that currently stands at $481.3 million.

Lionsgate‘s Wonder finished in third place, dropping just 19% for an estimated $22.3 million three-day and a $32.2 million five-day as its domestic cume is now just shy of $70 million after just ten days in release.

Disney and Marvel‘s Thor: Ragnarok enjoyed a fourth place finish, dropping just 22.5% for an estimated $16.8 million three-day and a five-day that nearly reached $25 million. The film is now the tenth largest release within the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a domestic cume that now stands at $277.5 million. Additionally, Ragnarok added $11 million internationally this weekend for a global total is now up to over $790 million making it the seventh largest worldwide release in the MCU.

Paramount‘s Daddy’s Home 2 rounded out the top five, bringing in an estimated $13.25 million over the three-day and $18.6 million for the five day as its domestic total now stands at $72.6 million. Internationally the film added 21 new markets where it brought in an estimated $13.8 million including a #1 opening in the UK with an estimated $6.3 million. At this time the comedy’s international haul stands at $15 million for a global tally topping $87 million.

The strongest hold in the top ten among films that didn’t expand over the weekend belongs to Fox‘s Murder on the Orient Express. The film dropped just 6% for an estimated $13 million three-day and nearly $19 million five-day weekend haul. The Agatha Christie adaptation’s domestic cume is now just shy of $75 million while its international total added over $17 million this weekend bringing its overseas cume to $122.6 million an a global tally just shy of $200 million.

Elsewhere in the top ten, Sony‘s expansion of Roman J. Israel, Esq. outperformed expectations a bit, finishing in ninth place with an estimated $6.2 million over the five-day weekend. The film expanded on Wednesday after a four theater limited opening the previous weekend and received a “B” CinemaScore from audiences, which broke down 52% male vs. 48% female of which 77% were over the age of 25.

Rounding out the top ten was Fox Searchlight‘s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, which expanded into 614 theaters (+561) and brought in an estimated $4.4 million over the three-day and $5.85 million for the five-day. The performance just narrowly topped A24‘s Lady Bird, which just missed the top ten with an estimated $4 million for the three-day and $5.37 million for the five-day weekend from 791 theaters (+553).

In limited release, STX‘s The Man Who Invented Christmas debuted in 626 locations and brought in an estimated $1.3 million over the three-day and $1.8 million for the five-day holiday session.

Sony Classics debuted Call Me by Your Name on Friday where it brought in an estimated $404,874 from just four theaters for a healthy $101,219 per theater average.

And Focus released Darkest Hour on Wednesday in four theaters split evenly between New York and Los Angeles where it brought in an estimated $247,000 over the five-day frame. Current plans for expansion don’t have the film reaching the top ten markets until December 8 as it will continue to play in New York and Los Angeles for the next couple weeks.

Next weekend doesn’t see any new wide releases hitting theaters, though do be on the lookout for the limited releases of A24‘s The Disaster Artist, Fox Searchlight‘s The Shape of Water and Amazon Studios‘ release of Woody Allen‘s Wonder Wheel. All will be looking for strong performances as they hope to expand and play well through the holiday season.

via Box Office Mojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Coco	$49.0M	$71.2M	1
	Justice League	$40.7M	$171.5M	2
	Wonder	$22.3M	$69.4M	2
	Thor: Ragnarok	$16.8M	$277.5M	4
	Daddy’s Home 2	$13.3M	$72.7M	3
	Murder on the Orient Express	$13.0M	$74.2M	3
	The Star	$6.9M	$22.0M	2
	A Bad Moms Christmas	$5.0M	$59.8M	4
	Roman J. Israel, Esq.	$4.5M	$6.3M	2
	Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri	$4.4M	$7.6M	3

‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Tracking to Open Over $200 Million!!!

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the current opening weekend record holder with a commanding $248 million in the U.S. Traditionally, direct sequels don’t tend to make more than their predecessors on opening weekend (for example, The Avengers opened to $207 million, but Avengers: Age of Ultron opened to $191 million). So where does that leave Star Wars: The Last Jedi in terms of predicting its opening weekend?

According to THR, analysts predict that The Last Jedi will open above $200 million, and that alone would put it in rare company. The only movies to ever eclipse $200 million on opening weekend are The Force Awakens, The Avengers, and Jurassic World. Last year’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story made an impressive $155.1 million, but The Last Jedi, with the power of being a “main” Star Wars film carries more power, especially since audiences have sparked to new characters like Rey, Finn, Poe, and Kylo Ren.

Although THR doesn’t specify if they think The Last Jedi can beat out The Force Awakens, I predict it will fall just a little shy. The Force Awakens had the benefit of being something completely new and a way to get people back on board after the disappointing prequel trilogy. But without that “shiny, new” thing that people need to know about on opening weekend, the demand for The Last Jedi will be somewhat lessened even if the reaction is more enthusiastic (a tough bar to clear since people seem to really enjoy The Force Awakens).

The other question is whether The Last Jedi will have the legs of The Force Awakens. J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars movie went on to pull in over $2 billion worldwide while Rogue One topped out at a little over $1 billion. I don’t expect this will be a case of diminishing returns, and I wouldn’t be surprised if The Last Jedi lands closer to The Force Awakens’ return assuming the film is good.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi opens December 15th.

via Collider

‘Justice League’ Scores $185 Million Opening, Led by China at the International BO!!!

Warner Bros.-DC’s “Justice League” dominated the international box office in its opening weekend with $185.5 million at approximately 47,000 screens in 65 markets, led by $51.7 million in China.

The costly superhero tentpole is ahead of the international opening weekends for Warner’s “Wonder Woman” and Disney-Marvel’s “Thor: Ragnarok.” In China, where “Justice League” screened at 20,500 screens, the film took in 65% of grosses from the top five films and scored the second biggest debut for a Warners title after last year’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.”

“Justice League” ranked first in 10 other Asian markets with $41.2 million as the second highest Warner Bros. launch after “Dawn of Justice” while Latin America region contributed $35.4 million for the third highest Warner opening after “Dawn of Justice” and the final Harry Potter movie. Results from Europe topped “Wonder Woman” and were slightly behind “Thor: Ragnarok.”

Brazil was the top individual market after China with $14.2 million on 1,580 screens and set a record for top opening weekend in that territory. The UK followed with $9.8 million on 1,617 screens, topping the opening weekend of “Thor: Ragnarok” by 4%. Mexico debuted with $9.6 million at 3,563 screens, followed by South Korea with $8.8 million and Russia with $6.5 million.

The worldwide total is $281.5 million. “Justice League” is underperforming at the domestic box office with a $96 million launch in North America — which increases the need for a strong international result.

“Justice League” carries a production budget of more than $250 million, according to several sources. The studio hopes that DC’s interconnected cinematic universe of comic book heroes and villains can deliver huge audiences around the globe. Analysts believe “Justice League” would have to bring in a lofty sum of around $600 million from ticket sales alone and additional revenue from ancillaries like pay-TV and home entertainment in order to turn a profit.

Gal Gadot stars as Wonder Woman along with Ben Affleck as Batman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as the Flash, and Ray Fisher as Cyborg. Amy Adams, Amber Heard, Jeremy Irons, and J.K. Simmons also appear.

Disney-Marvel’s “Thor: Ragnarok” finished a distant second on foreign front with $24 million in 57 markets. The third Thor movie has now taken in $490 million in four weeks of overseas release and has a worldwide total of $738.1 million, topping the lifetime totals of “Captain America: Winter Soldier ” at $714 million and “Doctor Strange” at $678 million.

Fox’s “Murder on the Orient Express” followed in third with $20 million in 55 markets for an international total of $96.5 million. The detective drama, starring Kenneth Branagh, has topped $50 million domestically in 10 days.

Family comedy “Paddington 2” continued its strong performance in the U.K. and Italy with $9.2 million, lifting its two-week total to $26.1 million. Warner Bros. bought the U.S. rights from the troubled Weinstein Company recently and will release the film domestically on Jan. 12.

Fantasy film “The Golden Monk” opened with $8.5 million in China. The movie stars Zheng Kai, Zhang Yu Qi, Evonne Hsieh, Mao Junjie and Law Kar Ying.

via Variety

‘Justice League’ Stumbles with $96 million Debut as ‘Wonder’ Opens Strong at the BO!!!

Warner Bros. and DC Comics‘ Justice League struggled compared to expectations as it failed to top $100 million over the course of its three-day weekend. Meanwhile, it was Lionsgate‘s Wonder that captured audience attention, debuting with an excellent $27 million, topping Thor: Ragnarok for a second place finish, positioning itself well for the holiday weeks ahead. Additionally, A24‘s Lady Bird continued its impressive run in limited release as it makes way for a nationwide debut over Thanksgiving weekend.

With an estimated $96 million, Justice League managed to top the weekend, but fell short of the low end of expectations. Despite bringing in $13 million from Thursday previews, which was $2 million more than Wonder Woman hauled in from preview screenings ahead of a $103.2 million debut, Justice League just couldn’t crack the century mark, delivering the lowest opening for any of the films in DC‘s Extended Universe thus far.

Opening day audiences gave the film a “B+” CinemaScore and of that audience, 58% were male vs. 42% female and 69% were over the age of 25. It will be very interesting to see where the film goes from here as the four previous films in the DC Extended Universe have shown a variety of multipliers following their opening weekend. One might expect Justice League to follow patterns closer to the ~2.4x multipliers for Man of Steel* and Suicide Squad though, given the softer-than-expected opening, perhaps even closer to the 1.99x multiplier for Batman v Superman. In the end, we might be looking at a domestic run that could fall short of $200 million, though we’re anticipating a finish just a bit over, similar to Godzilla‘s $200 million run in 2014 following its $93 million debut.

Internationally, the film brought in an estimated $185.5 million from 65 markets for a $281.5 million worldwide debut. This makes it one of the top twenty-five worldwide openings all-time and the twentieth ranked international opening over, besting the $185.1 million overseas opening from The Avengers, though it should be noted The Avengers debuted in only 39 markets during its opening weekend as international and worldwide opening comparisons are rarely apples-to-apples.

Leading the international charge, Justice League brought in an estimated $51.7 million from China, WB‘s second largest opening in the marketplace behind Batman v Superman. The film also brought in an estimated $14.2 million in Brazil, $9.8m in the UK, $9.6 million in Mexico, $8.8 million in Korea, $6.5 million in Russia, $6.3 million in Australia and $6 million in France. With most of the marketplace already in release Japan remains the last major opening for the film and that will take place next Thursday, November 23.

In second place is Lionsgate‘s Wonder, Stephen Chbosky‘s adaptation of R.J. Palacio‘s #1 New York Times bestseller, with an estimated $27 million. Strong reviews and group sales helped push the film well above industry expectations and audiences liked what they saw, awarding the film a rare “A+” CinemaScore. The audience was broken down 68% female vs. 32% male and of the overall audience, 66% were over the age of 25. All suggesting a strong couple of weeks ahead as the film looks to take advantage of the holidays to come as we’re expecting this one to top $100 million domestically.

Disney and Marvel‘s Thor: Ragnarok falls to third place with an estimated $21.7 million in its third week in release. Justice League certainly took a chunk of its audience as it dipped over 60%. While Mojo‘s forecast called for a slightly smaller drop this isn’t entirely unexpected as Thor: The Dark World dropped a similar amount over the same weekend in 2013 and Doctor Strange dropped 58.7% over the same weekend just last year. Ragnarok‘s domestic cume now stands just shy of $250 million.

Internationally, Thor: Ragnarok added an estimated $24.1 million pushing the film’s international cume to $490.7 million for a global tally that currently stands at $738.1 million, making it the ninth largest release of 2017 to date. The film is still tracking +11% ahead of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 in the international marketplace and +17% ahead of Doctor Strange.

Paramount‘s Daddy’s Home dropped 50% for a fourth place finish with an estimated $14.8 million and Fox‘s Murder on the Orient Express dipped 52% to land in fifth with an estimated $13.8 million. Both films crossed $50 million domestically this weekend.

Just outside the top five, in sixth place, is Sony and AFFIRM‘s The Star. The faith-based animated feature delivered an estimated $10 million opening, which isn’t exactly a stellar start, but the film did receive an “A” CinemaScore. Opening demos show the film playing to an audience that was 62% female and 55% being 25 years of age or older. Looking ahead, The Star will look to play through the holidays, but it will have to battle for family eye balls as Pixar‘s Coco begins hitting theaters on Wednesday.

As mentioned in our lede, A24′s Lady Bird impressed once again, delivering an estimated $2.5 million from 238 theaters (+201) for an eighth place finish. The film has enjoyed a strong platform release, grossing $4.7 million domestically, and it will expand nationwide over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Just behind it is another strong player still in limited release, Fox Searchlight‘s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, which brought in an estimated $1.1 million from just 53 locations (+49) in its second weekend. The film played to an audience that was 53% female and, for the most part, a bit older with 66% of the audience coming in 50 years or older.

Three Billboards will expand to ~425 theaters on Wednesday, November 22 and is looking at expanding to 750-1,000 locations by December 1 depending on how it plays into the future, though things are currently looking good for the Toronto International Film Festival People’s Choice Award winner.

In limited release, Sony‘s Roman J. Israel, Esq. brought in an estimated $65,000 from four theaters ($16,250 PTA). The Denzel Washington starrer will expand next week, beginning on Wednesday, into ~1,500 theaters.

Additionally, GKIDs’ The Breadwinner brought in an estimated $19,530 from three theaters ($6,510 PTA) in New York and Los Angeles. The film is looking to add several screens next Friday before a larger expansion on December 1. And IFC‘s Sweet Virginia brought in an estimated $5,084 from one theater.

Next week sees the release of Pixar‘s Coco on Wednesday, debuting in ~3,800 locations. Disney has long used the Thanksgiving holiday as a jumping off point for several of their animated features, including Pixar‘s Toy Story back in 1995. The tactic has proved a valuable one as Disney‘s Frozen not only holds the record for the largest three and five-day Thanksgiving opening weekends, the studio itself holds an astonishing nine of the top 10 spots in the Thanksgiving record books. We’re expecting Coco to join the ranks.

Also launching next week are the limited releases of Darkest Hour and The Man Who Invented Christmas as well as the aforementioned expansion of Sony‘s Roman J. Israel, Esq. into ~1,500 locations.

via Box Office Mojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Justice League	$96.0M	$96.0M	1
	Wonder	$27.1M	$27.1M	1
	Thor: Ragnarok	$21.8M	$247.4M	3
	Daddy’s Home 2	$14.8M	$50.6M	2
	Murder on the Orient Express	$13.8M	$51.7M	2
	The Star	$10.0M	$10.0M	1
	A Bad Moms Christmas	$6.9M	$50.9M	3
	Lady Bird	$2.5M	$4.7M	3
	Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri	$1.1M	$1.5M	2
	Jigsaw	$1.1M	$36.5M	4

 

‘Golmaal Again’ Crosses Rs 200-Crore Mark at the Indian BO!!!!

‘Golmaal Again‘ seems to be unstoppable at the box-office as the Ajay Devgn starrer crossed the 200-crore mark today at the Indian box-office.

The movie earned another Rs. 1.69 crore on Sunday to take its total past Rs. 200-crore mark.

The film is now the second highest grossing film of 2017 after ‘Baahubali: The Conclusion‘ beating even Varun Dhawan‘s ‘Judwaa 2‘.

The Rohit Shetty-directed horror comedy film was released 3,500 screens in India and 732 screens in the international markets. The movie has been successful in international markets too, as the movie grossed over Rs. 46 crores at global box-office.

Despite facing competition from Aamir Khan-Zaira Wasim starrer ‘Secret Superstar‘, the film which is helmed by director Rohit Shetty managed to set the cash registers ringing at the box office.

The story revolves around the gang of five – Gopal (Ajay), Madhav (Arshad Warsi), Lucky (Tusshar Kapoor), Laxman (Shreyas Talpade) and Laxman (Kunal Khemu) – orphans who have been raised in Seth Jamnadas’ orphanage in Ooty. When they return to their orphanage to mourn the death of their mentor, they hear that an avaricious builder, Vasu Reddy (Prakash Raj) and his associate, Nikhil (Neil) have designs on the ashram and the adjoining plot owned by Colonel Chouhan (Sachin Khedekar).

The fourth installment in the ‘Golmaal‘ franchise also became Rohit Shetty‘s highest grossing movie till date. Shahrukh Khan starrer, ‘Chennai Express‘ held the record with a lifetime collection of Rs 227 crore. Also for Ajay Devgn, ‘Singham Returns‘ held the numbers high but ‘Golmaal Again‘ has broken all records now.

via Business Standard

‘Thor 3’ Repeats Top #1 While ‘Daddy’s Home 2’ and ‘Orient Express’ Open Strong at the BO!!!

Thor: Ragnarok delivered an expected #1 finish in its second weekend at the domestic box office, pushing the film’s domestic total ahead of both the first and second Thor films after just ten days in release. However, just as much a story are the strong openings for a batch of newcomers, both wide and and limited, as Paramount‘s Daddy’s Home 2 and Fox‘s Murder on the Orient Express both delivered ahead of expectations and Fox Searchlight‘s Three Billboards averaged $80,000 per theater over its limited bow. Meanwhile, A24‘s Lady Bird cracked the weekend top ten despite only playing in 37 theaters.

With an estimated $56.6 million this weekend, Thor: Ragnarok dropped just 54% in its second weekend, pushing the film’s domestic gross over $211 million after ten days in release. That’s enough to best the full domestic gross for both the first Thor film ($181m) and Thor: The Dark World ($206.3m). In fact, Ragnarok is now the 12th highest grossing film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and will soon top Doctor Strange‘s $232 million, which opened over the same weekend as Ragnarok last year.

In addition to its domestic performance, Ragnarok also added $76 million to its international total this weekend, pushing the film’s overseas total to $438.5 million for a global cume that tops $650 million. This too bests the previous global cumes for the first two Thor films as well as placing it tenth among the 17 previous films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, soon to top the $677.7 million worldwide gross for Doctor Strange. The film is also already ranked in the top ten at the worldwide box office among 2017 releases.

Placing second is Paramount‘s Daddy’s Home 2, which received a critical drubbing to the tune of a score of 30 on Metacritic, but that didn’t deter opening weekend audiences. With an estimated $30 million, the comedy sequel brought in $8.7 million less than the first film, but given the first film debuted over the Christmas holiday and the sequel has the Thanksgiving holiday and all of December ahead of it this is a great start for the pic.

Even better, while critics weren’t impressed, opening day audiences gave Daddy’s Home 2 an “A-” CinemaScore, a notch better than the “B+” for the first film, which went on to gross over $150 million domestically. The sequel also drastically increased its female audience compared to the first film with 57% of the opening weekend audience being female vs. 48% for the first film. Of the overall audience, 65% were 25 years or older while 52% were 35+.

Pulling into third place is Fox‘s Murder on the Orient Express, delivering an estimated $28.2 million from 3,341 theaters. Orient Express played to an audience that was 56% female vs. 44% male and of the overall audience, 51% was 35 years of age or older. The film received a “B” CinemaScore.

Looking ahead, based on a couple of the comparisons made in Mojo‘s weekend preview, The Girl on the Train opened with $24.5 million and went on to gross over $75 million domestically. Additionally, Arrival also opened with $24 million and went on to gross just over $100 million, which will make the coming weekends very interesting as Orient Express plays throughout the holiday season.

Internationally, after a strong start in the UK last weekend, Murder on the Orient Express expanded into 57 total markets this weekend where it grossed an estimated $45.7 million, pushing its overseas cume to $57.2 million. Among this weekend’s new openers, China led the way with an estimated $19 million (4.5x bigger than The Great Gatsby), Russia brought in an estimated $5.7 million followed by Australia ($3m) and Mexico ($1.2m). Overall, Fox reports Orient Express is outpacing The Great Gatsby (+60%) and Gone Girl (+109%) in the same bucket of markets at current exchange rates.

Placing fourth is STX‘s A Bad Moms Christmas, which is already holding strong, dropping just 31% in its second weekend and delivering an estimated $11.5 million. This is the strongest hold of any wide release 2017 comedy as the film’s domestic cume is now just shy of $40 million.

Rounding out the top five is Lionsgate‘s Jigsaw with an estimated $3.4 million, pushing the film’s cume to $34.3 million. The film added an additional $8.6 million internationally this weekend from 73 markets where its overseas cume now totals $44.7 million for a global cume just shy of $80 million.

Other big news in the top ten is found in tenth position where A24‘s Lady Bird delivered an incredible $1.25 million from just 37 theaters for an impressive $33,766 per theater average. A24 is reporting sell outs in many markets this weekend as the Greta Gerwig-directed feature will expand into top markets again this coming weekend leading into a nationwide break over Thanksgiving.

In limited release, Fox Searchlight‘s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri debuted in just four locations in New York and Los Angeles with an estimated $320,000 for an $80,000 per theater average. This is a great start for the pic, which holds a score of 86 on Metacritic and won the People’s Choice Award at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. Looking ahead, Three Billboards expands to 12 more cities next weekend, with a wider break scheduled for Wednesday November 22 where it should reach ~425 theaters.

Additionally, Atlas‘s No Greater Love brought in an estimated $21,821 from 22 locations ($992 PTA); The Orchard‘s Thelma opened in one theater with $12,357; and Cohen Media‘s re-release of Shakespeare Wallah generated an estimated $3,577, also from one theater.

Among international highlights, Disney and Pixar‘s Coco became the highest grossing animated release in Mexico all-time and the overall second highest grossing release ever in the market as its cume topped $41 million after 17 days in release. The film will begin hitting theaters in North America on November 22 followed by releases across the globe from Russia on November 23 all the way to its final release in Japan on March 16, 2018. The performances for both Coco and Thor: Ragnarok helped push Disney over the $3 billion mark for 2017, becoming the only studio to hit that mark each of the last three years.

Next weekend will be another big one as Warner Bros. releases Justice League into over 4,000 theaters while Sony releases the animated feature The Star and Lionsgate releases Wonder, both into ~3,000 locations.

via BoxOfficeMojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Thor: Ragnarok	$56.6M	$211.6M	2
	Daddy’s Home Two	$30.0M	$30.0M	1
	Murder on the Orient Express	$28.2M	$28.2M	1
	A Bad Moms Christmas	$11.5M	$39.9M	2
	Jigsaw	$3.4M	$34.4M	3
	Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween	$2.1M	$45.9M	4
	Geostorm	$1.5M	$31.6M	4
	Blade Runner 2049	$1.4M	$88.0M	6
	Happy Death Day	$1.3M	$55.0M	5
	Lady Bird	$1.2M	$1.8M	2

‘Wonder Woman’ Officially Becomes the Top-Grossing Superhero Origin Movie of All Time!!!

It’s official: Patty Jenkins‘ Wonder Woman is now the top-grossing superhero origin movie in both the domestic and worldwide box offices. In five months, Gal Gadot‘s Amazon warrior princess has rocketed to the top of the charts past such household names as her fellow DC Comics heroes Batman, Superman, and Green Lantern, while also besting Marvel’s Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron Man, and the rest of the MCU. And as far as superhero movies go, it’s only super-sequels and team-ups that outearn Wonder Woman. Impressive stuff, no matter what James Cameron thinks.

As Forbes reports that, as of yesterday, the total worldwide tally for Wonder Woman pushed past 2002’s Sam Raimi contemporary classic Spider-Man to take the top spot of superhero origin movies with $821.74 million. Spidey’s early 2000s origin story stood for just about 15 years at the #1 ranking with $821.70 million worldwide, just as it occupied the top domestic spot with $403.7 million. Wonder Woman more easily eclipsed that tally with a total of more than $412.5 million in Stateside sales.

This thing is a juggernaut, and shows no signs of slowing down on a franchise level. Wonder Woman is easily the best thing going for Warner Bros. when it comes to the launch of Justice League on November 17th. Jason Momoa‘s Aquaman might end up being the surprise crowd-pleaser, or perhaps that honor will go to Ezra Miller‘s Flash, but until those two get their own standalone origin stories, you can expect Wonder Woman to hold this record for a little while longer.

Then there’s the Marvel side of things with the massively anticipated Black Panther rolling out in February 2018. Will that origin movie surpass Wonder Woman before the film has had a chance to fully enjoy its spot atop the heap? Or perhaps the Amazonian will reign supreme until Marvel’s female-forward superhero origin story Captain Marvel arrives on the scene in 2019? Regardless, hopefully this finally opens the eyes to filmmakers (and toymakers) that the ladies have every right to star front-and-center in their own films and franchises, and when they do so, they can outperform even the most famous fictional men in history.

via Collider

 

‘Thor: Ragnarok’ Delivers $121M Domestic Opening; ‘A Bad Moms Christmas’ Is Also Well at the BO!!!

Disney and Marvel‘s Thor: Ragnarok got the 2017 holiday movie season started in strong fashion, debuting with over $120 million as the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to fill theaters. Additionally, STX‘s A Bad Moms Christmas brought in over $20 million for its five-day start, but it’s the road ahead that will tell the full story as it hopes to play well into the holiday season. Overall, the top twelve delivered a combined $166 million, which is a massive improvement over last week but still falls short of the $183 million for the same weekend last year, which not only featured the $85 million debut of Doctor Strange, but openings for Trolls and Hacksaw Ridge.

With an estimated $121 million, Disney and Marvel‘s Thor: Ragnarok delivered the seventh largest opening for a film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, topping the $117 million debut for Spider-Man: Homecoming earlier this year. On average, films in the MCU deliver 2.72x multipliers, which would put Ragnarok‘s domestic run over $330 million if it merely holds to the average, but we’re expecting it to play a bit better thanks in large part to strong reviews and opening weekend audience reception.

To go along with the film’s “A” CinemaScore, opening weekend audiences were 56% male vs. 44% female, and of the overall audience, 63% were over the age of 25. One sign Disney and Marvel has to enjoy, beyond the fact Ragnarok debuted with $35+ million more than Thor: The Dark World, is audience demos were closer to a 50/50 split than its predecessor, whose opening weekend audience was 62% male.

Internationally, in its second weekend the film is now playing in nearly the entire international marketplace as it debuted in Germany, Russia, Mexico, China and Japan and brought in an estimated $151.4 million for an overseas gross of $306 million since opening last weekend. Overall, this pushes the film’s global cume to $427 million.

Among Thor‘s new markets this weekend, the estimated $55.6 million opening in China is the largest ever for a November release as is the film’s estimated $5.2 million debut in India. Additional openings saw an estimated $10.8 million in Mexico, $8.9 million (including previews) in Germany, $3.5 million in Japan and $3.7 million in Russia. At this point in the release cycle, Disney estimates Thor: Ragnarok is tracking +8% ahead of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, +28% ahead of Doctor Strange and +59% ahead of Thor: The Dark World based on current exchange rates.

Ragnarok signifies the 17th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its performance has now pushed the franchise over $13 billion globally and over $5 billion domestically.

Finishing in second, STX‘s A Bad Moms Christmas brought in an estimated $17 million over the three-day for a $21.5 million five-day domestic gross after opening on Wednesday. To no surprise, the film skewed heavily female, as women made up 82% of the opening week audience and 87% of that audience was 25 years or older. The demos are very close to the original which played to an audience that was 89% female and of the overall audience 86% were 25 years or older. The film scored a “B” CinemaScore compared to the “A” for the 2016 original.

Looking forward, the question will be to see how the film plays over the coming weeks and throughout the holiday season. Bad Moms played for 13 weeks following its late July debut where it brought in $23.8 million in its first three days and went on to gross over $113 million domestically with a massive 4.75x multiplier. While we’re not expecting the sequel to match that performance, the next few weekends could prove very profitable for the $28 million production.

Internationally, Bad Moms Christmas brought in $6.67 million over the last five days, including $3 million in Australia (5% ahead of Bad Moms) and $2.4 million in the UK (21% ahead of its predecessor). Next week the film will open in Germany on November 9.

In third, Lionsgate‘s Jigsaw brought in an estimated $6.7 million, dropping 59.7% in its second weekend as it’s domestic cume now stands at $28.8 million after ten days in release.

Right behind Jigsaw, Lionsgate’s release of Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween brought in an estimated $4.65 million as its cume now stands just shy of $43 million after 17 days in release.

Finishing in fifth position is WB‘s Geostorm, bringing in an estimated $3 million as its domestic cume now stands at $28.7 million after 17 days in release.

Elsewhere in the top ten, Atlas‘s Let there be Light expanded into 642 theaters (+269) this weekend and brought in an estimated $1.6 million, signaling only a 6% drop from last weekend. The film’s cume now stands just over $4 million.

Outside the top ten, Electric Entertainment‘s release of Rob Reiner‘s LBJ brought in an estimated $1.1 million from 659 theaters for a disappointing $1,727 per theater average. And Lionsgate‘s release of Amazon Studios‘ Last Flag Flying from director Richard Linklater delivered a soft opening in four theaters, bringing in an estimated $42,000 for a $10,500 per theater average.

In limited release, Greta Gerwig‘s directorial debut, Lady Bird, opened in four theaters and delivered an impressive $375,612 for a $93,903 per theater average. It’s the best PTA of the year so far, topping the $84,315 opening average for The Big Sick back in June. The film will expand into top markets this weekend ahead of a nationwide expansion over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Additionally, FilmRise‘s My Friend Dahmer brought in an estimated $45,000 from four locations ($11,250 PTA); Magnolia‘s release of Blade of the Immortal opened with $42,000 from 30 locations ($1,400 PTA); Vitagraph‘s Wait for Your Laugh brought in an estimated $17,600 from two locations; Submarine‘s Gilbert opened with $8,362 from one theater; and Parade Deck‘s Bad Grandmas brought in an estimated $3,410 from one location.

Before we move on, WB and New Line‘s It brought in another $1 million this weekend, pushing the film’s domestic cume to $325.8 million as it now ranks as the 53rd largest domestic release of all-time, pushing it ahead of Suicide Squad.

Next weekend Paramount will release Daddy’s Home 2 and Fox releases Murder on the Orient Express with both films opening in approximately 3,300 locations.

Murder on the Orient Express already got a head start internationally this weekend, debuting in the UK with an estimated $6.45 million, topping the weekend chart and outperforming openings for the likes of The Great Gatsby, Gone Girl and Girl With the Dragon Tattoo in the market. Also, while it doesn’t hit US theaters for a couple more weeks, Disney and Pixar‘s Coco added another $10.4 million in Mexico this weekend bringing the film’s cume to $27.6 million in Mexico alone.

via BoxOfficeMojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Thor: Ragnarok	$121.0M	$121.0M	1
	A Bad Moms Christmas	$17.0M	$21.6M	1
	Jigsaw	$6.7M	$28.8M	2
	Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween	$4.7M	$43.0M	3
	Geostorm	$3.0M	$28.8M	3
	Happy Death Day	$2.8M	$53.0M	4
	Thank You for Your Service	$2.3M	$7.4M	2
	Blade Runner 2049	$2.2M	$85.5M	5
	Only the Brave	$1.9M	$15.3M	3
	Let There Be Light	$1.6M	$4.0M	2

Weinstein Company’s ‘Amityville: The Awakening’ Grosses a Minuscule $742 at the U.S. BO!!!

The Weinstein Company’s “Amityville: The Awakening” grossed a minuscule $742 total at 10 locations on Saturday, two weeks after the haunted house sequel began streaming for free on Google Play.

Bella Thorne, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jennifer Morrison, and Cameron Monaghan star in “Amityville: The Awakening,” which was directed by Franck Khalfoun from his own script. It’s produced by TWC’s Dimension and Blumhouse.

The original 1979 movie “The Amityville Horror” is based on the 1974 events at a rural house in Amityville, N.Y., which became the site of one of the deadliest hauntings and grisliest murders in American history when Ronald DeFeo Jr. shot all six members of his family. Jay Anson’s book “The Amityville Horror” detailed a family moving into the house in 1975 and leaving a week later due to paranormal activity.

The book was adapted in 1979 by American Independent Pictures and became a hit, grossing $86 million. MGM’s 2005 version earned $108 million worldwide. In “Amityville: The Awakening,” Thorne’s teenage character’s family moves into the house without knowing of its notoriety, and subsequently find themselves haunted by a demonic entity.

The Weinstein Company had planned to release “Amityville: The Awakening” several times since last year before scrubbing the release date. It announced on Sept. 21 — two weeks before the massive Harvey Weinstein scandal broke — that “Amityville: The Awakening” would be available for free exclusively on Google Play from Oct. 12 to Nov. 8 and have a limited one-day theatrical release on Oct. 28.

TWC had no comment about the theatrical release.

via Variety

China Box Office: ‘Geostorm’ Blows to $33 Million Win as ‘Blade Runner’ Flops!!

“Geostorm” stormed the China box office with a strong $33 million in its opening weekend. That put it comfortably ahead of “Blade Runner 2049,” which struggled into third place.

Hollywood’s two sci-fi movies were pitched against each other by the dates choice of Chinese regulators. Easy to relate to weather disaster picture, “Geostorm” clearly outperformed “Blade Runner,” a futuristic fantasy franchise that may have been lauded by Western critics, but which had little recognition in China, and did not have the hype that might have come with box office success in North America.

According to Chinese data tracker, Ent Group, “Geostorm” earned some $500,000 in midnight screenings and topped the chart on each day. After three days it was reported as $33.2 million. Warner Bros. reported $34.1 million (or RMB221 million) from 17,000 screens. Some $3 million of the total was accounted for by 441 IMAX screens.

The playdates were telling of the two films’ different trajectories. “Geostorm” played 87,000 screenings on Friday, increasing that fractionally to 91,000 by Sunday. “Blade Runner” opened with 55,000 screenings on Friday, but saw that cut on subsequent days, down to 40,000 by Sunday. Saturday and Sunday performances for Blade Runner put it third, behind holdover “Kingsman: The Golden Circle.” “Blade Runner” completed the weekend with $7.35 million, as reported by Ent Group, and $7.7 according to Sony. The film is distributed in China by state-owned enterprises China Film Group and Huaxia Distribution. It is presented by Alcon Entertainment in association with Columbia Pictures.

“Kingsman” played to $8.67 million in its second weekend, good enough for second spot. That gave it a China cumulative total of $62.8 million.

Chinese holdover, martial art comedy “Never Say Die” took fourth place with $5.90 million. After 30 days it now has $320 million, the third highest cumulative score of the year.

Hong Kong-Chinese crime thriller “Always Be With You” was the only other new release of significance. It managed $3.53 million.

Thailand’s “Bad Genius” earned sixth place with $2.13 million. After 17 days it has accumulated a smashing $38.4 million.

Franco-Belgian animation “Son of Bigfoot” played Saturday and Sunday for $1.54 million over the weekend, and $6.31 million after 16 days. “City of Rock” in eighth place earned $1.49 million over the weekend. After 31 days it has a $65.9 million cumulative. Romance, “Hold Your Hand” earned $940,000 for a cumulative of $11.4 million after 17 days. “Chasing the Dragon” took $520,000 in tenth spot, nudging its total to $$85.5 million after 30 days.

via Variety

‘Jigsaw’ Tops Weekend, ‘Suburbicon’ Flops and ‘Thor 3’ Hauls in $100M at the International BO!!

Lionsgate‘s Jigsaw came in just a bit behind expectations, which some may attribute to the Netflix debut of the second season of “Stranger Things” on Friday or the seven year gap between films, but that isn’t to say this is a poor debut. Elsewhere, however, Paramount‘s Suburbicon flopped while Universal‘s release of Thank You for Your Service didn’t perform much better over the course of one of the worst weekends of the year so far, with the top twelve currently sitting below a combined $60 million, $18 million behind the same weekend last year.

With an estimated $16.25 million, Lionsgate‘s Jigsaw brought the Saw franchise back to the big screen after a seven year hiatus and delivered the seventh best opening of the franchise’s eight films. Only 2009’s Saw VI debuted lower, but that isn’t to say this is a terrible opening. Given the film’s reasonable, $10 million budget, this opening just shows this franchise isn’t delivering the same kind of numbers it did in the early aughts.

The first Saw not only introduced the world to James Wan, but debuted with $18.2 million domestically and delivered over $103 million worldwide, leading to a franchise that will top $900 million globally by tomorrow.

That being said, Jigsaw‘s staying power within the current marketplace (not to mention just how much of an effect “Stranger Things” had on its opening) will be tested next weekend as it would be relatively safe to expect a 60%+ drop next weekend and perhaps a less than 2x multiplier for the film’s domestic run. Opening day audiences gave the film a “B” CinemaScore, which is mostly on par for the franchise, and of that audience 51% were female and 52% were under the age of 25.

Internationally, Jigsaw opened in 46 markets with an estimated $9.5 million. Of those 46, only three were major markets with the UK leading the way with an estimated $2.3 million for a second place finish along with a $1.7 million debut in Russia and $1.4 million opening in Germany. The film will debut in Italy, France, Belgium, Australia and South Korea this coming week.

Lionsgate also finished in second position with Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween brought in an estimated $10 million, pushing the film’s domestic cume over $35 million after ten days in release. While that matches Mojo‘s forecast, it puts the sequel’s performance well behind the first film, which had already grossed $52.5 million after ten days, see the full, head-to-head comparison here.

Warner‘s Geostorm finished in third place with an estimated $5.67 million as the film’s domestic cume now stands at $23.5 million after ten days in release. The film’s international performance, however, offers a little more to boast about. The disaster pic debuted in China this weekend with an estimated $34.1 million, which contributed to an overall $49.3 million weekend overseas, bringing the international cume to $113.4 million for a global tally over $136 million.

Universal and Blumhouse‘s Happy Death Day brought in an estimated $5 million for a fourth place finish as its domestic cume now stands at $48.3 million as it enters its third weekend in release.

Rounding out the top five is WB‘s Blade Runner 2049 with an estimated $3.9 million as the film’s domestic cume climbs to $81.3 million. Additionally, Blade Runner debuted in China this weekend and struggled, delivering a mere $7.6 million and a third place finish. The film also opened in Japan with an estimated $2.7 million and a #1 finish as its international cume currently stands at $142 million based on weekend estimates.

Just outside the top five we come to the second of the weekend’s new wide releases in Universal‘s release of Amblin and DreamWorks‘s Thank You for Your Service. The film opened with just $3.7 million, which is just a bit shy of Mojo‘s meager $4 million forecast. While reviews were solid (68 rating on Metacritic) and opening day audiences liked what they saw (“A-” CinemaScore), there just wasn’t enough interest. Overall, the audience was 58% male vs. 42% female with 70% coming in over the age of 25.

Further down the list, it isn’t until ninth position that we find George Clooney‘s Suburbicon, which brought in just $2.8 million from 2,046 theaters for a $1,369 per theater average. Reviews heading into the weekend weren’t very strong as it currently holds a 43 rating on Metacritic and audiences weren’t impressed either. The film received a rare “D-” CinemaScore and performed worst with its largest audience, receiving an “F” from moviegoers over the age of 50, which made up 54% of the weekend’s ticket buyers.

In limited release, Open Road‘s All I See is You brought in an estimated $135,504 from 283 theaters ($479 PTA); Magnolia‘s The Square delivered a solid $76,000 from two locations; Sony Classics‘ release of Novitiate brought in $22,577 from three theaters ($7,526 PTA), PBS‘s Bill Nye: Science Guy documentary brought in $9,150 from one theater; FilmBuff‘s Mansfield 66/67 opened with $6,602 from one theater; and The Orchard‘s The Work debuted with $3,178 from two locations.

Near the bottom of the chart is Dimension‘s release of Amityville: The Awakening, which the studio released into just ten theaters for just one showtime on Saturday evening, resulting in just $742.

In international news, Disney and Marvel’s release of Thor: Ragnarok into 36 material markets this weekend delivered an estimated $107.6 million. Disney reports the opening is +4% ahead of Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and +22% ahead of Doctor Strange when comparing the same suite of territories at today’s exchange rates. The release accounts for ~52% of the international marketplace and was led by the UK with an estimated $15.8m followed by South Korea ($15.5m), Australia ($8.4m), Brazil ($8.3m), France ($7.4m), Indonesia ($5.5m), Taiwan ($5.4m), Italy ($4.2m), Philippines ($3.8m), Malaysia ($3.5m), Spain ($3.4m), Hong Kong ($2.9m), Singapore ($2.2m) and Argentina ($2.0m).

Thor: Ragnarok releases in ~3,800 North American theaters next weekend along with debuts in Germany, Russia, China, Japan, Mexico, Austria and several others, accounting for nearly 100% of the global marketplace.

Additionally, Disney and Pixar‘s Coco began its international release this weekend, opening in Mexico ahead of the Día de Muertos holiday next week. The film brought in an estimated $8.4 million over the weekend and will make its debut in North America on November 23 followed by a full international roll out beginning in Russia on November 22 and running through mid-March 2018 when it will open in Japan.

Getting back to the domestic marketplace really quickly, next week will not only see Thor opening on Friday, but STX will release A Bad Moms Christmas into 3,500+ theaters on Wednesday. Early industry expectations are for a $20-25 million debut over the film’s first five days in release.

via Box Office Mojo

Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Jigsaw	$16.3M	$16.3M	1
	Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween	$10.0M	$35.5M	2
	Geostorm	$5.7M	$23.6M	2
	Happy Death Day	$5.1M	$48.4M	3
	Blade Runner 2049	$4.0M	$81.4M	4
	Thank You for Your Service	$3.7M	$3.7M	1
	Only the Brave	$3.5M	$11.9M	2
	The Foreigner	$3.2M	$28.8M	3
	Suburbicon	$2.8M	$2.8M	1
	It	$2.5M	$323.7M	8

‘Justice League’ Early Tracking Has the Superhero Film Opening to $110-120 Million!!

With Justice League only a few weeks away and tickets now on sale, early tracking has come out for Warner Bros’ big superhero crossover. According to Deadline, industry estimates have the film opening around $110M-$120M in the U.S. and Canada. Deadline also notes that some of Justice League’s projection is being taken by Thor: Ragnarok, which opens two weeks prior. Once that film is out of the way, more fans may turn their attention to the DCEU movie, and its projection could be higher.

It will be interesting to see how high Justice League can go in its opening weekend. The whole Justice League enterprise was concocted in response to The Avengers, which opened to $200 million on its opening weekend. But even if you take that film out of the equation and only compare Justice League to other DCEU movies, it still has some serious competition. The only movie it’s currently on pace to beat is Wonder Woman, which opened to $103 million, but then showed some serious legs at the box office to earn $821 million worldwide. As for the other DCEU movies, Man of Steel opened to $116 million, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice opened to $166 million, and Suicide Squad opened to $133 million.

It’s possible that Justice League has the highest opening weekend of any DCEU if its tracking improves, but it also has a much tougher frame. Batman v Superman opened in March and Suicide Squad opened in August. Meanwhile, Justice League will have to fend off Thor: Ragnarok, Daddy’s Home 2, Murder on the Orient Express, and Coco. Warners is pretty much hoping that Justice League is THE movie to see over the Thanksgiving holiday, but that depends on critical response and word of mouth.

Justice League opens November 17th.

via Collider

 

‘Geostorm’ Will Probably Be One of 2017’s Biggest Flops!!!

After sitting on the shelf for almost two years, Geostorm finally opened last weekend and received a 13% on Rotten Tomatoes and only pulled in $66.8 million. With a reported budget of $120 million plus $15 million for reshoots, the film would needed to make $300 to $350 million just to break even according to TheWrap. Usually, the bar for a blockbuster is higher, but Warner Bros. decided to cut it losses and slash the marketing budget after realizing that they had a turkey on their hands. Analysts expect that Geostorm will limp to $200 million worldwide after opening in China, which means it could be $100 million in the red.

What’s surprising is that the calculus here doesn’t really change anything for anybody. If a flop happens and no one is held accountable, does it make a sound? Maybe director Dean Devlin has more trouble trying to direct a movie in the future, but he’s still the guy who wrote Independence Day, which has some clout. Not a single actor risked their career on this movie, so it’s not going to impact Gerard Butler, Jim Sturgess, et al. None of the actors even appeared on the poster for the movie.

Even Warner Bros. comes out pretty well despite the film’s flop. Despite having the flops of Geostorm and King Arthur, the studio is still riding high thanks to Wonder Woman, Dunkirk, Annabelle: Creation, and It. And will studios stop making big, dumb blockbuster movies? Probably not! The only thing that Geostorm could caution against is studios taking chances on non-franchise properties, and even that’s a stretch. It’s not like studios were going to stop adapting TV series, comics, books, etc. if Geostorm had been a massive hit.

The only player here who will probably feel the sting is co-financier Skydance, which also took a hit earlier this year with Baywatch. But even that’s not saying much since in 2018 they’re producing partners on Annihilation and Mission: Impossible 6. So even though Geostorm was a massive flop, even in tanking, failed to make waves.

via Collider

 

‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Projected to Nab Second Highest Grossing Opening Weekend Ever!!

Though Thor: Ragnarok and Justice League have yet to open, there’s little to no disagreement amongst box office prognosticators that 2017’s box office king will be Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Of course it will be. It’s marketing thus far as been predictably excellent, including the latest trailer that threw in a number of possible plot twists that range from Daisy Ridley‘s Rey being tempted by the dark side and a face-off between Adam Driver‘s Kylo Ren and his mother (Carrie Fisher). Domestically speaking, there is simply no way that The Last Jedi will not stand head and shoulders above the competition when 2017 comes to a close.

The bigger question, at least in terms of fiscal success, is where the film will land on the highest grossing opening weekends and, ultimately, highest grossing movies of all time. Though anyone who is interested in the numbers has already assumed that the latest Star Wars volume will make its way into the top five, there hasn’t been much talk of exact figures until this weekend. The team over at Box Office Pro has projected that the movie’s opening weekend will come in at some $215 million, which would place Rian Johnson‘s film firmly in the second place spot on the big list, right behind its predecessor, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. They also predict that the film’s domestic run will clock in around $742 million, just a little short of Avatar‘s $760 million take.

To compare, The Force Awakens opened at $247 million but that movie had the benefit of being the first proper Star Wars movie since 2005, excluding the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars in 2008. There was a bigger build-up for J.J. Abrams‘ absurdly entertaining opener for the new trilogy, and the second installment in any trilogy tends to do worse than the first or final chapter. Then again, Attack of the Clones had a better opening weekend than The Phantom Menace, even if it fell vastly short in cumulative box office of both The Phantom Menace and Revenge of the Sith.

All that being said, there’s every reason to believe that these projections are a bit off. Word of mouth will matter a bit for the constituencies that don’t just go see the new Star Wars because it’s the new Star Wars, whether they’re just not that interested overall or if they were displeased by the similarities between The Force Awakens and A New Hope. The money will be immense and The Last Jedi will no doubt take its place in the upper echelons of box office history, but its legacy will be determined by what Johnson, Disney, Lucasfilm, and the extensive creative team put to the screen.

via Collider

Tyler Perry’s ‘Boo 2!’ Tops Weekend While ‘Geostorm’ and ‘The Snowman’ Bomb at the BO!!

As expected, Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween topped the weekend box office becoming the seventh of eight Madea films to open over $20 million. Meanwhile, it was rough going for the weekend’s four other new wide releases as Geostorm, Only the Brave and The Snowman essentially bombed while Pure Flix‘s Same Kind of Different as Me failed to meet the low end of expectations after strong group sales on opening day. Overall, the top twelve generated just $81.3 million, over $30 million less than the same weekend last year as October is currently pacing ~13% behind last year.

With an estimated $21.65 million, Boo 2! finished atop the weekend box office while falling nearly $7 million short of the original’s opening one year ago. The film did receive an “A-” CinemaScore from opening day audiences, just a notch below the original Boo!‘s “A” and it will be interesting to see what kind of run Boo 2! can leg out. The original film delivered a 2.56x multiplier, finishing with a domestic gross over $73 million. Given the film’s placement as the eighth largest debut among the 17 films Perry has directed, a domestic run right around $50 million, give or take a couple million on either side, seems just about right. Overall, Perry‘s films have so far accumulated over $838 million domestically and with two films set for release in 2018 the director’s films will be knocking on the door of $1 billion collectively.

In second is a rather miserable showing for Warner Bros.‘s reportedly $120 million disaster flick Geostorm, which finished with an estimated $13.3 million from 3,246 theaters. Reviews for the film didn’t begin appearing online until after the film’s opening and when they did they weren’t impressive with a current rating of 21 on Metacritic. Audiences weren’t particularly taken by the film either, awarding it a “B-” CinemaScore. Of that audience 56% were male vs. 44% female and, of the overall audience, 77% were over the age of 25.

Internationally, Geostorm began its overseas run last weekend in just eight markets. This weekend it added another 42 and brought in an estimated $36.4 million, pushing its international cume to $49.6 million for a worldwide tally that now totals $62.9 million. Of its openings this weekend, South Korea led the way with an estimated $5.4 million followed by Russia ($4.9m), Mexico ($3.8m), UK ($2.0m), Brazil ($1.7m), UAE ($1.4m), Australia ($1.2m) and Germany ($1.1m). Geostorm opens in China next weekend followed by France and Italy on November 1.

Universal and Blumhouse‘s Happy Death Day delivered a third place finish with a rather steep, 64% second weekend drop for an estimated $9.37 million. The film’s domestic cume now totals $40.6 million.

WB’s Blade Runner 2049 fell over 50% for the second week in a row, this time dipping 54% for an estimated $7.15 million bringing its domestic cume to $74 million. The film added another $14.3 million internationally this weekend bringing the international cume to $120.1 million for a worldwide tally just shy of $195 million. 2049 debuts in China and Japan next weekend.

Rounding out the top five is Sony‘s Only the Brave, finishing right where the studio expected with an estimated $6 million. The $38 million production entered the weekend with strong reviews, but just wasn’t able to generate enough interest to break out, though those that did turn out seemed to have enjoyed it, awarding the film an “A” CinemaScore. Overall, the audience was 54% male vs. 46% female, of which 74% were 25 years or older.

It isn’t until the eighth position in the top ten that we come to Universal‘s The Snowman, which debuted in just 1,812 theaters and delivered a miserable $3.4 million ($1,900 PTA). Reviews for the film were dismal entering the weekend, rating just 24 on Metacritic, and a “D” CinemaScore from opening day audiences suggests they agree. Overall, the audience was 52% male vs. 48% female with 65% of the audience coming in at 25 years or older.

Outside the top ten is where we find Pure Flix‘s Same Kind of Different as Me, which debuted in 1,362 theaters and kicked things off with a strong $1.36 million on Friday, but most of that was due to a large number of early group sales. As a result, Saturday and Sunday are estimated to only add an additional $1.2 million for just $2.56 million for the weekend and a twelfth place finish. The nearly 47% drop from Friday to Saturday is currently the twelfth largest all-time.

In limited release, A24‘s The Killing of a Sacred Deer delivered a solid $114,585 from four theaters and a chart-topping $28,646 per theater average. The film will expand further into top markets next weekend followed by a nationwide expansion on November 3.

National Geographic Films and Abramorama‘s release of Jane debuted in three theaters this weekend and brought in an estimated $55,712 for a $18,571 per theater average.

Roadside‘s release of Amazon Studios‘ Wonderstruck brought in an estimated $68,762 from four theaters, delivering a $17,191 per theater average. The current plan for the Todd Haynes-directed film is to expand into top ten markets next weekend with further expansions throughout early November.

Other limited releases include Gunpowder & Sky‘s Tragedy Girls, which brought in an estimated $10,677 from two theaters ($5,339 PTA); Music Box‘s Aida’s Secrets debuted with $5,068 from one theater; The Orchard‘s BPM opened with $8,721 from two locations ($4,361 PTA); and Reliance‘s release of Golmaal Again brought in an estimated $1 million from 265 theaters ($3,807 PTA).

A couple of additional international highlights include Fox‘s Kingsman: The Golden Circle, which opened in China with an estimated $40.3 million, a 73% improvement over Kingsman: The Secret Service, which brought in nearly $75 million from the market overall. The Golden Circle is currently $70 million behind The Secret Service worldwide with $344.8 million and still has a January 5 opening in Japan on the books where the first film brought in $7.5 million.

Additionally, Universal and Illumination‘s Despicable Me 3 has passed Finding Dory to become the fourth highest grossing animated film worldwide with $1.0287 billion. Animated titles ranking ahead of Despicable Me 3 worldwide include – Frozen – $1.276 billion, Minions – $1.159 billion  & Toy Story 3 – $1.067 billion

Next weekend sees the release of the eighth film in the Saw franchise, Jigsaw, debuting in ~2,700 theaters, George Clooney‘s Suburbicon will open in ~2,000 locations and Universal will release DreamWorks‘ Thank You for Your Service from American Sniper screenwriter Jason Hall, also opening in ~2,000 theaters.

via BoxOfficeMojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween	$21.7M	$21.7M	1
	Geostorm	$13.3M	$13.3M	1
	Happy Death Day	$9.4M	$40.7M	2
	Blade Runner 2049	$7.2M	$74.0M	3
	Only the Brave	$6.0M	$6.0M	1
	The Foreigner	$5.5M	$22.8M	2
	It	$3.5M	$320.2M	7
	The Snowman	$3.4M	$3.4M	1
	American Made	$3.2M	$45.5M	4
	Kingsman: The Golden Circle	$3.0M	$94.6M	5

Blumhouse’s ‘Happy Death Day’ Debuts with Excellent $26.5 Million as ‘The Foreigner’ also opens well at the BO!!

Universal and Blumhouse score yet again, this time with Happy Death Day. The horror film easily topped the weekend box office, adding to the production house’s impressive stable of original horror films including the likes of The Visit, Split and Get Out. At the same time, Blade Runner 2049 dropped over 50% in its second weekend, STX‘s The Foreigner topped Mojo‘s weekend forecast, Open Road‘s Marshall delivered on expectations and Annapurna‘s Professor Marston and the Wonder Women crashed and burned.

With an estimated $26.5 million, Happy Death Day topped the weekend box office, outperforming the opening weekend for The Visit, which went on to gross $65.2 million in 2015. Based on averages for Blumhouse titles debuting over $20 million, it seems reasonable to expect Happy Death Day to also push toward a $60 million run domestically, especially with Halloween still around the corner. The film scored a “B” CinemaScore from opening day audiences which broke down 54% female vs. 46% male, of which 63% were under the age of 25.

Happy Death Day also began its international roll out this weekend, debuting in 11 markets and bringing in an estimated $5 million. Top markets included an estimated $2 million debut in Brazil and $1.1 million in Australia. Next weekend, the film opens in 16 territories including Sweden, Taiwan and the U.K. and Ireland.

Landing in second place is Warner Bros.’s Blade Runner 2049, which disappointed last weekend and wasn’t able to turn the tide this weekend, dropping 54% and delivering an estimated $15.1 million as its domestic cume now sits just above $60 million. Internationally, the film added $29.3 million, bringing its overseas cume to $98 million for a global haul currently totaling $158.5 million. The film has yet to release in China and Japan, both markets releasing on October 27.

STXfilms‘ action-thriller The Foreigner entered the weekend with an eye on a $10+ million opening and managed to surpass that, bringing in an estimated $12.8 million from 2,515 theaters for a third place finish. The film, which stars Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan, scored a strong “A-” CinemaScore from opening day audiences of which 59% were male vs. 41% female with 55% of the audience coming in over the age of 35.

The Foreigner has now topped $100 million worldwide on a $35 million budget. The film debuted internationally on September 30 and has already brought in $88.4 million. More than $66 million of that comes from China.

WB and New Line‘s It landed in fourth position, bringing in an estimated $6 million, pushing the horror film’s domestic cume just shy of $315 million. The film also added another $10.4 million internationally this weekend bringing its overseas total to $315.7 million for a worldwide cume over $630 million, now ranking as the ninth largest worldwide release of 2017.

In its second weekend, Fox‘s The Mountain Between Us rounded out the top five, dropping 46.5% for an estimated $5.65 million three-day, bringing its domestic cume to $20.5 million.

Elsewhere, and narrowly missing the top ten, Open Road‘s Marshall delivered on expectations with an estimated $3 million from 821 locations. The film received an “A” CinemaScore from opening day audiences.

Marshall was narrowly edged out of the top ten by Focus‘s Victoria and Abdul, which saw the smallest drop in the top ten. The film played in 900 theaters (+168) and dipped 25.3% for an estimated $3.1 million weekend. Victoria and Abdul’s domestic cume has now topped $11.3 million while its international total stands at an estimated $28.8 million for a $40+ million global performance thus far.

Failing to deliver on expectations, Annapurna‘s release of Professor Marston & the Wonder Women finished with a supremely disappointing $737,000 from 1,229 theaters for a paltry $600 per theater average. Among films debuting in over 1,000 theaters this is the 18th worst debut all-time. The film entered the weekend with solid reviews following its Toronto Film Festival premiere, but it simply didn’t attract much of an audience. Of those that showed up, 52% were female vs. 48% male, of which 70% were over the age of 25. Annapurna acquired US distribution rights for the feature from Sony for $1 million.

Other limited release titles include Magnolia‘s release of Amazon‘s Human Flow brought in an estimated $47,000 from three locations for a weekend best $15,667 per theater; American Satan from Sumerian Films opened with an estimated $132,000 from 55 theaters ($2,400 PTA); Bleecker Street‘s Breathe debuted in four locations with an estimated $26,254 ($6,564 PTA); Wasted! brought in $15,552 from 11 theaters ($1,414 PTA); Matson‘s The Departure opened in one location with an estimated $5,684; and Parade Deck‘s Man from Earth: Holocene brought in $2,800, also from just one theater.

Lastly, Fox Searchlight‘s Goodbye Christopher Robin brought in $55,800 from nine theaters ($6,200 PTA) in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Phoenix and Washington DC. The film is expected to open in 12 new markets next weekend while expanding in already opened cities for a total of 45-55 locations.

Next weekend sees the release of WB‘s Geostorm in 3,000+ theaters, Sony‘s Only the Brave will open in ~2,400 locations, Pure Flix‘s Same Kind of Different as Me is expected to open in ~1,250 theaters, Universal‘s The Snowman will premiere in 1,800 theaters and Lionsgate rounds out the packed weekend with Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween in ~2,250 theaters.

via Box Office Mojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Happy Death Day	$26.5M	$26.5M	1
	Blade Runner 2049	$15.1M	$60.6M	2
	The Foreigner	$12.8M	$12.8M	1
	It	$6.1M	$314.9M	6
	The Mountain Between Us	$5.7M	$20.5M	2
	American Made	$5.4M	$40.2M	3
	Kingsman: The Golden Circle	$5.3M	$89.7M	4
	The LEGO Ninjago Movie	$4.3M	$51.6M	4
	My Little Pony: The Movie	$4.0M	$15.5M	2
	Victoria and Abdul	$3.1M	$11.3M	4

‘Blade Runner 2049’ Disappoints with just $31.5 Million Opening at the BO!!

Warner Bros.‘s release of Blade Runner 2049 isn’t getting October off to the kind of start September saw one month ago. The dystopian sequel, arriving 35 years after the original, crash landed over its three-day opening, falling well below even the most modest of expectations. At the same time, Fox‘s The Mountain Between Us didn’t exactly light the world on fire in its attempt at counter-programming, though it did top Mojo‘s pre-weekend forecast, while Lionsgate‘s release of My Little Pony squeaked over Mojo‘s meager expectations. Meanwhile, Focus‘s Victoria and Abdul expanded into moderate release and scored solid numbers, and A24‘s The Florida Project saw strong returns in its limited opening.

With an estimated $31.5 million, Blade Runner 2049 finished atop the weekend box office, but fell well below expectations. Entering the weekend the Warner Bros. release, in association with Alcon Entertainment and Sony, was expected to deliver anywhere from $45-55 million domestically and $4 million from Thursday previews signaled a solid start, but things quickly cooled for the $150 million production.

As we noted in our weekend preview, heading into the weekend Blade Runner 2049 was pacing behind the likes of Mad Max: Fury Road and Interstellar when looking at IMDb page view comparisons and yet was pacing ahead of Prometheus and was showing positive gains against The Martian and Gravity, both of which debuted with over $54+ million in October. Looking back at our pre-weekend comps, comparisons to films such as Oblivion and Edge of Tomorrow may have been more apt. IMDb page view comparisons do show the three films pacing neck-and-neck leading up to release with Blade Runner only taking off once the positive early reviews began publishing online, though it would appear those reviews had little effect on the film’s overall performance.

Blade Runner did receive a positive “A-” CinemaScore, but the audience skewed heavily male, playing to an audience that was 71% male vs. 29% female, of which 63% of the total audience was over the age of 35. While these demographic numbers are almost identical to those for Mad Max: Fury Road, they don’t bode well for future returns when looked at in conjunction with the $31.5 million debut.

Internationally, Blade Runner met overseas expectations, debuting with an estimated $50.2 million from 63 markets, 61% of its international footprint, capturing the #1 spot in 45 of those markets. The film’s opening in the UK led the way with an estimated $8 million, on par with Interstellar and ~15% ahead of Mad Max: Fury Road. In Australia the film brought in an estimated $3.6 million, topping both Interstellar (9%) and Gravity (28%) and in Russia it finished with an estimated $4.9 million, on par with Mad Max: Fury Road. Additional openings include France ($3.6M), Germany ($3.3M), Spain ($2.6M), Italy ($2.5M), Brazil ($1.8M) and Mexico ($1.6M).

Blade Runner will open in South Korea next week followed by an October 27 opening in Japan and a November 10 opening in China.

In second place is Fox‘s The Mountain Between Us, finishing with an estimated $10.1 million. Starring Kate Winslet and Idris Elba, the film also received an “A-” CinemaScore and its audience was broken down 58% female vs. 42% male with 81% of the total audience coming in over the age of 25. Internationally, Mountain Between Us brought in $3.6 million from 11 markets for a $13.7 million global debut.

Third place belongs to Warner Bros. and New Line‘s It, finishing with an estimated $9.65 million, pushing its domestic total to $304.9 million. Additionally, the film added another $19.8 million internationally, taking its overseas total to $298.8 million making it the largest international horror release of all-time and taking its global cume to a massive $603.7 million.

While Friday estimates suggested Lionsgate and Hasbro‘s My Little Pony may top $10 million, things settled down a bit over Saturday and Sunday resulting in an estimated $8.8 million debut and a fourth place finish. Like Blade Runner and Mountain Between Us, the film received an “A-” CinemaScore and saw an audience breakdown that was 59% female vs. 41% male, of which 51% of the total audience was over the age of 25.

Internationally, My Little Pony debuted in 49 markets and brought in a meager $3.8 million led by an estimated $676,000 in Germany. Upcoming markets include Russia (10/12), France (10/18) and the UK (10/20) over the following weeks.

Rounding out the top five is Fox‘s Kingsman: The Golden Circle began its third week in release with an estimated $8.1 million, taking its domestic cume just shy of $80 million.

Outside the top five, Focus Features‘s Victoria and Abdul expanded into 732 theaters (+655) and delivered strong results, finishing with an estimated $4.1 million. The film is also playing in 32 international markets where it brought in an additional $3 million this weekend bringing its overseas total to $25 million for a global tally just shy of $31 million.

Outside the top ten, Purdie‘s release of The Stray, in conjunction with Quality Flix, brought in an estimated $550,000 from 640 locations for a disappointing $859 per theater average.

On that note, the theater average champ of the weekend is A24‘s release of The Florida Project, which debuted with a healthy $152,622 from just four theaters in New York and Los Angeles for a $38,336 per theater average. With an eye on contending at this year’s Oscars, the film will roll out into top markets next weekend ahead of a nationwide expansion on October 27.

Additional limited releases this weekend include Cohen Media‘s Faces Places, which brought in an estimated $29,807 from five locations ($5,961 PTA); Chavela brought in an estimated $20,500 from four theaters ($5,125 PTA); Dina from The Orchard, which finished with an estimated $8,035 from one theater; and IFC‘s Walking Out opened in two theaters with an estimated $5,236.

Next weekend will see the release of Universal and Blumhouse‘s Happy Death Day into 3,000+ theaters, STX‘s release of The Foreigner, Open Road‘s Marshall in moderate release and Annapurna will deliver Professor Marston & the Wonder Women.

via Box Office Mojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Blade Runner 2049	$31.5M	$31.5M	1
	The Mountain Between Us	$10.1M	$10.1M	1
	It	$9.7M	$304.9M	5
	My Little Pony: The Movie	$8.8M	$8.8M	1
	Kingsman: The Golden Circle	$8.1M	$80.0M	3
	American Made	$8.1M	$30.4M	2
	The LEGO Ninjago Movie	$6.8M	$43.8M	3
	Victoria and Abdul	$4.1M	$6.0M	3
	Flatliners	$3.8M	$12.3M	2
	Battle of the Sexes	$2.4M	$7.7M	3

 

‘It’ Narrowly Beats ‘American Made’ to the Top Spot as ‘Flatliners’ flops at the BO!!

As a record September comes to an end, it’s a race for number one with three films separated by a mere $310k. Based on estimates, it’s a return to #1 for WB and New Line‘s It, but hot on its heels is Universal‘s American Made along with Fox‘s Kingsman: The Golden Circle. Otherwise, Sony‘s Flatliners debuted on life support, Novus‘s Til Death Do Us Part found its way into the top ten and Pure Flix‘s A Question of Faith finished on the outside looking in.

With just over $300k separating number one and number three on this weekend’s box office chart, first place currently belongs to WB and New Line‘s It, which is back on top after last weekend saw the killer clown finish in the runner up position. With an estimated $17.3 million, the record-breaking horror has now topped $291 million domestically and will spend Sunday enjoying its third weekend out of four atop the weekend box office as we wait for weekend actuals to arrive on Monday afternoon.

It‘s international performance also continues to impress as it debuted in Germany this weekend with an estimated $11.6 million, the market’s largest opening ever for a horror film. Overall, the film brought in an estimated $35.6 million overseas this weekend bringing its international cume to $262 million for a $553.1 million global tally.

Currently in second place is Universal‘s release of American Made starring Tom Cruise and directed by Doug Liman. The R-rated adult-targeted film brought in an estimated $17.01 million from 3,024 theaters and received a “B+” CinemaScore from opening day audiences . Overall, the film’s audience was 55% male vs. 45% female, of which 56% were over the age of 30. For Cruise, the debut is ~$2 million better than Jack Reacher‘s opening in December 2012 before it went on to gross over $80 million. That said, given the amount of competition surrounding American Made, legs as long as Reacher‘s seem unlikely as we expect a domestic run finishing somewhere around $55 million.

Internationally, American Made first started playing at the end of August and has since grossed $64.7 million, which includes an additional $3.8 million this weekend. The film has yet to debut in Russia and Ukraine where it will open on October 12 followed by an October 21 release in Japan and a November 2 opening in Argentina.

And in third by a hair is Fox‘s Kingsman: The Golden Circle, which dropped 56.4% in its second weekend for a $17 million finish. The film’s domestic cume now stands at $66.7 million, which means it is now pacing behind the original film after ten days in release, rather than ahead as Mojo forecasted heading into the weekend.

Golden Circle continues a strong performance overseas bring in over $50 million this weekend from 77 markets pushing its international cume to $126 million for a global tally reaching $192.9 million, outpacing the original film by 53% in the same markets at current exchange rates. Still to come, Golden Circle will open in France and Argentina in mid-October, in China on October 20 and not in Japan until January 5.

Also in its sophomore session, WB‘s The LEGO Ninjago Movie dropped 41.3% in its second weekend for an estimated $12 million. The third film in the LEGO franchise now stands at $35.5 million domestically, pacing well behind its predecessors. Internationally the film brought in an estimated $10.6 million this weekend from 56 markets for an international total of just $22.7 million for a global cume toping $58 million.

Rounding out the top five is Sony‘s Flatliners, a $19 million remake of the 1990 film, and it struggled this weekend. Heading into release Sony anticipated a conservative, $7-8 million opening of which the film failed to meet, delivering an estimated $6.7 million three-day, more than $3 million shy of the now 27 year-old original. Audiences responded with a “B-” CinemaScore and of that audience, it was split 49% male vs. 51% female with 50% coming in under the age of 25. The film kicked off its overseas rollout in 21 markets, bringing in an estimated $3.1 million.

Landing in sixth position is Fox Searchlight‘s Battle of the Sexes, which expanded nationwide this weekend into 1,213 theaters (+1,192) and brought in an estimated $3.4 million. The performance is quite a bit below Mojo‘s $5 million forecast, but with an “A” CinemaScore and strong reviews perhaps its continued expansion next weekend into 1,900+ theaters will help it find a larger audience.

The last of the weekend’s new releases to make it into the top ten is Novus‘s ‘Til Death Do Us Part, which delivered an estimated $1.56 million from 562 theaters for a ninth place finish.

Outside the top ten, Pure Flix‘s A Question of Faith brought in an estimated $1.05 million from 661 theaters. This is a rather soft start based on the pre-release data we were looking at as we expected a debut at least $500k higher.

Finishing in the twelfth slot is Universal‘s Victoria and Abdul, bringing in an estimated $1.03 million from just 77 locations ($13,393 PTA). The film will look for a spot in the top ten next weekend as it expands nationwide into over 750 theaters.

In limited release, Fox International‘s Judwaa 2 brought in an estimated $605,000 from 192 theaters ($3,151 PTA); Abramorama‘s Pearl Jam – Let’s Play Two finished with an estimated $55,274 from five locations ($11,055 PTA); Sony Classics‘ Mark Felt opened with $35,138 from five theaters ($7,028 PTA); Te Ata from Paladin opened with an estimated $28,640 from 14 theaters ($2,046 PTA); IFC‘s Take Every Wave opened with $13,819 from one theater; and Magnolia‘s Lucky brought in $9,200 from five theaters ($1,840 PTA).

Overall, the weekend helped contribute to a massive September at the box office led by It, which delivered over 40% of the month’s record $694.9 million. The total gross tops the previous record of $626.4 million brought in over the course of September 2015 by almost $70 million. September also helped give 2017 a little jolt in the right direction following a disappointing August, which ended with the year down 6.3% compared to 2016. As of the end of September, 2017 now trails 2016 by just 4.6%.

Next weekend Warner Bros. will release Blade Runner 2049 into over 3,900 locations, Fox will debut The Mountain Between Us in ~2,900 theaters, Lionsgate opens My Little Pony into 2,500 locations and Quality Flix will release The Stray in ~630 theaters.

via Box Office Mojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	It	$17.3M	$291.2M	4
	American Made	$17.0M	$17.0M	1
	Kingsman: The Golden Circle	$17.0M	$66.7M	2
	The LEGO Ninjago Movie	$12.0M	$35.6M	2
	Flatliners	$6.7M	$6.7M	1
	Battle of the Sexes	$3.4M	$4.1M	2
	American Assassin	$3.3M	$31.9M	3
	Home Again	$1.8M	$25.2M	4
	Til Death Do Us Part	$1.6M	$1.6M	1
	Mother!	$1.5M	$16.3M	3

‘It’ Beats ‘The Exorcist’ to Become the Highest-Grossing Horror Movie of All Time!!

Horror blockbuster “It” has turned into a box office monster, crossing the $500 million milestone in worldwide grosses — making it officially the top horror film of all time.

Warner Bros. announced Thursday that “It” has eclipsed the 44-year record belonging to “The Exorcist” as the top grosser among horror films with $441 million. The studio noted that record for “The Exorcist” had been one of the longest-held records in cinema history.

“It” scored the biggest opening weekend ever for a horror film in more than 30 markets, including the U.K., Russia, Brazil, Mexico, and Australia. In 17 of those territories, including the U.K., Russia, and Australia, “It” has already become the top-grossing horror film of all time. The film has plenty of gas in the tank, too, as it has yet to open in Germany, Italy, and Japan.

Domestically, “It” currently stands at $272 million at the U.S. box office as of Sept 27. Top foreign markets are the U.K. at $35 million and Mexico at $21 million.

“Crossing $500 million is rarified air for any film, but for a horror film it is history-making, and we could not be prouder,” said Sue Kroll, president of worldwide marketing and distribution at Warner Bros.

“The filmmakers and cast did more than make a box office hit; they created a communal, must-see moviegoing event that has reverberated around the globe and is still going strong,” she added. “We congratulate Andy Muschietti, the extraordinary producing team, and everyone involved in ‘It’ on reaching this amazing milestone.”

New Line and Warner Bros. have set the “It” sequel for release on Sept. 6, 2019. The studio had revealed earlier this month that Gary Dauberman was working on the script.

Muschietti, who directed “It,” is expected to return for the second installment. Producers Barbara Muschietti, Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Seth Grahame-Smith, and David Katzenberg are believed to be back as well.

Stephen King’s 1986 novel focuses on a group of friends in a fictional Maine community that battles the small town’s demon as kids, and then again as adults. The blockbuster movie, which opened Sept. 8, centers on the children, while the upcoming film will follow them into adulthood.

The R-rated pic has brought a surge in moviegoing after a dismal August. Made for about $35 million, “It” stars Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise, along with Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, Wyatt Oleff, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Dylan Grazer, Nicholas Hamilton, Jaeden Lieberher, and Jackson Robert Scott.

 

via Variety

 

‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Is Now the Highest-Grossing Superhero Movie of 2017!!!

In the battle for superhero supremacy, Spider-Man is back on top—for 2017 at least. Sony Pictures teamed up with Marvel Studios to reboot its sole comic book property in the form of Spider-Man: Homecoming, and the film was an unqualified success. Maybe most impressively, the redo scored some seriously positive notices from critics, which then boosted its box office legs as the film continued to perform weeks after release.

And now, two and a half months after release, Spider-Man: Homecoming has crossed the $874 million mark at the worldwide box office to become the highest grossing superhero movie of 2017. That’s an incredibly impressive high mark, and one that definitely wasn’t guaranteed. Indeed, back in August as the film was winding down its domestic run, it was trailing behind every other entry in the Spider-Man franchise at the worldwide box office. But now, the pic is second only to Spider-Man 3, which grossed $890.8 million in its run.

So what changed? Well, Homecoming has been performing incredibly well overseas. It has grossed $69.2 million since opening in China, $7.1 million in Japan, and a whopping $25.4 million in South Korea. Those are strong numbers, and it’s no wonder Sony and Marvel are already hard at work on getting Spider-Man: Homecoming 2 ready for release in 2019.

Domestically, Homecoming is at $331.8 million and still lags behind Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ($389M) and Wonder Woman ($411M). It’s gonna be a stretch to surpass either of those, but it does have considerable bragging rights on the worldwide stage and is great news for Sony, which really needed this film to reinvigorate the franchise.

In the league of Spider-Man movies, Homecoming is still behind Sam Raimi’s original trilogy, but it may be able to squeak past Spider-Man 3. Regardless, that worldwide number is what’s important to Sony, and they’re very, very happy.

 

via Collider

 

‘Kingsman 2’ Finishes #1 while ‘The LEGO Ninjago Film’ Disappoints as September Grosses Near Record High at the BO!!

The weekend’s new releases fell shy of Mojo‘s weekend forecast, but Kingsman: The Golden Circle still managed to debut larger than the original, finishing in the #1 spot. Unfortunately, The LEGO Ninjago Film fell well short of expectations as did Friend Request, which delivered a mere $2.4 million opening. There were, however, some bright spots among limited release titles as Battle of the Sexes and Victoria and Abdul delivered strong opening results as September’s calendar grosses continue to pace toward record heights.

Topping the box office was Fox‘s Kingsman: The Golden Circle, delivering an estimated $39 million from 4,003 theaters. The opening improves on the $36.2 million opening for the first film, but the film’s performance over the next couple of weeks will tell the true story. The first Kingsman turned its $36 million debut into a $128 million domestic run, a 3.54x multiplier. Should Golden Circle follow suit we’re talking about a $138+ million domestic run, which would surely satisfy the folks at Fox if it can also match the first film’s $286 million performance overseas.

As for that international performance, the film brought in an estimated $61.2 million from 55 overseas territories, a 63% improvement compared to the first film in the same suite of markets at current exchange rates. The performance was led by a $11.1 million debut in the U.K. nearly doubling the $6.4 million opening for the original followed by Russia ($6m), Taiwan ($4.8m), Australia ($4.4m), Indonesia ($3.3m) and Malaysia ($2.8m). The film has thus far debuted in less than half of the international marketplace with openings in South Korea (9/27), France (10/11), China (10/20) and Japan (1/5) yet to come.

Quickly circling back to its domestic prospects, Golden Circle received a “B+” CinemaScore from opening day audiences, which is on par with the original. The film played to an audience that was 58% male vs. 42% female, of which 65% of the audience was 25 years or older and 60% were between the ages of 18 and 34.

In second place we find Warner Bros. and New Line‘s hit horror It, which added an estimated $30 million to its domestic total, making it the highest grossing R-rated horror of all-time (not adjusted for inflation) with $266.3 million, topping The Exorcist ($232.9m). Additionally, the film brought in another $38.3 million internationally from 59 markets bringing its international cume to $211.7 million for a global haul of $478 million.

WB‘s The LEGO Ninjago Movie entered the weekend with industry expectations targeting a $27-32 million opening. Mojo‘s forecast was even more bullish, anticipating a $35 million debut for the third film in the expanding franchise. Unfortunately, the film only managed an estimated $21.2 million from 4,047 theaters, the lowest opening for the franchise by a wide margin. Earlier this year The LEGO Batman Movie also underperformed against expectations, though not by as wide a margin. Of course, as was mentioned in our weekend forecast, the Ninjago Movie targeted the smallest audience segment yet for the LEGO series, appealing mostly to young boys while the original LEGO Movie appealed to a much wider demographic and the LEGO Batman Movie even segmented that out a bit by comparison.

In terms of the breakdown, Ninjago played to an audience that was 52% male vs. 48% female, of which the males gave the film an “A-” CinemaScore vs. a “B” from women, averaging out to a “B+” overall. This is the lowest score for any of the films in the franchise following LEGO’s “A” and LEGO Batman‘s “A-“. As for that male-to-female breakdown, LEGO Batman was the exact opposite, playing to an audience that was 48% male vs. 52% female. Overall, 46% of the audience was under the age of 18 years old.

Internationally, Ninjago brought in an estimated $10.5 million from 37 markets. Russia led the way with a $1.7 million debut followed by Germany ($1.4m), Poland ($803k), Australia ($800k) and Spain ($604k). While we can’t make a complete apples-to-apples comparison, those debuts are either below or well below the debuts for the previous LEGO movies in the same markets. Coming up, Ninjago will open in South Korea, Brazil and Mexico next week followed by openings in France, Italy and UK opening in October.

Lionsgate and CBS Films‘s American Assassin delivered a $6.25 million second weekend performance, dropping a hefty 58% bringing its domestic cume to $26.2 million. The film finished in fourth place followed by Reese Witherspoon‘s Home Again, which dipped just 36% in its third weekend with an estimated $3.3 million for a domestic cume now totaling $22.3 million.

Outside the top five, Darren Aronofsky‘s mother! dropped 57% after its disappointing debut last weekend, bringing in an estimated $3.26 million for a domestic cume now totaling $13.4 million.

In sixth is where we find the rough, $2.4 million opening for Entertainment Studios‘ Friend Request. Pre-weekend expectations from the studio were around $8-10 million, but the signals Mojo most often trusts for its forecasts were pointing to a debut much lower and to see it come in even below our $3.5 million forecast is disappointing. Based on the film’s $110k from Thursday previews we drew a comparison to last December’s Incarnate, which also opened with $2.5 million before going on to gross just under $5 million domestically. The film received a “C+” CinemaScore.

Finishing in ninth is Roadside‘s Stronger, which banked heavily on the film’s strong reviews coming out of the Toronto International Film Festival as it debuted in 574 locations with very little marketing. The result was a $1.75 million debut with the top performing theaters located in Boston, which is no surprise given the subject matter. The film received an “A-” CinemaScore and played to an audience that was 65% female vs. 35% male. The film is expected to add ~80 theaters or so next weekend, banking on word of mouth and the strong reviews which led to its 76 Metacritic score.

Elsewhere, finishing outside of the top ten for the first time since its debut twelve weeks ago, Spider-Man: Homecoming brought in an estimated $1.1 million as its domestic cume now stands at $331.9 million. The film also brought in another $6 million internationally, pushing its international cume to $542.5 million for a global tally just shy of $875 million making it the highest grossing worldwide superhero release of 2017 so far, topping Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ($863.4m) and Wonder Woman ($819.6m).

Just behind Spider-Man, in twelfth position, was Annapurna‘s expansion of Amazon Studios‘ Brad’s Status, which expanded into 453 theaters (+449) this weekend and brought in an estimated $1 million for a $2,210 per theater average.

In limited release, Fox Searchlight‘s Battle of the Sexes delivered an estimated $525,000 from 21 theaters in NY and LA, Toronto, Phoenix, San Francisco, Chicago and DC for a strong $25,000 per theater average. The film will expand into 60 markets nationwide next weekend, targeting 1,100-1,200 theaters

Focus Features’ release of Victoria and Abdul was the per-theater champion of the weekend, bringing in a strong $152,000 from four theaters in New York and Los Angeles for a $38,000 per theater average. The film will be adding 75 new theaters next week as it expands into the top 25 markets.

Also in limited release, Good Deed‘s Loving Vincent brought in an estimated $24,304 from one theater in New York City and will open in Los Angeles next weekend followed by a national expansion throughout October and into November. Additionally, Independent‘s Unrest opened wit $10,700 from one theater and Bobbi Jene from Oscilloscope opened with an estimated $7,500 after opening exclusively at New York’s Quad Cinema, the film expands to Los Angeles on October 6.

Overall, September grosses are on a record pace, totaling $594.7 million so far, $138.5 million ahead of where September 2015 was at the same point before it went on to gross a record $626.4 million for the month. Yearly grosses are also improving after a disastrous August, with 2017 now pacing -4.7% off 2016, improving on the -6.3% pace for the year at the end of August.

Next weekend sees the release of Universal‘s American Made starring Tom Cruise, Sony‘s remake of Flatliners, Pure Flix will release A Question of Faith and Novus is releasing Til Death Do Us Part nationwide.

via Box Office Mojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Kingsman: The Golden Circle	$39.0M	$39.0M	1
	It	$29.8M	$266.1M	3
	The LEGO Ninjago Movie	$20.4M	$20.4M	1
	American Assassin	$6.3M	$26.2M	2
	Mother!	$3.3M	$13.5M	2
	Home Again	$3.2M	$22.3M	3
	Friend Request	$2.0M	$2.0M	1
	Stronger	$1.6M	$1.6M	1
	The Hitman’s Bodyguard	$1.6M	$73.4M	6
	Wind River	$1.3M	$31.6M	8

‘IT’ Officially the Highest-Grossing R-Rated Horror Movie in the U.S. Ever!!!

After only being in theaters for two weeks, IT has already become the highest-grossing R-rated horror picture ever, as far as domestic ticket sales go. Let that sink in for a moment. The previous R-rated horror-movie record-holder? A little movie by the name of The Exorcist. The 1973 horror hit directed by William Friedkin and written by William Peter Blatty was an absolute cultural phenomenon at the time of its release. While The Exorcist is an amazing film in its own right, positive buzz in a pre-internet world was buoyed by stories of audience members fainting, crying, and having intense emotional reactions to the film’s more traumatizing moments. People needed to experience that for themselves rather than hear about it second-hand.

IT is a cultural force of a different color. It’s R-rated for good reason, but it’s nowhere near as button-pushy as The Exorcist was when it debuted and remains to this day. However, IT is an easier box-office boom because of its relatively less intense experience; it’s something audiences can revisit again and again for the thrills and chills without the uncomfortable existential conflict posed by a film like The Exorcist. In other words, IT is more marketable, though it’s 100% earned every penny it makes.

That’s a lot of pennies, by the way. Domestically, as Variety reports, it stands at $236.3 million before heading into this weekend; The Exorcist‘s domestic tally topped out at $232.9 million. Now, compared to 1973 dollars, The Exorcist‘s take in the U.S. would be a whopping $983.2 million, if Box Office Mojo’s adjustments are correct; that’s nuts. IT isn’t going to touch that. However, the worldwide total for The Exorcist stands at $441.3 million in its unadjusted state, a number that isn’t far ahead of IT‘s current tally of $404.3 million. Expect that record to fall soon, if not this weekend.

Box office competition in this frame includes the horror film Friend Request, the action-heavy sequel Kingsman: The Golden Circle, and the family-friendly animated flick The LEGO Ninjago Movie. This weekend is the biggest test for IT until Blade Runner 2049 opens October 6th, but I expect big returns for the Stephen King adaptation all the way through the Halloween holiday this season.

via Collider

 

‘It’ Remains #1 as ‘American Assassin’ Opens Well while ‘Mother!’ Flops at the BO!!

After just eight days in release, WB and New Line‘s It became the highest grossing September release of all-time, two days later it added another $40 million to that total for an impressive $60 million second weekend and nearly $220 million in just ten days. The horror film’s performance vastly overshadowed the weekend’s two new wide releases that saw Lionsgate and CBS Films‘s American Assassin deliver respectable results in second place while Paramount‘s release of Darren Aronofsky‘s mother! suffered greatly, finishing in third and receiving a disastrous “F” CinemaScore from opening day audiences.

With an estimated $60 million this weekend, WB and New Line‘s It brought its domestic cume to $218.7 million after just ten days in release. As already mentioned, that makes it the largest September release ever, topping 1986’s Crocodile Dundee ($174.8m). That number, of course, is not adjusted for inflation. Adjusted for inflation, however, It still finishes within the top ten and would likely finish around third after it soon tops $300 million domestically. The film is now just $14.2 million shy of becoming the largest R-rated horror film of all-time as it will soon top The Exorcist‘s $232.9 million domestic total (not adjusted for inflation).

The film is also delivering big numbers internationally. It opened in ten more overseas markets this weekend for a total of 56 where it grossed an estimated $60.3 million for an international cume that currently stands at $152.6 million for a global tally north of $370 million. The weekend included a $13.8 million opening in Mexico, the largest horror opening ever in the market and the third largest for a WB feature. It also makes Mexico the second highest grossing market for It after just three days. The top market for the film is the U.K. where it currently holds an estimated $27.7 million after remaining #1 in the market for a second weekend in a row with an estimated $8.2 million.

In second place is Lionsgate’s release of CBS Films‘s American Assassin, which brought in an estimated $14.8 million from 3,154 locations, which puts it just ahead of Mojo‘s weekend forecast. It’s a decent debut for the film, which also received a “B+” CinemaScore from opening day audiences of which 55% were male vs. 45% female with 29% of the overall audience coming in under the age of 35.

American Assassin also opened in 41 markets internationally where it grossed an estimated $6.2 million with upcoming releases in major markets such as France (9/20), Brazil (9/21), Mexico (9/22), Russia (9/28), Germany (10/12), Spain (11/3) and Italy (11/23) on the horizon.

Third place went to Darren Aronofsky‘s mother!, which not only opened with a supremely disappointing $7.5 million from 2,368 locations, but became one of only 19 films to ever receive an “F” CinemaScore suggesting a 60+% drop next weekend and a short-lived theatrical experience. The overall audience was 44% male vs. 56% female, of which 18% were under the age of 25. For star Jennifer Lawrence this is her worst wide debut ever, falling almost $5 million shy of her much-maligned September 2012 thriller House at the End of the Street, which debuted with $12.2 million despite an 11% rating on RottenTomatoes compared to the 68% rating for mother!

At this point the best comparison is likely 2009’s The Box, which also debuted with $7.5 million and received an “F” CinemaScore. That film went on to gross $15 million domestically.

Internationally, mother! opened in 16 markets where it brought in an estimated $6 million including $1.3 million in France, $1.1 million in both the UK and Russia, $799k in Germany and $584k in Australia. Upcoming releases included Brazil (9/21), Mexico (9/22), Italy (9/28), Spain (9/29), Korea (10/19) and Japan (1/19).

Fourth place went to Reese Witherspoon‘s Home Again, delivering a better than expected hold, dropping 38% for an estimated $5.3 million second weekend, bringing the film’s domestic cume to $17.1 million.

Rounding out the top five was another Lionsgate hitman feature, this one The Hitman’s Bodyguard, which has held on well over five weeks in release. This weekend it dipped just 26% and delivered an estimated $3.55 million as the $30 million production has now topped $70.3 million domestically.

Elsewhere, WB and New Line continue to hold on well with Annabelle: Creation, which is now just $100k shy of becoming the only August 2017 release to top $100 million domestically. The fourth film in the Conjuring franchise added an estimated $2.6 million this weekend for a domestic cume of $99.9 million. Added to an international total of $191.2 million, the film’s global tally is nearing $300 million.

Highlights on the international front include Fox‘s release of War for the Planet of the Apes in China, which delivered an estimated $62.3 million, the largest opening for a Fox title ever in the market. The debut is a 42% improvement on the opening for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, though War, unfortunately, remains more than $275 million behind the $710.6 million global tally for Dawn and almost $50 million behind the $481.8 million worldwide run for Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

Fox also saw Alien: Covenant launch in its final international market with a $2.6 million debut in Japan bringing the film’s international cume to $162 million. Covenant’s $236.3 global total ranks it as the second largest film in the Alien franchise globally, though it remains $167.1 million behind Prometheus.

Topping the weekend’s limited releases is Annapurna‘s release of Amazon‘s Brad’s Status, which debuted in four theaters with an estimated $100,179 ($25,045 PTA). The film will expand into ~450 locations next weekend.

Additionally, Ex Libris brought in an estimated $11,175 from one location; Cohen Media‘s release of Red Trees opened with an estimated $10,012 from nine locations ($1,112 PTA); Music Box‘s Manolo opened with $7,440 from three theaters ($2,480 PTA); FilmRise‘s release of Nic Cage‘s Vengeance: A Love Story opened in nine theaters with $5,000 ($556 PTA); and FilmRises‘s Dayveon opened with $2,000 in three theaters ($667 PTA).

Next weekend Fox will debut the sequel Kingsman The Golden Circle into ~3,900 theaters and Warner Bros. will debut The LEGO Ninjago Movie into a similar number of locations while Entertainment Studios hopes to find some room on horror fan calendars with Friend Request in hopes the majority of them have had their fill with It.

via BoxOfficeMojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	It	$60.1M	$218.8M	2
	American Assassin	$14.8M	$14.8M	1
	Mother!	$7.5M	$7.5M	1
	Home Again	$5.2M	$17.0M	2
	The Hitman’s Bodyguard	$3.6M	$70.4M	5
	Wind River	$2.6M	$29.1M	7
	Annabelle: Creation	$2.4M	$99.7M	6
	Ballerina	$2.1M	$18.7M	4
	Spider-Man: Homecoming	$1.9M	$330.3M	11
	Dunkirk	$1.3M	$185.1M	9

‘Dunkirk’ Soars Past $500 Million at the Worldwide Box Office!!!

If you need more evidence that Christopher Nolan is the most bankable director working today, look no further than the box office of Dunkirk. Here’s a plot-light World War II movie with no major movie stars in leading roles and no sci-fi or known IPhook, and yet it’s now grossed over $500 million at the box office. Arguably, it hit that number based on Nolan’s name more than any other thing, and indeed this purely experiential cinema experience is a bona fide hit.

While Dunkirk’s $500 million is still a ways off from the >$800 million worldwide grosses of superhero blockbusters like Wonder Woman, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and Spider-Man: Homecoming, it’s now outgrossed Cars 3, The LEGO Batman Movie, War for the Planet of the Apes, and Alien: Covenant. Moreover, it’s nipping at the heels of Kong: Skull Island’s $566 million, well in range of Logan’s $616 million total, and shockingly close to Transformers: The Last Knight’s $605 million.

All of this is made even more impressive by the fact that Nolan scaled down the budget of Dunkirk to $100 million, which is downright tiny by current blockbuster standards. That means this is a major money maker for Warner Bros., who is no doubt investing that coin back into the film’s awards campaign as they’ve got high hopes to land Nolan his first ever Best Director Oscar nomination.

Domestically Dunkirk currently stands at $183 million and ranks at #8 on the 2017 list, just above The LEGO Batman Movie and just behind The Fate of the Furious. As for how the film’s worldwide total stacks up against Nolan’s other films, here’s the complete and current ranking as of today.

1. The Dark Knight Rises – $1,084,939,099
2. The Dark Knight – $1,004,558,444
3. Inception – $825,532,764
4. Interstellar – $675,120,017
5. Dunkirk – $500,000,000
6. Batman Begins – $374,218,673
7. Insomnia – $113,714,830
8. The Prestige – $109,676,311
9. Memento – $39,723,096
10. Following – $48,482

 

via Collider

 

‘It’ Devours Competition with Record-Breaking $117 Million Opening at the BO!!

With a monster, $117 million opening weekend Warner Bros. and New Line‘s It has delivered a record-breaking opening, breathing a little life back into the slumping domestic box office. The film has claimed the largest September opening, largest Fall opening, the largest opening for an R-rated horror film, not to mention the largest opening weekend for a horror film of any MPAA rating, and tops Open Road‘s new release Home Again in second place by nearly $110 million. Overall, the film accounted for more than 75% of the combined gross for the weekend’s top twelve, and we’ve only just begun.

With an estimated $117 million, WB and New Line‘s It, an adaptation of the acclaimed Stephen King novel, claimed the weekend’s #1 spot with ease, besting Open Road‘s new release of Home Again in second place by nearly $110 million, the fifth largest gap between first and second place all-time. The film also dusted the previous opening weekend record for an R-rated horror film, more than doubling Paranormal Activity 3‘s previous record of $52.5 million. In fact, It is already the fifth highest grossing R-rated horror film all-time after just three days in release.

The horror film’s debut was the widest opening ever for an R-rated film and as such delivered the second largest opening for an R-rated movie behind Deadpool‘s $132.4 million opening last February. Additionally, the previous opening weekend record for September was held by Hotel Transylvania 2 with $48.5 million and the previous Fall opening weekend record was Gravity‘s $55.7 million, neither of which stood a chance against It and combined don’t even come within $10 million.

It should be mentioned that rival estimates put It‘s opening over $120 million and some closer to $125 million. One obvious reason for the disparity has to do with Hurricane Irma hitting Florida this weekend where ~175 theaters are closed. The state typically represents 5.5-6.5% of the domestic gross each weekend.

It received a “B+” CinemaScore, which, for comparison, is below the “A-” the first two Conjuring films received and ahead of both Annabelle features. The audience was split nearly down the middle, playing 51% female vs. 49% male with 10% of the audience under the age of 18, of which scored the film an “A-“. Overall 65% of the audience was over the age of 25.

Internationally, It brought in an estimated $62 million from 46 markets for a $179 million global debut. The overseas numbers include the largest opening weekend for a horror film in the U.K. ($12.3m), Russia ($6.7m), Australia ($5.9m), Brazil ($5.6m), Netherlands ($1.4m) and Poland ($1.15m). Upcoming releases include openings in The next key markets to open include Sweden and Mexico next week followed by France (Sep 20), Argentina (Sep 21), Germany (Sep 28) and Italy (Oct 19).

In second place is Open Road‘s Home Again, which brought in an estimated $9 million from 2,940 locations. The debut is just a shade ahead of Mojo‘s pre-weekend comparison to Bridget Jones’s Baby, which opened with $8.6 million last September. Home Again scored a “B” CinemaScore from opening day audiences.

Lionsgate‘s The Hitman’s Bodyguard finished in third with an estimated $4.85 million, down 54% from last weekend. The film’s domestic cume now stands just shy of $65 million.

Warner Bros. and New Line also claimed fourth place on this weekend’s chart with Annabelle: Creation now in its fifth week of release. Dropping 47% this weekend the film delivered an estimated $4 million as its domestic cume climbs to $96.2 million, soon to become the only August 2017 release to cross $100 million domestically.

Rounding out the top five is the Weinstein Co.’s Wind River. The film dropped 49% compared to last weekend, finishing with an estimated $3.2 million for a domestic cume topping $25 million.

Elsewhere, Spider-Man: Homecoming remains in the top ten in its tenth weekend in release with a domestic cume that now totals $327.7 million. The film’s international cume got a big bump this weekend as it opened in China with an estimated $70.8 million, pushing its international total to $495.3 million. The film’s worldwide total now stands at $823 million, making it the second largest Spider-Man release all-time behind Spider-Man 3 which finished with $890.9 million globally back in 2007.

Speaking of international totals, Universal and Illumination‘s Despicable Me 3 entered the weekend as the third 2017 release to top $1 billion worldwide. The film added another $6.2 million to that international total as its current worldwide cume reaches $1.006 billion, the third largest worldwide release of 2017.

WB‘s Wonder Woman brought in an estimated $662k this weekend and it has now crossed $410 million domestically, enough to become the fifth largest superhero release of all-time, pushing Iron Man 3 to sixth with $409 million.

In limited release IFC‘s Rebel in the Rye opened with $44,280 from four theaters ($11,070 PTA); China Lion‘s Twenty Two brought in an estimated $20k from 11 locations ($1,818 PTA); and The Orchard‘s Trophy opened with $3,474 in one theater.

Next weekend will be interesting as Darren Aronofsky‘s thriller mother! hits ~2,500 theaters as both it and It hope to reside alongside one another in harmony. Lionsgate will release American Assassin in over 3,000 locations and Open Road will debut All I See is You.

via BoxOfficeMojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	It	$117.2M	$117.2M	1
	Home Again	$9.0M	$9.0M	1
	The Hitman’s Bodyguard	$4.9M	$64.9M	4
	Annabelle: Creation	$4.0M	$96.3M	5
	Wind River	$3.2M	$25.0M	6
	Ballerina	$2.5M	$15.9M	3
	Spider-Man: Homecoming	$2.0M	$327.7M	10
	Dunkirk	$2.0M	$183.1M	8
	Logan Lucky	$1.8M	$25.2M	4
	The Emoji Movie	$1.1M	$82.5M	7

With $30 Million Debut in China, ‘Dunkirk’ Wins at the International BO!!!

While the domestic box office is experiencing the slowest Labor Day weekend in recent history, the conclusion of China’s summer blackout period continues to assist Hollywood films.

This weekend, Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk” opened in the Middle Kingdom, and was pushed to the top of the international charts. From China alone the Warner Bros. release is earning $30 million for the three-day weekend, and it is making $36.5 million from all 60 international markets. That puts the World War II epic at $280 million internationally, and 458.8 million worldwide.

Luc Besson’s big-budget sci-fi flick “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets” is taking in $11.3 million from 25 territories abroad. Last weekend it led the international charts after it opening in China. The major market was seen as “Valerian’s” last hope at turning a profit, and as grosses slip, that seems very unlikely.

Otherwise, the rest of the films are tallying less than $10 million from the foreign market. “Despicable Me 3” is picking up an additional $9.9 million, raising its global total to $994 million. Japanese release “Gintama” is taking in $9.5 million from seven territories. And “American Made” starring Tom Cruise is earning $9.1 million from 35 territories — it now has $19.8 million in box office grosses so far ahead of its late September domestic release.

via Variety

 

Summer 2017 Closes with the Worst Labor Day Weekend in 17 Years at the BO!!

Thanks to some stronger-than-expected performances, this weekend ended up better than Mojo‘s forecast and yet, this is still the worst three-day Labor Day weekend in twelve years. The top twelve grossed a combined $51.5 million and you have to go back to 2000, when the top twelve grossed a combined $47 million, to find a worse performance.

That said, both The Hitman’s Bodyguard and Annabelle: Creation delivered strong performances to top the weekend. In fact, only four films in the top ten saw any kind of drop compared to last weekend and those drops were minimal with Annabelle‘s 5% drop being the largest within the top ten. Unfortunately the weekend’s new releases didn’t make much of a dent with Lionsgate‘s Hazlo Como Hombre and Weinstein‘s Tulip Fever failing to crack the top twenty.

Lionsgate‘s The Hitman’s Bodyguard finished atop the weekend chart for a third straight weekend in a row with an estimated $10.25 million. This matches the film’s performance last weekend and puts it on track for a four-day weekend around $13 million, pushing toward a $57.5 million domestic gross.

In second, Warner Bros. and New Line may be prepping for next weekend’s release of It, which is expected to smash September opening weekend record, but before that film arrives the studios continue to see success with Annabelle: Creation, the fourth installment in The Conjuring franchise. The chiller brought in an estimated $7.3 million this weekend, pushing its domestic cume just shy of $90 million, a milestone it will cross following tomorrow’s performance as it’s expected to deliver around $8.5 million for the four-day weekend. With this weekend’s performance it has also past the $84.2 million domestic performance of its predecessor and just might manage to hit $100 million domestically. Should that happen it would be the only one of this past August’s releases to reach that mark.

Third place belongs to the Weinstein‘s Wind River, which added another 507 theaters this weekend for a total of 2,602 and brought in an estimated $5.86 million for the three-day, a 27% improvement over last weekend. The film’s cume now stands at $18.3 million and it will be pushing $20 million depending on how well it performs over the course of the full holiday weekend.

The Weinsteins also finished in fourth position with the second weekend of their animated feature Leap!, which brought in an estimated $4.9 million, a 3% improvement over the film’s performance last weekend. The film’s domestic cume now stands at $11.3 million after ten days in release.

Rounding out the top five is Bleecker‘s Logan Lucky, which brought in an estimated $4.4 million for the three-day, a 4% improvement over last weekend, and is expected to hit $5.6 million for the four-day holiday, pushing its domestic cume just shy of $23 million.

Elsewhere, Despicable Me 3 saw the best performance in the top ten compared to last weekend, jumping 35% with an estimated $2.36 million three-day, pushing its domestic cume just shy of $260 million. The film also brought in another $9.9 million internationally this weekend for an overseas total that currently stands at $736.1 million, which puts the film just $6 million shy of $1 billion worldwide.

WB‘s Wonder Woman brought in an estimated $1.9 million this weekend pushing its domestic cume to $408.9 million, which is enough to make it the sixth highest grossing superhero release of all-time and it is soon to surpass Iron Man 3 for fifth place on the list. The film now ranks #21 all-time domestically after surpassing Captain America: Civil War and The Hunger Games this weekend.

Just behind Wonder Woman is the first of the weekend’s “new” releases, that being Sony‘s re-release of Close Encounters of the Third Kind bringing in an estimated $1.8 million. The re-release is expected to bring in another $500k on Monday for a four-day total reaching $2.3 million.

Before we get to the two other moderate releases this weekend, the IMAX-only release of Marvel‘s Inhumans pilot episodes is estimated to have brought in $1.5 million domestically from 393 IMAX screens. Additionally, the release brought in an estimated $1.1 million from 274 international runs in 65 markets with debuts in Italy (Sept 15), Germany (Sept 15) and South Korea (Sept 22) yet to come.

Outside the top twenty is where we find the Weinstein‘s release of the long-delayed Tulip Fever, which brought in an estimated $1.2 million from 765 theaters for an average of $1,588 per theater. Lionsgate‘s release of Pantelion‘s Hazlo Como Hombre didn’t perform much better, delivering an estimated $1.1 million from 382 theaters for an average of $2,945 per theater.

In limited release, Viceroy’s House from IFC opened with an estimated $44,736 from four locations ($11,184 PTA); the documentary Dolores from PBS opened in one New York location with an estimated $14,125; Film Arcade‘s I Do… Until I Don’t brought in an estimated $177,692 from 165 theaters ($1,077 PTA); Hammond‘s Valley of Bones finished with an estimated $101,962 from 300 locations ($340 PTA); and FilmRise‘s The Vault brought in $4,700 from 11 locations ($427 PTA).

Next weekend WB and New Line will release the much-anticipated Stephen King adaptation It into over 4,000 theaters, Open Road will release the Reese Witherspoon rom-com Home Again and Atlas will debut 9/11 into approximately 400 locations.

via BoxOfficeMojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	The Hitman’s Bodyguard	$10.3M	$54.9M	3
	Annabelle: Creation	$7.3M	$89.0M	4
	Wind River	$5.9M	$18.3M	5
	Ballerina	$4.9M	$11.4M	2
	Logan Lucky	$4.4M	$21.5M	3
	Dunkirk	$4.1M	$178.8M	7
	Spider-Man: Homecoming	$3.7M	$324.1M	9
	The Emoji Movie	$2.5M	$80.3M	6
	Despicable Me 3	$2.4M	$257.9M	10
	Girls Trip	$2.3M	$111.6M	7

‘The Mummy’ Reaches $400 Million Worldwide Thanks to China’s Box Office!!

The Mummy was a massive flop when it opened stateside earlier this summer. The film, which had a reported budget of $125 million, opened to bad reviews and an underwhelming $31 million as it limped to a domestic take of $80 million. Normally, for a film that’s supposed to spawn a franchise, in this case Universal’s Dark Universe, that would be curtains even with Bride of Frankenstein set for February 2019. But international box office matters more than ever, and that’s what’s going to save the franchise.

Exhibitor Relations has just tweeted out the following:

Box office believe it or not: Tom Cruise's THE MUMMY has hit the magic sequelizer number–$400M+ worldwide. China is the #1 market w/ $91M.

— Exhibitor Relations Co. (@ERCboxoffice) August 28, 2017

Universal should be breathing a sigh of relief since the worldwide success of The Mummy basically support the studio’s strategy for Dark Universe, which is to rely on box office stars to help support these action movies. Even if Tom Cruise in a Mummy reboot wasn’t enough for domestic audiences, his worldwide appeal was enough to carry the film to a healthy box office return. If international audiences are going to go for Cruise in a Mummy movie, it stands to reason they’ll go for Angelina Jolie in Bride of Frankenstein or Johnny Depp in The Invisible Man.

Of course, that’s assuming other actors have Cruise’s star power. He’s been one of the most reliable actors for a few decades now for a reason, and it’s possible that Cruise was the draw here rather than the Dark Universe property. That being said, each of these movies will have to, in one way or another, stand on their own even if they’re part of a extended universe. While Bride of Frankenstein might bring in characters from The Mummy (most likely Russell Crowe’s Jekyll/Hyde), there’s room for director Bill Condon to make his own monster movie, and perhaps audiences in the U.S. will like it more than The Mummy.

It will be interesting to see if Universal moves towards making more Mummy movies now that the film is a worldwide hit, or if they just take the win and try to improve their other Dark Universe pictures.

via Collider

‘Hitman’s Bodyguard’ Repeats at #1 as New Releases Fail at the BO!!!

No need to sugar coat it, this was a miserable weekend. The combined gross of the top twelve failed to total over $50 million, something that hasn’t happened in an August weekend in over 20 years. In fact, the combined $49 million for the top twelve is the worst since the top twelve combined for $43.5 million in late September 2001. Making matters worse, with next weekend seeing no major, new wide releases things aren’t going to improve until It arrives on September 8.

Keeping things to this weekend, The Hitman’s Bodyguard finished in the top spot for a second weekend in a row with an estimated $10 million. That gross, however, appears a bit precarious. It wouldn’t be at all surprising to see actuals dip below the double-digit mark. Should that happen this would be the first weekend in two years to not have a film break double digits over the three-day. The last time was early September 2015 when War Room topped the three-day Labor Day weekend with $9.4 million. As for Hitman’s Bodyguard, it’s domestic cume currently sits just shy of $40 million after ten days in release.

Second place belongs to WB and New Line‘s Annabelle: Creation, which brought in an estimated $7.35 million and has now grossed $77.88 million domestically. Internationally the film brought in an estimated $22 million from 61 international markets for an overseas cume to date of $137.2 million and a worldwide gross topping $215 million.

Third is where we find the Weinstein‘s new release, the animated Leap!, which just managed to bring in an estimated $5 million, a rather disappointing result for a film playing in 2,575 theaters, for a $1,941 per theater average. The film, however, scored well with opening day audiences, which gave it an “A” CinemaScore.

The Weinstein‘s also finished in fourth with the second expansion of Wind River, which increased its theater count to 2,095 (+1,401). The Weinstein release brought in an estimated $4.4 million bringing the film’s domestic total just shy of $10 million.

Bleecker‘s Logan Lucky rounds out the top five with an estimated $4.4 million after dropping 42.5% in its second weekend. The film’s domestic cume now totals $15 million after ten days in release.

Elsewhere in the top ten, BH Tilit‘s Birth of the Dragon brought in an estimated $2.5 million after opening in 1,618 theaters. Of the weekend’s new releases this one stood to be affected most by Saturday’s Mayweather and McGregor fight. Estimates currently show it dipping 29% on Saturday compared to Friday’s $1.1 million gross, which included $200k from Thursday night preview showings. It will be interesting to see just how this film’s Friday-Sunday performance changes once actuals arrive. The film scored a “B” CinemaScore. Update – Fathom reports the Mayweather and McGregor fight brought in an estimated $2.6 million on Saturday, which was enough for the film to place third on Saturday’s chart and eighth for the weekend.

It isn’t until 15th position that you find Sony‘s release of Affirm Films and Provident Films‘ All Saints, which took in an estimated $1.55 million this weekend from 846 locations. The faith-based feature scored an “A-” CinemaScore and is hoping to make gains over the next couple weekends.

Outside the top ten, WB‘s Wonder Woman was brought back to several theaters (+1,407) where it grossed an estimated $1.7 million for a domestic total of $406.2 million. The film is now just $3.8 million shy of $410 million, which would place it #20 on the all-time domestic chart. Additionally, Wonder Woman topped $400 million internationally this weekend, fueled by an estimated $3.4 million three-day opening in Japan bringing the film’s worldwide cume to $806.2 million placing it 64th all-time.

Sony also brought Baby Driver back to several theaters this weekend (+1,074) where it grossed an estimated $1.15 million for a domestic cume that now totals $103.2 million. Baby Driver also debuted in China and Russia over the weekend, bringing in an estimated $10.5 million in China and a #1 finish in Russia with an estimated $2.5 million. The film’s overseas cume now stands at nearly $91 million for a worldwide gross nearing $195 million.

Also expanding this weekend we have Neon‘s Ingrid Goes West, which struggled in 647 theaters (+621) with an estimated $781,750 for a $1,208 per theater average. A24‘s Good Time had anything but in its expansion, playing in 721 theaters (+701) it could only muster $610,890 for a paltry $847 per theater average.

Among the weekend’s limited openers, Distrib Film‘s 3D re-release of Terminator 2 brought in an estimated $582k from 386 locations ($1,509 PTA); Fox International‘s release of A Gentleman brought in $195k from 135 theaters ($1,444 PTA); Beach Rats from Neon debuted with $45k from three theaters ($15,003 PTA); Oscilloscope‘s Polina debuted with $13,250 from two theaters; and Artsploitation‘s Red Christmas debuted with $1,000 from one location.

Overall, of the grosses reported thus far, this weekend’s combined total of $64 million is the worst overall weekend since the end of September 2001. While there are still several smaller releases yet to report, and it should be said the Mayweather and McGregor fight is said to have brought in nearly $2.6 million from theatrical showings itself, this will still rank as one of the five worst weekends in the last five years.

Next weekend is the first Labor Day weekend in some time to not have a major wide release hitting theaters. That said, The Weinstein Co. did move Tulip Fever up to take advantage and will release the drama in ~600 theaters and Sony is re-releasing Steven Spielberg‘s Close Encounters of the Third Kind into ~700 theaters. Meanwhile, Lionsgate will release Pantelion‘s Hazlo Como Hombre into nearly 400 theaters and IFC will debut Viceroy’s House at four locations.

via BoxOfficeMojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	The Hitman’s Bodyguard	$10.1M	$39.6M	2
	Annabelle: Creation	$7.4M	$77.9M	3
	Ballerina	$5.0M	$5.0M	1
	Wind River	$4.4M	$9.8M	4
	Logan Lucky	$4.4M	$15.0M	2
	Dunkirk	$4.0M	$172.5M	6
	Spider-Man: Homecoming	$2.7M	$318.8M	8
	Mayweather vs. McGregor	$2.6M	$2.6M	1
	Birth of the Dragon	$2.5M	$2.5M	1
	The Emoji Movie	$2.4M	$76.4M	5

‘Wonder Woman’ Crosses $800 Million Worldwide!!

This past weekend, Wonder Woman crossed $800 million at the worldwide box office. The only film that has made more is Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. While it’s still trailing a bit behind the worldwide total of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice ($873.3 million worldwide), it has far surpassed Man of Steel ($668 million worldwide) and Suicide Squad ($745.6 million worldwide). The film’s success shows that there’s definitely a market for new DC superhero movies if they’re well made. There’s no bias among consumers for Marvel versus DC; they just want good stories, and if it features a female superhero in the lead, then all the better.

While I’ve noted the disheartening lack of a “Wonder Woman effect” with other studios racing to put female-led superhero movies into production or hiring female directors, perhaps those changes will come eventually. Whatever happens, Wonder Woman has been a massive success for Warner Bros. It’s the undisputed champion of the summer box office season, it had serious legs, and it has created a new legion of fans that are going to eagerly see the character no matter what. I wouldn’t be surprised if Justice League’s fortunes improve simply because it has Wonder Woman in it.

Although the movie probably won’t pass Batman v Superman, keep in mind that it cost less to make, debuted in a more competitive timeframe, and didn’t feature two of the most popular superheroes of all-time. Although there will certainly be high expectations for Wonder Woman 2, which it set to open on December 13, 2019 and will likely bring back director Patty Jenkins, I believe that the sequel could be an even bigger hit now that so many people are on board with this interpretation of the character.

Wonder Woman hits 4K, 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on September 19th.

via Collider

 

‘Hitman’s Bodyguard’ Tops Weekend with $21M+ Opening as ‘Logan Lucky’ Falls Short at the BO!!

Lionsgate and Summit‘s action-comedy The Hitman’s Bodyguard finished ahead of pre-weekend expectations and took the #1 spot at the weekend box office while WB and New Line‘s Annabelle: Creation scored a second place finish over its sophomore frame. The weekend wasn’t too kind, however, to Bleecker‘s Logan Lucky, which did manage to finish third, but was unable to crack double digits from over 3,000 locations. As for the weekend overall, the top twelve narrowly escaped becoming the worst weekend of 2017 by less than $1 million by combining for $81.5 million. As of right now, this means the month of August is currently pacing 34% behind August last year while the summer season is pacing 12.8% behind last year.

With an estimated $21.6 million, Lionsgate‘s release of The Hitman’s Bodyguard finished #1 at the box office. This outperforms Mojo‘s pre-release forecast and is just a shade below historical averages for a film of this size and genre from Lionsgate. Heading into the weekend reviews weren’t exactly glowing for the film, which received a score of 50 on Metacritic, but audiences mostly took to the Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson starrer, giving it a “B+” CinemaScore. Of that audience, 52% were male vs. 48% female and 70% of the overall audience was over the age of 25.

Finishing in runner-up position is last weekend’s champ, WB and New Line‘s Annabelle: Creation, which dropped 56% in its second weekend and finished with an estimated $15.5 million for a domestic cume just shy of $65 million. Internationally, the film added an estimated $42 million this weekend from 56 markets for an overseas total of $96.7 million with the film set to open next week in Germany followed by October releases in Spain and Japan.

That said, the Annabelle sequel contributes nearly $161 million to the overall Conjuring franchise, which has now grossed over $1 billion worldwide after the release of just four films. Next up is 2018’s The Nun, a spin-off based on the demonic character seen in The Conjuring 2.

In third, Bleecker‘s release of Steven Soderbergh‘s Logan Lucky was a bit unlucky, finishing with an estimated $8 million from 3,031 locations. Strong reviews accompanied the film heading into the weekend, but a marketing plan, of which Soderbergh oversaw, that focused on a later push rather than getting advanced word out seems to have had an effect, especially when you consider the fact it shared a lot of the same audience as Hitman’s Bodyguard. The latter won out and while critics were more welcoming to Logan Lucky (78 on Metacritic), the film’s “B” CinemaScore was just a bit behind.

The opening is the lowest for a wide release directed by Soderbergh since the $6.7 million opening for 2002’s Solaris. For a couple of the film’s stars, it’s the lowest opening for a wide release for Channing Tatum since the $4.5 million debut for Stop-Loss in 2008, which opened in less than half the theaters as Logan Lucky and for Daniel Craig it’s a bit less than 2011’s Dream House and his lowest wide opening since the $5.9 million debut for The Invasion in 2007.

Christopher Nolan‘s Dunkirk finished in fourth place with an estimated $6.7 million bringing its domestic total to $165.5 million. Internationally, Dunkirk added an estimated $8.4 million from 61 markets bringing the film’s overseas cume to $227.2 million for a global tally of $392.7 million, topping the $372.7 million worldwide gross for Batman Begins making Dunkirk Nolan’s fifth largest worldwide release.

Rounding out the top five is Open Road’s The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature, which dropped 38.7% in its sophomore session for a $5.1 million weekend and a domestic cume that currently stands at $17.7 million.

Outside the top five, Universal‘s Girls Trip topped $100 million last week and added an estimated $3.8 million this weekend for a domestic cume that now totals $103.9 million, $8.7 million ahead of where Bad Moms was at the same point in its release prior to grossing over $113 million domestically.

Elsewhere in the top ten, Wind River expanded into 694 theaters (+649) and saw a 386% jump for an estimated $3 million weekend and a $4,359 per theater average. The performance is similar to The Beguiled from earlier this year when it expanded into over 670 theaters and went on to gross over $10.5 million.

In limited release, Fox Searchlight’s Patti Cake$ brought in an estimated $66,000 from 14 locations ($4,714 PTA). The film is expected to add ten new markets next weekend and by the long Labor Day weekend is expected to be in 300-400 locations.

Additionally, Amazon‘s Crown Heights delivered an estimated $27,552 from three locations ($9,184 PTA); Sam Goldwyn‘s Gook brought in an estimated $31,100 from two locations; Well Go‘s The Adventurers brought in an estimated $65,000 from 17 locations ($3,824 PTA); FilmRise saw Marjorie Prime finish with an estimated $24,000 from six locations ($4,000); Dave Made a Maze found $13,178 from 13 theaters ($1,014 PTA); and Parade Deck‘s Lycan scared up $4,860 from five sites ($972 PTA).

In other news, Universal crossed $3 billion at the international box office this weekend. One of their hits this year being Despicable Me 3, which is on the verge of topping $1 billion worldwide as it passed $250 million domestically this weekend and is nearing $700 million internationally for a global cume that currently sits just shy of $950 million.

Additionally, Wonder Woman topped $800 million worldwide this weekend and became the highest grossing superhero origin film with $404 million domestically, topping 2002’s Spider-Man (not adjusted for inflation).

Next weekend sees a trio of smaller wide releases hit theaters with the Weinstein‘s animated release Leap! leading the charge in ~2,000 theaters along with BH Tilt‘s release of Birth of the Dragon in ~1,500 locations and Sony‘s release of All Saints in ~800 theaters. Additionally, Fox International will release A Gentleman into 135 theaters and A24 will expand the release of Good Time across multiple markets nationwide.

via Box Office Mojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	The Hitman’s Bodyguard	$21.6M	$21.6M	1
	Annabelle: Creation	$15.5M	$64.0M	2
	Logan Lucky	$8.1M	$8.1M	1
	Dunkirk	$6.7M	$165.5M	5
	The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature	$5.1M	$17.7M	2
	The Emoji Movie	$4.4M	$71.8M	4
	Spider-Man: Homecoming	$4.3M	$314.1M	7
	Girls Trip	$3.8M	$104.0M	5
	The Dark Tower	$3.7M	$41.6M	3
	Wind River	$3.0M	$4.1M	3

Warner Bros. Touts $1B ‘Conjuring’ Universe With ‘Annabelle: Creation’ Success!!

So many “universes” since the Marvel Universe brand. Universal touts its monster-themed Dark Universe, and Warner Bros now has one too, to go along with its DC Universe — it’s called the Conjuring Universe. After the successful box office launch of New Line Cinema’s latest horror offering Annabelle: Creation, Warner Bros just announced that James Wan and producer Peter Safran’s Conjuring film “universe” has reached the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office. Annabelle: Creation opened to $35M domestically last weekend and currently sits at more than $100M worldwide.

Its box office performance, the studio notes, was the highest opening-weekend gross of all films in the “Conjuring Universe” in 26 international markets. As we noted in the international box office report this weekend, the R-rated Annabelle: Creation surpassed the overseas openings of both The Conjuring in 2013 and spinoff Annabelle in 2014.

“This year marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of New Line, and without question the horror genre has always been an integral and important part of the company’s DNA,” said Toby Emmerich, President and Chief Content Officer of Warner Bros Pictures Group. “While the genre has certainly evolved over the decades, watching the critical and commercial success of the Conjuring universe has been truly spectacular and I am incredibly proud of all the talented people involved in making this happen.”

Individually, several of the films that make up this New Line horror-verse are among the genre’s top all-time earners at the box office, with The Conjuring 2 ($320.3M) and The Conjuring ($319.4M) coming in second and third, respectively, after The Exorcist, and Annabelle ($257M) at No. 8.

Next up in the New Line series is The Nun, based on the character appearing in The Conjuring 2. That drops into theaters July 13. The studio is also in active development on The Conjuring 3 and The Crooked Man (from a character in The Conjuring 2).

I guess you could say that the studio is squeezing the life out of the IP.

via Deadline

 

‘Annabelle’ Sequel Shines as Summer 2017 Continues to Drop at the BO!!

It’s a great weekend for Warner Bros. which saw Annabelle: Creation, the latest installment in the Conjuring franchise, top the box office with $35 million while Dunkirk topped $150 million domestically. However, fellow new releases struggled to give the box office much of a jolt as the top twelve brought in a combined $103.8 million, down 6% compared to last weekend and the fourth lowest weekend of 2017. Overall, the summer movie season is still down 12% compared to last year.

With an estimated $35 million, Annabelle: Creation opened at the top of the weekend box office, delivering nearly $24 million more than the weekend runner-up. This is the fourth feature in the Conjuring franchise which continues to deliver each time out. Carrying a budget of just $15 million this is also a great outing for director David F. Sandberg whose Lights Out performed very well for WB just last year, bringing in $67.2 million on a $5 million budget, and coming up he’s said to be directing Shazam! for WB and New Line.

Opening weekend demos for Annabelle: Creation show the film played to an audience that was 52% female vs. 48% male with 54% of the audience coming in at 25 years or older. The film received a “B” CinemaScore, which is open par with the first film and behind the “A-” received by both of the first two Conjuring releases.

Internationally the film brought in an estimated $35 million from 39 markets for an overseas cume totaling $36.7 million. Highlights include a $6.6 million in South Korea, France saw a $2.9 million opening, $2.6 million debut in the UK, Russia opened with $2.3 million, and $1.8 million in Australia. Looking ahead, the film opens in Brazil and Mexico next week followed by Germany a week later and Spain and Japan in October.

WB‘s Dunkirk finished in second with an estimated $11.4 million bringing the film’s domestic cume to $153.7 million after 24 days in release. Internationally the film added an estimated $14.5 million bringing its overseas total to $210 million for a global cume that now stands at $363.6 million. The film has still yet to hit theaters in Italy, China and Japan.

Finishing in third with a mere $8.9 million is Open Road‘s The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature. Playing in 4,003 theaters this is the worst opening for a film playing in over 4,000 theaters by almost $16 million. It was only a couple weekends ago where The Emoji Movie held the record with $24.5 million from 4,075 theaters and before that it was The Mummy with a $31.7 million debut from 4,035 theaters. These are hardly the kinds of records any film wants to be setting. The Nut Job 2 received a “B+” CinemaScore from opening day audiences.

Sony‘s The Dark Tower dipped down to fourth position in its second weekend, falling 59% and bringing in an estimated $7.87 million for a domestic cume that now totals $34.3 million. Internationally the film added $7.9 million for an overseas cume of $19.3 million and a global cume of $53.6 million.

Rounding out the top five is the aforementioned Emoji Movie, which dipped 45% this weekend for an estimated $6.6 million. The film’s domestic cume now stands at $63.5 million after 17 days in release. Internationally the film brought in an estimated $14.1 million this weekend from 42 markets for an international cume of $33.6 million. Upcoming markets include Russia next weekend followed by Brazil in late August, Australia, Italy and France.

Finishing just outside the top five is Universal‘s Girls Trip, the highest grossing live-action comedy of 2017 with an estimated $6.5 million weekend and a domestic cume that now totals $97.1 million. The film will top the century mark later this week.

And finding its way into the top ten is Lionsgate‘s release of The Glass Castle, which finished a bit higher than Mojo‘s forecast, but still came in below industry expectations with an estimated $4.87 million from 1,461 theaters for an average of $3,337 per location. The film played well to audiences, which were 80% female and 76% 25 years or older and received an “A-” CinemaScore.

Outside the top ten, a major highlight is Edgar Wright‘s Baby Driver topping $100 million domestically with an estimated $1.47 million this weekend. This is Wright‘s highest grossing domestic release by nearly $70 million and is $5+ million more than the combined gross for all four of his previous releases. Internationally, the film is up to $66.7 million after adding another $6 million this weekend from 47 markets and it still has release dates set for Japan next weekend followed by Russia, China, Italy and South Korea.

Further down the chart, Paramount‘s continued expansion of Al Gore‘s An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power isn’t having the same impact as the original. The film increased its theater count to 556 (+376) over its third weekend and saw a 17% drop, bringing in an estimated $800,000 for a domestic cume that now totals $2.3 million. Comparatively, the first film didn’t reach 500+ theaters until its fifth weekend during which it brought in over $2 million on its way to a $24.1 million domestic run.

The Weinstein Co.’s Wind River also expanded this weekend into 45 theaters (+41) and jumped nearly 300% compared to last weekend, bringing in an estimated $642,067 ($14,268 PTA).

In limited release, Reliance debuted Toilet: Ek Prem Katha into 175 locations where it brought in an estimated $709,420 ($4,054 PTA). Meanwhile, Well Go was busy releasing two new titles including the South Korean drama A Taxi Driver, which opened to an estimated $332,000 on 41 screens for an $8,098 per screen average and Once Upon a Time, the fantasy romance from China based on the best-selling novel “Three Lives, Three Worlds: Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms“, which debuted with an estimated $256,500 on 51 screens for a $5,029 per-screen average.

Neon debuted Ingrid Goes West into three theaters where it brought in an estimated $141,216 for a chart-topping $47,072 per theater average. Ingrid stars Elizabeth Olsen and Aubrey Plaza and will expand over the coming weekends.

Right behind Ingrid when it comes to theater averages was A24‘s Good Time, which brought in an estimated $137,625 from four NY and LA theaters for a $34,406 per theater average. The crime thriller, which stars Robert Pattinson, will expand into several top markets next weekend, ahead of a national expansion on August 25.

Roadside‘s release of Amazon‘s The Only Living Boy in New York debuted in 15 theaters where it brought in an estimated $57,619 for a $3,841 per theater average.

Additionally, IFC released The Trip to Spain, the third film in Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon‘s Trip franchise, which opened with $45,306 from three locations ($15,102 PTA), which is down compared to the limited openings for the first two films, which both went on to gross over $2 million with 2014’s The Trip to Italy reaching $2.8 million. The film did, however show an increase from Friday to Saturday, suggesting solid word of mouth, which IFC will be hoping for with the film expanding into the top 15 markets next weekend followed by a further expansion over Labor Day weekend.

Next weekend sees the release of a pair of action comedies in Lionsgate and Summit‘s release of The Hitman’s Bodyguard and Bleecker‘s release of Logan Lucky as the two studios hope there is enough audience to go around in a very slow marketplace.

via Box Office Mojo

Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Annabelle: Creation	$35.0M	$35.0M	1
	Dunkirk	$11.4M	$153.7M	4
	The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature	$8.9M	$8.9M	1
	The Dark Tower	$7.9M	$34.3M	2
	The Emoji Movie	$6.6M	$63.6M	3
	Girls Trip	$6.5M	$97.2M	4
	Spider-Man: Homecoming	$6.1M	$306.5M	6
	Kidnap	$5.2M	$19.4M	2
	The Glass Castle	$4.9M	$4.9M	1
	Atomic Blonde	$4.6M	$42.8M	3

 

‘The Dark Tower’ Tops Lowest Weekend of Summer 2017 Yet, While Other Releases are Slow at the BO!!

Sony‘s The Dark Tower topped the softest weekend at the domestic box office since early April, opening with less than $20 million. Among other new releases, Aviron‘s Kidnap had a modest showing, squeaking above $10 million, while Annapurna‘s Detroit was unable to take off in its nationwide expansion. Overall, with the top twelve films grossing $111.5 million makes this the lowest grossing weekend of the summer season and sixth lowest of the year as the 2017 summer movie season is currently down ~10% compared to 2016.

At #1, Sony‘s release of The Dark Tower, a long-awaited adaptation of the Stephen King sci-fi/fantasy series, delivered an estimated $19.5 million from 3,451 locations. It’s a disappointing debut for the $60 million production, which is expected to kick-off a multi-platform franchise with co-financier MRC currently developing a television series. That being said, this is the second largest opening weekend ever for a King adaptation, behind the $20.6 million debut for 2007’s 1408, which went on to gross over $70 million domestically, but don’t look for Dark Tower to reach those heights, which is more likely to settle closer to $50-55 million once all is said and done.

Ahead of release, The Dark Tower wasn’t helped by critics. The film received a weak score of 35 on the review aggregation site Metacritic and opening day audiences weren’t particularly impressed either, giving the film a “B” CinemaScore. Of that audience, 58% were male vs. 42% female and of the overall audience, 68% were over the age of 25.

Internationally, The Dark Tower opened in 19 markets, bringing in an estimated $8 million, of which $4.1 million came in from Russia. Looking ahead, the film opens in France, Germany and Italy next weekend followed by releases in Australia, UK, Spain, Korea, Brazil and Mexico later this month.

Dunkirk finished in second with an estimated $17.6 million, dropping only 34% in its third weekend in release for a domestic cume just shy of $135 million. Internationally, Dunkirk delivered an estimated $25 million from 63 markets bringing its overseas cume to $180.6 million for a global tally that now stands at $314.2 million. Looking ahead, the film opens in Italy at the end of August followed by early September releases in China and Japan.

Sony‘s animated feature The Emoji Movie finished in third with an estimated $12.35 million, dropping around 50% in its second weekend for a domestic cume just shy of $50 million in ten days. Internationally, after opening in just Kenya and Israel last weekend, The Emoji Movie reached 21 markets this weekend and brought in an estimated $12 million for an overseas cume of $12.7 million. Later this month it will reach Spain, Russia and Brazil with openings in Australia in September and France in October.

Landing in fourth after yet another strong performance is Universal‘s R-rated comedy Girls Trip, finishing with an estimated $11.4 million, dropping just 42% in its third weekend with a domestic cume that now totals over $85 million. After seventeen days in release Girls Trip is pacing a fraction ahead of where Bridesmaids was at the same point in the release cycle.

And rounding out the top five is Aviron‘s Kidnap. The Halle Berry-starrer delivered on the top end of our expectations heading into the weekend, delivering an estimated $10.2 million from 2,378 locations. The film received a “B+” CinemaScore from opening day audiences and of that audience 63% were female vs. 37% male and overall, 73% were over the age of 25.

Finishing outside the top ten, Annapurna‘s Detroit had a tough weekend. Kathryn Bigelow‘s latest struggled in its nationwide expansion, pulling in an estimated $7.7 million from 3,007 theaters for a $2,411 per theater average. Expectations heading into the weekend were a performance in the low teens, but instead this performance is much closer to that of Free State of Jones, another adult drama that debut in the summer last year and managed to only bring in $7.6 million in its opening before finishing with $20.8 million for its domestic run. Audiences did agree with critics (78 on Metacritic), scoring the film with a strong “A-” CinemaScore, but with an opening like this it’s unlikely word of mouth will be able to keep it around for too long.

In limited release, The Weinstein Co. released Wind River into four theaters and brought in an estimated $164,167 for a sturdy, $41,042 per theater average. The film will expand into ~40 locations among the top 20 markets with a further expansion planned for the following weekend.

Other limited releases include Fox Searchlight‘s Step, which brought in an estimated $145,000 from 29 theaters ($5,000 PTA); Purdie‘s We Love You, Sally Carmichael! opened with an estimated $34,397 in seven locations ($4,914 PTA); Independent‘s release of Kogonada‘s Columbus brought in an estimated $28,000 from two locations; Brave New Jersey debuted with an estimated $14,105 from 14 locations (%552 PTA); and It’s Not Dark Yet opened with an estimated $1,000 from two theaters.

Elsewhere, Spider-Man: Homecoming finished the weekend with a domestic cume just shy of $295 million while Wonder Woman needs less than $500k to become the 27th film all-time to top $400 million at the domestic box office.

Speaking of $400 million, The H Collective‘s release of Wolf Warrior 2 enjoyed an impressive weekend both domestically and especially abroad. Despite losing 21 screens in North America, the film saw a 110% increase in its weekend gross, bringing in an estimated $460k for a domestic total just over $1 million. However, where the even bigger story lies is in the film’s performance in China where it topped $400 million on Saturday, out-performing the $392 million performance of The Fate of the Furious, to become the second largest film in China ever behind 2016’s The Mermaid, which holds the record with over $525 million and it looks as if that record is going down.

Next weekend sees the latest film in the Conjuring franchise hit theaters with the sequel Annabelle: Creation debuting in over 3,400 theaters. Lionsgate will release The Glass Castle into ~1,400 theaters and Open Road will debut the animated sequel The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature.

via BoxOfficeMojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	The Dark Tower	$19.5M	$19.5M	1
	Dunkirk	$17.6M	$133.6M	3
	The Emoji Movie	$12.4M	$49.5M	2
	Girls Trip	$11.4M	$85.4M	3
	Kidnap	$10.2M	$10.2M	1
	Spider-Man: Homecoming	$8.8M	$294.9M	5
	Atomic Blonde	$8.2M	$34.1M	2
	Detroit	$7.3M	$7.8M	2
	War for the Planet of the Apes	$6.0M	$130.3M	4
	Despicable Me 3	$5.3M	$240.8M	6

‘Dunkirk’ Holds Off #1 as ‘Emoji’ and ‘Atomic Blonde’ Open Slow at the BO!!

After the dust settled, it wasn’t much of a fight. Christopher Nolan‘s Dunkirk finished atop the weekend box office for the second week in a row with Sony‘s new animated feature, The Emoji Movie, settling for second place. The weekend’s other new wide release was Focus Features‘ Atomic Blonde, which fell a little short of expectations. Universal‘s R-rated comedy Girls Trip, however, had a stellar second weekend, finishing in third place with over $20 million, delivering on the promise of its opening weekend, “A+” CinemaScore.

With an estimated $28.1 million, Dunkirk topped the weekend box office, dropping just 44% in its second weekend in release. The film has now grossed over $102 million domestically in its first ten days in release and continues to perform well overseas. This weekend it added 17 additional markets and brought in an estimated $45.6 million internationally bringing its overseas cume to $131.3 million for a global tally of $234.1 million.

New Dunkirk openings include Germany where it brought in an estimated $2.1 million on 623 screens; Mexico saw an estimated $2 million opening on 1,236 screens; and Brazil delivered an estimated $1.7 million from 485 screens. The top market this past weekend was the U.K. where Dunkirk dropped only 16% in its second weekend, delivering an estimated $10.9 million for a U.K. cume totaling $35.4 million, already surpassing the lifetime grosses of Interstellar and American Sniper in the market. Upcoming openings include Italy (Aug 31), China (Sep 1) and Japan (Sep 9).

Landing in second is Sony‘s latest animated feature The Emoji Movie, which entered the weekend with scathing reviews from critics. Yet, following Friday estimates, it looked as if it may have a chance at the weekend’s top spot, but ultimately settled down, bringing in an estimated $25 million. Opening day audiences gave the film a “B” CinemaScore and played to an audience that was 48% male vs. 52% female, of which 64% were under the age of 25. Looking ahead, best assumption would be for a domestic run anywhere from $60-70 million.

Universal‘s Girls Trip finished in third with an exceptional $20 million weekend, signifying a 36% second weekend drop for a $65.5 million domestic cume. This is almost right on par with the 35% average second weekend drop for films that opened in over 2,200 theaters and received an “A+” CinemaScore. The film has clearly captured the attention of a wide audience and should continue to play well throughout the rest of the summer months.

In addition to its domestic performance, Girls Trip debuted in the UK this weekend and grossed an estimated $2 million, finishing sixth. The slow roll out continues to Trinidad and South Africa next weekend.

Falling to fourth is Focus Features‘ release of Atomic Blonde, an R-rated actioner starring Charlize Theron and directed by David Leitch, one-half of the directorial duo that helmed 2014’s John Wick. Expected to hit the $20 million mark this weekend and accompanied by a huge marketing campaign, Blonde‘s debut is a bit of a disappointment, delivering an estimated $18.5 million. The film, which carries a $30 million budget, received a “B” CinemaScore and played to an audience that was 51% male vs. 49% female, of which 38% were under the age of 25.

Rounding out the top five is Spider-Man: Homecoming, finishing with an estimated $13.4 million for a domestic cume totaling $278.3 million as it begins its fourth week in release. The webslinger also brought in an estimated $19.7 million internationally this weekend from 64 markets bringing the international cume to $355.4 million for a global tally of $633.7 million with releases in Japan (Aug 11) and China (Sep 8) still to come.

Landing in eighth in its second weekend is STX‘s release of EuropaCorp‘s Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets delivered a mere $6.8 million, dropping 60% after what was already a disappointing opening weekend for a $30.6 million domestic cume.

Rounding out the top ten is Wonder Woman with an estimated $3.5 million, dropping only 23% in its ninth weekend in release. The superhero feature has now topped $395 million domestically and is on its way to becoming only the 27th film all-time to top $400 million at the domestic box office.

In limited release, Annapurna‘s Detroit brought in an estimated $365,455 from 20 theaters this weekend ahead of the film’s nationwide release into over 2,800 theaters next weekend. Paramount Vantage released An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power into four theaters where it grossed an estimated $130,000, $32,500 per theater.

Other limited releases include Sony International‘s release of Mubarakan into 128 theaters where it grossed $300,00 ($2,344 PTA); A24‘s Menashe grossed $61,409 from three theaters for a $20,470 per theater average; Sony Classics‘ Brigsby Bear brought in $45,060 from three screens ($15,020 PTA); Well Go released Wolf Warrior 2 in partnership with The H Collective and it grossed an estimated $190,000 on 53 screens ($3,585 PTA). Abramorama released Turn It Around: The Story of East Bay Punk into one theater where it grossed an estimated $6,480.

Next weekend Sony releases the long-awaited adaptation of Stephen King‘s The Dark Tower into ~3,200 theaters and Aviron will release Halle Berry‘s Kidnap into ~2,200 locations. Additionally, Fox Searchlight will be releasing the documentary Step into 30 theaters and The Weinstein Co. will debut Wind River into four locations.

via BoxOfficeMojo

Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Dunkirk	$28.1M	$102.8M	2
	The Emoji Movie	$25.7M	$25.7M	1
	Girls Trip	$20.1M	$65.5M	2
	Atomic Blonde	$18.6M	$18.6M	1
	Spider-Man: Homecoming	$13.5M	$278.4M	4
	War for the Planet of the Apes	$10.4M	$118.7M	3
	Despicable Me 3	$7.7M	$230.4M	5
	Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets	$6.8M	$30.6M	2
	Baby Driver	$4.1M	$92.0M	5
	Wonder Woman	$3.5M	$395.4M	9

‘Wonder Woman’ Becomes Top-Grossing Summer Film as Warner Bros. Crosses $1 Billion Domestically!!

On the same day Warner Bros. wowed fans with trailers for “Justice League” and “Ready Player One” at Comic-Con, “Wonder Woman” passed “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” to become the highest domestic-grossing film of the summer.

In addition, the estimated $50.5 million opening for Christopher Nolan’s WWII film “Dunkirk” has pushed WB past the $1 billion domestic mark for the 17th consecutive year, a streak longer than any other in Hollywood.

“Wonder Woman” grossed an estimated $4.6 million in its eighth weekend in theaters, bringing its domestic total to $389 million. “Wonder Woman” has shown incredible staying power, currently holding a 3.77x multiple after its $103 million opening. With a worldwide total of $779 million, it has already passed the global run of “Suicide Squad” and the domestic run of “Batman v Superman.” When compared to Marvel movies, “Wonder Woman” ranks sixth domestically between the $387.2 million of “GotG Vol. 2” and the $403 million of the original “Spider-Man.”

Meanwhile, the opening for “Dunkirk” has made WB the third studio in 2017 to cross the $1 billion domestic mark, joining Disney and Universal. According to Box Office Mojo, WB stands in third among all studios this year with a 15.2 percent market share. While the studio suffered a bomb with “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword,” which grossed $39.1 million stateside against a $175 million budget, its domestic totals have been lifted thanks to three big hits.

In addition to “Wonder Woman,” “The Lego Batman Movie” won over comic book fans and family audiences with $175.7 million from its February release, while Legendary’s “Kong: Skull Island” beat expectations with $168 million. “Dunkirk” is likely to continue to boost WB’s stateside numbers, as previous Nolan-directed films like “Interstellar” and “Inception” have posted high multiples.

Next on WB’s slate are two horror films from New Line Cinema: “Annabelle: Creation,” which comes out Aug. 11, and a remake of Stephen King’s “It,” due out Sept. 8. Following that is “Blade Runner 2049” in October and the big DC crossover “Justice League” in November.

via The Wrap

 

‘Dunkirk’ Delivers $50.5M Debut, ‘Girls Trip’ Opens with $30M as ‘Valerian’ Stumbles at the BO!!!

Christopher Nolan‘s Dunkirk became the first non-franchise film to top the weekend box office this summer and the first since March of this year as it delivered over $50 million this weekend. Additionally, Universal‘s Girls Trip played strong, finishing in second position, while STX‘s release of EuropaCorp’s Valerian failed to take off. Also, for a second weekend in a row, we have another franchise title dipping over 60% in its second weekend in release.

With an estimated $50.5 million, WB‘s release of Dunkirk finished in first position from 3,720 locations. Of that gross a whopping 23% ($11.7 million) was from IMAX showings at just 402 locations ($29,129 PTA). Heading into the weekend the critics had already expressed their love for the film (92% on RottenTomatoes and 94 on Metacritic) and audiences tended to agree. The film received an “A-” CinemaScore from opening day audiences, though of the 60% male audience vs. 40% female audience, women graded the film slightly lower at “B+”. Of that overall audience, a massive 76% was over the age of 25.

We hesitated to draw comparisons to American Sniper or Lone Survivor in our weekend preview on Thursday, mostly due to the limited-to-wide release for both of those films, not to mention the Oscar love for Sniper. Yet, as older audiences played a large role in the wide opening weekend for both of those films, Dunkirk saw older moviegoers make up even more of its audience.

Of American Sniper‘s overall audience, 63% were over the age of 25, while 50% of Lone Survivor‘s audience was over the age of 30. Considering Dunkirk is releasing in the middle of summer rather than the middle of Oscar season, as those two films did, it will be interesting to see how it plays out next weekend. To that point, Survivor dropped 42% in its second weekend of wide release while Sniper only dipped 28%.

Another factor to pay attention to is the impressive runs director Christopher Nolan tends to get out of his films. Going back to the release of Insomnia in 2002, Nolan‘s films have delivered, on average, a 3.69x multiplier, best among them the 4.66x multiplier for Inception. Playing the averages that would suggest a $185+ million domestic run for Dunkirk. One last comparison that may also be significant, considering its audience also skewed older (69% over the age of 25), is 2013’s The Great Gatsby, which opened just over $50 million and finished its domestic run with $144.8 million.

Internationally, Dunkirk brought in an estimated $55.4 million from 46 markets including #1 openings in the UK ($12.4m), France ($4.9m), Russia ($2.7m), Spain ($1.9m), Korea ($10.3m) and Australia ($4.7m). As was the case domestically, IMAX played a big role overseas, delivering ~13% of the weekend total with an estimated $7 million from 231 screens. Looking ahead, the film opens in Germany, Brazil and Mexico next weekend, followed by Italy (Aug 31), China (Sep 1) and Japan (Sept 9).

In second is Universal‘s release of Girls Trip with an impressive $30.37 million debut in 2,591 theaters. Carrying a budget of just $19 million, this marks another successful release for producer Will Packer, an opening just $3.3 million shy of his 2012 success Think Like a Man, which spawned a sequel just two years later.

The female-led R-rated comedy stars Regina Hall, Tiffany Haddish, Jada Pinkett Smith and Queen Latifah and received a rare “A+” CinemaScore from opening day audiences, suggesting a long run throughout the rest of the summer is in the offing. The opening is ~$7 million more than last year’s Bad Moms, which went on to gross over $113 million domestically after a $23.8 million opening weekend.

Girls Trip played to an audience that was 79% female vs. 21% male, of which 50% of the overall audience was under the age of 30. Additionally, 59% of the audience was African American, 19% Caucasian, 17% Hispanic and 3% Asian.

Sony’s Spider-Man: Homecoming dropped 50% in its third weekend, finishing in third position with an estimated $22 million, bringing its domestic cume to $251.7 million. Spider-Man added another $33.2 million internationally bringing its overseas cume to $320 million, pushing its global tally over $570 million.

Fox‘s War for the Planet of the Apes finished in fourth position, and like the massive 62% drops for both Spider-Man and Transformers: The Last Night in their second weekends, War of the Apes is the latest franchise feature to experience a steep decline in its sophomore session. Apes finished with an estimated $20.4 million, a nearly 64% drop from its opening weekend. The film’s domestic cume now stands at $97.7 million.

Rounding out the top five is STX‘s release of EuropaCorp‘s Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, which delivered an estimated $17 million from 3,553 locations. A range of budgets have been reported for the film with STX reporting a net $150 million budget after subsidies, trade reports have noted a $180 million budget and the CNC reports a 197.47€ budget ($209m USD), the most expensive French production ever. Of course, the film is expected to do very well in France when it opens next week, and while 90% of the budget was reportedly covered with foreign pre-sales, equity financing and tax subsidies, this remains a weak start for the film domestically.

Opening weekend audiences were 63% male vs. 37% female, of which 40% were under the age of 24. Overall, opening day audiences scored the film with a soft, “B-” CinemaScore, which isn’t likely to translate into a long domestic run.

Universal‘s Despicable Me 3 finished in sixth position with an estimated $12.7 million. The animated feature topped $200 million domestically on Thursday and, following this weekend’s performance, its cume now stands at $213.3 million. Internationally, the film added an estimated $47.5 million this weekend from 63 markets, which brings its international cume to $514.1 million for a global tally of $727.4 million.

Also in the top ten for the eighth weekend in a row, WB’s Wonder Woman brought in an estimated $4.6 million bringing the domestic cume to $389 million making it the largest domestic release of summer 2017, topping Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2‘s current $387 million. Internationally, Wonder Woman added another $1.8 million this weekend for a $390.4 million overseas gross and a global tally just shy of $780 million.

Wonder Woman is already the highest grossing domestic release of the four films in the DC Extended Universe and it currently places second in terms of worldwide gross behind Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which finished with $873.3 million worldwide. Wonder Woman has still yet to debut in Japan where it opens on August 25.

In limited release this weekend, Magnolia‘s release of Landline from Amazon Studios debuted in four theaters with an estimated $52,336 ($13,084 PTA); Music Box debuted The Midwife at three locations where it grossed an estimated $20,250 ($6,750 PTA); and CFI released The Fencer in two theaters where it grossed an estimated $5,400 ($2,700 PTA).

Next weekend sees the release of Atomic Blonde starring Charlize Theron in ~3,200 theaters and Sony will release the animated feature The Emoji Movie into over 3,700 locations. Additionally, Paramount Vantage will begin the platform release of An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power.

via Box Office Mojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Dunkirk	$50.5M	$50.5M	1
	Girls Trip	$30.4M	$30.4M	1
	Spider-Man: Homecoming	$22.0M	$251.7M	3
	War for the Planet of the Apes	$20.4M	$97.8M	2
	Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets	$17.0M	$17.0M	1
	Despicable Me 3	$12.7M	$213.3M	4
	Baby Driver	$6.0M	$84.2M	4
	The Big Sick	$5.0M	$24.5M	5
	Wonder Woman	$4.6M	$389.0M	8
	Wish Upon	$2.5M	$10.5M	2

‘War for the Planet of the Apes’ Upstages ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ for Top Spot with $56.5M debut at the BO!!

Fox‘s War for the Planet of the Apes delivered a #1 finish this weekend, opening a bit higher than the studio’s conservative expectations, though well below Mojo‘s aggressive, pre-weekend forecast. Meanwhile, Spider-Man: Homecoming dipped more than 60% in its second weekend and The Big Sick delivered decent numbers in its expansion, though, once again below Mojo‘s forecast. In fact, the same goes for the modest expectations for Broad Green‘s Wish Upon, as the PG-13 horror fell short of $6 million over its first three days in release.

Playing more like Rise of the Planet of the Apes than Dawn, Fox’s War for the Planet of the Apes delivered an estimated $56.5 million this weekend from 4,022 theaters. That’s a little over a million more than Rise opened with back in 2011 and well below the $72.6 million Dawn delivered in its 2014 opening. Fortunately, War is carrying a budget $20 million lighter than Dawn, but the $150 million production still cost over $50 million more than Rise‘s $93 million price tag.

Audience demographics show the film playing to an audience that was 57% male versus 43% female, of which 63% were 25 years or older. Of the overall audience, 48% were Caucasian, 20% African American, 18% Hispanic and 10% Asian. Opening day audiences gave the film an “A-” CinemaScore, the same score received by both of its predecessors.

Looking ahead, while the opening may look a lot like that for Rise of the Apes, it seems unlikely the final domestic haul will live up to the $176.7 million that film ultimately delivered, despite the best reviews in the franchise. Just compare to last year’s Star Trek Beyond, which also received strong reviews but could still only muster a $59 million debut compared to the $70 million debut for Star Trek Into Darkness. Ultimately, Star Trek Beyond went on to bring in just shy of $160 million domestically for a 2.68x multiplier. A similar run for War of the Apes would end in a domestic run just over $150 million.

Internationally, the film brought in an estimated $46 million from 61 markets. Among the openings, the UK lead the way with an estimated $9.5 million debut followed by Russia ($5m) and Spain ($3.4m). By comparison, Dawn debuted with $14.8 million in the UK ($11.2m at today’s exchange rates), $9.8 million in Russia ($6.1m at today’s exchange rate) and $4.6 million in Spain ($3.9m at today’s exchange rate) as Apes fever seems to be down across the globe.

Finishing in second is Sony‘s Spider-Man: Homecoming, which dropped 61% in its second weekend with an estimated $45.2 million as its domestic cume know grows to over $208 million in its first ten days of release.

Internationally, Spider-Man delivered an estimated $72.3 million this weekend, bringing its overseas cume to $261 million and worldwide tally just shy of $470 million. Among new openings this weekend, the film debuted at #1 in France with an estimated $6 million and at #2 in Germany with an estimated $3.7 million. The film still has openings in Belgium, Spain, Japan and China upcoming.

Universal and Illumination‘s Despicable Me 3 finished in third with an estimated $18.9 million as its domestic cume is now just shy of $188 million. Internationally the animated feature crossed $400 million with an estimated $71 million from 61 territories this weekend for a global cume totaling $619.4 million.

TriStar‘s Baby Driver kept on rolling this weekend, dropping just 33% in its third weekend in release for an estimated $8.75 million bringing its domestic cume to $73.1 million.

Rounding out the top five is Lionsgate and Amazon‘s release of The Big Sick, which expanded into 2,597 theaters (+2,271) and delivered an estimated $7.6 million bringing the film’s domestic cume to $16 million. This is a well short of Mojo‘s optimistic forecast, but still a decent performance for the rom-com. The true test will be to see how the film holds on looking ahead as it performed incredibly well in limited release and will now turn to word of mouth to carry itself through the coming weeks.

Wonder Woman enjoyed the smallest drop (29.9%) in the top ten, finishing just outside the top five in the film’s seventh week in release, delivering an estimated $6.9 million weekend. That puts the film’s domestic total over $380 million as it inches closer to topping the domestic run of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ($386.5m). Internationally, Wonder Woman brought in an estimated $3.3 million from 61 markets, bringing the film’s overseas cume to $384.2 million for a global tally just shy of $765 million. The film has still yet to open in Japan where it will debut on August 25.

It isn’t until seventh position that we find Broad Green‘s Wish Upon, which ran out of wishes and delivered an estimated $5.6 million opening from 2,250 theaters, $2,483 per theater. The film received a “C-” CinemaScore and with three new wide releases hitting theaters next weekend will have to put in some work to remain in the top ten for two weekends in a row.

In limited release Roadside Attractions‘ Lady Macbeth debuted in five theaters and brought in an estimated $68,813 ($13,763 PTA); Alejandro Jodorowsky‘s Endless Poetry opened in two locations and debuted with an estimated $28,000; Vertical‘s Blind opened with $11,700 from 14 locations ($836 PTA); Big World‘s release of False Confessions in two theaters delivered an estimated $7,670; and Monument‘s release of Footnotes in one theater resulted in an estimated $5,900.

Next weekend will be interesting as not only will War of the Apes be in its second weekend along with Spider-Man in its third, but two more films vying for mostly the same demographic will be hitting theaters. First among them is the release of Christopher Nolan‘s Dunkirk into over 3,600 theaters followed by STX‘s release of Luc Besson‘s big budget sci-fi feature Valerian into over 3,400 theaters. Cornering it’s own little segment of the marketplace, Universal will look to make a splash with the release of the R-rated comedy Girls Trip into ~2,500 locations.

via BoxOfficeMojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	War for the Planet of the Apes	$56.5M	$56.5M	1
	Spider-Man: Homecoming	$45.2M	$208.3M	2
	Despicable Me 3	$18.9M	$188.0M	3
	Baby Driver	$8.8M	$73.2M	3
	The Big Sick	$7.6M	$16.0M	4
	Wonder Woman	$6.9M	$380.7M	7
	Wish Upon	$5.6M	$5.6M	1
	Cars 3	$3.2M	$140.0M	5
	Transformers: The Last Knight	$2.8M	$124.9M	4
	The House	$1.8M	$23.1M	3

 

‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Opens with $117M Opening Domestically, and Over $250M at the Worldwide BO!!

Sony‘s Spider-Man: Homecoming fell just a bit shy of the $120 million mark it was looking like it would hit after Friday estimates, but nevertheless the webslinger still delivered a stellar opening, delivering the third largest opening weekend of the year so far. Additionally, Lionsgate and Amazon‘s The Big Sick delivered strong numbers in its moderate expansion ahead of next weekend’s wide release.

Playing in 4,348 theaters, Sony‘s Spider-Man: Homecoming finished #1 at the box office with an estimated $117 million. The opening currently stands as the second largest opening ever for a Spider-Man feature (not adjusted for inflation), narrowly edging out Sam Raimi‘s 2002 original. Also, without adjusting for inflation, this is the largest opening for a single character intro into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, topping the $98.6 million brought in by Iron Man back in 2008.

Spider-Man‘s opening is the third largest of the year, finishing between the $146.5 million opening for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Wonder Woman’s $103.2 million debut. Of those films Guardians topped $385 million this weekend and after this weekend it looks inevitable Wonder Woman will pass Guardians over the coming weeks, all virtually guaranteeing Spider-Man is also looking at an incredibly strong domestic run.

Internationally, Spider-Man debuted in approximately 60% of the overseas marketplace, delivering an estimated $140 million from 56 total markets and a global opening totaling $257 million. Highlights include a $25.8 million five-day opening in South Korea, a $12 million opening in Mexico, an $11.8 million five-day take in the UK, $9.1 million in Brazil, $7.8m in Russia, Australia saw a $7.6 million opening, India saw a $6.5 million debut and Italy delivered $3.1 million. Upcoming markets include openings in France, Germany, Spain, Japan and China.

Second place belongs to Universal and Illumination‘s Despicable Me 3, which finished with an estimated $34 million bringing its domestic cume just shy of $150 million. Internationally the animated feature continued to deliver, bringing in an estimated $139 million from 60 markets for an overseas cume nearing $300 million and a worldwide total just shy of $450 million. Among the international highlights, Despicable Me 3 brought in $66 million from China this weekend, setting records of the largest opening day for an animated movie in the market. Additional notable openings include France ($9.1m) and Germany ($8.5m).

Sony and Tristar‘s Baby Driver pulled into third in its second weekend, finishing with an estimated $12.75 million, a 38% drop as its domestic cume now stands at $56.9 million.

Warner‘s Wonder Woman continues its impressive run, delivering an estimated $10.1 million as its domestic cume is now just shy of $370 million, making it the tenth largest superhero release domestically of all-time. Internationally it added an estimated $6.8 million to its total for a global tally topping $745 million.

Paramount‘s Transformers: The Last Knight rounds out the top five, dropping a hefty 60% in its third weekend and delivering an estimated $6.3 million as its domestic cume is now just shy of $120 million. Internationally it added an estimated $18.1 million from 47 markets for an international cume totaling $375.7 million and a global tally just short of $495 million.

Outside the top five, Lionsgate‘s release of the Amazon Studios feature The Big Sick did big things as it delivered an estimated $3.65 million from just 326 theaters (+255) for a cume just shy of $7 million. That’s a $11,200 per theater average and the film will be expanding wide next weekend. Commenting on the film’s performance, Bob Berney, Head of Marketing & Distribution for Amazon Studios. said, “This weekend’s performance demonstrates the robust marketplace for independent films as an alternative to the summer blockbusters. Audiences are loving meeting Kumail [Nanjiani] and Zoe [Kazan] and their crazy families in this movie, finding a universal connection no matter where they are from.”

Additionally, Focus Features expanded the release of Sofia Coppola‘s The Beguiled into 941 theaters (+267) and while the film didn’t deliver on our expectations, it still brought in an estimated $2.08 million, dropping 34% as its domestic cume now stands at $7.4 million.

Outside the top ten, A24‘s release of A Ghost Story debuted in four theaters in New York and LA and brought in an estimated $108,067 ($27,017 PTA). The film will expand further next weekend and continue its to broaden its reach throughout the summer months.

IFC‘s release of Amazon‘s City of Ghosts debuted in two locations and brought in an estimated $16,240 ($8,120 PTA). The documentary will expand next weekend and reach the top 25 markets throughout July.

Next weekend will see even more competition added to the field as Fox releases War for the Planet of the Apes into ~3,800 theaters along with a lot of strong word of mouth, currently holding at a 78 score on Metacritic. Additionally, Broad Green will release the horror film Wish Upon, Roadside will debut Lady Macbeth and, as already mentioned, Lionsgate and Amazon‘s The Big Sick will be going wide.

via Box Office Mojo

	Title		Gross	Weeks
	Spider-Man: Homecoming	$117.0M	$117.0M	1
	Despicable Me 3	$34.0M	$149.2M	2
	Baby Driver	$12.8M	$56.9M	2
	Wonder Woman	$10.1M	$368.8M	6
	Transformers: The Last Knight	$6.3M	$118.9M	3
	Cars 3	$5.6M	$133.7M	4
	The House	$4.8M	$18.6M	2
	The Big Sick	$3.7M	$6.9M	3
	47 Meters Down	$2.8M	$38.5M	4
	The Beguiled	$2.1M	$7.4M	3

China Box Office: ‘Transformers 5’ Crashes Back to Earth With 75 Percent Slide in Second Weekend!!!

Transformers: The Last Knight continued its precipitous decline at the Chinese box office over the weekend, earning just $30.5 million from Friday to Sunday, a 75 percent slide compared to its $121 million opening.

The stunning decline is a disappointment to both Paramount and the three Chinese companies (Wanda Film, Huahua Media and ticketing service Weying) that took equity stakes in the film and partnered on its marketing and promotion in the Middle Kingdom. Expectations had been enormous for the fifth installment in the Michael Bay-directed franchise, with some local analysts pegging their prerelease forecasts as high as $400 million.

After 10 days, Transformers 5 has earned $198 million in the Middle Kingdom, which is still nearly double its $102.1 million North American haul, according to Beijing-based box-office tracker Ent Group. But The Last Knight will be lucky to reach $250 million and won’t come close to touching Transformers: Age of Extinction‘s historic $330 million performance back in 2014 (Age of Extinction declined just 47 percent from its first to second weekend that year).

Local sci-fi thriller Reset, produced by Jackie Chan‘s Sparkle Roll Media and directed by South Korean filmmaker Yoon Hong-seung (aka Chang), opened Thursday and took second place for the weekend, earning $17.4 million in its first four days.

Universal‘s Despicable Me 3 will be the next U.S. studio title to hit the China market when it opens Friday.

via The Hollywood Reporter

 

‘Despicable Me 3’ #1; ‘Baby Driver’ Outperforms as ‘The House’ Falls Short at the BO!!

Once again sequel fatigue appears to be having an impact as estimates have Despicable Me 3 coming in about $10 million shy of the opening weekend for Despicable Me 2 after a larger than anticipated dip on Saturday. That said, the film easily secured the weekend top spot in the domestic, international and worldwide marketplaces, leading the charge over the first three days of this long, five-day Fourth of July holiday weekend. Behind it, Sony’s Baby Driver out-performed the studio’s expectations while WB’s R-rated comedy The House failed to generate much heat.

At the top of the box office Universal and Illumination‘s Despicable Me 3 brought in an estimated $75.4 million, which is $8 million shy of the three-day estimate the studio was anticipating just yesterday morning. In fact, the film, which opened in a record, 4,529 theaters, is currently pacing about $10 million behind studio’s pre-weekend expectations. That said, audiences appear to have enjoyed the film, giving it an “A-” CinemaScore, though that is lower than the “A” earned by both of its predecessors as well as 2015’s Minions movie. While the next two days will push the film over $100 million in its first five days of release, the three-day opening ranks as the third best in the four film franchise and the fourth largest opening for an Illumination title.

The opening weekend audience was split 50/50 between male and female with families making up 69% of the film’s moviegoers, 50% of which were children under age 13. The demographic breakdown was 45% Caucasian, 26% Hispanic, 15% African American and 9% Asian.

Internationally, Despicable Me 3 started playing overseas two weeks ago, but this weekend it added 46 new territories where it brought in an estimated $95.6 million for an international cume that now stands at $116.9 million for a worldwide total of $192.3 million. The film still has 15 territories to open in over the next two months with openings in China, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Trinidad and Iceland next weekend.

In second place is Sony‘s release of Edgar Wright‘s music-driven heist feature Baby Driver. The film opened on Wednesday and had grossed $9 million heading into the weekend. Playing in 3,226, the pic grossed an estimated $21 million over the three-day weekend and should see a five-day over $30 million. This is by far the largest opening for one of Wright‘s films, nearly doubling the $10.6 million Scott Pilgrim vs. the World opened with back in 2010 and, come the end of the holiday weekend, it is likely to become Wright‘s highest grossing domestic release ever after just one week in release.

Heading into release the film saw significant buzz thanks to strong early reviews, which have been glowing ever since its March premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival. Opening day audiences seemed to agree with the reviews, giving Baby Driver an “A-” CinemaScore and of that audience 55% were male vs. 45% female. Overall, 61% of the audience was 25 years or older.

Internationally, Baby Driver debuted in the UK with an estimated $4.6 million plus another $2.2 million from 15 other markets for an early $6.8 million international debut. Looking ahead the film opens in Spain next week followed by opening in Australia (July 13), France (July 19), Brazil (July 27), Germany (July 27), Mexico (Aug 10) and Russia (Aug 24).

Third place belongs to Transformers: The Last Knight, which dropped an expected 62%, delivering an estimated $17 million in its second weekend as its domestic cume now tops $102 million. Internationally the pic brought in an estimated $68 million this weekend, bringing its worldwide cume to $327.8 million with openings in Brazil, Mexico, Japan and Spain still on the horizon.

Wonder Woman lassoed another solid weekend, finishing fourth with an estimated $15.57 million as the film’s domestic cume now stands at $346.1 million after five weeks in release. Internationally the film added another $13.6 million as its overseas cume grows to over $360 million for a global tally of $708 million. At this point Wonder Woman is the third largest domestic release among all DC Comics based features and becomes one of the top 100 all-time worldwide grossers.

Rounding out the top five, Disney’s Cars 3 finished in third position with an estimated $9.5 million as its domestic cume now tops $120 million. Problem is, that’s a 60% drop in just the film’s third weekend of release as sequels continue to struggle to hold on this summer. Internationally the film has yet to open in several major markets with no new major openings this weekend as it brought in an estimated $5 million overseas for an international cume that currently stands at $53.1 million.

Falling outside the top five is Warner Bros. release of the R-rated comedy The House starring Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler. Expected to open around $12 million this weekend, the film couldn’t even muster double digits, delivering an estimated $9 million. Should estimates hold, while Ferrell has been featured in films that opened with less, this would be the worst wide release opening for a film in which he has top-lined. Internationally, The House opened in 20 markets where it brought in an estimated $2.7 million, led by a $1.2 million opening in Australia.

Reviews for The House were dismal, scoring a 31 on Metacritic and opening day audiences didn’t appear to like it much more, giving the film a weak “B-“ CinemaScore. Opening day audiences were broken down 49% male vs. 51% female with 76% of the audience coming in over the age of 25.

Elsewhere, we find Sofia Coppola‘s The Beguiled in eighth position as it expanded into 674 (+670) theaters and brought in an estimated $3.25 million, an increase of 1,322% after debuting in just four theaters last weekend. Commenting on the performance, Lisa Bunnell, President, Distribution at Focus, said, “We’re extremely happy with the results of the expansion this weekend. It’s an impressive achievement for a limited title to land in the top ten during the summer. Audiences turned out in support of Sofia Coppola and we expect the film will continue to play strongly in the coming weeks.” The film will continue to expand next weekend.

Outside the top ten, Lionsgate finds The Big Sick climbing the charts as it brought in an estimated $1.67 million over the weekend from just 71 locations for a $23,550 per theater average and a twelfth place finish. The film’s gross-to-date is $2.2 million and it won’t be for another 12 days before it goes wide on July 14th.

Speaking of high theater averages, Gunpowder & Sky‘s release of Jeff Baena‘s The Little Hours delivered an estimated $61,560 from two locations this weekend, for an average of $30,780.

Other limited releases include Sony Classics’ release of 13 Minutes, which opened with an estimated $12,612 on 3 screens ($4,204 PTA); Neon‘s The B-Side opened with an estimated $12,078 from three theaters ($4,026 PTA); Gravitas‘ release of The Reagan Show brought in an estimated $5,500 from two theaters ($2,750 PTA); and Marie Curie: The Courage of Knowledge bringing in an estimated $18,212 from six theaters ($3,035 PTA)

Next weekend sees the release of Spider-Man: Homecoming, Sony’s latest attempt to reboot the Spider-Man franchise, the big difference this time is that the film finds a place within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

via BoxOfficeMojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Despicable Me 3	$75.4M	$75.4M	1
	Baby Driver	$21.0M	$30.0M	1
	Transformers: The Last Knight	$17.0M	$102.1M	2
	Wonder Woman	$16.1M	$346.6M	5
	Cars 3	$9.5M	$120.7M	3
	The House	$9.0M	$9.0M	1
	47 Meters Down	$4.7M	$32.6M	3
	The Beguiled	$3.3M	$3.6M	2
	The Mummy	$2.8M	$74.5M	4
	Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales	$2.4M	$165.5M	6

‘Dangal’: The First Indian Movie to earn Rs. 2000 Crore at The Global Box-Office!!!

‘Dangal’ is turning out to be a echelon of fame for Aamir Khan.

According to Forbes Magazine‘s latest report, the movie has become the first Indian movie in the history to earn Rs. 2000 crore (307 million USD) worldwide after it earned Rs. 2.5 crore on its 53rd day at the China box office.

Among other milestones, ‘Dangal’ has become the fifth highest-grossing non-English film in the history, and the highest-grossing live actions sports movie of 2017.

Earlier, the Aamir Khan-starrer became the only non-Hollywood film to be listed among the top 16 highest grossing films of all time at China Box-Office.

The movie has already beaten movies like ‘Captain America: Civil War’, ‘xXx: Return Of Xander Cage’, T’ransformers: Dark Of The Moon’, ‘Titanic 3D’ and ‘The Jungle Book’.

‘Dangal’ is now behind world’s biggest blockbuster ‘Avatar’ and Chris Pratt‘s ‘Jurassic World,’ which are positioned at number 15 and 14, respectively at China Box-Office.

On the professional front, Aamir Khan will be next seen in ‘Secret Superstar’ alongside Zaira Wasim.

The flick is slated to hit theatres on August 4.

 

via Santabanta

‘Transformers 5’ Opens with Franchise Low as ‘Wonder Woman’ Surpasses ‘Batman v Superman’ at the Domestic Box Office!!!

Paramount‘s Transformers: The Last Knight took the #1 spot this weekend as expected, but that opening was the lowest the franchise has seen thus far by a rather significant margin as a lot of attention will now turn toward the film’s international run. Meanwhile, WB‘s Wonder Woman is still tearing up the box office as it has now become the highest grossing release within the DC Extended Universe and it is showing little sign of stopping.

Only one of the previous four Transformers features opened on a Wednesday and that was 2011’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the third feature in the now five-film franchise, and it debuted with $162.6 million over its first five days in release, $97.8 million of that from the three-day weekend. By contrast, Transformers: The Last Knight brought in a mere $69.1 million over its first five days in release, an estimated $45.3 million of which over the three-day weekend. While this is relatively on par with the $70 million industry expectations, it puts added pressure on the $217 million production’s international run.

As for that run, Last Knight kicked things off in 41 international markets with an estimated $196.2 million led by $123.4 million from China alone, the largest opening for a Transformers film in that market. Additionally, openings include Korea ($13m), Russia ($8.9m), United Kingdom ($5.7m), Germany ($4.7m), Taiwan ($4.1m), Australia ($3.6m), Philippines ($3.3m), Malaysia ($2.8m), Thailand ($2.8m), Hong Kong ($2.5m), Singapore ($2.2m) and Italy ($1.9m). While that China opening may be a franchise high, topping Transformers: Age of Extinction by more than $30 million, the other numbers aren’t as impressive.

Before going on to gross over $858 million internationally, Transformers: Age of Extinction opened with $15.8 million in Korea, over $20 million in both Russia and the UK, $11.1 million in Germany, $8.3 million in Australia and so on. With the domestic run looking to finish somewhere around $130 million or so The Last Knight has a lot of work internationally yet to do. As for future releases, it will open in France next week, followed by July releases in Brazil and Mexico, with Japan and Spain premiering in early August.

Opening weekend demographics domestically show The Last Knight playing to an audience that was split 57% male versus 43% female and of that crowd, 29% were under the age of 18 and gave the film an “A” CinemaScore. Unfortunately, the 18-and-over crowd scored it a bit lower bringing the overall CinemaScore down to a “B+”. Comparatively, only Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen scored below an “A-” when it too received a “B+” in 2009.

Moving along, Disney‘s Cars 3 and Wonder Woman are in a tie for second place with both studios reporting an estimated $25.175 million weekend. Beginning with Cars, the latest Pixar title dipped 53% in its second weekend and now stands just shy of $100 million after ten days in release. Internationally the film debuted in Australia with an estimated $2 million, contributing to an estimated international weekend of $11.9 million from 26 markets for a $41.4 million international gross and a $141.3 million global cume. The film hits theaters in Brazil, Korea, Spain, UK and Japan in mid-July which releases in France, Italy and Germany in August and beyond.

As for WB‘s Wonder Woman, it continues to live up to its protagonist’s name, dropping only 39% in its fourth weekend in release. The film is now just shy of $320 million domestically and is now out-pacing all three of the previous DC Extended Universe releases as it now passes Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which had brought in $311.3 million after the same number of days in release. To that point, Wonder Woman has already outgrossed the entire domestic run for Man of Steel, is ~$7 million away from outgrossing the domestic run for Suicide Squad and will surpass Batman v Superman‘s $330.4 million run over the next few days, which will make it the third largest DC Comics adaptation domestically, behind only The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises.

Internationally, Wonder Woman brought in an estimated $20.5 million from 65 markets as the overseas cume currently stands at $334.5 million. The film is still behind the three previous DC releases internationally, but it is just $42.5 million behind Man of Steel. This weekend it released in Spain where it brought in an estimated $2.2 million and it still has yet to be released in Japan, where it will premiere on August 25. Overall, Wonder Woman has now topped $635 million worldwide as it currently stands as the sixth largest DC Comics adaptation of all-time worldwide.

Entertainment Studios‘ 47 Meters Down held on rather well, delivering an estimated $7.4 million, a 33.6% drop from its opening weekend last week as its domestic cume now stands at $24 million.

Rounding out the top five is a massive decline for Lionsgate‘s All Eyez On Me, which delivered a more-than-expected opening weekend last week, but dropped nearly 80% in its second weekend, delivering an estimated $5.85 million as its domestic cume now stands at $38.6 million.

Just outside the top ten, Roadside’s release of Beatriz at Dinner brought in an estimated $1.8 million after adding 414 theaters this weekend bringing the total to 491 locations. A24 also expanded their release of The Exception into 48 theaters (+34) where it brought in an estimated $138,134 for a $2,878 average.

In limited release, Lionsgate‘s release of The Big Sick grossed an estimated $435,000 in five theaters in New York and Los Angeles, a per screen average of $87,000, the largest per screen average of any film opening on more than one screen this year. Also, Focus‘s release of Sofia Coppola‘s The Beguiled delivered an estimated $240,545 from four locations for a strong $60,138 average, the film will expand to over 500 screens in North America next weekend.

Additionally, Neon‘s release of The Bad Batch delivered an estimated $91,074 from 30 locations ($3,036 PTA) and Abramorama‘s Food Evolution opened with an estimated $3,311 from one theater.

Next weekend sees the release of Edgar Wright‘s Baby Driver on Wednesday ahead of the long, July 4 weekend. Meanwhile, Universal will debut Despicable Me 3 (which has already generated $18.9 million internationally) into over 4,350 theaters on Friday and Warner Bros. will release the comedy The House into over 3,000 theaters as all films look to take advantage of what will amount to a five-day weekend with the July 4 holiday falling on a Tuesday this year, which hasn’t happened since 2006.

via BoxOfficeMojo

Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Transformers: The Last Knight	$44.7M	$68.5M	1
	Wonder Woman	$24.9M	$318.1M	4
	Cars 3	$24.1M	$98.8M	2
	47 Meters Down	$7.1M	$23.9M	2
	The Mummy	$6.1M	$68.7M	3
	All Eyez on Me	$5.8M	$38.6M	2
	Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales	$5.4M	$160.2M	5
	Rough Night	$4.7M	$16.6M	2
	Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie	$4.3M	$65.7M	4
	Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2	$3.0M	$380.2M	8

‘The Mummy’ Leads While ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ 5 Crosses $500 Million at the International BO!!!

“The Mummy” is closing in on $300 million worldwide after leading the international box office for the second consecutive weekend.

The Tom Cruise vehicle had a disappointing $32.2 million opening weekend in North America and a steep drop-off during week two. But overseas, it’s on track to earn $53 million in 68 territories this weekend, which would raise its international total to $239 million.

For Disney, “Cars 3” opened to $21.3 million in a handful of markets, including Russia and Mexico. Next weekend the movie will open Australia and New Zealand as part of its gradual global rollout.

Warner Bros. and DC Comics’ “Wonder Woman” continues to be a force at the international markets as well, taking in an estimated $39.5 million this weekend behind “The Mummy.”

All this on the same weekend that “Cars 3” is winning in the North American market with $53.5 million. Tupac biopic “All Eyez on Me” also saw a strong opening in the weekend, overtaking fellow newcomers “47 Meters Down,” “Rough Night,” and “The Book of Henry.”

 

via Variety

‘Cars 3’ Speeds to Weekend #1 while ‘All Eyez On Me’ Opens Well as ‘Wonder Woman’ Tops $570M at the Worldwide BO!!

Disney and Pixar‘s Cars 3 brought in enough to take the top spot at the weekend box office, but most eyes will be turning toward the spectacular third weekend for Warner‘s Wonder Woman in second place and Lionsgate‘s All Eyez On Me, the latter of which definitively over performed versus pre-weekend expectations. Also outperforming expectations was Entertainment Studios‘ 47 Meters Down while Sony‘s Rough Night had a rough weekend, finishing outside the top five.

Cars 3 finished the weekend with an estimated $53.5 million, which is on the lower end of expectations, though that isn’t likely to be much of a concern. This is a franchise built on merchandising as it was revealed six years ago that Cars merchandise had generated over $10 billion worldwide up to that point. Since that time, Disney has introduced the Planes spin-off franchise, continued the animated television series with “Tales from Radiator Springs” and, to top it all off, Disneyland opened Cars Land, a $1.1 billion expansion to the theme park’s California Adventure.

Yet, taking a closer look at this opening weekend for Cars 3, while it is the 16th Pixar film out of 18 to debut at #1, it is one of the smallest in Pixar‘s history. In fact, of Pixar’s 18 wide releases, only four titles are behind Cars 3, two of which are Toy Story and A Bug’s Life, though, when adjusted for inflation, only A Good Dinosaur opened with less money than Cars 3. More importantly, however, audiences liked what they saw as the film received an “A” CinemaScore. This isn’t exactly a surprise considering the only Pixar film to not score either an “A” or “A+” CinemaScore is Cars 2, which scored an “A-“. Opening weekend audiences were fairly evenly split with 51% being male vs 49% female with 75% of the overall audience being families. 35% of the overall audience was under the age of 13.

Internationally, Cars 3 brought in an estimated $21.3 million from a handful of markets including Mexico ($5.9m) and Russia ($4.8m). The film will continue its international rollout throughout the summer with openings in Australia and New Zealand next week followed by Brazil, Korea, Spain, UK and Japan in mid-July while territories such as France, Italy and Germany won’t see the film until August and into late September.

Second place belongs to Wonder Woman, which dropped a mere 30% for an outstanding $40.7 million, which puts its domestic cume just shy of $275 million. This is the second largest third weekend ever for WB, just behind the $42.6 million for The Dark Knight and ahead of the $35.7 million for The Dark Knight Rises. Additionally, the film went into the weekend outpacing Man of Steel after 14 days in release and it is also now overtaken Suicide Squad, which had grossed $262.4 million after 17 days, which is impressive to say the least considering Wonder Woman debuted with $62.7 million less than Suicide Squad.

Internationally, Wonder Woman delivered an estimated $39.5 million from 62 markets, bringing the international cume to $297.2 million, pushing the film’s worldwide total to $571.8 million. This puts Wonder Woman‘s international cume ahead of films such as The Wolverine ($282.2m), Thor ($268.2m) and Iron Man ($266.7m). Openings this weekend included an estimated $3.2 million debut in Germany, a $982k opening in the Netherlands and a $810k release in Norway.

In third is Lionsgate‘s release of the Tupac Shakur biopic All Eyez On Me, which has withstood some harsh critical reviews—40 on MetaCritic / 24% on RottenTomatoes—as well as being called out on Twitter by Jada Pinkett Smith for the film’s portrayal of her relationship with Shakur. Released on what would have been Shakur‘s 46th birthday, All Eyez On Me delivered an estimated $27 million over the weekend, well ahead of expectations. The film was merely a P&A deal for Lionsgate with a spend reported to be in the low-to-mid $20 million range. Additionally, while the critics may have been less than generous, opening day audiences gave the film an “A-“ CinemaScore. Of that audiences 53% was male vs. 47% female and 62% was 25 years of age or older.

Tom Cruise‘s The Mummy dropped 56%, which was to be expected, delivering an estimated $13.9 million in its second weekend as its domestic cume now stands at $56.5 million. The film, however, remained the #1 title at the international market bringing in an estimated $53 million from 68 territories as its international cume now stands at $239.1 million for a worldwide total just shy of $300 million. The film releases in Egypt next week and won’t arrive in Japan until the end of July.

And rounding out the top five is Entertainment Studios‘ 47 Meters Down, which debuted in 2,270 theaters and finished with an estimated $11.5 million. This is slightly ahead of the studio’s $10 million expectations, and Entertainment Studios Founder, Chairman and CEO, Byron Allen said of the debut, “We are very happy with our first wide release, 47 Meters Down. The movie is perfect for the summer, and an absolute crowd-pleaser as indicated by our outstanding per-screen average.” While we don’t have an official budget for the feature, which was acquired from Dimension, the P&A spend was a healthy $30 million. The film received a “C” CinemaScore from opening day audiences.

Falling short of the top five and expectations is the release of Sony‘s R-rated party comedy Rough Night starring Scarlett Johansson, Kate McKinnon, Jillian Bell, Ilana Glazer and Zoë Kravitz. Pegged for an opening in the low-teens the $20 million production could only manage an estimated $8 million from 3,162 locations and receiving a “C+” CinemaScore from opening day audiences. Internationally the film opened in 16 markets, including Australia and Russia, where it brought in an estimated $4.2 million.

Elsewhere in the top ten, Disney‘s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales brought in an estimated $8.5 million as its domestic cume now tops $150 million while Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 delivered an estimated $5 million and now finds its domestic cume just shy of $375 million.

Outside the top ten, Focus Features debuted The Book of Henry from director Colin Trevorrow into just 579 theaters where it brought in an estimated $1.4 million. The film’s audience was predominantly female with 39% over the age of 55.

In limited release, FIP‘s release of Warriors of the Dawn brought in an estimated $39,000 from 32 locations ($1,219 PTA); IFC‘s The Journey brought in an estimated $34,364 from two theaters ($17,182 PTA); Film Movement‘s Moka brought in an estimated $8,100 from one theater; Abramorama‘s Hare Krishna! brought in an estimated $21,473 from one theater; and Oscilloscope‘s Lost in Paris debuted with $4,500, also from one location.

Next week sees the release of Transformers: The Last Knight, which will debut Wednesday in over 3,900 theaters. As far as wide releases are concerned, it has a clear path throughout the weekend as the lone new wide release of the week.

via BoxOfficeMojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Cars 3	$53.5M	$53.5M	1
	Wonder Woman	$40.8M	$274.6M	3
	All Eyez on Me	$27.1M	$27.1M	1
	The Mummy	$13.9M	$56.5M	2
	47 Meters Down	$11.5M	$11.5M	1
	Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales	$8.5M	$150.1M	4
	Rough Night	$8.0M	$8.0M	1
	Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie	$7.4M	$58.0M	3
	Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2	$5.0M	$374.9M	7
	It Comes at Night	$2.6M	$11.1M	2

 

‘Wonder Woman’ Tops at #1 Again While Cruise’s ‘Mummy’ Under Performs at the BO!!

While Universal‘s release of The Mummy starring Tom Cruise is the #1 movie worldwide, it fell short of its anticipated mark domestically. The Cruise-led feature had to settle for second place, finishing nearly $25 million shy of Wonder Woman‘s second weekend, as the DC Comics adaptation enjoyed a #1 finish at the weekend box office for a second week in a row.

With an estimated $57 million, Warner Bros. and DC Comics‘ release of Wonder Woman finished atop the weekend box office for a second week in a row as its domestic cume now totals more than $205 million after just ten days in release. The performance signals a 45% drop compared to the film’s massive $103 million debut last weekend. Just to put that drop in perspective, recent DC Films saw significantly larger second weekend dips as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice fell 69% in its second weekend, Suicide Squad dropped 67% and Man of Steel dipped 65%.

Internationally, Wonder Woman added $58.1 million from 57 markets, bringing its international cume to $230.2 million for a global tally that now tops $435 million. The film debuts in Germany next week followed by Spain (June 23) and Japan in August.

In second is Universal’s The Mummy, a $125 million budgeted reboot of the studio’s classic monster tale, which was previously resurrected back in the late ’90s when Brendan Fraser and director Stephen Sommers opened The Mummy to the tune of $43.3 million on its way to a $155.3 million domestic run and the start of a trilogy. Unfortunately for Universal, their newest attempt to bring The Mummy back to life could only muster an estimated $32.2 million, an opening that not only falls short of the original Mummy as well as its sequel, which opened with $68.1 million in 2001, but it’s even short of the lackluster third film in the franchise, which brought in $40.4 million in 2008 before barely topping $100 million domestically, a figure this latest incarnation won’t likely hit as the film was mostly panned by critics while audiences gave it a “B-” CinemaScore.

Of course, it isn’t all about the domestic box office any longer and The Mummy has delivered overseas with an estimated $141.8 million as it became Cruise‘s largest worldwide opening ever, topping the $102.5 million international opening for War of the Worlds. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that it debuted in 63 international markets, including China where it brought in an estimated $52.2 million. Other openings include record openings for a Cruise-led feature in South Korea ($17.8m), Russia ($7.6m), Mexico ($5.1m) and Brazil ($3.6m). Overall, the film saw a $174 million global launch, of which a hefty 81.5% is attributed to the international market. The Mummy hits theaters in France next weekend, followed by a release in Japan on July 28.

As of right now, the future for Universal‘s Dark Universe franchise is to bring Bride of Frankenstein back to the big screen with Bill Condon (Beauty and the Beast) set to direct for a February 15, 2019 release and while two more “event” films are slated for release from Universal in 2019 and 2020, those haven’t yet been officially revealed to be films within the Dark Universe, despite online rumors to the contrary.

Third place goes to Fox’s release of DreamWorks Animation‘s Captain Underpants, which dipped 48% in its second weekend, bringing in an estimated $12.3 million. The film’s domestic cume now totals $44.5 million.

Disney‘s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales finished in fourth positing in its third week in release, bringing in an estimated $10.7 million as its domestic cume is now over $135 million. Internationally the film added another $34.8 million from 54 markets as its worldwide total now tops $600 million.

Rounding out the top five is another Disney title in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which brought in an estimated $6.2 million as its domestic cume now tops $365 million. Internationally the film added $2.2 million from 50 markets as its worldwide gross now tops $833 million.

Falling just outside the top five is the weekend’s second new wide release, A24‘s thriller It Comes at Night, which was a hit with critics, but seems to be struggling a little with audiences. Expectations were for an opening weekend over $10 million, but the film could only manage an estimated $6 million from 2,533 theaters as opening day audiences scored it with a dismal “D” CinemaScore. The film’s production budget, prior to prints and advertising, was under $5 million.

The weekend’s third new release was Bleecker Street‘s Megan Leavey, which scored a strong “A” CinemaScore from opening day audiences while not exactly delivering overwhelming opening results, finishing with an estimated $3.7 million from 1,956 theaters.

Additionally, Fox Searchlight‘s release of My Cousin Rachel starring Rachel Weisz, delivered an estimated $954k from 523 theaters, a meager $1,824 per theater average.

In limited release, Roadside‘s release of Beatriz at Dinner delivered an estimated $150,160 from five theaters for a strong, $30,032 per theater average. Oscilloscope’s Night School debuted at the IFC Center in New York and brought in an estimated $1,600 after playing to several sold out shows over the weekend in the 40 seat auditorium. Freestyle‘s release of Miles debuted in two theaters and brought in an estimated $5,176 ($1,676 PTA) while The Orchard‘s The Hero debuted with an estimated $48,414 from four screens for a $12,104 average.

Next weekend sees four new wide releases hitting theaters, three of which will be playing in over 3,000 locations. Among them, Disney and Pixar‘s Cars 3 is looking to debut in over 3,900 theaters, Entertainment Studios will release 47 Meters Down in ~3,500 theaters and Sony will release the R-rated comedy Rough Night in over 3,000 theaters. Lionsgate‘s release of Summit‘s All Eyez on Me, telling the story of rapper 2Pac, will also be hitting theaters, debuting in ~2,400 locations.

via BoxOfficeMojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Wonder Woman	$57.2M	$205.0M	2
	The Mummy	$32.2M	$32.2M	1
	Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie	$12.3M	$44.6M	2
	Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales	$10.7M	$135.8M	3
	Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2	$6.2M	$366.4M	6
	It Comes at Night	$6.0M	$6.0M	1
	Baywatch	$4.6M	$51.1M	3
	Megan Leavey	$3.8M	$3.8M	1
	Alien: Covenant	$1.8M	$71.2M	4
	Everything, Everything	$1.6M	$31.7M	4

‘Wonder Woman’ Sets $100 Million Record Opening at the BO!!!

Wonder Woman exceeded all expectations this weekend, delivering an impressive $100 million opening, the largest opening for a female-directed feature, vastly out-performing the previous record holder Fifty Shades of Grey, which debuted with $85.1 million back in 2015. Meanwhile, Fox‘s release of the DreamWorks Animation feature Captain Underpants came up a little short of Mojo‘s forecast while mildly outperforming the studio’s modest expectations. Overall, the weekend dramatically outperformed the post-holiday weekend from 2016 by a massive 38% as the top twelve delivered a combined $176 million.

At the top, Wonder Woman, directed by Patty Jenkins and starring Gal Gadot in the title role, went into the weekend boasting the best reviews out of the four films that have been released in the DC Extended Universe so far and the critical opinion definitely aided the film’s awareness as the buzz only continued to grow throughout the week. Following an impressive $38.76 million Friday that buzz was no longer due to critics as audiences gave the film an “A” CinemaScore, pushing the film over $100 million for its opening weekend, the first female directed feature to achieve such an opening. And as far as female-led comic book adaptations are concerned, it’s by far the largest opening as the second closest is Paramount‘s Ghost in the Shell, which debuted with $18.6 million earlier this year.

In fact, Wonder Woman delivered the 16th largest opening weekend for a comic book adaptation all-time. It’s the sixth largest opening among that group if you don’t count sequels and, based on estimates, the sixth largest June opening all-time. Looking ahead, given the strong word of mouth, it would be no shock to see it deliver $300 million domestically or at least very close to that figure.

Beyond the CinemaScore, the film played to an audience that was 52% female vs. 48% male, 14% of the audience was under the age of 18 and 47% was over the age of 35.

Internationally, the performance was equally strong, as Wonder Woman brought in an estimated $122.5 million from 55 markets, which includes a $38 million debut in China, bettering the openings for the likes of Man of Steel, Thor, The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy. Additional openings include the UK ($7.5m), Mexico ($8.4m), South Korea ($8.5m), Brazil ($8.3m), Australia ($4.9m), Russia ($4.8m) and Indonesia ($4.7m). Still to come are openings in France next week, Germany on June 15, Spain on June 23 and the film opens in Japan in August.

In second, Fox‘s release of DreamWorks Animation‘s Captain Underpants delivered a bit of a ho-hum opening with an estimated $23.5 million. While enough for a second place finish it’s one of the smallest opening weekends for a DreamWorks Animated title, in fact it ranks 26th among 35 total films. Fortunately, the studio made the film for a fraction of what it cost to make previous DWA titles, such as Rise of the Guardians, which was made for $145 million and only opened to $23.7 million before just barely topping $103.4 million domestically. So, should Captain Underpants holdover well things might not look so dissatisfying, but with Cars 3 and Despicable Me 3 just around the corner it’s going to need to hustle.

Captain Underpants received a “B+” CinemaScore from opening day audiences and played to an overall audience that was 54% male vs. 46% female, of which 65% where under the age of 25 and of the younger audience, 60% were boys and 91% of the audience ranged from the ages of 7-12.

Internationally, Captain Underpants debuted in just eight markets where it brought in an estimated $740k led by a nearly $300k debut in Portugal.

Moving along, Disney‘s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales appears to be sinking fast domestically as it dropped 65.7% in its second weekend, bringing in an estimated $21.6 million. The film’s domestic cume now stands at $114.6 million. Internationally things look a bit brighter as it brought in another $73.8 million pushing its global cume over $500 million after 12 days in global release with the film still yet to open in Japan.

Disney also claimed the fourth spot this weekend with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which delivered an estimated $9.7 million as its domestic cume now climbs over $355 million. Internationally it added another $4.4 million as its global gross now stands at $816.6 million, making it the fifth highest grossing worldwide release among the films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Rounding out the top five is Paramount‘s Baywatch, which dipped 54.1% in its second weekend for a domestic cume of $41.7 million. The film did roll-out to 31 international markets this weekend where it brought in $23.8 million including openings in the UK ($5.8m), Germany ($3.9m), Australia ($2.7m), Russia ($1.8m), India ($1.6m), Italy ($729k) and Hong Kong ($701k). The film’s global cume now stands over $67 million with openings in Brazil, Mexico, Spain and France coming in the next few weeks.

Elsewhere, in moderate release Lionsgate released Pantelion‘s 3 Idiotas into 349 theaters where it grossed an estimated $600k and Cohen Media‘s release of Churchill starring Brian Cox opened with $426k from 215 theaters.

In limited release CBS Films‘ Dean brought in an estimated $60,366 from 15 theaters ($4,024 PTA); IFC‘s Band Aid brought in an estimated $31,500 from three theaters ($10,500 PTA); China Lion released Beautiful Accident into 15 theaters where it grossed an estimated $25,000 ($1,667 PTA); A24‘s The Exception debuted in just two locations with an estimated $23,337 ($11,669 PTA); Vitagraph‘s Letters from Baghdad debuted with $18,250 from two locations ($9,125 PTA); Samuel Goldwyn‘s Past Life brought in an estimated $16,215 from four locations ($4,054 PTA); and finally, Matson‘s Radio Dreams opened in one location with an estimated $2,053.

Next weekend Universal will kick off their Dark Universe with The Mummy starring Tom Cruise and Sofia Boutella in 4,000 theaters while Bleecker Street releases Megan Leavey starring Rooney Mara; A24 will debut the horror feature It Comes at Night; and Fox Searchlight will release My Cousin Rachel into ~500 theaters.

via Box Office Mojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Wonder Woman	$100.5M	$100.5M	1
	Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie	$23.5M	$23.5M	1
	Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales	$21.6M	$114.6M	2
	Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2	$9.7M	$355.5M	5
	Baywatch	$8.5M	$41.7M	2
	Alien: Covenant	$4.0M	$67.2M	3
	Everything, Everything	$3.3M	$28.3M	3
	Snatched	$1.3M	$43.9M	4
	Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul	$1.2M	$17.8M	3
	King Arthur: Legend of the Sword	$1.2M	$37.2M	4

‘Pirates of the Caribbean 5’ Top Memorial Day Weekend Box Office as ‘Baywatch’ Flops at the BO!!!

Disney‘s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales led the way this Memorial Day weekend while Paramount‘s Baywatch struggled to match expectations. Meanwhile, Disney‘s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 continues to deliver while the studio’s Beauty and the Beast became only the eighth film to cross $500 million domestically. Overall, the weekend was down ~15% compared to Memorial Day weekend last year when both X-Men: Apocalypse and Alice Through the Looking Glass delivered underwhelming openings.

With an estimated $62 million for the three-day and $76.6 million for the four-day weekend, Disney‘s fifth installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise finished atop the holiday weekend box office. Additionally, the film brought in an estimated $208.4 million internationally, the 12th largest overseas opening of all-time, as it opened in virtually the entire overseas marketplace. This includes a $67.8 million debut in China and an industry record opening in Russia of an estimated $18.6 million. Additional international debuts include South Korea ($11.6m), France ($9.3m), Germany ($8.4m), Mexico ($6.9m), UK ($6.3m), Brazil ($5.6m), Italy ($5.5m), Australia ($4.4m), Spain ($4.4m), Indonesia ($4m), Taiwan ($3.6m), India ($3m) and Argentina ($3m).

It’s also of note the opening of Dead Men Tell No Tales pushed Disney‘s domestic cume for 2017 over $1 billion on Friday. It’s the second fastest a studio has reached the mark domestically, second only to Disney‘s record performance last year when the studio surpassed $1 billion in early May.

Additional demographic information for Dead Men Tell No Tales saw the film receive an “A-” CinemaScore from opening day audiences. Overall, the demographic split saw the audience play 53% male vs. 47% female of which 63% were over the age of 25 with 73% of all showings of the film playing in 2D.

As for the film’s performance, while the domestic opening falls short of expectations and isn’t exactly what you would expect or want for a film budgeted at $230 million, the film is largely a global play, which is where it succeeded. The China opening alone is the third largest ever for Disney and has already surpassed the entire run cumes for the third and fourth Pirates films. All told, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides currently stands as the only installment among the first four films in the franchise to not top $250 million domestically, let alone $300 million, and yet it delivered the largest overseas performance of the franchise, as the only installment to top $800 million internationally, $150 million more than Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. So while Dead Men Tell No Tales looks likely to become the lowest grossing domestic release of the franchise, it will be interesting to see just where it ends up globally.

Moving on, you have to go to third to find Paramount‘s Baywatch, which was topped by Disney‘s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 in its fourth weekend of release. The R-rated comedy starring Dwayne Johnson delivered a meager $18.1 million for the three-day weekend and is expected to finish around $22 million for the four-day holiday weekend. The film received a “B+” CinemaScore from opening day audiences and played to an audience that was 48% male vs. 52% female with 55% of the overall audience coming in 25 years or older.

Given the film’s weak domestic performance, heads will now turn to the international market where the film will open in 31 markets next weekend. This weekend it opened in just one international territory, that being Taiwan where it finished second with an estimated $873,000 from 82 locations.

Meanwhile, getting back to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, the Marvel sequel delivered an estimated $19.89 million for the three-day and is expected to finish around $24 million for the four-day holiday. The film’s domestic gross now tops $335 million while its international cume climbs over $450 million for a global cume totaling $783.3 million, surpassing the original Guardians of the Galaxy and becoming the fifth highest grossing worldwide release in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Fourth place belongs to Alien: Covenant, which dropped a massive 71% in its second weekend, delivering a mere $10.5 million for the three-day. This is the second largest second weekend drop for a film playing in over 3,700 theaters and considering the largest drop within that group is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, which opened with over $169 million, it’s hardly comparing apples-to-apples.

Rounding out the top five is WB‘s Everything, Everything, which dropped 47% in its second weekend, bringing in an estimated $6.18 million as its cume now stands at $21.5 million on a $10 million budget. Look for the film to finish around $7.5 million for the four-day holiday weekend.

Elsewhere, Disney‘s Beauty and the Beast brought in an estimated $1.56 million for the three-day and over $1.98 million for the four-day weekend as its domestic cume now tops $500 million, becoming only the eighth film all-time to reach that milestone.

Another milestone this weekend belongs to Universal’s The Fate of the Furious, which became only the sixth film all-time to cross $1 billion at the international box office. Of the six, Universal can lay claim to three of them, here’s the list:

• Avatar (Fox) – $2.027 billion
• Titanic (Par) – $1.528 billion
• Furious 7 (Uni) – $1.163 billion
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Disney) – $1.131 billion
• Jurassic World (Uni) – $1.019 billion
• The Fate of the Furious (Uni) – $1.001 billion

In limited release Abramorama‘s release of Long Strange Trip – The Untold Story of The Grateful Dead brought in an estimated $34,131 from two locations on the heels of an impressive event showing on Thursday night, which saw the film deliver $261,572 from 50 locations. Abramorama also released Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan this weekend, which brought in an estimated $21,127 from two theaters.

Next weekend sees the release of WB and DC‘s Wonder Woman into over 4,000 theaters, Fox‘s release of the animated feature Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie into ~3,300 locations and Lionsgate‘s release of Pantelion‘s moderate release of 3 Idiotas into ~325 theaters.

via BoxOfficeMojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales	$62.2M	$62.2M	1
	Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2	$19.9M	$333.2M	4
	Baywatch	$18.1M	$22.7M	1
	Alien: Covenant	$10.5M	$57.3M	2
	Everything, Everything	$6.2M	$21.5M	2
	Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul	$4.4M	$13.6M	2
	Snatched	$3.9M	$40.2M	3
	King Arthur: Legend of the Sword	$3.2M	$33.9M	3
	The Boss Baby	$1.7M	$169.0M	9
	Beauty and the Beast	$1.6M	$500.6M	11

‘The Fate Of The Furious’ Expected To Cross $1B Tomorrow At International Box Office!!!

The eighth installment of the wildly successful Universal Pictures’ franchise The Fate of the Furious, which was directed by F. Gary Gray, is on track to cross the $1B mark at the international box office tomorrow. This would not be the first time that one of the films in the franchise crossed the $1B mark. Furious 7 also crossed that milestone in 2015.

As of yesterday, the film was sitting at $998.5M, so it is primed and ready to drive past the benchmark tomorrow. It also appears that it’s only the 6th time ever that a film has grabbed the $1B ring, behind Avatar, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Titanic, another Uni film Jurassic World and the aforementioned Furious 7. Avatar remains the leader with $2B overseas and a full total of $2.78B. The James Cameron-helmed film was released in December of 2009. No wonder there are four more pictures to come.

The big reason for The Fate of the Furious to push past the $1B mark internationally is largely due to the all-important China market where it has become the highest-grossing foreign film ever only behind (once again) Furious 7. Fate of the Furious has also been doing stellar business in Japan and ranks as the top performer of the franchise in that country.

Gotta give kudos to the studio’s international team and also how the film utilized the cast, especially in China. More analysis on that tomorrow. In the meantime, the film is one of the highest-grossing films of all time worldwide, ranking No. 11.

 

via Deadline

‘Alien: Covenant’ Edges Out ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 2’ to Top, ‘Everything Everything’ Opens well at the BO!!!

It’s a tight race at the top as weekend estimates have Alien: Covenant holding a narrow lead over Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 for the #1 spot at the weekend box office. Considering Guardians has been underestimated the past two weekends by $1.46 million and $2.25 million, tomorrow afternoon’s actuals will be something to look out for as less than $1 million separates the two films. Meanwhile, WB and MGM‘s Everything, Everything delivered on the high end of industry expectations while Fox‘s Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul will be looking to next weekend, hoping the upcoming four-day holiday will improve what was a rather weak debut.

At #1, Fox‘s Alien: Covenant debuted with an estimated $36 million, nearly 43% of which came from its Friday performance, which included $4.2 million from Thursday previews. An opening less than $40 million is somewhat disappointing considering the $51 million opening for its predecessor, Prometheus, five years ago. Yet, the $97 million budget for Covenant compared to the $130m spent on Prometheus works in the film’s favor as does the fact more than 68% of Prometheus‘s $403.4 million global total came from overseas markets, which is where Covenant will be hoping to make up some ground.

Internationally, Covenant got its start last weekend and this weekend it brought in an estimated $30.3 million from 76 markets bringing its international total to $81.8 million for a global cume of $117.8 million. Openings this weekend included Russia ($4.4m), Germany ($2.3m) and Sweden ($822K). The film doesn’t debut in China until mid-June.

As for the demographics, opening day audiences gave Alien: Covenant a “B” CinemaScore. Of that audience, 62% were male vs. 38% female, of which 66% were 25 years or older and 51% of the audience was Caucasian, 19% Hispanic, 15% African American and 9% Asian.

In second is Disney and Marvel‘s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which topped $300 million domestically this weekend with an estimated $35.1 million, only a 46% drop compared to last weekend. Internationally, the film is now up to $431 million, 19% ahead of the total run of Guardians of the Galaxy at today’s exchange rates. The global cume as of today currently stands at an estimated $732.6 million.

In third is WB and MGM‘s Everything, Everything, which proved Mojo‘s forecast was way too low as it brought in an estimated $12 million, which is at the high end of industry expectations for the weekend. Opening day audiences took to the film as it earned an “A-“ CinemaScore, a grade, unsurprisingly, largely driven by the female audience, which made up 82% of the opening weekend crowd. Overall, 74% of the audience was under the age of 25 and only 18% over the age of 35. The film carries a reported $10 million production budget.

The second weekend of the Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn comedy Snatched dipped a little steeper than we expected, dropping 61% for an estimated $7.6 million following its Mother’s Day weekend debut last week. Given its strong performance last Sunday this isn’t much of a surprise, though it does sting a bit as the $42 million production now stands at $32.7 million domestically and isn’t showing signs it won’t likely have very long legs in North America.

Internationally, Snatched is up to $7.2 million, which includes an estimated $3.3m from 1,106 screens in 14 markets this weekend. Top opening this weekend was a fourth place finish in the UK where it brought in an estimated $1.3 million and with only 14 markets currently in play the vast majority of the international marketplace is still scheduled to release throughout the summer season.

Rounding out the top five is yet another Fox feature, this time the fourth film in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid franchise, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul. The film debuted with an estimated $7.2 million from 3,157 locations, which is well below industry expectations and the “B” CinemaScore doesn’t exactly make things any better. Yet, the film can still hope for a strong performance next weekend as more kids will be out of school over the Memorial Day holiday.

Elsewhere in the top ten, WB‘s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword dropped 55% for an estimated $6.85 million bringing its domestic cume to just over $27 million. Meanwhile, the $175 million budgeted feature brought in an estimated $27.7 million internationally from 64 markets, bringing its international cume to $66.2 million for a global gross-to-date of $93.4 million with a June 17 release Japan up next.

Additionally, Disney‘s Beauty and the Beast brought in an estimated $2.4 million as its domestic cume is now just shy of $500 million, soon to become only the eighth film to cross that mark. Overall, the film has now entered the all-time top ten worldwide, surpassing Iron Man 3 with $1.22 billion globally.

Speaking of worldwide cumes, Universal‘s The Fate of the Furious added over $10 million globally this weekend, bringing it’s worldwide cume to $1.212 billion as it currently sits in twelfth position on the all-time list, slowly creeping on Iron Man 3, just $2.23 million behind.

In limited release, IFC‘s Wakefield brought in an estimated $14,120 from one theater; PBS released Abacus: Small Enough to Jail into one theater where it grossed an estimated $13,626; and Cohen Media re-released James Ivory‘s Maurice into one theater where it grossed an estimated $6,013.

Next weekend sees the release of Disney‘s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, debuting in over 4,000 theaters. 2011’s Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides debuted with $90.1 million and the film has seen some significant awareness as of late due to a reported hack of the Walt Disney Company wherein an upcoming Disney film, reported to be Dead Men Tell No Tales, was being held for ransom. It will be fascinating to see just how well Dead Men Tell No Tales after the last film was the only one in the franchise to not top $300 million domestically while at the same time delivering over $1 billion worldwide as the franchise, as with a lot of today’s blockbusters, has become a major international play and it’s going big next weekend, opening in all international markets except for Japan.

via Box Office Mojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Alien: Covenant	$36.0M	$36.0M	1
	Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2	$35.1M	$301.8M	3
	Everything, Everything	$12.0M	$12.0M	1
	Snatched	$7.6M	$32.8M	2
	Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul	$7.2M	$7.2M	1
	King Arthur: Legend of the Sword	$6.9M	$27.2M	2
	The Fate of the Furious	$3.2M	$219.9M	6
	The Boss Baby	$2.8M	$166.2M	8
	Beauty and the Beast	$2.4M	$497.8M	10
	How to Be a Latin Lover	$2.2M	$29.5M	4

‘Guardians of the Galaxy 2’ Holds at #1 While ‘King Arthur’ Flops at the BO!!!

It ended up a lighter weekend than expected, mostly due to the struggles of the weekend’s two new wide releases as both King Arthur: Legend of the Sword and Snatched fell below Mojo‘s forecast. In the case of King Arthur it opened well below our estimation as the $175 million budgeted feature couldn’t even crack $15 million over the three-day. Meanwhile, at #1 it was Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which is already flirting with $250 million domestically after ten days in release and has now topped $630 million worldwide.

For the second weekend in a row it’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 at the top of the weekend box office as it delivered an estimated $63 million for a domestic cume over $246 million. While this falls below our $69.9 million forecast, the 57% drop is an improvement on the average for first sequels in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and better than the second weekend holds for Avengers: Age of Ultron, Iron Man 2 and Thor: The Dark World. Added to that, don’t be surprised to see it climb a little once actuals come in tomorrow and possibly improve on the 56.6% second weekend drop for Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Internationally, Guardians 2 opened in its final international market, pulling in an estimated $3 million in Japan as it delivered an estimated $52.2 million from 56 markets this weekend. The film’s international gross has now climbed over $380 million for a global cume that now stands at $633 million.

In second was Fox‘s release of the Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn comedy Snatched bringing in an estimated $17.5 million. Headed into the weekend industry estimates were for an opening in the mid-teens and our basement projection was $18 million, which Snatched could still hit if it sees a little more support over Mother’s Day than currently projected. That said, the film was unable to pop the way Schumer’s Trainwreck did when it dramatically outperformed expectations, pulling in a $30 million opening in 2015.

In terms of demographics, Snatched played to an audience that was 77% female vs. 23% male with 72% of the overall audience coming in 25 years or older. Further breakdown shows the audience was 64% Caucasian, 16% Hispanic, 10% African American and 6% Asian. Opening day audiences gave the film a “B” CinemaScore, which isn’t exactly wonderful news as compared to the “A-” for Trainwreck, but with limited genre competition next weekend it could show some legs, though with a $42 million budget this isn’t exactly a stellar start.

Next we come to Warner Bros.’ King Arthur, a $175 million budgeted feature that was expected to kick off a franchise of films and it floundered upon release, generating an estimated $14.7 million from 3,702 theaters. Industry expectations heading into the weekend were around $23-25 million and even those numbers were somewhat alarming given the money spent on the production. The film received a “B+” CinemaScore from opening day audiences of which 59% were male vs. 41% female and of the overall audience, 56% were under the age of 35.

Now attention turns to the international performance where the film would need to do quite well to recoup production costs, but after an estimated $29.1 million from 51 markets this weekend and a worldwide opening just shy of $44 million things aren’t looking too bright. Looking ahead, the film opens in France, UK and South Korea on May 17, followed by Australia a day later on the 18th.

Also opening this weekend, BH Tilt‘s Lowriders did quite well in limited release, pulling in an estimated $2.4 million from only 295 theaters for a $8,180 per theater average and an eighth place finish. Comparatively, Roadside‘s release of Doug Liman‘s The Wall brought in a mere $891k from 541 theaters for a disappointing $1,648 per theater average. As a result, The Wall debuted in 14th position, well below our expectations if you read our weekend preview.

The weekend’s top limited performer was Paris Can Wait, from Eleanor Coppola, making her feature-length writing and directorial debut. That said, it would appear film making is simply in the Coppola blood as the film brought in an estimated $101,825 from just four theaters for an impressive, $25,456 per theater average. Paris Can Wait will remain in limited release over the next couple weeks before going wide on June 16.

Other limited releases include Roadside‘s The Wedding Plan, which brought in an estimated $33k ($4,130 PTA); FilmRise‘s Manifesto with an estimated $10,500 from one theater; Abramorama‘s The Last Shaman with $7,040 from one theater; and FilmRise‘s release of Dead Awake, which brought in $6,000 from 12 locations.

Next weekend sees the release of Alien: Covenant, which could make for an interesting finish next weekend. The latest film in the Alien franchise will be looking at a #1 opening, but with early tracking two weeks ago anticipating a $30 million debut it’s not certain that would be enough to take down Guardians 2, which is likely to drop around 50% or so new weekend. Fox has finally sent over debut international results for Alien: Covenant, which released in 34 international markets this weekend with an estimated $42 million. The film was #1 in 19 of its opening markets including South Korea ($7.2m), UK ($6.4m), France ($4.5m), Australia ($3.1m), Spain ($1.9m) and Hong Kong ($1.8m). Next weekend, along with its domestic debut in 3,600+ theaters, the film will open in 52 markets including Germany, Russia and Sweden.

Next week also sees for Fox releasing Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul and Warner Bros. will be hoping to bounce back from this weekend’s rough release of King Arthur with the drama Everything, Everything.

via Box Office Mojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2	$63.0M	$246.2M	2
	Snatched	$17.5M	$17.5M	1
	King Arthur: Legend of the Sword	$14.7M	$14.7M	1
	The Fate of the Furious	$5.3M	$215.0M	5
	The Boss Baby	$4.6M	$162.4M	7
	Beauty and the Beast	$3.9M	$493.2M	9
	How to Be a Latin Lover	$3.8M	$26.1M	3
	Lowriders	$2.4M	$2.4M	1
	The Circle	$1.7M	$18.9M	3
	Bahubali 2: The Conclusion	$1.6M	$18.9M	3

‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ Rockets to No. 1 With $145 Million at the BO!!!

Accounting for over 79% of the cumulative top ten gross, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 topped the domestic box office, showing a 54% increase compared to the 2014 original and giving Disney the top two openers of 2017 so far. Additionally, the film expanded its reach overseas, including openings in South Korea and China, the latter of which delivered the fourth largest opening in China to date for a film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as the film’s global cume has now topped $425 million in 13 days.

With an estimated $145 million opening weekend, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 topped the weekend box office and improved on the original 2014 release by 53.78%. Considering the $94.3 million opening for the original Guardians of the Galaxy was something of a surprise it’s a spectacularly impressive result considering it’s the largest jump for a second film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, among all sequels in the MCU only the 88.5% increase for Captain America: Civil War over Winter Soldier is better.

The opening is just a bit below the $174 million opening for Furious 7, which went on to gross $353 million domestically. That said, the average multiplier for an MCU film is 2.73, which would put Guardians 2 right at $395 million domestically and given the 3.53 multiplier for the first film it feels safe to assume we should expect at least that much and more likely a result over $400 million.

Helping matters further is the “A” CinemaScore, which is right in line with pretty much all MCU features, and don’t be surprised to see that opening weekend total bump up a notch or two and perhaps finish right around $147 million. Audience demographics show the film playing to an audience that was 56% male vs. 44% female, and overall 22% of the audience as 25 years-old or younger and a whopping 72% of the audience were adults while only 9% were teenagers.

Internationally, Guardians 2 brought in an estimated $123.8 million this weekend as its international cume now stands at $282.6 million after 13 days. Added to the estimated opening domestically the film’s global cume totals $427.6 million, which helps push the worldwide cume for the Marvel Cinematic Universe over $11.3 billion.

Highlights internationally include an estimated $48 million opening for Guardians in China, which is 75% ahead of the first film and nearly half of the first film’s overall $96.4 million take in China. The film opened in Korea with an estimated $13.3 million and in Russia with an estimated $11.6 million. Next weekend the film will open in Japan (May 12), the film’s final international market.

Digging deeper into the numbers approximately 41% of Guardians 2‘s weekend gross came from 3D ticket sales, led by China where 99% of all moviegoers saw the film in 3D. Elsewhere, Germany saw 80% of its sales attributed to 3D, Brazil (76%), Russia (52%), Hong Kong (43%), The Netherlands (90%), Colombia (85%) and Austria (85%). Also, $25 million of the global ticket sales came from IMAX theaters as the film played on 1,088 IMAX screens in 69 markets making it the widest opening in IMAX’s history.

Universal‘s The Fate of the Furious slides to second after three weeks at number one. This weekend it brought in an estimated $8.5 million, pushing its domestic cume over $205 million. Internationally the film crossed $950 million after bringing in an estimated $30.1 million this weekend from 66 territories. This pushes the global cume for the eight installment in the Fast and Furious franchise to $1.158 billion where it now stands as the 13th largest worldwide release of all-time and seventh largest international release.

Third belongs to Fox‘s The Boss Baby, which has now grossed over $156 million domestically after bringing in an estimated $6.2 million in its sixth weekend in release. The film also brought in another $17 million internationally bringing its global cume to $435 million.

Lionsgate and Pantelion‘s How to be a Latin Lover dropped 57% in its second weekend, delivering a fourth place finish with an estimated $5.25 million. The film’s cume now stands $20.6 million.

And rounding out the top five is Disney‘s Beauty and the Beast with an estimated $4.9 million as its domestic cume now stands at $487.5 million. Additionally, the film brought in another $11.9 million internationally this weekend as its global cume combs to $1.186 billion, making it the eleventh highest grossing worldwide release of all-time.

Outside the top ten, Baahubali 2: The Conclusion may have dropped 69%, but with an estimated $3.2 million from 418 theaters it still had the best per theater average among all holdovers with $7,757 per theater. The film’s cume now stands at $16.1 million in North America.

Outside the top ten, The Orchard‘s release of The Dinner, starring Richard Gere, Chloe Sevigny, Steve Coogan and Laura Linney brought in an estimated $755,348 from 505 theaters.

In limited release A24‘s The Lovers delivered an estimated $75,370 from four theaters for a strong $17,603 per theater average. The film will roll out into additional top markets next weekend and continue to expand throughout May and into the Summer months.

Additionally, Neon‘s Julian Assange documentary Risk brought in an estimated $75,179 from 34 theaters ($2,211 PTA); IFC‘s Chuck brought in an estimated $40,416 from four theaters ($10,104 PTA); The Weinstein‘s 3 Generations brought in $20,118 from six theaters ($3,353 PTA); Janus‘s re-release of Andrei Tarkovsky‘s Stalker brought in an estimated $19,784 from one theater; Abramorama‘s Mr. Chibbs opened with an estimated $3,640 from one location; and The Orchard‘s Take Me delivered $3,258, also from one location.

Finally, this weekend also saw Universal and Blumhouse‘s Get Out bring in an estimated $8.3 million internationally as it expanded its reach overseas into 47 markets. This brings the international cume to $30.5 million for a global total that now tops $204 million, all on a $4.5 million budget.

Next weekend’s wide releases include King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, which WB is releasing in over 3,600 theaters, and Snatched starring Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn, opening in ~3,300 locations. Additionally, BH Tilt will debut Lowriders while Roadside has a pair of releases in The Wall and The Wedding Plan.

via BoxOfficeMojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2	$145.0M	$145.0M	1
	The Fate of the Furious	$8.5M	$207.1M	4
	The Boss Baby	$6.2M	$156.7M	6
	How to Be a Latin Lover	$5.3M	$20.7M	2
	Beauty and the Beast	$4.9M	$487.6M	8
	The Circle	$4.0M	$15.7M	2
	Bahubali 2: The Conclusion	$3.2M	$16.2M	2
	Gifted	$2.1M	$19.2M	5
	Going in Style	$1.9M	$40.6M	5
	Smurfs: The Lost Village	$1.8M	$40.6M	5

‘Furious 8’ Tops $1 Billion, ‘Latin Lover’ and ‘Baahubali 2’ Open Big, While ‘The Circle’ Flops at the BO!!!

While it’s no small feat that The Fate of the Furious finished atop the box office for a third weekend in a row while crossing $1 billion worldwide, Pantelion‘s How to be a Latin Lover and Great India Films‘ Baahubali 2: The Conclusion are stealing some of the spotlight as the two films finished in second and third place at the domestic box office, despite the fact the two films played in just over 1,500 theaters combined. Additionally, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 got off to a healthy start overseas, one week ahead of its domestic debut.

With an estimated $19.3 million, Fate of the Furious sees its domestic cume grow to $192.7 million, earning a third weekend atop the domestic box office. Of course, the bigger story is the film became Universal‘s fifth title to top $1 billion worldwide, joining the ranks of Jurassic World ($1.67 billion), Furious 7 ($1.52 billion), Minions ($1.16 billion) and Jurassic Park ($1.04 billion). This weekend Furious 8 is estimated to have brought in $68.4 million from 69 markets bringing its international total to $867.6 million. The only new opener this week was Japan where the film delivered an estimated $7.5 million, the largest opening for a Fast film in Japan.

Second place belongs to Lionsgate‘s release of Pantelion‘s How to be a Latin Lover starring Eugenio Derbez and Salma Hayek. The film played in just 1,118 theaters and delivered an estimated $12 million for a $10,750 per theater average. This is the largest opening for a Pantelion film to date and the “A” CinemaScore grade from opening day audiences is sure to aid its legs moving forward. Additionally, the film played to an audience that was 55% female, 75% of the overall audience was 25 years or older and 89% were Hispanic.

In third is the mammoth release of the Tollywood sensation, Baahubali 2: The Conclusion distributed by Great India Films in North America. Playing in a mere 425 theaters the film brought in an estimated $10.1 million, a whopping $23,855 per theater average and nearly three times as much as the opening for the 2015 original. This is the largest opening for an Indian film domestically and we are still hoping to get a full report regarding its performance outside North America.

Finishing in fourth is STX‘s The Circle, the first film in the studio’s three-year deal with Europacorp and it came up light compared to expectations, delivering an estimated $9.3 million from 3,163 theaters. Reviews didn’t help the film which scored a 43 on Metacritic, a sentiment that was echoed by opening day audiences, which gave the film a dismal “D+” CinemaScore. Exit polls show 62% of the opening weekend audience for the film was female and 44% was between the ages of 18 and 34. While the budget was a reported $18 million for the feature, Europacorp acquired the title for $8 million.

Rounding out the top five was Fox‘s The Boss Baby, which held on nicely once again, dropping 29% in its fifth weekend in release, delivering an estimated $9.05 million as its domestic cume is now just shy of $150 million.

Outside the top ten Universal and Blumhouse’s Get Out is doing everything it can to stay in theaters as the film found itself adding 598 locations in its tenth week in release where it grossed an estimated $1.7 million as its domestic cume now stands at $172.5 million. Worldwide it’s still only getting started but it’s international cume is now up to $21.4 million as the $4.5 million production is nearing $200 million globally.

In other Blumhouse news, the latest BH Tilt release, Sleight, debuted this weekend in just 565 theaters where it brought in a somewhat satisfying $1.7 million. The film was made on a tiny, $250,000 budget, and was picked up by Blumhouse and WWE Films out of Sundance last year.

In limited release China Lion‘s Battle for Memories brought in an estimated $210k from 42 theaters ($5,000 PTA); Oscilloscope‘s One Week and a Day opened with an estimated $9,500 from 3 theaters ($3,167 PTA); Well Go‘s Buster’s Mal Heart brought in $7,800 from one location; and Abramorama‘s Bang! The Bert Berns Story also debuted in just one theater where it brought in an estimated $4,227.

Next weekend belongs to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which got off to a strong start internationally this weekend, bringing in an estimated $101.2 million from ~58% of the overall international market. The film was #1 in all markets in which it opened outside of Portugal, Turkey and Vietnam and all markets topped the opening performance for the original Guardians of the Galaxy. Estimated results include the UK ($15.5M), Australia ($11.6M), Germany ($8.3M), France ($7.9M), Mexico ($7.6M), Brazil ($6.9M), Italy ($4.1M), Indonesia ($3.4M), Spain ($3.3M), Philippines ($3.2M), Thailand ($2.7M), Taiwan ($2.4M), Malaysia ($2.0M) and New Zealand ($2.0M).

As for how this performance compares to previous Marvel releases, Disney estimates the opening is +57% ahead of the original Guardians which ended with $440.2 million internationally, +50% ahead of Captain America: Winter Soldier ($454.5M internationally) and +19% ahead of Thor: The Dark World ($438.2M internationally) when comparing the same suite of territories and all at today’s exchange rates. The film has still yet to open in Russia, Korea, China and Japan.

As for Guardians 2‘s domestic debut, the film will open in ~4,200 theaters and while it was originally expected Fate of the Furious would become 2017’s second $100+ million opener until it fell short, Guardians most certainly will cross that mark as an opening around $150 million is within reach.

via BoxOfficeMojo

Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	The Fate of the Furious	$19.4M	$192.7M	3
	How to Be a Latin Lover	$12.0M	$12.0M	1
	Bahubali 2: The Conclusion	$10.1M	$10.1M	1
	The Circle	$9.3M	$9.3M	1
	The Boss Baby	$9.1M	$148.5M	5
	Beauty and the Beast	$6.4M	$480.1M	7
	Going in Style	$3.6M	$37.3M	4
	Smurfs: The Lost Village	$3.3M	$37.7M	4
	Gifted	$3.3M	$15.8M	4
	Unforgettable	$2.3M	$8.9M	2

‘Furious 8’ Tops $900 Million Worldwide While New Releases Under-perform at the BO!!!

The top of this weekend’s box office looks a lot like last weekend as the top three films remain the same, once again headlined by The Fate of the Furious as it closes in on $1 billion worldwide. As for the weekend’s new releases, Disney‘s Born in China topped the list with the best start for a Disney nature title since the $10.6 million opening for 2012’s Chimpanzee. Otherwise, WB‘s Unforgettable, Open Road‘s The Promise, Cinelou‘s Phoenix Forgotten and A24′s Free Fire all under-performed.

At #1 for a second weekend in a row is Universal‘s The Fate of the Furious, which performed mostly as expected, dropping 61% in its second weekend and bringing in an estimated $38.6 million as its domestic cume now climbs to $163.6 million. Internationally, the film continued its impressive overseas run bringing in an estimated $163.4 million from 65 territories as its overseas total balloons to $744.8 million for a global cume that stands at $908.4 million. The film will cross $1 billion worldwide later this week and it will be making its debut in Japan on April 28.

And just as this weekend saw a repeat at #1, the same goes for second and third with Fox‘s The Boss Baby and Disney‘s Beauty and the Beast delivering estimated $12.75 million and $9.97 million weekends respectively. Both are strong performances with Boss Baby only dropping 20% as its cume closes in on $140 million domestically. Meanwhile, Beauty and the Beast dipped only 28% as its cume is now over $471 million domestically.

Overseas, Beauty and the Beast debuted in its final international market, Japan, where it opened at #1 with an estimated $12.8 million as the film enjoyed an estimated $22.9 million weekend internationally bringing its international total to $629.2 million for a worldwide cume that stands at $1.1 billion.

Moving along, Disney also took the fourth slot at the weekend box office with the latest Disneynature release, Born in China, which managed to deliver an estimated $5.1 million from 1,508 theaters. This is an improvement over the last two Disneynature openings—Monkey Kingdom ($4.6m) and Bears ($4.8m)—and the film received an “A-” CinemaScore from opening day audiences.

Rounding out the top five is WB‘s Going in Style, which also dropped only 20% and brought in an estimated $5 million as its cume now totals $31.7 million.

We don’t get to the next new release until the seventh slot as Warner‘s Unforgettable will clearly soon be forgotten as the film could only manage an estimated $4.8 million from 2,417 theaters, well below our forecast and pre-release industry expectations. While critics weren’t too enamored with the film—it scored a 45 on Metacritic—opening day audiences weren’t too impressed either as the film received a “C” CinemaScore.

In eighth is Fox Searchlight‘s expanded release of Gifted, which delivered a solid $4.5 million weekend as it expanded into 1,986 theaters (+840). The film seems to have found some traction after something of a moderate start, whether that leads to Searchlight to shift plans and expand further remains to be seen.

Ninth place belongs to Open Road‘s The Promise, which opened with just $4 million from 2,251 theaters. Reports have pegged the production budget for this one at $90 million and the film wasn’t without its own share of controversy leading up to release as was noted in a Washington Post article discussing the project with director Terry George including the film’s subject matter and the more than 120,000 ratings on IMDb in advance of the release, which we referenced in our weekend forecast.

Rounding out the top ten is Bleecker Street‘s expanded release of The Lost City of Z. After opening in four theaters last weekend the film expanded to 641 locations and brought in an estimated $2.1 million for a strong, $3,497 per theater average.

Finishing just outside the top ten is Cinelou‘s Phoenix Forgotten, which opened in 1,592 theaters with an estimated $2 million and just behind it is Universal‘s Get Out, which brought in an estimated $1.7 million to start its ninth week in release as the domestic cume for the $4.5 million budgeted feature has now topped $170 million.

Much further down the list we find A24‘s new release Free Fire, which failed to capture audience attention, finishing with an estimated $1.03 million from 1,070 theaters.

In limited release, IFC‘s Citizen Jane opened in two theaters in New York, bringing in an estimated $33,760 ($16,880 PTA) and will open in Los Angeles next week, followed by a rollout into the top fifteen markets throughout May. Additionally, The Orchard‘s Jeremiah Tower also debuted in two theaters, bringing in an estimated $24,068 ($12,034 PTA).

Overall, the weekend was down 40% compared to last week as the top twelve couldn’t combine for more than $100 million for only the second time this year.

Next weekend sees the release of STX‘s The Circle starring Tom Hanks and Emma Watson, Pantelion‘s How to be a Latin Lover starring Eugenio Derbez and the next potential Blumhouse breakout feature, Sleight, a sci-fi actioner starring Jacob Latimore that played at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.

via BoxOfficeMojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	The Fate of the Furious	$38.7M	$163.6M	2
	The Boss Baby	$12.8M	$137.0M	4
	Beauty and the Beast	$10.0M	$471.1M	6
	Born in China	$5.1M	$5.1M	1
	Going in Style	$5.0M	$31.8M	3
	Smurfs: The Lost Village	$4.9M	$33.4M	3
	Unforgettable	$4.8M	$4.8M	1
	Gifted	$4.5M	$10.7M	3
	The Promise	$4.1M	$4.1M	1
	The Lost City of Z	$2.1M	$2.3M	2

‘Beauty and the Beast’ Climbs to $1 Billion at the Worldwide Box Office!!!

Disney’s live-action musical remake of Beauty and the Beast is a box office smash, and it’s officially crossed the ultimate benchmark for studio tentpoles — $1 billion at the worldwide box office. Bill Condon‘s spin on the beloved Disney animated classic joins the billion dollar club less than a month of landing in US theaters on March 17.

The studio sent out a press release announcing its accomplishment, which pointed out that not only had the film become 2017’s first film to cross $1 billion and is now the highest grossing film of the year, it’s also the highest-grossing live-action musical of all time.

While the film’s success was expected, now the question becomes how high can it go?  It’s currently ranked #29 on the all-time worldwide box office list, and while April has The Fate of the Furious on the way, it’s still a relatively slow month so Beauty and the Beast should have some room to grow until the summer movie season begins.

Of course, this kind of onslaught is par for the course for Disney, which expects to dominate at the box office at this point.  The studio should expect to add a few more billion-dollar films to its ranks this year with the release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Star Wars: The Last Jedi at the very least (I’m curious to see if Cars 3 can continue the franchise’s success at the box office).  It will also be interesting to see if any other live-action Disney film can eclipse Beauty and the Beast‘s record.  While the studio has plenty of live-action adaptations in the pipeline, the only one I can see outpacing Beauty and the Beast is Jon Favreau‘s live-action adaptation of The Lion King.

via Collider

‘Boss Baby’ Repeats at #1 While ‘Smurfs’ and ‘Going in Style’ Open Decent at the BO!!

Fox and DreamWorks Animation‘s The Boss Baby topped the weekend box office for a second week in a row, once again leading Disney‘s Beauty and the Beast over the course of what felt like a placeholder weekend as far as new releases are concerned. While Sony‘s Smurfs: The Lost Village performed mostly as expected and New Line‘s Going in Style over performed based on expectations, it seems most moviegoers are merely waiting for the next weekend’s release of The Fate of the Furious as it looks to become the second 2017 release to debut over $100 million. Otherwise, this weekend also featured a satisfactory opening for Pure Flix‘s The Case for Christ, which could see its estimates receive a bump today as a result of it being Palm Sunday, while last weekend’s release of Ghost in the Shell dipped over 60% in its second weekend in release.

At the top of the box office it’s Fox‘s The Boss Baby as the animated feature dropped 48% for an estimated $26.3 million sophomore session as its domestic cume is now just shy of $90 million after ten days in release. Internationally, Boss Baby added another $37.5 million this weekend from 46 markets as its international cume now stands at $110.4 million for a global total just shy of $200 million.

In second, Disney‘s Beauty and the Beast continued its climb toward $1 billion worldwide, adding an estimated $25 million as its domestic cume topped $430 million and another $36.1 million internationally for a worldwide total over $975 million. Internationally the film saw no new openings this weekend and won’t see any more new openings until April 21st when it debuts in Japan, but by that time it will have already topped $1 billion globally.

In third is where we find Sony‘s Smurfs: The Lost Village, which industry expectations had opening in the mid-teens, which is to say with its estimated $14 million opening it more or less hit that target. The film was well received by opening day audiences as the 18-and-under demographic gave it an “A+” CinemaScore, while the overall audience CinemaScore was an “A”, a touch above the “A-” the two previous Smurfs films received. Internationally the film grossed an estimated $22 million from 58 markets for an international total of $42.1 million and a global cume that currently stands at $56.1 million. This weekend’s openings included a $2.2 million debut in Brazil along with France ($1.9m); Mexico ($1.6m); Germany ($1.5m); and Italy ($1m) Upcoming releases include an April 21 debut in China and an April 28 release in South Korea.

In fourth is the weekend’s second new wide release, New Line‘s comedy remake Going in Style, which over performed based on what was expected to be an opening around $8 million as the film debuted with an estimated $12.5 million from 3,061 theaters. Opening day audiences gave the film a “B+” CinemaScore, though more importantly the film’s target demographic of audience members 50 and over gave the film an “A-“. Opening weekend demographics show the film playing to an audience that was 47% male vs. 53% female, of which 90% were over the age of 35 years old. Budgeted at a reported $25 million, it will be interesting to see just how long this film’s legs might be.

Internationally, Going for Style opened in 32 markets where it brought in an estimated $4.3 million. This includes a fourth place opening in Russia with an estimated $800k; $688k in the UK; $520k in the United Arab Emirates; $320k in the Netherlands and a $243k opening in Brazil. This week the film will continue its international roll-out, opening in Spain on Wednesday and Germany a day later followed by Australia on April 20 and Mexico on April 21.

Rounding out the top five is Paramount‘s Ghost in the Shell, which debuted to a disappointing $18.7 million last weekend and its sophomore session wasn’t much better as it dropped over 60% for an estimated $7.2 million. Internationally the film brought in an estimated $41.3 million, which includes a $21.4 million ($2.5m from 389 IMAX locations) opening in China as its overseas total climbs to $92.8 million for a global cume just shy of $125 million.

Elsewhere, WB‘s Kong: Skull Island dropped 32.2%, finishing with an estimated $5.8 million as its domestic cume now stands at $156.5 million. The film also continues to perform internationally where it brought in an estimated $16 million this weekend, bringing the overseas total to $377.8 million for a global haul just shy of $535 million, topping the $529 million worldwide performance of 2014’s Godzilla.

Additionally, Universal‘s Get Out continued to hold steady, dropping a top ten best, 29% for a ninth place finish and an estimated $4 million as its domestic cume has now topped $162 million. Rounding out the top ten is Pure Flix‘s The Case for Christ, finishing with an estimated $3.9 million from 1,174 theaters and an “A+” CinemaScore.

Outside the top ten, FUNimation‘s release of Your Name is expected to bring in $1.6 million this weekend from ~300 theaters for a $5,281 per theater average; Neon‘s release of Colossal into four theaters brought in an estimated $125,809 ($31,452 PTA); STX released Their Finest into four theaters where it brought in an estimated $77,000 ($19,250 PTA); FilmRise’s release of Truman into three theaters brought in an estimated $25,000 ($8,333 PTA); and IFC’s release of Graduation debuted with an estimated $11,040 from two theaters.

Also, Fox Searchlight‘s limited release of Gifted into 56 theaters brought in an estimated $476,000 ($8,500 PTA). The studio has already planned a Wednesday expansion into ~850 theaters followed by a continued expansion next Friday into ~1,000 theaters and what is expected to be over 1,500 theaters by April 21.

Overall, the weekend saw the top twelve gross a combined $114.5 million, down over 30% compared to last weekend and down 7% compared to the same weekend last year. However, next weekend looks to be something of a different story…

Next weekend sees the release of The Fate of the Furious in over 4,200 theaters, which means it’s already looking to become the widest release of April, topping the 4,028 theaters The Jungle Book opened in last year before debuting with over $103 million and more than the 4,004 theaters Furious 7 premiered in back in 2015, when it opened with $147.1 million. One interesting factor when forecasting Furious 8 is the fact the seventh installment had the sentimental aspect surrounding the untimely passing of franchise star Paul Walker and while audience goodwill and excitement most certainly remains for the franchise, can it manage to match its predecessor’s monster opening?

In addition to its domestic debut, Fate of the Furious will also be opening in 66 international markets next week, beginning on Wednesday in Australia, France, Korea, Belgium, Egypt, Indonesia, French-Switzerland and Trinidad. Also of note, that opening includes 1,074 IMAX screens globally including North America and China, making it the widest day and date opening in IMAX history.

via BoxOfficeMojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	The Boss Baby	$26.3M	$89.4M	2
	Beauty and the Beast	$25.0M	$432.3M	4
	Smurfs: The Lost Village	$14.0M	$14.0M	1
	Going in Style	$12.5M	$12.5M	1
	Ghost in the Shell	$7.4M	$31.6M	2
	Power Rangers	$6.2M	$75.1M	3
	Kong: Skull Island	$5.8M	$156.6M	5
	Logan	$4.1M	$218.1M	6
	Get Out	$4.0M	$162.9M	7
	The Case for Christ	$3.9M	$3.9M	1

 

‘Boss Baby’ Dethrones ‘Beauty and the Beast’ as ‘Ghost in the Shell’ Under-performs at the BO!!!

It’s close, but Fox and DreamWorks Animation‘s The Boss Baby narrowly beat Disney‘s Beauty and the Beast and delivered a #1 finish this weekend as it vastly over performed pre-release industry expectations. Meanwhile, Paramount‘s Ghost in the Shell debuted with the opposite result, finishing in third position and well below expectations. Elsewhere, Lionsgate‘s Power Rangers dropped over 60% in its second weekend while WB‘s Kong: Skull Island, Fox‘s Logan and Universal‘s Get Out delivered the best holds within the top ten.

Finishing atop the weekend box office, Fox and DWA‘s The Boss Baby brought in an estimated $49 million from 3,773 theaters. It currently stands as the tenth largest opening for a DreamWorks Animated title, but could find itself leap-frogging How to Train Your Dragon 2 should actuals come in just a bit higher. The result is also just a few million shy of the $52.1 million Home opened with over the same weekend in 2015 before it went on to gross over $175 million domestically and $386 million worldwide. It’s worth noting, however, Home didn’t face any animated competition for nearly three months following its release while Boss Baby will have to contend with the release of Smurfs: The Lost Village next weekend followed by Open Road‘s Spark after that.

Working in its favor, Boss Baby scored a solid “A-” CinemaScore from opening day audiences with moviegoers under the age of 18 scoring it an “A+”. Of the opening weekend audience, 53% were female vs. 47% male with 62% of the audience coming in under the age of 25. Additional demographics show 52% of the audience was Caucasian, 19% Hispanic, 14% African American and 9% Asian. 67% of all audiences were families.

Internationally, Boss Baby opened in five markets last weekend and brought in $17.5 million, this weekend it added 37 markets and brought in an estimated $36.2 million bringing its international cume to $59 million. This result included DWA’s best opening ever in Mexico with an estimated $6.5 million along with a $5.9 million opening in Russia and $5.3 million in France. The Boss Baby still has 44 additional international markets where it has yet to be released, including the UK and Sweden next weekend.

Finishing second is Disney‘s Beauty and the Beast with an estimated $47.5 million as its domestic cume climbs to $395.5 million after 17 days in release, putting it on a similar pace to 2008’s The Dark Knight, which finished with $533.3 million domestically. Internationally, Beauty added another $66.5 million this weekend from 55 markets, which brings the film’s global cume to over $875 million.

In third is Paramount‘s Ghost in the Shell, which brought in an estimated $19 million from 3,440 theaters. This is below industry expectations and well below Mojo’s weekend forecast. Opening day audiences gave the film a “B” CinemaScore and of that audience 61% were male versus 39% female. While speculation as to why Ghost in the Shell under performed is sure to be a topic du jour, the opening weekend demographics provide a quick and easy indicator when compared to Scarlett Johansson‘s previous solo actioner Lucy, which debuted with $43.8 million and featured an opening weekend audience that was 50% female.

Lucy was also an R-rated feature compared to Ghost in the Shell’s PG-13 adding to a case that could be made suggesting the action genre may not have to depend as much on the more audience-friendly PG-13 rating. Recent films such as Lucy, Deadpool; John Wick and it’s sequel and Logan (just to name a few) have proven there are more than enough moviegoers ready to fill the seats for well made, R-rated genre actioners. As a matter of comparison, not only will it be interesting to track the final results for Ghost in the Shell opposite Johansson‘s Lucy, but as well to the upcoming release of Atomic Blonde, a hard-R actioner led by Charlize Theron that has already wowed festival audiences and the CinemaCon crowd this past week ahead of its late July release.

Internationally, Ghost in the Shell delivered an estimated $40.1 million from 50 international markets led by Russia where if finished #2 with an estimated $5.3 million. Additional performances include a third place opening in South Korea with $4.2 million; $3.1 million in France; $2.8 million in the UK; $2 million in Germany; $2.1 million in Mexico; $1.9 million in Brazil; $1.8 million in Australia; $1.3 million in Spain and $1.2 million in Hong Kong. Looking ahead, the film will soon open in Japan along with an April 7 bow in China.

Lionsgate‘s Power Rangers finished in fourth place with an estimated $14.5 million signaling a 64% second weekend drop, the worst among the top ten. While the film’s $40 million opening was noteworthy, the $100 million price tag and such a steep drop doesn’t necessarily help its sequel chances. That said, it did add $8.1 million internationally this weekend from 70 markets bringing its worldwide cume to just shy of $100 million with openings in France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Finland and Sweden next week followed by a late April release in South Korea, May release in China and a July release in Japan.

Rounding out the top five is WB and Legendary‘s Kong: Skull Island, which dropped 40% this weekend, delivering an estimated $8.8 million as its cume now stands at $147.8 million to go along with a $329.5 million international gross for a worldwide total approaching $500 million.

Also dropping 40% was Fox‘s Logan, which finished in sixth with $6.2 million as its domestic total now stands at $211.8 million and it was Universal‘s Get Out with the best hold among the top ten once again, finishing with an estimated $5.8 million for a domestic cume that’s now approaching $160 million on a $4.5 million budget.

Rounding out the top ten is Focus Features‘s The Zookeeper’s Wife, which opened strong in just 541 theaters, bringing in an estimated $3.3 million. Lisa Bunnell, President of Distribution at Focus Features provided a quote saying, “We’re very happy with our opening weekend, having a more limited title open in the top ten is a great accomplishment! The film played extremely well with our core audience – exit polls were huge with over 90% of the audience rating the film in the top two boxes – as a result we’ve decided to expand faster than originally planned. Adult audiences are looking for films with a great story and strong performances and The Zookeeper’s Wife delivers.” Look for Zookeeper’s Wife to go wide next weekend, adding 200-300 additional locations.

Elsewhere, in limited release China Lion‘s The Devotion of Suspect X brought in an estimated $330k from 43 theaters ($7,674 PTA); Arrow Films‘ re-release of Donnie Darko brought in $53,200 from 21 theaters; and Janus Films‘ release of David Lynch: The Art of Life brought in $12,126 from one theater.

Next weekend sees the release of New Line‘s Going in Style in 3,000+ theaters, Sony‘s Smurfs: The Lost Village will debut in ~3,400 theaters and Pure Flix will release The Case for Christ in ~1,100 theaters. In limited release Fox Searchlight will be releasing Gifted in ~50 theaters and STX will release Their Finest at just four locations.

via BoxOfficeMojo

Disney’s ‘Beauty’ Delivers Big Second Weekend, While ‘Power Rangers’ Opens Strong at the BO!!!

Disney‘s Beauty and the Beast delivered a monster second weekend, pulling in enough to make it the fourth largest second weekend of all-time and pushing the film over $315 million in a matter of just ten days. Added to that, Lionsgate‘s release of Saban‘s Power Rangers debuted in second place and proved there was still an audience for the franchise that began in the early ’90s. Meanwhile, Sony‘s Life didn’t show much of it and WB‘s CHiPs finished mostly as expected, settling in the lower half of the weekend top ten. All that said, it was a great weekend at the domestic box office with the top twelve delivering $192.3 million a 63% improvement over the same weekend last year.

With an estimated $88.3 million, Disney‘s Beauty and the Beast finished atop the box office for a second weekend in a row. It’s the fourth largest second weekend of all-time and pushes the film’s domestic cume over of $315 million, one of the fastest films to ever hit that mark. That said, rival studios are estimating the film may have topped $90 million this weekend, which would be consistent with the film over performing by $4.7 million compared to estimates last weekend.

In addition to its domestic performance, Beauty and the Beast continued its outstanding run internationally adding an estimated $119.2 million overseas bringing its worldwide cume to $690.3 million. This is the fourth consecutive Walt Disney Studios release to surpass the $600M mark globally, following Doctor Strange, Moana and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The film’s performance helps push Disney‘s global cume for the year to $1.3 billion.

Finishing in second place is Lionsgate‘s release of Saban‘s Power Rangers, which brought in an estimated $40.5 million from 3,693 locations. This result finds the film delivering in the high end of pre-release tracking and opening day audiences showed they enjoyed what they saw, scoring it with an “A” CinemaScore. Of that audience 30% were under the age of 18 and gave the film an “A+” CinemaScore. Further demographic breakdown saw the audience made up of 60% male moviegoers vs. 40% female, of which 50% of the audience was over the age of 25.

Looking ahead it will be interesting to see just how high the domestic total can climb for the $100 million production as last year saw Independence Day: Resurgence open with $41 million and only go on to gross just over $100 million. However, The Legend of Tarzan debuted with $38.5 million and finished its domestic run over $125 million. A performance closer to Tarzan‘s seems more likely, but next weekend will be the tell-tale sign as to just how front-loaded this film was, but with an “A” CinemaScore and a strong performance with audiences under the age of 18 it could prove to have strong legs over the coming weeks.

Internationally, Power Rangers debuted in 62 markets and delivered an estimated $18.7 million for a $59.2 million worldwide debut. Of the territories in which the film was released, Mexico led the way with an estimated $3 million followed by a $2.1 million opening in Brazil, the film finished second in both markets. Power Rangers also finished second in the UK with an estimated $2.1 million. The film has yet to open in plenty of major markets including upcoming early April releases in France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Finland and Sweden followed by a late April release in South Korea and a mid-July release in Japan.

WB‘s Kong: Skull Island finished third with an estimated $14.4 million, a 48% drop that brings the film’s cume to $133.5 million as it kicks off its third week in release. In addition to its domestic performance, Kong debuted in China this weekend where it brought in an estimated $72.1 million as its international cume now stands at $258.6 million for a worldwide total just shy of $400 million.

Finishing in fourth is the second new wide release of the weekend, Sony‘s R-rated sci-fi thriller Life, which could only muster an estimated $12.6 million for the three-day. This is below Mojo‘s forecast, but awfully close to the $13.3 million Chappie started with back in March 2015. The film was a little less popular with opening day audiences than Chappie, however, as it scored a disappointing “C+” CinemaScore, which doesn’t bode well for its future prospects. Opening weekend audience breakdown was 55% male vs. 45% female, of which 43% were under the age of 25.

Outside the US and Canada, Life debuted in 56 international markets and pulled in an estimated $16.1 million. The international markets were led by Russia with $3.1 million where it debuted in second place to Fox‘s The Boss Baby. Life expands over the coming weeks with major market releases including South Korea (April 5), Spain (April 7), France (April 19) and Brazil (April 20).

Rounding out the top five is Fox‘s Logan, which brought in an estimated $10.1 million, pushing its domestic cume over $200 million. Internationally, Logan added an estimated $12 million bringing its worldwide cume to $565.5 million, placing second on the worldwide chart for 2017 behind Beauty and the Beast.

Outside the top five, Warner Bros.‘s release of the R-rated TV adaptation CHiPs failed to generate much interest as it brought in an estimated $7.6 million from 2,464 theaters ($3,084 PTA). The film scored a “B-” CinemaScore and may struggle to even reach $20 million once all is said and done. The audience breakdown was 53% male vs. 47% female, of which 68% were over the age of 25.

Internationally, CHiPs debuted in 31 markets and pulled in an estimated $1.9 million, led by a $248,000 weekend in the UK. The film will open in the United Arab Emirates next weekend, followed by Australia on April 6th and Mexico on April 7th.

Outside the top ten, RiverRun‘s release of Slamma Jamma debuted with an estimated $1.68 million from 502 theaters, Fox Searchight‘s Wilson opened in 310 theaters with an estimated $330,000 and FIP‘s Phillauri opened with $265,000 from 74 theaters.

Next weekend sees the release of Fox‘s animated comedy The Boss Baby, which debuted with $16.2 million from five international markets this weekend, Sony‘s release of Ghost in the Shell starring Scarlett Johansson and Focus‘s moderate release of The Zookeeper’s Wife into ~450 theaters. The performances of all three will be interesting, but most interesting will be the third weekend performance for Beauty and the Beast and to see just how well Power Rangers holds over in its sophomore session.

via BoxOfficeMojo

Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
Beauty and the Beast	$88,347,000	$316,952,887	2
Power Rangers	$40,500,000	$40,500,000	1
Kong: Skull Island	$14,425,000	$133,502,238	3
Life	$12,600,000	$12,600,000	1
Logan	$10,145,000	$201,455,596	4
Get Out	$8,681,010	$147,499,045	5
CHiPs	$7,600,000	$7,600,000	1
The Shack	$3,785,000	$49,072,044	4
The LEGO Batman Movie	$1,970,000	$170,841,252	7
The Belko Experiment	$1,807,025	$7,577,590	2

 

‘Beauty and the Beast’ Roars with Tremendous $170 Million Take at the BO!!!

This is what makes Disney such a powerhouse.

“Beauty and the Beast,” the studio’s latest live-action update of a cartoon classic, waltzed its way to a towering $170 million debut this weekend, setting a new record for a March opening and solidifying the Mouse House’s status as the dominant player in the film business. No other company can match the streak that Disney is currently enjoying, thanks to a series of multi-billion acquisitions that put the likes of Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm in its Magic Kingdom. Last year, the studio accounted for more than a quarter of all domestic ticket sales, and 2017 brings the release of sequels to “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Cars,” and “Thor,” in addition to “Beauty and the Beast.”

“I don’t know if they made a deal with the devil, but Disney is an awfully potent empire right now,” said Jeff Bock, an analyst at Exhibitor Relations. “You continue to shake your head and roll your eyes, but they can do no wrong right now and that has all the other studios salivating.”

“Beauty and the Beast” represents another part of Disney’s branded strategy. It’s the latest fairy tale adaptation to hit screens. Others in the lucrative group include “Alice in Wonderland,” which picked up $1 billion worldwide; “Cinderella” with its $543.5 million global haul; and last year’s “The Jungle Book,” which racked up a mighty $966.6 million after finishing its run. Remakes of “Dumbo” and “Mulan” are already in the works, as Disney commits to putting a live-action spin on the bulk of its animated properties (Fans of “Treasure Planet” may be out of luck).

The latest fairy tale follows Belle, a bookish girl in France played by Harry Potter film veteran Emma Watson, who helps a tortured Beast (Dan Stevens of “Downton Abbey” fame) break out of his shell. In the process, she lifts a curse that’s left the Beast’s kingdom populated by talking household items. “Beauty and the Beast” didn’t muck about with the elements that made the 1991 film so beloved. Director Bill Condon kept the basic plot intact, while fleshing out a bit more of Belle’s backstory, and retaining a soundtrack that includes “Be Our Guest” and “Belle.” All those elaborate musical numbers and chatty cutlery don’t come cheap. “Beauty and the Beast” carries a hefty $160 million budget. It should make that money back manyfold after ticket sales are tallied and new lines of princess wear are whipped up to satisfy new generations of Belle lovers.

“Beauty and the Beast’s” appeal cut across the generations, while its feminist heroine, a brainy, headstrong villager who refuses to conform, resonated with younger women. Sixty percent of ticket buyers were female, while families accounted for half of the opening weekend audience. Children under 12 made up 22% of the crowd, while people between the ages of 26 and 34, the same demographic reared on the animated film, comprised 21% of the audience.

“The elements came together to make this into a can’t miss event,” said Dave Hollis, Disney’s distribution chief. “There was massive nostalgia for the original film. Parents loved the movie and they wanted to show this one to their kids and share that experience.”

Most major studios steered clear of “Beauty and the Beast.” The only other new release of note, “The Belko Experiment,” debuted to $4.1 million, which its backers say is success given its model. The film boasts a unique distribution strategy. “The Belko Experiment” opened in 1,341 locations, roughly a third of the theater count for a major studio offerings. The theaters are chosen because they are more popular with horror fans. Orion, an MGM label, backed the film and is distributing it with BH Tilt. That label is overseen by “The Purge” and “Insidious” producer Blumhouse. It’s trying to find more cost-efficient ways to bring smaller films to the masses. “The Belko Experiment” follows a group of American corporate types, who are locked in a high-rise office in Bogotá, Colombia. They are ordered by a voice on the intercom to kill one another in a gray flannel-version of Social Darwinism.

With “Beauty and the Beast” dominating ticket sales, last weekend’s champ, “Kong: Skull Island,” fell 53% to $28.8 million. That pushes the monster movie’s domestic haul to $110.1 million. Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment teamed up to produce the remake of King Kong.

Fox’s “Logan” took third place, pulling in $17.5 million and bringing the R-rated superhero tale’s stateside total to $184 million. Universal and Blumhouse’s “Get Out,” a thriller about a black man whose girlfriend’s white family holds a sinister secret, nabbed fourth position. It made $13.2 million, bringing its gross to $133.1 million. With a budget of $4.5 million, the film is one of the year’s most profitable. Lionsgate’s “The Shack” rounded out the top five generating $6.1 million and pushing the faith-based drama’s earnings to over $42.6 million.

In limited release, “T2 Trainspotting,” a sequel to the 1996 cult comedy about a group of heroin addicts, opened in five locations, earning $180,000. Ewan McGregor reprises his role as a drug-addict Scot. The actor also has a supporting turn playing Lumiere, a candlestick, in “Beauty and the Beast.” Sony is releasing “T2,” which is heavily geared towards European audiences. The drama has already made $34 million overseas.

 

via Variety

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Beauty and the Beast	$170.0M	$170.0M	1
	Kong: Skull Island	$28.9M	$110.1M	2
	Logan	$17.5M	$184.0M	3
	Get Out	$13.2M	$133.1M	4
	The Shack	$6.1M	$42.6M	3
	The LEGO Batman Movie	$4.7M	$167.4M	6
	The Belko Experiment	$4.1M	$4.1M	1
	Hidden Figures	$1.5M	$165.6M	13
	John Wick: Chapter 2	$1.2M	$89.8M	6
	Before I Fall	$1.0M	$11.3M	3

 

‘Kong: Skull Island’ Roars to $61M Opening While ‘Logan’ and ‘Get Out’ Continue Strong At The BO!!!

Warner Bros and Legendary‘s Kong: Skull Island delivered a strong opening weekend performance, topping the weekend box office and becoming the third film in as many weeks to outperform expectations. The other two films, Logan and Get Out, continued their successful runs as they finished in second and third position respectfully, with Logan just $6.3 million shy of topping The LEGO Batman Movie as the highest grossing domestic release of 2017 in just ten days. Overall, the top twelve grossed an estimated $152.5 million, an improvement over last year by 3.8%.

With an estimated $61 million, WB and Legendary‘s Kong: Skull Island finished atop the weekend box office, delivering $15,865 per theater, from 3,846 locations. This tops San Andreas, the closest film we used for comparison in our weekend preview, which opened with $54.5 million. This is, however, well behind the $93.1 million Godzilla opened with in 2014 before going on to gross $200.7 million domestically. Question is, while the opening may be a bit lighter, can Skull Island improve on Godzilla‘s relatively tame, 2.15x multiplier?

Opening weekend audiences gave Skull Island a “B+” CinemaScore, matching the score for Godzilla. Of that audience, they were 56% male vs. 44% female, of which 18% were under the age of 18 and 52% were under the age of 35. Audience members under the age of 25 gave the film an “A” CinemaScore. Looking ahead, a domestic performance anywhere from $160-170 million seems reasonable.

While Skull Island may have fallen a bit short of Godzilla domestically, it is outperforming the radioactive lizard in some international markets where it debuted to an estimated $81.6 million in 65 territories for a $142.6 million worldwide debut. International highlights include an estimated $7.6 million opening in the UK (17% ahead of Godzilla); $7.3 million opening in Korea (90% ahead of Godzilla); $6 million in Russia (16% over Godzilla); $5.6 million in Mexico (on par with Godzilla); $4 million in France; $3.6 million in Taiwan; $3.5 million in Australia and $3 million in Germany. Upcoming releases include a March 24 opening in China and March 25 opening in Japan, both of which will be very interesting.

By comparison, Godzilla opened in 64 markets in 2014 with $103.4 million before going on to gross $328.4 million internationally and $529 million worldwide. WB and Legendary have a series of films planned for this franchise with Godzilla 2 slated for 2019 and a Godzilla vs. Kong monster mash-up in 2020, so it goes without saying that Skull Island‘s continued performance worldwide will be looked at closely.

In second is Fox‘s Logan, which topped $100 million domestically in just five days and with an estimated $37.85 million this weekend has now brought in over $150 million in just ten days. Of the three standalone Wolverine films this is already the second largest grossing and only needs $27.2 million to top 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Logan‘s 57.2% second weekend drop is a bit more than we were predicting in our weekend preview, but it is well within expectation for a film that opened as large as it did.

As of now, Logan is the second largest domestic release of 2017 and will soon be passing The LEGO Batman Movie to top the list (though Beauty and the Beast will soon be assuming that crown). Internationally, however, Logan currently stands as the #1 release of 2017 after taking in an estimated $70.3 million from 79 markets this weekend for an international total of $285.6 million and a worldwide cume of $438.3 million making it the highest grossing worldwide release among the three standalone Wolverine releases. Logan hits theaters in Japan on June 1.

Universal and Blumhouse‘s Get Out finished third this weekend, once again outperforming expectations as it dropped just 25.4% for an estimated $21 million for a domestic cume that now stands at $111 million. Coming up with comparisons for Jordan Peele‘s breakout thriller is near-impossible as its week-over-week performance is mind-blowing as it is already Blumhouse Productions‘ second highest grossing release of all-time and showing absolutely no signs of stopping. And it can’t be said often enough, the film’s budget was a mere $4.5 million.

Lionsgate‘s The Shack finished in fourth position with an estimated $10 million in its sophomore session and WB‘s The LEGO Batman Movie rounded out the top five with an estimated $7.8 million as its domestic cume is now just shy of $160 million.

Among the weekend’s limited releases Badrinath Ki Dulhania brought in an estimated $850,000 from 152 theaters ($5,592 PTA); Paladin‘s The Ottomon Lieutenant opened in 216 theaters with an estimated $173,450 ($803 PTA); IFC‘s release of Personal Shopper delivered an estimated $92,516 from four theaters ($23,129 PTA); and CBS Films released The Sense of an Ending into four theaters where it brought in an estimated $42,000 ($10,500 PTA).

Additionally, Focus World‘s release of Raw into two theaters brought in an estimated $25,230 ($12,615 PTA) and Parade Deck Films released The Dark Below into one theater where it brought in an estimated $1,477.

Next weekend sees the release of Disney‘s Beauty and the Beast into over 4,000 theaters where it will become the first 2017 release to open over $100 million. Last year The Jungle Book opened with $103.2 million in mid-April before going on to gross over $360 million domestically. It seems safe to say Beauty and the Beast will top that film’s opening as online ticket retailer Fandango.com is already reporting it is outselling Captain America: Civil War ($179.1 million opening) and is the fastest-selling family film in Fandango history, topping previous family record-holder, Finding Dory ($135m opening) as hundreds of showtimes across the country were sold out two weeks before the film even opened. Join us next Thursday when we take a look at just how high it may go.

via BoxOfficeMojo

Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Kong: Skull Island	$61.0M	$61.0M	1
	Logan	$37.9M	$152.7M	2
	Get Out	$21.1M	$111.1M	3
	The Shack	$10.1M	$32.3M	2
	The LEGO Batman Movie	$7.8M	$159.0M	5
	Before I Fall	$3.1M	$9.0M	2
	Hidden Figures	$2.8M	$162.9M	12
	John Wick: Chapter 2	$2.7M	$87.4M	5
	La La Land	$1.8M	$148.4M	14
	Fifty Shades Darker	$1.6M	$112.9M	5

‘Logan’ Outperforms Initial Box Office Report; Sets March R-Rated Opening Record!!!

This weekend, we thought that Logan had pulled in $85.3 million domestically, but it turns out those estimates were a bit shy of the final number. Logan, a dour, R-rated superhero film that prefers Western tropes to comic book ones, nabbed $88.3 million at the box office in the U.S. That number blows the opening weekend for the PG-13 X-Men: Apocalypse, $65.8 million, out of the water.

Logan is also doing extremely well in international markets. According to THR, the movie opened to “an estimated $152.5 million from 81 markets for a global launch of $240.8 million.” It also had plenty of fans in China, where it made $46.2 million, easily dominating the superhero competition, The LEGO Batman Movie, which only made $3.6 million.

However, it’s tough to say if there will be a “Logan Effect” in the same way there was a “Deadpool Effect.” Between the two movies, its clear that the marketplace is ready for R-rated superhero movies when they’re done well and effectively marketed. However, whereas Deadpool could create more R-rated action movies in the superhero genre and also elevate more obscure characters into their own movies, Logan is a different beast. Part of the film’s success comes from being not only an ending, but also an ending to a story that began 17 years ago. It’s a unique picture, and I’m not exactly sure how studios can recreate its success.

In an ideal world, studios would see that audiences are happy to see a cool spin on the Western genre, but that’s unlikely to happen. While I wouldn’t go so far as to call Logan a fluke—the movie was tracking well and had positive buzz—I do think it will be unique, especially when studios are so intent on building long-term franchises. That being said, based on the film’s success, I assume Fox will want director James Mangold hard at work on an X-23 movie ASAP.

via Collider

This is are the final figures:

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Logan	$88.4M	$88.4M	1
	Get Out	$28.2M	$78.1M	2
	The Shack	$16.2M	$16.2M	1
	The LEGO Batman Movie	$11.7M	$148.7M	4
	John Wick: Chapter 2	$4.8M	$82.9M	4
	Before I Fall	$4.7M	$4.7M	1
	Hidden Figures	$3.8M	$158.8M	11
	The Great Wall	$3.6M	$41.4M	3
	Fifty Shades Darker	$3.6M	$110.0M	4
	La La Land	$3.0M	$145.7M	13

 

‘Logan’ Triumphs with $85 Million Take, While Other Releases Are Steady At The BO!!!

Fox‘s Logan may be about old age and winding things down but the film’s potent $85.3 million take over the weekend proves there’s life in the old Wolverine yet. While it wasn’t the biggest R-rated opening weekend of all time, (Deadpool, who snuck into theaters in a preview/snippet with Logan, still claims that title) everyone involved has to be pleased with the results. James Mangold‘s dark, bloody film, which includes favorite characters facing senility and deep personal regrets, was a calculated risk. In theory that “R” rating should have nixed a hefty percentage of its perceived audience, yet Logan has proved that the comic book genre can expand its scope, even shift its tone, and still pull in the crowds.

As a user (thanks Old Goats Brand) pointed out on Twitter the 4,071 screens Logan showed on represented the widest release of any R-rated film. The closest thing to that count is 2015’s Spy, the Melissa McCarty, Paul Feig-directed film, which debuted on 3,711 screens, a full 360 fewer. That June release made $7,838 per screen for a not-spectacular $29 million three-day take. Logan, on the other hand, hauled in a respectable $20.9K per screen, and now holds the biggest opening weekend of the year so far.

Of that $85.3 million, $10.1 of it came from 381 IMAX screens. That’s the 2nd highest-grossing R-Rated IMAX opening domestically (after Deadpool at $16.3 million) and is the best R-rated March IMAX opening. Logan followed suit internationally making $10.6 million on foreign IMAX screens, for the 2nd highest-grossing IMAX global opening ever for a R-rated film (again, after that pesky Deadpool).

Logan‘s Friday kicked it off with $33 million yet it didn’t dip drastically on Saturday, raking in $31.3 million. If Logan had done any better than the $21.3 million that Fox is estimating for Sunday that final tally may have to be revised up. Its opening has already squeaked ahead of the unloved X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which made $85 million its opening weekend in 2009 in 4,099 theaters.

International coin was as impressive with a $152 million haul in 81 markets. Top markets were China ($46.3 million), the UK ($11.4 million), South Korea ($8.2 million), Brazil ($8.17 million), Russia ($7.1 million), France ($6 million), Australia ($5.9 million) and Mexico ($5.3 million). It was Fox‘s third biggest international opening of all time only trailing X-Men: Days of Future Past ($172 million) and Avatar ($164 million). Logan bumped out Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith ($145 million) and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs ($151 million).

Other new films this week included The Shack, which took in $16.1 million on 2,888 screens for the 3rd spot on the weekend chart. That’s good enough to prove that the faith-based genre is not dead yet and Shack‘s take is the 7th biggest opening of a film in the Christian genre. While the film, which stars Sam Worthington and Octavia Spencer, has a 15% percent on Rotten Tomatoes, it has an “A” from CinemaScore and a 6.5 rating on IMDb.

Open Road‘s Before I Fall underwhelmed with $4.9 million in 2,346 theaters, and a psa of $2,109. That was still good enough for 5th place this weekend. A glimmer of hope can come from the fact that its Saturday take, at $1.9 million, was higher than its Friday take of $1.6 million, so perhaps positive word-of-mouth accounted for that lift, even with a ho-hum “B” from CinemaScore. The film’s IMDb rating is 6.6.

Get Out dropped an astonishingly low 22% in its second weekend, landing in the 2nd spot of the charts with an impressive $26.1 million, bringing its domestic haul to $75.9 million.

The Batman Lego Movie took the 4th spot with $11.6 million this weekend for a domestic total of $148 million.

Best Picture winner Moonlight landed just outside the top 10 with $2.5 million in domestic receipts. That’s a 255% increase over last week for a total of $25.3 million overall.

This could well kick-off what may be a historic March, Still to come this month is the buzzed-about Kong: Skull Island and Disney‘s live-action Beauty and the Beast. None of them may open as high as 2012’s Hunger Games‘s $152.5 million opening but they’ll certainly perform, setting the stage to break some March records. Nice job old man Logan.

Title	Weekend Gross	Total Gross
1. Logan	$85.3 million	$85.3 million
2. Get Out	$26.1 million	$75.9 million
3. The Shack	$16.1 million	$16.1 million
4. The LEGO Batman Movie	$11.7 million	$148 million
5. John Wick: Chapter 2	$4.7 million	$83 million

via Box Office Mojo

 

‘Get Out’ Scares Off Competition on Oscar Weekend to Earn $30.5 Million at the BO!!

Blumhouse‘s Get Out, the Jordan Peele horror/comedy/social commentary, parlayed its glowing critical reception for a stunning $30.5 million Oscar weekend in 2,781 theaters and a very respectable $10,976 per-screen average. The other new films, Lionsgate/Summit‘s animated flick, Rock Dog, at $3.7 million, fell just outside of the top 10, while the critically-derided inanimate Collide, from Open Road, spun out at $1.53 million in 2,045 theaters for an abysmal $753 per theater.

Get Out, a film where an African-American man notices his girlfriend’s family estate may be hiding a sinister secret, had a surprise sneak premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, which set the stage for its critical success. The film maintains a rare 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a healthy 8.1 IMDb rating and an A- on CinemaScore. That means the horror film shouldn’t see an easy falloff next weekend even as the Groundhog Day YA film, Before I Fall, and the final Hugh Jackman Wolverine film, Logan, hit the screens.

Get Out‘s success must come as great solace to Peele as it was just last April when Keanu, his comedy with longtime partner Keegan-Michael Key, struggled to a $9.4 million opening in 2,658 theaters, eventually clawing its way to a $20.6 million domestic cume, a total Get Out blew past yesterday, its second day of release.

While Hidden Figures may have not won the Best Picture, but it is still the reigning domestic champ among 2016’s Best Picture nominees, adding another $5.7 million this weekend for a $152 million domestic tally. Foreign coin is $30M for a worldwide total of $182.8 million.

Don’t feel too bad for former presumptive Best Picture, Lionsgate‘s La La Land, though. It added another $4.6 million this weekend bringing its domestic cume to $140.8 million. Lionsgate also now boasts that La La is also its highest grossing film internationally and worldwide—other than the Hunger Games and Twilight franchises—after it added a further $14.4 million from 76 markets. The international and global totals stand at an estimated $228.1 million and $369 million, respectively.

Still the current domestic total for all nine of the 2016 Best Picture nominees is only $656 million versus last year’s eight films which racked up $806 million. They, of course, were led by the two massive hits, The Martian ($228 million domestic, $630 worldwide), and The Revenant ($183 million domestic, $532 worldwide).

The new releases last week, Universal‘s The Great Wall and Fist Fight fell a not unreasonable 52.9% and 47.7% respectively and $34 million and $23 million domestic cumes. Fox‘s A Cure for Wellness, however, dropped 68.4%, adding a measly $335 thousand to a total $7.4 million domestic cume. That’s another penalty stroke legendary director Gore Verbinski will have to take in the back nine of his career. After the massive success of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Verbinski has had to find his land legs again. The unfairly maligned but pretty expensive The Lone Ranger was saddled with a $215 million budget and never made it past it tepid $89 million domestic take, though it did do $171 foreign for a $260 million worldwide.

With an estimated $19 million, The LEGO Batman Movie lost the #1 position it held for two weeks, easing 41.8% off of last week for a domestic cume of $133 million and worldwide of $226 million. It won’t come close to The LEGO Movie‘s $469 million worldwide cume in 2014.

Lionsgate‘s John Wick: Chapter Two moved up a spot from last week to third, taking in $9 million for a $74 million domestic gross. Internationally the film took in an additional $13.1 million from 79 markets including France and Mexico this week for a foreign take of $51 million and a worldwide gross of $125 million. It has yet to open in Italy (3/16), Spain (5/5) and Australia (5/11). That worldwide gross is well over Chapter One’s foreign take of $45.7 million and worldwide of $88.8 million. Is there an official “franchise” stamp we need to apply?

Universal‘s Fifty Shades Darker slid another 62% from last week for a weekend performance of $7.7 million and a domestic cume of $103 million. With a reported budget of $55 million and a worlwide cume of $328.3 Universal won’t be putting its ballroom masks and riding crops back into storage anytime soon.

Oscar nominated for Best Animated film GKids‘ My Life as a Zucchini opened in two theaters, one in NY and one in LA, making $28 thousand for a boffo $14 thousand per theater.

Roadside Attraction‘s Bitter Harvest, a tale set in 1930s Ukraine and starring Max Irons and Lucy Brown, opened in 127 theaters but only managed to make $207 thousand, for a PSA of $1,632. So the Zucchini wins regardless.

via BoxOfficeMojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Get Out	$30.5M	$30.5M	1
	The LEGO Batman Movie	$19.0M	$133.0M	3
	John Wick: Chapter 2	$9.0M	$74.4M	3
	The Great Wall	$8.7M	$34.4M	2
	Fifty Shades Darker	$7.7M	$103.6M	3
	Fist Fight	$6.4M	$23.3M	2
	Hidden Figures	$5.9M	$152.8M	10
	La La Land	$4.6M	$140.9M	12
	Split	$4.1M	$130.8M	6
	Lion	$3.8M	$42.8M	14

‘LEGO Batman’ Tops Again as ‘The Great Wall’ Leads Newcomers With Poor Openings at the BO!!

The LEGO Batman Movie topped the weekend box office for a second week in a row, holding off a trio of newcomers led by Universal‘s The Great Wall. Fellow new releases, Fist Fight and particularly Fox‘s A Cure for Wellness, fizzled in their respective debuts as the start of 2017’s Presidents’ Day weekend saw the top twelve come in 47% behind last year. While that was mostly to be expected, it’s a rather significant dip as 2017 is currently pacing 10.4% behind 2016’s yearly grosses.

With an estimated $34.2 million, WB‘s The LEGO Batman Movie finished #1 by a considerable margin, dropping 35.4% and raising its domestic cume to $98.7 million after ten days in release. The film should top $43 million for the four-day weekend, pushing it over $100 million by end of day Monday. Internationally, LEGO Batman is up to $72 million after bringing in an estimated $21.5 million from 62 markets this weekend elevating its worldwide total over $170 million. The film opens in China on March 3.

In second place is Universal‘s Fifty Shades Darker, performing mostly as expected, dipping 55% in its second weekend and bringing in an estimated $20.9 million for the three-day weekend as its domestic cume grows to $89.6 million after ten days in release. The film is expected to top $24 million for the four-day holiday weekend.

In addition to its domestic performance, Fifty Shades Darker finished atop the international weekend box office for a second week in a row, bringing in an estimated $43.7 million from 59 markets. As a result, the film’s international cume has grown to $187.2 million, bringing its worldwide total to $276.9 million.

In third we find the first of the weekend’s new releases in Universal and Legendary‘s The Great Wall, which bested industry expectations delivering an estimated $18.1 million for the three-day and is expected to gross $21 million for the four-day weekend. The film received a so-so “B” CinemaScore from opening day audiences of which 59% were male vs. 41% female of which 50% were under the age of 30. Further demographic breakdowns show 45% of the opening weekend audience was Caucasian, 23% Hispanic, 15% Asian and 10% African American.

With a reported budget of $150 million that domestic opening looks weak, but when you consider The Great Wall has already generated over $244 million internationally and now stands at $262.7 million worldwide things come a bit more in focus. However, a $150 million budget looms large and this one is still going to be looking for additional earnings as it continues to roll out internationally over the coming months as similar Legendary openers have failed to reach $45 million domestically.

Lionsgate‘s John Wick: Chapter Two finished in fourth position with an estimated $16.5 million for the three-day and is expected to deliver an estimated $19.5 million for the four-day weekend. The film’s domestic cume stands at an estimated $58.6 million after just ten days, which already tops the entire domestic run of the first film’s $43 million gross, a figure Chapter Two topped after just eight days in theaters. Internationally, John Wick 2 is up to $31.8 million, bringing its worldwide total to just over $90 million with openings in France, Belgium, South Korea and Mexico set for next weekend.

Rounding out the top five is our second new release of the weekend, that being Warner Bros‘ release of New Line‘s comedy Fist Fight, which delivered an estimated $12 million from 3,185 theater and is expected to finish just over $13 million for the four-day weekend. Opening day audiences were only mildly impressed, awarding the film a “B” CinemaScore. The audience was broken down 54% male vs. 46% female, of which 39% where under the age of 25. Looking ahead, a $30-35 million domestic run seems about right given the film’s opening performance.

Hidden Figures finished in sixth as its domestic cume climbs over $140 million, continuing to solidify its position as the highest grossing release among 2016’s Best Picture nominees. The film also brought in an estimated $7.3 million internationally this weekend as its worldwide cume now stands at $163.9 million. Its international expansion will see it add 15 additional markets next weekend, including Poland, UAE, South Africa, Sweden and Turkey.

Universal‘s Split added an estimated $7 million as its cume now stands over $123 million domestically and Lionsgate‘s La La Land added an estimated $4.5 million this weekend bringing its domestic cume to $133.5 million. Additionally, La La Land added $31.7 million from 73 international markets this weekend bringing its worldwide and international totals to an estimated $340.1 million and $206.1 million respectively.

Finally, rounding out the top ten is Fox‘s A Cure for Wellness, delivering an estimated $4.2 million from 2,704 theaters. Expectations were low for this one headed into the weekend and while we tried to present a case for how it might be able to outperform in our weekend preview it just wasn’t to be. The film is expected to fall short of $5 million for the four-day and word of mouth doesn’t appear as if it will be helping matters over the coming weeks as it scored a disappointing “C+” CinemaScore with opening day audiences.

Internationally, A Cure for Wellness scrounged up $4.5 million from 2,734 screens in 36 markets including France and South Korea where it brought in an estimated $950K and $862K, respectively. The film expands into 7 markets next weekend, including the UK, Germany and Mexico.

Outside the top ten, Lionsgate‘s release of Pantelion‘s Everybody Loves Somebody delivered an estimated $1 million from 333 theaters, which is similar to the $979k Un Padre No Tan Padre opened with earlier this year as it currently stands at $2 million after 24 days in release.

Next weekend sees the release of Jordan Peele‘s Get Out, Open Road‘s release of the long-delayed Collide and Lionsgate‘s animated pick-up Rock Dog.

via BoxOfficeMojo

Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	The LEGO Batman Movie	$34.2M	$98.8M	2
	Fifty Shades Darker	$21.0M	$89.7M	2
	The Great Wall	$18.1M	$18.1M	1
	John Wick: Chapter 2	$16.5M	$58.7M	2
	Fist Fight	$12.0M	$12.0M	1
	Hidden Figures	$7.1M	$142.6M	9
	Split	$7.0M	$123.6M	5
	A Dog’s Purpose	$5.6M	$50.7M	4
	La La Land	$4.5M	$133.5M	11
	A Cure for Wellness	$4.2M	$4.2M	1

‘LEGO Batman’ Tops With With $55.6 Million While ‘Fifty Shades Darker’ and ‘John Wick 2’ Open Strong at the BO!!!

It was the best weekend at the 2017 box office so far, led by WB‘s The LEGO Batman Movie along with fellow newcomers Fifty Shades Darker and John Wick: Chapter Two topping the box office in that order. But along with the new releases, five of the weekend’s holdovers, especially Lion, held on extremely well, dropping 35% or less compared to last weekend. Overall the weekend top twelve came in just a fraction below our overall expectation of $180 million as the top twelve combined for an estimated $176.9 million.

At #1, WB‘s second film in their LEGO franchise, The LEGO Batman Movie, delivered an estimated $55.6 million, which is well below Mojo‘s forecast and even a bit below the $60 million the studio was expecting. However, opening day audiences gave the film a strong “A-” CinemaScore, which plays well with the strong critical reception the film received. Of that audience, 48% were males vs. 52% females and 48% were over the age of 25.

Looking ahead, outside of Lionsgate‘s acquisition of Rock Dog due in theaters in a couple weeks, there isn’t a lot of competition in terms of animated films in the near future and the extended holiday weekend next weekend should ensure LEGO Batman holds on nicely. As for its overall domestic performance, after a $69 million opening, The LEGO Movie delivered a $257.7 million domestic total. A similar performance for LEGO Batman would mean a $207+ million run, which means we’ll be keeping an eye out to see if this one can top $200 million.

Outside of North America, LEGO Batman brought in an estimated $37 million from 60 overseas markets for a combined, $92.6 worldwide opening. Some highlights include an estimated $9.3 million opening in the U.K. along with openings in Mexico ($2.6m), Germany ($2.3m), Russia ($2.2m), Brazil ($2m), France ($1.6m), Spain ($1.5m) and Italy ($1.2m). Looking ahead, the film opens in China on March 3 followed by openings in Australia (March 30) and Japan (April 1).

In second position is Universal‘s Fifty Shades Darker, which topped the box office on Friday and held on well over the weekend, finishing with a slightly stronger than expected $46.79 million from 3,710 theaters. Opening day audiences gave the film a “B+” CinemaScore and of that audience 70% was female vs. 30% male. The age breakdown saw 56% of the audience coming in under the age of 30 and 34% of the audience was Caucasian, 21% Hispanic and 14% African American.

Looking ahead, while this opening is nearly $40 million less than 2015’s Fifty Shades of Grey, that was to be expected and how it plays this week with Valentine’s Day on Tuesday and next weekend’s four-day holiday weekend will be the true test as Fifty Shades of Grey dipped a massive 74% in its second weekend while Darker should play a little more traditionally. What does that mean? Well, proportionally, Fifty Shades Darker‘s opening compared to Fifty Shades of Grey is spot on when compared to the performance of Sex and the City to its sequel, which dropped 60% in its second weekend, ending its run just shy of $100 million, a number that would appear to be the bar to keep an eye domestically with $125 million looking like the ceiling for this release.

Overseas, Fifty Shades Darker delivered an estimated $100.1 million from 57 markets, the fourth largest international opening weekend ever for an R-rated film, behind Fifty Shades of Grey ($157.1m), Deadpool ($132.2m) and The Matrix Revolutions ($117.6m). Top markets include Germany ($11m), U.K. ($9.7m), France ($8.7m), Brazil ($7.5m), Russia ($6.7m), Italy ($6.5m), Australia ($5.9m), Spain ($5.6m) and Mexico ($2.7m). The film has four more territories in which it will be released, the last of which being Japan on June 23.

Third place belongs to Lionsgate‘s John Wick: Chapter Two, which more than doubled its predecessor’s opening with an estimated $30 million from 3,113 theaters. Heading into the weekend we were wondering if the R-rated actioner could manage to cross $30 million and with estimates it appears it just barely made it. Opening day audiences scored the film with an “A-” CinemaScore (the first received a “B”) to go along with its 76 Metacritic score (the first received a 68). The opening day audience was 64% male vs. 36% female, identical to the first film.

Looking ahead, the question now is to wonder if John Wick 2 can approach $90 million domestically. The first film delivered a 2.98x multiplier, which would suggest a nearly $90 million domestic run for the sequel. Based on the CinemaScore, opening weekend and R-rating a run closer to $73 million would trend closer to the average, but don’t be surprised if Wick 2 crosses $80 million if not a little bit higher.

Internationally, John Wick 2 debuted in 41 markets with an estimated $10.6 million of which Russia was the only major market release where it brought in an estimated $2.5 million, just $100,000 shy of the first John Wick feature in the country. Other openers included estimated results in the Philippines ($1.3m), Taiwan ($775k), Malaysia ($754k) and Hong Kong ($525k). The next major markets set to release later this week are Brazil and Germany on February 16 and the UK a day later.

Universal‘s Split finished in fourth, dropping just 35.4% for an estimated $9.3 million as its domestic cume climbs to $112.3 million. The film will soon pass The Village‘s $114.2 million domestic total to become M. Night Shyamalan‘s fourth largest domestic release.

Rounding out the top five is the continued strong performance of Hidden Figures with an estimated $8 million, dropping just 21.5% in its eighth week since its limited, Christmas Day debut. Its domestic cume now stands at an impressive $131.4 million, currently the highest grossing domestic release of the 2016 Best Picture nominees.

Elsewhere in the top ten, Lionsgate‘s La La Land grossed an estimated $5 million (-32.2%) for a total domestic cume of over $126 million. Additionally, the film brought in an estimated $11.5 million internationally bringing its worldwide total to an estimated $294.3 million through Sunday.

The best holdover in the top ten was the Weinstein‘s Lion, which saw a 9% bump compared to last weekend despite dropping 68 theaters. The Oscar contender delivered an estimated $4 million this weekend as its domestic cume now stands at $30.3 million since its limited bow 12 weeks ago.

Outside the top ten, other new openers include FIP’s Jolly LLB 2, which brought in an estimated $780k from 173 theaters ($4,509 PTA); Magnolia‘s release of The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2017 brought in an estimated $660k from 184 theaters ($3,587 PTA); China Lion‘s Duckweed debuted in 27 theaters with an estimated $160k ($5,926 PTA); Fox Searchlight‘s A United Kingdom delivered an estimated $70k from four theaters ($17,500 PTA) and Sony Classics‘ Oscar contender Land of Mine debuted with an estimated $15,758 from three theaters ($5,253 PTA). Lastly, Oscilloscope‘s Kedi delivered the best per theater opening average of the year so far as it brought in an estimated $40,510 from one theater this weekend.

Additional highlights this weekend include the release of xXx: The Return of Xander Cage, which brought in a whopping $61.9 million in China this weekend from 6,600 locations. It’s the largest opening for a Hollywood film in February and with $6 million it delivered the second largest IMAX February opening in China behind The Monkey King 2. The film’s international cume now stands at an estimated $186.5 million for a worldwide total nearing $230 million, placing it second to 2002’s xXx within the franchise. Return of Xander Cage will release in Japan on February 24.

This weekend also saw Illumination and Universal Pictures‘ Sing top $500 million worldwide as it brought in an estimated $7.5 million from 61 overseas markets this weekend bringing its overseas cume to $235.5 million. Combined with $265.3 million domestically the film’s worldwide cume stands at $500.8 million.

Next weekend sees the release of Universal‘s The Great Wall into 3,200+ theaters on the heels of the film already grossing $224.6 million internationally. Other openers include the WB comedy Fist Fight into ~3,000 theaters and Fox‘s A Cure for Wellness into 2,700 theaters.

via BoxOfficeMojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	The LEGO Batman Movie	$55.6M	$55.6M	1
	Fifty Shades Darker	$46.8M	$46.8M	1
	John Wick: Chapter 2	$30.0M	$30.0M	1
	Split	$9.3M	$112.3M	4
	Hidden Figures	$8.0M	$131.5M	8
	A Dog’s Purpose	$7.4M	$42.6M	3
	Rings	$5.8M	$21.5M	2
	La La Land	$5.0M	$126.0M	10
	Lion	$4.1M	$30.4M	12
	The Space Between Us	$1.8M	$6.6M	2

‘xXx: Return of Xander Cage’ Opens to Massive $61M at the China BO!!!

Vin Diesel‘s xXx: Return of Xander Cage from Paramount and Revolution Studios roared into China over the weekend with a muscular $61 million opening.

The impressive Chinese haul easily eclipsed the movie’s total performance in North America so far, where it has earned $42 million since its debut on Jan. 20. It’s also the biggest Hollywood bow in China — the world’s second-biggest box-office territory — this year, nearly doubling Rogue One: A Star Wars Story‘s $31 million launch.

The third entry in the xXx extreme sports/spy action franchise, Return of Xander Cage is the first Hollywood title to hit the market after the Chinese New Year holiday period, which was dominated by the latest Chinese blockbusters from Stephen Chow and Jackie Chan.

Diesel is a major star in the Middle Kingdom, thanks to the Fast and Furious franchise. Furious 7 remains the biggest Hollywood movie ever in the country with its remarkable $390 million run in 2015.

Return of Xander Cage also was boosted by lots of local support, including co-stars Donnie Yen and Kris Wu, two of greater China’s biggest celebrities. And the film is the first Paramount release since China’s Shanghai Film Group and Huahua Media closed a $1 billion slate financing deal with the studio. The two Chinese film companies were heavily involved in the xXx local marketing campaign.

The Chinese success of the third installment is a big win for Paramount, which acquired rights to the xXx franchise last February. Sony released the first two xXx films, neither of which got a major release in China.

Jackie Chan‘s Chinese New Year holdover release Kung Fu Yoga came in second for the weekend, adding $15.6 million for a $227.8 million total after 16 days, according to data from Beijing box-office tracker Ent Group. The India-set action comedy is rapidly closing in on Stephen Chow‘s fantasy Journey to the West: Demon Chapter to become the biggest release of the year so far. Slowing pace, Demon Chapter earned $6.8 million in this frame, taking its total to $232.3 million.

Hong Kong-Chinese culinary comedy Cook Up a Storm opened in third place for the weekend. Directed by Raymond Yip and starring Nicholas Tse, the film pulled in $12.4 million in its first three days, narrowly beating coming-of-age holdover Duckweed, which netted another $12 million, lifting its 16-day total to $127.8 million. Directed by celebrity blogger-turned-race-car-driver-turned-filmmaker Han Han, Duckweed was the sleeper sensation of CNY 2017.

On Saturday, La La Land earned an impressive $1.7 million from limited previews — a good sign for the Oscar hopeful’s upcoming Valentine’s Day release in China. Musicals historically have under-performed in the Chinese market, but early buzz around the glossy Damien Chazelle-directed romance is looking very positive. La La Land currently has scores of 8.7 and 8.3 on leading local reviews sites Douban and Mtime — higher than any other film currently on screens in the country.

via The Hollywood Reporter

 

‘Split’ Threepeats Over Super Bowl Weekend as ‘Rings’ and ‘Space Between Us’ Fumble At the BO!!

Not many surprises this Super Bowl weekend as Universal‘s Split finished #1 for a third straight weekend in a row while the new releases struggled out of the gates. Between the new releases, Paramount‘s Rings did manage a second place finish despite largely negative reviews while STX‘s The Space Between Us, floundered and finished well below expectations. Overall, the top twelve grossed an estimated $81.1 million, a bit below the $82 million the top twelve combined for over last Super Bowl weekend, though actuals could show a bump as studios could be playing it a bit conservative with Sunday estimates ahead of this evening’s big game.

With an estimated $14.6 million, M. Night Shyamalan‘s Split is the #1 movie for the third weekend in a row as the film’s domestic cume climbs to $98.7 million. This is the first time Shyamalan has had a film top the weekend box office three weeks in a row since 1999’s The Sixth Sense and will shortly be his fifth film to top $100 million at the domestic box office. Combined with an estimated $44 million internationally, the film’s worldwide total currently stands at $142.7 million.

Finishing in second is the first of the weekend’s new wide releases, Paramount‘s Rings, the third film in the Ring franchise and the worst opener of the trilogy with an estimated $13 million from 2,931 theaters. In addition to its domestic opening, Rings brought in an estimated $15.2 million internationally from 35 markets for a $28.2 million worldwide debut.

It’s hard to say the film’s opening is a surprise as it had bounced around the release schedule after it was originally set to hit theaters in November of 2015 and upon release, reviews were embargoed until Friday morning. At that point the flood gates opened and the film scored a dismal 5% on RottenTomatoes and a 24 on Metacritic.

Looking ahead, opening day audiences gave Rings a “C-” CinemaScore. The audience was 46% male vs 54% female of which 67% were under the age of 25. At this point it might be a struggle for this one to climb much higher than $27 million, similar to how last year’s Blair Witch could only manage a 2.16x multiplier after opening with $9.57 million.

Universal‘s A Dog’s Purpose finished third, dropping 41% from its opening weekend with an estimated $10.8 million. This result comes on the heels of news that an investigation by the American Humane organization into alleged on set animal abuse found no injuries or cruelty took place. The report also states the 2015 video that was released online ahead of the film’s opening weekend was deliberately edited to mislead the public. The film’s domestic cume now stands at $32.9 million, but there is no telling what kind of effect the pre-release controversy may have had on the feature.

In fourth, Hidden Figures continues its impressive run, bringing in an estimated $10 million this weekend as its cume is now just shy of $120 million domestically. Attempting to find satisfying comparisons for the film has not been easy given its initial limited release. That said, we put together a group of films that had similar release patterns and Hidden Figures continues to hold its own.

Rounding out the top five, La La Land finished its march through awards season as it brought in an estimated $7.45 million domestically as its cume is now just shy of $120 million. It also brought in an estimated $20.1 million internationally as its worldwide total has reached $268 million.

A little further down the list, the Weinstein‘s Oscar contender, Lion expanded into 1,405 theaters (+830) and finished in eighth with an estimated $4 million as its cume now stands at $24.7 million.

Finishing ninth is the weekend’s other new wide release, STX‘s The Space Between Us, which finished well below the $8-10 million, pre-release industry expectations with an estimated $3.8 million. The film received a bit of a critical drubbing as it scored a 33 on Metacritic and an 18% on RottenTomatoes. Opening day audiences didn’t quite agree with reviews, giving the film an “A-” CinemaScore. Of that audience 69% were female moviegoers vs. 31% male, of which 33% of the audience was under the age of 18.

In moderate release, Sony Classics opened The Comedian in 848 theaters where it brought in an estimated $1.12 million.

In limited release, Magnolia debuted Raoul Peck‘s well-reviewed documentary I am Not Your Negro into 43 theaters with the Film Forum and Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York on target to break house records for opening weekend gross as they have sold out every show this weekend. Magnolia is currently estimating a $709,500 opening for a $16,500 per screen average. Yet, that isn’t the per screen champion this weekend as Jamal Joseph‘s Chapter & Verse brought in an estimated $32,713 from one theater, Harlem’s MIST Theater. Looking ahead, both films will be expanding over the coming weeks.

Also in limited release, Mr. Gaga: A True Story of Love and Dance brought in an estimated $24,685 from two theaters ($12,343 PTA); Good Deed‘s Growing Up Smith brought in an estimated $18,947 ($3,789 PTA); and Janus‘ release of The Lure into one theater brought in an estimated $6,500.

Next weekend has a lot for everyone as it sees the release of Fifty Shades Darker, The LEGO Batman Movie and John Wick: Chapter Two.

via BoxOfficeMojo

Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Split	$14.6M	$98.7M	3
	Rings	$13.0M	$13.0M	1
	A Dog’s Purpose	$10.8M	$32.9M	2
	Hidden Figures	$10.1M	$119.4M	7
	La La Land	$7.5M	$118.3M	9
	Resident Evil: The Final Chapter	$4.5M	$21.9M	2
	Sing	$4.1M	$262.9M	7
	Lion	$4.0M	$24.7M	11
	The Space Between Us	$3.8M	$3.8M	1
	xXx: Return of Xander Cage	$3.7M	$40.0M	3

 

‘Split’ Is a Bonafide Hit, Repeats #1 Position While New Releases Stumble at the BO!!!

M. Night Shyamalan‘s Split dominated in its second weekend at the box office, dropping only 34% to take the #1 spot for a second weekend in a row. As a result, Universal held the #1 and #2 spots this weekend with Split and their release of Amblin and Walden Media‘s A Dog’s Purpose, which topped the list of newcomers for a second place finish. Meanwhile, Screen Gems‘s Resident Evil: The Final Chapter didn’t blow the doors off domestically, delivering the lowest domestic opening for any film in the franchise, but the combined worldwide gross for this latest installment pushed the global cume for the six-film franchise over the $1 billion mark worldwide. Additionally, Oscar frontrunner La La Land jumped 43% after nominations earlier this weekend as its global total now tops $220 million and Hidden Figures climbs over $100 million domestically.

With an estimated $26.26 million, Universal‘s Split delivered an impressive sophomore session, dropping a mere 34% and outperforming our weekend forecast by a wide margin for a second week in a row. Heading into the weekend we drew comparison to a selection of films that enjoyed similar opening weekends, three of which dropped over 63% in their second weekends and the other, The Grudge, dropped only 42%. Split bested them all as its domestic cume now climbs to just shy of $78 million after just ten days in release.

In terms of a comparison, looking at last year’s horror films, Don’t Breathe had the best second weekend performance, dropping 40%, but that was over the extended Labor Day weekend and second to that was The Shallows, which dropped 48%. The short of it is this is an outstanding performance for a film audiences are clearly enjoying and getting the word out and will deliver M. Night Shyamalan his fifth film to cross $100 million domestically, and his first since 2010’s The Last Airbender.

Internationally, Split brought in an estimated $14.8 million from 31 territories for an early international total of $23.7 million. This weekend included #1 openings in Germany and Spain with $2.6m and $2.1m debuts respectively. The film’s global cume currently stands at $101.7 million.

In second is Universal‘s A Dog’s Purpose, which had to overcome some controversy in its opening weekend and ultimately delivered on expectation. The film premiered in 3,059 theaters and opened with an estimated $18.38 million. Opening day audiences liked what they saw and gave the film an “A” CinemaScore, which could help it push toward a $61 million domestic run.

A Dog’s Purpose played to an audience that was 56% female vs. 44% male, of which 53% of the audience were general moviegoers ages 13 and older. Additionally, 47% of the audience consisted of families with children under age 13 (32% of attendees) and their parents (15% of attendees). The opening weekend audience was 59% Caucasian, 22% Hispanic, 11% African American and 6% Asian.

Screen Gems‘s Resident Evil: The Final Chapter wasn’t able to secure a spot in the top three in its opening weekend as Fox‘s Hidden Figures narrowly edged it out with an estimated $14 million as it has now topped $100 million domestically on a $25 million budget. As for Resident Evil, the film delivered an estimated $13.85 million from 3,104 theaters, the smallest opening for any film in the franchise, a distinction previously held by the original 2002 film which opened with $17.7 million.

Final Chapter is the sixth film in the long-running franchise adapted from the video game of the same name and along with this latest film’s $64.5 million from 42 international markets its global cume stands at $78.35 million propelling the six film franchise above the $1 billion mark worldwide in collective box office receipts*. Looking ahead, the film received a “B” CinemaScore from opening day audiences, which is a slight improvement over recent installments, and it played to an audience that was 56% male vs 44% female, of which 45% were under the age of 25. All that said, it will likely finish its run somewhere around $35 million or so.

Rounding out the top five is this year’s front-runner at the Oscars, La La Land, which scored a record-tying 14 nominations on Tuesday and expanded its nationwide reach to 3,136 theaters (+1,271). The film brought in an estimated $12 million this weekend as its domestic cume now climbs to $106.5 million. Internationally, La La Land added an estimated $23.4 million in 73 markets for an international cume of $117 million through Sunday, pushing its global cume over $223 million.

Finishing in tenth position is the last of the weekend’s new wide releases, the Weinstein‘s Gold starring Matthew McConaughey. The film debuted in 2,166 theaters and heading into the weekend wasn’t looking to make much of an impact and it ultimately delivered on that promise, opening with an estimated $3.47 million. The film scored a “B-” CinemaScore from opening day audiences and a domestic run at or just below $10 million seems likely.

Outside the top ten several Oscar-nominated features saw a bump this weekend as several expanded their nationwide reach, some for a second time. The release that saw the largest bump was Hacksaw Ridge, which was playing in 502 theaters (+377) and saw a 431% increase for a $415k weekend as its cume now stands at $65.9 million. Outside of La La Land, Paramount‘s Arrival saw the largest expansion of the weekend as it played in 1,221 theaters (+1,041) and brought in an estimated $1.47 million as it continues to scratch and claw along, hoping to reach the century mark with a domestic cume that now stands at $97.3 million.

Tied with Arrival for the second largest number of Oscar nominations (8), A24′s Moonlight expanded to its widest screen count to date in its 15th week of release and grossed an estimated $1.5 million from 1,104 theaters as its cume now stands at $17.7 million.

Of the weekend’s new limited releases, Zee TV‘s debut of Raees began on Wednesday and this weekend it brought in an estimated $1.85 million from 265 theaters as its cume stands at $2.4 million after five days in release. Lionsgate‘s release of Pantelion‘s Un Padre No Tan Padre brought in an estimated $1 million from 312 theaters; China Lion‘s Buddies in India debuted with $190k from 55 theaters; Well Go‘s Kung Fu Yoga opened with $112,300 from 14 theaters; and Cohen Media’s release of Asghar Farhadi‘s The Salesman into three theaters topped the weekend’s theater averages with an estimated $71,071, $23,690 per theater.

Next weekend sees the release of the third film in the The Ring franchise with Paramount releasing Rings in ~2,800 theaters and STX will debut The Space Between Us, also in ~2,800 theaters.

via BoxOfficeMojo

Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Split	$26.3M	$78.0M	2
	A Dog’s Purpose	$18.4M	$18.4M	1
	Hidden Figures	$14.0M	$104.0M	6
	Resident Evil: The Final Chapter	$13.9M	$13.9M	1
	La La Land	$12.1M	$106.5M	8
	xXx: Return of Xander Cage	$8.3M	$33.5M	2
	Sing	$6.2M	$257.4M	6
	Rogue One	$5.1M	$520.0M	7
	Monster Trucks	$4.1M	$28.1M	3
	Gold	$3.5M	$3.5M	1

Shyamalan’s ‘Split’ Impresses with $40 Million Debut as Other Releases Struggle at the BO!!!

M. Night Shyamalan has delivered a second hit in a row as his latest film, Split, is estimated to have delivered a top five January opening, leading the weekend charge with a three-day opening four times as big as its reported $10 million budget. Meanwhile, Paramount‘s xXx: The Return of Xander Cage delivered as expected while the Weinstein‘s The Founder scored a top ten finish. Additionally, Disney‘s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has become the 28th film to top $1 billion worldwide.

With an estimated $40.18 million, Split is currently the fourth largest January opening of all-time, just ahead of 2008’s Cloverfield, which debuted with $40 million and went on to gross $80 million domestically. This is also a dramatic improvement over Shyamalan‘s well-received 2015 thriller The Visit, which opened with $25.4 million and went on to gross over $65 million. Should Split be able to pull off a 2.5x multiplier we’d be looking at Shyamalan‘s first $100 million domestic earner since The Last Airbender brought in $131.7 million back in 2010.

Split received a “B+” CinemaScore from opening day audiences, of which 52% were female vs. 48% male and 52% were under the age of 25. Additionally, 50% of the opening weekend audience was Caucasian, 23% Hispanic, 19% African American and 5% Asian.

Internationally, Split debuted in 20 overseas markets and brought in an estimated $5.8 million. This includes an estimated $3.1 million from the UK and Ireland. Split will continue to roll out in over 40 more markets over the next few months including openings in Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Romania, Spain, German-Switzerland, Australia, Pakistan and Paraguay next weekend.

In second is Paramount‘s release of xXx: The Return of Xander Cage, which brought in an estimated $20 million from 3,651 theaters. The film also brought in an estimated $50.5 million internationally this weekend, finishing #1 in 32 of the 53 markets it opened in for an estimated $70.5 million worldwide debut. Of that international opening, $7.3 million came from India (including previews) followed by Russia ($5.5m), France ($3.1m), Germany ($2.8m), Mexico ($2.8m), Australia ($2.3m), Brazil ($2.2m) and the UAE ($1.9m). The film still has 21 international markets in which it will open including South Korea on February 9, China on Feb 10 and Japan on Feb 24.

Carrying a budget of $85 million, the third film in the xXx franchise received an “A-” CinemaScore from opening day audiences, of which 53% were male vs. 47% female and 62% were over the age of 25.

In third is Fox‘s breakout release of Hidden Figures, which brought in an estimated $16.25 million as its domestic cume is now just shy of $85 million.

Rounding out the top five, Lionsgate‘s La La Land brought in an estimated $8.35 million from 1,865 theaters as its domestic cume nears $90 million ahead of next weekend’s Oscar nominations, following which it will expand into even more theaters nationwide. The film also brought in an estimated $16.6 million from 57 international markets, lifting its international cume to $83.7 million for a worldwide total over $173 million.

Finishing just outside the top five is Disney‘s release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which brought in an estimated $7 million this weekend as its domestic cume climbs to $512.2 million plus an additional $9 million internationally. This brings the film’s international gross to $499.1 million for a worldwide gross over $1 billion, making Rogue One the 28th film to have ever grossed over $1 billion worldwide and Disney’s fourth 2016 release to cross the milestone.

Inching into the top ten is The Weinstein Co.’s release of The Founder, which premiered in 1,115 theaters and brought in an estimated $3.75 million for a ninth place finish. Additionally, A24’s expanded release of 20th Century Women into 650 theaters (+621) brought in an estimated $1.4 million as its cume now stands at $2.3 million.

Speaking of expansions, after Martin Scorsese‘s Silence added 696 theaters last weekend and managed $1.98 million from 747 locations, Paramount added another 833 theaters this weekend and things didn’t get much better. From 1,580 locations, Silence brought in a mere $1.15 million as the film’s domestic gross has so far limped over $5 million.

The last of the weekend’s new wide releases is High Top‘s faith-based feature The Resurrection of Gavin Stone, which the studio was hoping would bring in $3 million this weekend from 887 theaters, but it could only muster $1.35 million. This is on par with last year’s Hillsong – Let Hope Rise, which went on to gross $2.39 million domestically.

In limited release, Sony Classics debuted The Red Turtle in three theaters where it brought in an estimated $21,811.

Next weekend sees the release of Gold from The Weinstein Co., Screen Gems will debut Resident Evil: The Final Chapter and Universal will be releasing A Dog’s Purpose, which has had its own share of controversy lately and how that will affect its opening weekend is yet to be seen. Additionally, Pantelion will release Un Padre No Tan Padre into ~300 theaters.

via BoxOfficeMojo

Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Split	$40.2M	$40.2M	1
	xXx: Return of Xander Cage	$20.0M	$20.0M	1
	Hidden Figures	$16.3M	$84.2M	5
	Sing	$9.0M	$249.4M	5
	La La Land	$8.4M	$89.7M	7
	Rogue One	$7.0M	$512.2M	6
	Monster Trucks	$7.0M	$22.6M	2
	Patriots Day	$6.0M	$23.6M	5
	The Founder	$3.8M	$3.8M	1
	Sleepless	$3.7M	$15.2M	2

‘Hidden Figures’ and ‘The Bye Bye Man’ Top as Other New Releases Flop While ‘Rogue One’ Passes $500 Million at the BO!!!

It wasn’t necessarily an exciting Martin Luther King weekend, though it is rather astonishing to see how poorly all but one of the weekend’s new and expanding wide releases performed. The weekend’s successes find Hidden Figures leading the way for a second weekend, followed by Golden Globe juggernaut La La Land while it was STX‘s The Bye Bye Man that over performed against tracking and delivered the best new opening among the weekend’s new and expanding releases, more than doubling the film’s production budget over the four-day weekend.

At #1 for a second weekend in a row, Fox‘s Hidden Figures delivered an estimated $20.4 million for the three-day and is expected to finish over $25 million for the holiday weekend as its domestic cume will near $60 million by end of day Monday.

Finishing in second for the three-day is Lionsgate‘s La La Land, delivering an impressive $14.5 million for the three-day (+43.1%) from 1,848 theaters (+333), including 148 IMAX theaters, and expected to top $17 million for the four-day weekend as its domestic cume nears $80 million. Additionally, the film scored an estimated $17.8 million internationally which includes its opening weekend in the UK with $7.3 million and a #1 finish. The film’s international cume has now reached $54.8 million as its worldwide gross climbs to over $130 million through Monday. La La Land will next hit theaters in Brazil on the 19th followed by France, Italy, Belgium and Sweden the following week. Domestically the next major expansion is expected to be the weekend after next, following the Oscar nominations.

The first of the weekend’s new releases finds STX‘s The Bye Bye Man with a fifth place finish for the three-day as it took advantage of its Friday the 13th release date. The PG-13 chiller outperformed expectations, delivering an estimated $13.38 million over the three-day weekend and is expected to top $15 million for the four-day, which would more than double the film’s $7.4 million production budget. Internationally the film debuted in eleven markets and brought in an estimated $1.3 million including a seventh place opening in the UK with an estimated $700k. The film will debut in Brazil on February 9 followed by releases in Mexico (March 17), Italy (April 19), Germany (April 20) and Spain (May 5).

Looking ahead domestically, STX has proven to be powerful marketers when it comes to low budget horror following The Gift and The Boy. Should Bye Bye Man follow suit it would be looking to top $40 million for its domestic run. Of course, The Forest debuted last January with $12.7 million and only went on to gross $26.5 million. Bye Bye‘s “C” CinemaScore matches that of The Forest (rather than the “B” range for both The Gift and The Boy) leading us to believe the film’s overall run is likely to settle around $34 million. Bye Bye Man‘s opening weekend demographics showed the film playing to an audience that was 61% female with 75% of the overall audience coming in under the age of 25.

Next we come to Patriots Day, which fell well short of both industry and Mojo‘s weekend expectations as it grossed an estimated $12 million for the three-day weekend in its expansion into 3,120 theaters following a three-week limited run in seven theaters. The film is expected to gross just over $14 million for the four-day as its inability to reach the $20 million four-day many anticipated is most likely due to it not quite catching on as well as expected in middle America. The question now is just how good its legs will be as it did score an “A” CinemaScore during its limited run and an “A+” during its national breakout this weekend. At this time comparisons are being made to Hacksaw Ridge and 13 Hours, which would mean the difference between an overall run over $50 or around $40 million respectively. At this time a run ending around $43 million seems about right.

Paramount’s release of Monster Trucks opened with an estimated $10.5 million for the three-day and is expected to gross just over $14 million for the four-day weekend. The film cost a reported $125 million and caused parent company Viacom to take a $115 million write-down last year. The film did manage to score an “A” CinemaScore from opening day audiences of which 60% was under 25 and gave the film an “A+”. The opening weekend’s audience was 47% female vs. 53% male and, if it’s lucky, it might be able to eek out a $35-40 million domestic run.

Internationally, Monster Trucks has opened in 17 overseas markets so far and brought in an estimated $4 million this weekend bringing its international gross to $14.7 million.

Finishing in eighth position is Open Road‘s corrupt cop thriller Sleepless, which opened with an estimated $8.46 million for the three-day and is expected to gross just over $10 million for the four-day weekend. The film scored a “B+” CinemaScore and could be looking at a run around $26 million.

Missing the top ten and delivering truly disastrous results is Ben Affleck‘s Live by Night, which brought in an estimated $5.4 million as it expanded into 2,822 theaters after playing in only four theaters since Christmas Day. The film also debuted internationally this weekend in 25 territories where it brought in an estimated $3.3 million including $873,000 from the UK, $720k from Russia and a $265k opening in Taiwan. The film will open this Wednesday in France followed by releases in Australia (Jan 26), Spain (Jan 27) and Germany (Feb 2).

Also expanding this weekend was Martin Scorsese‘s Silence, playing in 747 theaters (+696) and brought in an estimated $1.9 million for the three-day and is expected to finish around $2.3 million for the four-day weekend.

Finally, this weekend saw Rogue One: A Star Wars Story become the #1 release of 2016 with an estimated $13.8 million for the three-day which will climb to over $17 million by Monday, at which time it will become the only 2016 release to top $500 million domestically and only the seventh film of all-time to reach that mark.

Next weekend will see the return of Vin Diesel as the title character in Paramount‘s xXx: The Return of Xander Cage and M. Night Shyamalan‘s Split, both debuting in ~3,000 theaters along with The Weinstein Co‘s The Founder and High Top‘s The Resurrection of Gavin Stone, both opening in over 1,000 theaters. Additionally A24 will expand 20th Century Women nationwide while releasing Trespass Against Us into limited theaters.

via BoxOfficeMojo

Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Hidden Figures	$20.5M	$54.8M	4
	La La Land	$14.5M	$74.1M	6
	Sing	$13.8M	$233.0M	4
	Rogue One	$13.8M	$498.9M	5
	The Bye Bye Man	$13.4M	$13.4M	1
	Patriots Day	$12.0M	$12.9M	4
	Monster Trucks	$10.5M	$10.5M	1
	Sleepless	$8.5M	$8.5M	1
	Underworld: Blood Wars	$5.8M	$23.9M	2
	Passengers	$5.6M	$90.0M	4

‘Rogue One’ and ‘Hidden Figures’ Kicks Off 2017 with Tight Race for #1 At the BO!!

Domestic weekend estimates are in, for the time being Rogue One: A Star Wars Story holds the top spot over Fox‘s expanded release of Hidden Figures by less than $200,000. The weekend’s lone new wide release, Screen Gems‘s Underworld: Blood Wars, scored a fourth place finish while Focus‘s expansion of A Monster Calls failed to generate much interest despite strong reviews and audience response, ultimately finishing outside the top ten.

Currently holding the #1 spot for the weekend is Disney‘s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which dropped 55.7% and finished with an estimated $21.97 million as its domestic cume climbs to $477.2 million, placing it just $9 million behind Finding Dory as it is soon to become the highest grossing release of 2016.

In addition to its domestic gross, Rogue One added another $56.6 million internationally this weekend from 57 markets bringing its overseas total to $437.1 million for a global cume of $914.4 million. This places Rogue One ahead of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and The Secret Life of Pets making it the fifth largest worldwide release of 2016, giving Walt Disney Studios the top five global releases for 2016.

Of that international haul this weekend, Rogue One opened in its last international territory this weekend, China, where it brought in an estimated $31 million for the three-day, only 61% of Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘ two-day opening weekend. Nevertheless it was the #1 film in China this weekend, pulling in an estimated 56% market share.

As for Rogue One‘s #1 finish, we’ll have to wait until actuals come in to see if it holds up as Rogue One‘s lead over current second place finisher, Hidden Figures, is a mere $172,000 and rival studios currently place Hidden Figures at #1.

Hidden Figures expanded nationwide this weekend into 2,471 theaters (+2,446) and finished with an impressive $21.8 million. One factor contributing to the questions surrounding not only its weekend gross, but the weekend gross for all films in release, is several theaters in New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Virginia and parts of the Deep South either closed early yesterday or shut down completely as a result of severe winter weather. Nevertheless, Hidden Figures is off to an excellent start and its future looks bright after receiving an “A+” CinemaScore from Friday audiences and a 5/5 from PostTrak. The films demographic breakdown as 64% female vs. 36% male with 56% of the audience coming in under the age of 35. Additionally, 43% of the audience was Caucasian, 37% African American and 13% Hispanic.

Finishing in third place and perhaps the film that looks to have been the most affected by the winter storm is Universal and Illumination‘s Sing, bringing in an estimated $19.57 million. After Friday estimates it was looking like Sing could bring in as much as $25 million this weekend, which only means next weekend’s holds for the top three could make for a very good, extended Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. Sing‘s domestic cume currently stands at $213.3 million and with an additional $26.4 million coming in internationally this weekend its global cume is now $356.87 million.

In fourth we find Screen Gems‘ Underworld: Blood Wars, which finished with an estimated $13.1 million domestically from 3,070 theaters. This is the lowest opening for any film in the Underworld franchise, including 2009’s Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. Yet, it did manage a “B+” CinemaScore and with the winter storm affecting the overall box office it could deliver a decent hold next weekend. The studio has yet to report international grosses for Blood Wars as of publication of this article.

Rounding out the top five is Lionsgate‘s La La Land with an estimated $10 million as its domestic cume climbs to $51.6 million ahead of tonight’s Golden Globe Awards where it looks to take home a few top level awards in the Musical/Comedy division including Best Picture and Actress and Actor for its two leads, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. The film will continue to expand next weekend, including opening in select IMAX locations.

Finishing outside the top ten in its expansion weekend is Focus‘ A Monster Calls, which expanded into 1,523 theaters and brought in an estimated $2 million. Commenting on the film’s performance, Lisa Bunnell, President Distribution for Focus said, “While we’re a little disappointed with the expansion this weekend, the CinemaScore (A), exit polls and reviews are all strong. There’s certainly a passionate audience that we hope can grow the film over the coming weeks. J.A. Bayona is one of the world’s most visionary filmmakers and has made an emotional, visually spectacular film with beautiful performances.”

Also expanding this weekend ahead of its nationwide expansion next weekend was Martin Scorsese‘s Silence, which played in 51 theaters (+47) and brought in an estimated $480,000 ($9,412 per theater). The film will be heading into approximately 750 theaters next weekend.

The second of next weekend’s wide expansions is Ben Affleck‘s Live by Night, which has had a tough go in limited release. The film has so far brought in just $170,000 from four theaters after 15 days in release and is looking to release in 2,700+ theaters next weekend. At this point we’ll be looking to 2013’s Gangster Squad and its $17 million January opening as a bar for comparison.

Finally, the last of next weekend’s expansions, and the one that seems to be making the most of its limited release, is Peter Berg‘s Patriots Day which has played in the same seven locations in New York, Los Angeles and Boston since its release 19 days ago and has so far amassed $870,414. It too was affected by the winter weather this weekend and as for next weekend it will be heading into ~2,900 theaters with early tracking suggesting a three-day performance anywhere from $15-20 million.

Otherwise, next weekend also features the wide release of STX‘s horror feature The Bye Bye Man in ~2,300 theaters, Open Road‘s Sleepless in ~2,000 theaters and Paramount‘s Monster Trucks, which is already looking like the first bomb of the year after the studio took a $115 million write-down on the feature last September.

via BoxOfficeMojo

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Rogue One	$22.0M	$477.3M	4
	Hidden Figures	$21.8M	$24.8M	3
	Sing	$19.6M	$213.4M	3
	Underworld: Blood Wars	$13.1M	$13.1M	1
	La La Land	$10.0M	$51.7M	5
	Passengers	$8.8M	$80.9M	3
	Why Him?	$6.5M	$48.6M	3
	Moana	$6.4M	$225.4M	7
	Fences	$4.7M	$40.7M	4
	Assassin’s Creed	$3.8M	$49.5M	3

 

‘Rogue One’ Crosses $400 Million, ‘Sing’ Scores Over New Year’s Box Office!!!

“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” and “Sing” loomed large at the multiplexes over the New Year’s holiday, racking up the biggest grosses and ringing out 2016 on a high note.

The Star Wars spinoff topped the box office for the third consecutive weekend, earning just under $50 million for the three-day period and a projected $64 million for the four-day holiday. The movie business is tacking Monday on to New Year’s weekend, because many companies and schools are observing it as a national holiday. The weekend gross pushes the space opera over the $400 million mark domestically. It currently ranks as the year’s second highest-grossing domestic release, with $425 million, behind only “Finding Dory.” “Rogue One” concludes a record-annihilating year for Disney. The studio became the first to top $7 billion in a single year, has fielded four of the five top grossing domestic releases, and should see four of its movies top $1 billion at the global box office.

“Sing,” the latest collaboration between Illumination and Universal, racked up $41.4 million during its second weekend in theaters. It is projected to earn $53.7 million for the four-day holiday weekend and has made $177.3 million stateside. It’s the second smash of 2016 for Illumination, the maker of “Despicable Me.” The company also scored with last summer’s “The Secret Life of Pets.” “Sing” centers on a talent competition for animals and features vocal turns by the likes of Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, and Taron Egerton.

In third place “Passengers,” a critically-derided science-fiction romance with Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence, earned $16.1 million over the three-day weekend and $20.7 million over the four day. As of Sunday, its domestic haul stands at $61.4 million. With a $110 million budget and millions more spent in promotion, “Passengers” will need a lift from foreign audiences if it hopes to make money.

The same is true for Fox’s “Assassin’s Creed,” which took in $8 million for the weekend and a projected $10 million for the holiday. The video game adaptation has earned $41 million since opening over Christmas — a dispiriting result given its hefty $125 million budget. Movies made from games are a mixed bag. For every hit like “Mortal Combat” or “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider,” there are a slew of duds such as “Warcraft” and “Prince of Persia.”

Fox is having more luck with “Why Him?” The R-rated comedy earned $10 million over the three day period and an estimated $13 million for the four day holiday. The film about the rivalry between a father (Bryan Cranston) and his daughter’s fiancee (James Franco) has earned $37.6 million and cost an economical $38 million to produce.

It wasn’t all space aliens and singing animals. A number of Oscar favorites capitalized on the holidays. Paramount’s “Fences,” expanded nicely. Denzel Washington directs and stars as a domineering patriarch in the August Wilson adaptation, with Viola Davis playing a key supporting role as his long-suffering wife. The drama earned $10.2 million over the three-day weekend and an estimated $13 million for the holiday. It has made $32.7 million since debuting three weeks ago in limited release.

Lionsgate’s “La La Land,” continued to capitalize on awards buzz. The musical about two lovestruck Angelenos (Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone) earned $9.5 million over the weekend and is projected to make $12.3 million over the four-day holiday. That would bring its gross to an estimated $37 million. On Friday, “La La Land” passed “Hell or High Water” to become the highest-grossing movie in limited release for the year.

Fox’s “Hidden Figures” continues to look strong. The drama about the African-American scientists and mathematicians who played pivotal roles in the early days of America’s space program, earned $815,000 for the three days and $1.1 million for the four days from just 25 theaters. It goes into wide release next weekend.

“20th Century Women” and “Paterson” were released just under the wire in order to qualify for Oscars. “20th Century Women,” a comedy-drama that’s earned some of the best reviews of Annette Bening’s career, earned $112,705 for the weekend. A24 is handling the rollout. “Patterson,” a drama about a poetic bus driver, made $70,760. It is being released by Amazon Studios and Bleecker Street.

“Live by Night,” a gangster picture with Ben Affleck, appears to be shooting blanks. The film earned $32,000 from four locations for a paltry $7,995 per-screen average. That doesn’t exactly kick things off with a bang and putting Affleck in a fedora couldn’t have been cheap.

via Variety

	Title	Weekend	Gross	Weeks
	Rogue One	$64.0M	$286.0M	2
	Sing	$35.3M	$55.9M	1
	Passengers	$15.1M	$22.4M	1
	Why Him?	$11.0M	$11.0M	1
	Assassin’s Creed	$10.3M	$17.8M	1
	Moana	$7.7M	$180.7M	5
	Fences	$6.7M	$6.9M	2
	La La Land	$5.8M	$13.6M	3
	Office Christmas Party	$5.1M	$42.2M	3
	Collateral Beauty	$4.3M	$15.3M	2