Top Domestic Grosser 2023 (U.S only)

⇒ $636,225,983

Top Global Grosser 2023

⇒ $1,441,820,453

Rank	Title	Distributor	Worldwide gross
1	Barbie	Warner Bros.	$1,445,638,421
2	The Super Mario Bros. Movie	Universal	$1,362,052,250
3	Oppenheimer †		$970,312,206
4	Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3	Disney	$845,555,777
5	Fast X	Universal	$714,582,375
6	Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse	Sony Pictures	$690,897,910
7	Full River Red	China Film	$634,631,282
8	Wonka	Warner Bros.	$632,302,312
9	The Wandering Earth 2	China Film	$604,460,538
10	The Little Mermaid	Disney	$569,626,289

‘The Nun II’ Scares Off ‘Expend4bles’ to Retain Top Spot at the BO!!

New Line/Warner Bros is calling the third weekend of The Nun 2 at $8.4M and Lionsgate says Millennium Media’s Expendables 4 is at $8.3M, which by the way, is the lowest ever for the franchise.

While some will argue that’s a tie, it ain’t, because rival studios have a farther gap between the two movies, showing that the Conjuring sequel is the winner. Once again, what genre do most moviegoers care about, even during a slow time at the box office? Horror. Global for Michael Chaves’ Nun 2 at $204M could overtake Annabelle Comes Home‘s worldwide, which did $231.2M.

In terms of the severity of how bad the loss is here on Expendables 4, we have to see the global grosses, which haven’t been disclosed yet. In China, the reported $100M Expendables 4 is up to $20.8M. Lionsgate took UK and U.S. on the Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham movie for around $20M, with $20M in marketing. Again, when Lionsgate sees a stinker on paper, they’re not going to promote and scream a movie from the cliffs like John Wick or Hunger Games. Stallone’s previous movie, Samaritan, at MGM skipped a theatrical release back in late August 2022 for a launch on Prime Video. As far as exhibition is concerned, splitting $8M in box office is better for them than seeing Stallone’s latest dud on a service. Given the intricate nature of these foreign sales deals, no one is really looking to replicate the pandemic model, which saw the U.S. going streaming on a title and the rest of the world theatrical (ala Gerard Butler’s Greenland). It’s often built in these deals that U.S. must go theatrical like the rest of the world.

Comscore is reporting the overall box office weekend at $51.7M, which is the lowest to date for 2023, under Super Bowl weekend’s $52.6M for all titles. This weekend’s B.O. is also off -18% from a year ago, when Don’t Worry Darling led the pack with $19.3M.

Is Expendables 4 the worst wide opening for Stallone? Why, no, that would belong to 2012’s Bullet to the Head, which debuted to $4.5M.

Is the latest fourthquel the lowest for Statham? No, as that opening belongs to the earlier Lionsgate/Miramax title from this year, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, which debuted to $3.1M on 2,168 theaters and ended its run at $6.4M (By the way, from an action fan pov, an underappreciated little gem starring Aubrey Plaza. The movie makes a long plane ride go a lot faster).

Given the fandom of this duo, audiences will keep forgiving them, as they have at the box office. However, when Stallone and Statham fans see a rerun in their canons, they’ll gladly sit it out at cinemas and watch from their couches.

At least stateside, it’s time to retire Expendables and think up a new franchise, Signor Stallone.

NEON’s genre release of It Lives Inside came in at $2.63M. That’s just a tad above where NEON opened Brandon Cronenberg’s Infinity Pool, which did $2.5M, and that was coming off of a Sundance premiere. Infinity Pool ended its run at $5M stateside.

A24’s rerelease of the Talking Heads concert film, Stop Making Sense, saw $800,6K from 264 Imax runs, with a running total of $1.4M that included the large format exhibitor’s live band reunion event out of TIFF two weeks ago. A24 says that over 60% of the audience who showed up for the movie hadn’t been born when the original Jonathan Demme-directed title was released in 1984. Audiences are reportedly dancing in the aisles for this –which we experienced first-hand at the TIFF event– with exits scoring a perfect 100. The film expands nationwide next weekend. Imax says the global on Stop Making Sense is at $1.6M, which includes another $192K from 35 offshore screens. The lifetime domestic on Stop Making Sense is around $6.5M.

Studio reported estimates:

1) The Nun 2 (NL) 3,536 theaters (-207), Fri $2.4M (-45%) Sat $3.75M Sun $2.25M 3-day $8.4M (-42%) Total $69.2M/Wk 3

2.) Expendables 4 (LG/Mill) 3518 theaters, Fri $3.2M Sat $3M Sun $2M 3-day $8.3M/Wk 1

3.) A Haunting in Venice (Dis) 3,305 Fri $1.7M (-69%) Sat $2.77M Sun $1.78M 3-day $6.3M (-56%)/Total $25.3M/Wk 2

4.) Equalizer 3 (Sony) 3,270 (-258) theaters Fri $1.35M (-36%) Sat $2.1M Sun $1.2M 3-day $4.72M (-35%), Total: $81.2M /Wk 4

5.) Barbie (WB) 2,634 (-378) theaters, Fri $800K Sat $1.5M Sun $900K 3-day $3.2M (-16%) Total $630.45M/Wk 10 Imax nor Warner Bros. broke out the Imax gross portion, however, for a movie in its 10th weekend to dip 16% is pretty remarkable, evident of some juice from large format.

6.) My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 (Uni) 3,078 (-600) theaters Fri $820K (-41%) Sat $1.3M Sun $860K 3-day $3M (-37%) Total $23.8M/Wk 3

7.) It Lives Inside (NEON) 2,010 theaters, Fri $1M Sat $930K Sun $650K 3-day $2.6M/Wk 1

8.) Dumb Money (Sony) 616 (+608) theaters, Fri $985K (+967%) Sat $873K Sun $642K 3-day $2.5M (+999%), Total $2.8M/Wk 2

9.) Blue Beetle (WB) 1,953 (-433) theaters, Fri $400K (-31%) Sat $830K Sun $580K 3-day $1.81M (-28%)/Total $69.8M/Wk 6

10.) Oppenheimer (Uni) 1,459 locations, Fri $380K Sat $760K Sun $490K 3-day $1.63M (-22%), Total $321.2M/Wk 10

11.) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles…(Par) 1,751 (-315) theaters Fri $335K (-24%) Sat $780K Sun $510K 3-day $1.625M (-20%) Total $116.2M/Wk 8

 

via Deadline

‘Jawan’ on the Verge to Become the Second Highest Grossing Bollywood Movie Ever at the Worldwide BO!!

Now in its third weekend in theaters, the Indian blockbuster Jawan is continuing to break box office records. On Saturday, the film passed Pathaan to become the highest-grossing Hindi-language movie of all time in its home country. Incidentally, both Pathaan and Jawan were released in the same year, and star Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan. Fondly known as SRK, he is perhaps the most popular romantic lead that India has ever produced, but after three decades of dominance, has decided to refashion himself into an action hero.

According to SRK’s production company, Red Chillies Entertainment, Jawan has grossed a total of ₹979 crore globally, which converts to approximately $118 million. This puts Jawan just $12 million shy of overtaking Pathaan’s $130 million lifetime gross at the global box office and claiming the number two spot on the all-time list behind Aamir Khan’s 2016 sports drama Dangal, which grossed around $250 million. Most of Dangal’s revenue came from China, a territory that neither Jawan nor Pathaan played in.

With over $13 million domestically, Jawan will soon overtake last year’s RRR, which ended its stateside run with just over $14 million. Pathaan, by comparison, grossed $17 million domestically earlier this year. But in India, Jawan overtook Pathaan’s $78 million lifetime gross on Friday to become the biggest Hindi-language hit ever. The movie had already broken opening day, opening weekend, and opening week records. SRK also earned the unique distinction of having become the only Bollywood star to deliver two $100 million-plus grossers in the same year.

‘Jawan’ Could Be an Overwhelming Experience for Global Audiences

India has several independent film industries that are separated by region and language. While Jawan is mainly a Hindi-language (or Bollywood) movie, it was also released in Tamil and Telugu dubbed versions in an effort to broaden its appeal. Additionally, the movie was directed by Atlee, a filmmaker best known for his Tamil-language blockbusters. He injected the film with a tone and texture that is more common in the southern part of India than in the north, and he did it without knowing the Hindi language.

SRK admitted that the film could be an “out-of-body” experience for audiences that aren’t accustomed to the flamboyant south Indian filmmaking. In Jawan, he plays the dual roles of a vigilante cop and his army veteran father, who join forces to exact vengeance against a corrupt arms dealer, played by Vijay Sethupathi. Along the way, Atlee finds time for several song-and-dance numbers, multiple heist sequences, superhero-style action, a romantic subplot, and an extended flashback sequence featuring Deepika Padukone. The movie received mostly positive reviews, with praise being directed at its political messaging and SRK’s star-power.

Jawan also stars Nayanthara, Priyamani, Sanya Malhotra, Sunil Grover, and others. SRK will complete his comeback year — he spent nearly half-a-decade in a sabbatical before Pathaan — with his third release of 2023, director Rajkumar Hirani’s Dunki, due out around Christmastime. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

 

via Collider

‘Jawan’ Crosses ‘Pathaan’ to Become the Highest Grossing Bollywood Film at the Indian BO!!

It’s Shah Rukh Khan all the way as the megastar is breaking old records and setting new ones at a frantic pace. Jawan has been having a brilliant run at the box office and right from the day of its release there have been quite a few new records that have been set. One such record was created on Saturday as well when the film ended up being the highest grossing Bollywood film of all times.

Incidentally, the record has been held by Pathaan only which was set earlier this year when it ended up netting Rs. 543.05 crores in its lifetime. At that time, it seemed rather unassailable since the next best Bollywood film was Dangal and it had netted Rs. 387.38 crores. With a lead of over Rs. 150 crores been established, one wondered whether this much pace would be picked by any other film in the coming months.

Well, it has happened now with Jawan, and that too in a matter of just eight months, what with the film’s overall collections standing at Rs. 548 crores*, and that too in mere 17 days! The film has been collecting in double digits till date, and in fact, there has been a contribution of Rs. 56 crores from just the Telugu and Tamil versions. While this goes on to show the reach that Hindi films can have even in south, rest assured Jawan would soon go past even just the Hindi lifetime score of Rs. 524.50 crores that was set by Shah Rukh Khan for Pathaan.

King Khan for a reason!

*Estimates. Final numbers awaited

Note: All collections as per production and distribution sources

 

via Bollywood Hungama

‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning’ Ends Run with Second-Lowest Franchise Take at the Domestic BO!!

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One will conclude its domestic theatrical run at $172 million after its time in theaters came to an end this week. It’s an improbable tally, given the film’s flawless word of mouth and critical acclaim, but the film fell victim to a number of circumstances both out of, and within, its control as it attempted to kick-start the summer blockbuster season before being swept away by a perfect storm of a Mojo Dojo Casa House and a Trinity Test.

Globally, the film is still playing overseas and will gross a touch more than its current $566 million cume, which still beats the first three outings of the series. The film was also lumbered with a gargantuan $290 million budget, which had ballooned as a result of a number of COVID-related issues and delays, as well as Tom Cruise‘s noble insistence that the cast and crew be paid through the enforced hiatus as the production got to grips with what a mid-pandemic workplace would look like.

Thankfully for Paramount, the film was able to secure a vast insurance payout which brought their overall budget down to around $220 million meaning, after advertising and exhibitor costs were taken into account, the film would reach profitability, and deservedly so, as it was a captivating blend of practical stunt work, old-fashioned spycraft, classic movie star moments and a prescient storyline based around the threat of artificial intelligence.

What Happened to The Film’s Momentum?

It was a film that should have earned much more money, but it didn’t. Just a mere 10 days prior to the explosive success of “Barbenbeimer” in mid-July, Dead Reckoning Part One hit cinemas – a decision that Paramount, the studio behind the picture, likely regrets in hindsight. This move not only resulted in the movie losing out on coveted IMAX screens to Christopher Nolan‘s Oppenheimer, a film which has since smashed numerous records and has gone beyond the $900 million worldwide milestone, but it also dealt a severe blow to Dead Reckoning Part One’s prospects, one from which it never fully recovered. Recent reports have even suggested that IMAX made efforts to persuade Paramount to reconsider its release date.

Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie are poised to potentially reclaim their former glory with the upcoming release of Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part Two next year. However, the film’s ability to maintain its scheduled June release date remains uncertain due to the disruptions caused by the ongoing SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes. Adding to the uncertainty is the fact that filming for the movie has not yet been completed.

 

via Collider

‘The Nun II’ Scares Away Top Spot from ‘A Haunting in Venice’ at the BO!!

It looks like Hercule Poirot doesn’t have a prayer at winning the box office this weekend, with Kenneth Branagh’s A Haunting in Venice losing No. 1 to the second weekend of New Line’s Nun 2, $14.5M to $14.7M. That’s in line with industry estimates, which show a $100K-$300K lead for Nun 2 over the Disney/20th Century Studios film. If these numbers stick into tomorrow, it’s not “a tie,” as others are labeling it. Uhh, Nun 2 wins.

Even though A Haunting in Venice had PLFs and Imax, which propelled 36% of its weekend, Nun 2 had a better Saturday than the Branagh movie, $6.25M to $5.4M. The sequel’s overall hold this weekend is -55%, which is great for a horror pic (they typically drop -60% or worse in weekend 2). The Michael Chaves-directed Conjuring spinoff sequel is also expected to beat Haunting in Venice today, $4M to $3.6M. The first Nun, back in 2018, had a second weekend drop of -66% and take of $18.2M.

These photo finishes tend to happen at the box office when business is dull. This weekend being the second-lowest of 2023 so far, with an estimated $64.7M for all titles. Some of that’s due to the older-skewing, initially lower-grossing nature of a movie like Haunting in Venice (82% over 25 vs. previous two Poirot pics 70% over 25), And yes, the SAG-AFTRA strike, as the Zendaya movie Challengers was originally dated for this weekend, but then had to move. That’s about $10M-$15M of box office money missing right there.

Read: one of the most notorious ties times during a dull September weekend was Sept. 29-Oct. 1, 2017, when there was a three-way tie between Kingsman: The Golden Circle (weekend 2 of $16.93M), It ($16.9M weekend 4), and Tom Cruise’s American Made (opening of $16.8M). Boy, were distribution heads pissed on that Sunday morning. The drama played out into Monday AM, of course. Some Disney insiders believe that Haunting in Venice will have the upper hand tomorrow AM. In their eyes, it’s not a won and done box office battle.

But overall, it’s fair to say that the SAG-AFTRA strike, and actors’ refusal to promote struck work, is taking its toll on the box office. In addition to A Haunting in Venice, Sony’s big ensemble dramedy Dumb Money posted a low per theater of $27K after $217K opening (more on that in a bit).

Nicolas Cage even had a wide release this weekend, the action comedy The Retirement Plan in 1,175 theaters, which did $745K. That pic didn’t have a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement like the actor’s recent A24 TIFF premiere, Dream Scenario, which he allowed him to show up in Toronto for press. The Oscar-winner here wasn’t able to promote his latest movie from Scott Kennedy’s Falling Forward Films.

Technically speaking, for a Cage wide opening north of 1,000 theaters, that’s the Oscar winner’s worst-ever, under the $2.7M start of 1994’s Trapped in Paradise at 1,286 locations. Cage’s critically acclaimed Pig was booked at 552 theaters during its opening weekend in July 2021, and did $970,9K by comparison.

While moviegoers aren’t going to see The Nun 2 for its ensemble, that’s the draw with A Haunting in Venice. And with that pic’s cast, as well as Dumb Money‘s, and even Retirement Plan‘s inability to have actors on talk shows, well, it’s impossible for these types of original movies to break through on the big screen.

This is the reason why Sony is taking a platform approach to Dumb Money, to spread word of mouth. The Craig Gillespie-directed title scheduled to go wide on Sept. 29. No RT audience score yet on Dumb Money.

Retirement Plan was a distribution deal for Falling Forward Films as part of an overall commitment they have with the pic’s production company PMI. Radiant has global rights on the Cage film. Originally the plan was to go 500 theaters, but exhibitors hearing about the heat on the actor’s upcoming Dream Scenario, due out Nov. 10, called up Falling Forward and requested the movie, hence the pic’s wide release at 1,175 theaters. The YouTube trailer only generated 35K views since its release on July 12. There were in-theater promotions for the pic. The Tim Brown-written and directed title follows Ashley (Ashley Greene) and her young daughter Sarah, who get caught up in a criminal enterprise that puts their lives at risk. Ashley turns to estranged father Matt (Cage), currently living the life of a retired beach bum in the Cayman Islands. Ron Perlman and Jackie Earle Haley also star. The movie was made for less than $20M. Five reviews on Rotten Tomatoes are at 80% for the pic, while the RT audience gave it a 65%.

Watch the trailer below:

Studio reported Sunday numbers:

1) The Nun 2 (NL) 3,743 theaters (+15), Fri $4.4M (-66%) Sat $6.24M Sun $4M 3-day $14.7M (-55%) Total $56.5M/Wk 1

2.) A Haunting in Venice (Dis) 3,305 Fri $5.5M, Sat $5.4M Sun $3.6M 3-day $14.5M/Wk 1

3.) Equalizer 3 (Sony) 3,528 (-437) theaters Fri $2.1M (-38%) Sat $3.2M Sun $1.9M 3-day $7.2M (-40%), Total: $73.6M /Wk 3

4.) My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 (Uni) 3,678 (+28) theaters Fri $1.39M (-62%) Sat $1.96M Sun $1.35M 3-day $4.7M (-53%) Total $18.5M/Wk 2

5.) Barbie (WB) 3,012 (-269) theaters, Fri $1M (-30%) Sat $1.7M Sun $1.2M 3-day $3.96M (-30%) Total $626.1M/Wk 9

6.) Jawan (Yash Raj) 800 theaters, Fri $694K Sat $1M Sun $775K 3-day $2.49M (-59%), Total $12.1M/Wk 2

7.) Blue Beetle 2,386 (-400) theaters, Fri $575K (-32%) Sat $1.1M Sun $750K 3-day $2.475M (-35%), Total $67.2M/Wk 5

8.) Gran Turismo (Sony) 2,202 (-563) theaters, Fri $620K (-32%) Sat $1M Sun $680K 3-day $2.35M (-33%) total $39.4M/Total Wk 4

9.) Oppenheimer (Uni) 1,799 (-292) theaters Fri $560K (-30%) Sat $930K Sun $610K 3-day $2.1M (-32%)/Total $318.6M/Wk 9

10.) Teenage Mutanta Ninja Turtles…(Par) 2,066 (-434) theaters Fri $440K (-23%) Sat $945K Sun $615K 3-day $2.M (-28%) Total $114.1M/Wk 7

 

via Deadline

‘The Nun II’ Scares Up to Top Spot with $32.6M at the BO!!

New Line’s Michael Chaves horror sequel The Nun 2 is meeting its opening weekend expectations with a $32.6M take. Even though that’s -39% off from Nun 1‘s $53.8M, it’s wonky times with the pic’s lead stars Taissa Farmiga and Storm Reid and the studio unable to truly splash this event-wise, etc due to the actors strike. The sequel cost $38.5M before P&A.

Note, the 3-day ease between the openings of the first and second Annabelle was -6% while it was -12% between Blumhouse’s first two Purge titles.

At the same time, Nun 2‘s opening isn’t that far from the first two Annabelles’ Friday-Sundays ($37.1M and $35M respectively) and higher than the threequel Annabelle Comes Home which posted a $20.2M 3-day in a $31.1M five-day.

Still, thank you, Warner Bros. The result here for the marketplace is better than the doldrums we had a year ago when Disney opened 20th Century/Regency’s horror title Barbarian to $10.5M in what was an awful overall weekend box office of $43.1M. This weekend is on track for $88M, +104% over a year ago. Also at a time when the strikes have moved some big pics off the calendar like Dune: Part Two, Challengers and Kraven the Hunter, movie theaters will relish this opening particularly after the solid debut of Equalizer 3 last weekend at $42.8M over four days.

EntTelligence reports that Nun 2 clocked 2.3M admissions over three days repping over a third of the weekend’s foot traffic versus 13% for Equalizer 3 and 10% for Big Fat Greek Wedding 3. Nun 2 saw most of its action after 5PM whereby 74% of the audience showed up.

Social media analytics firm RelishMix noticed ahead of opening that the social media universe for Nun 2 were just under 150M across Facebook, YouTube, X, Instagram and TikTok, which is right in line with other horror sequels like Halloween Kills (147.3M, $49.4M opening) and ahead of Insidious: Red Door (114.7M, $33M opening).

The Nun 2 gets a C+, which is a tad better than the C the original movie received. It’s also an average trade for a horror film.

Deep dive into stats: Comscore/Screen Engine’s PostTrak exits have the sequel at 64% positive, and a 47% recommend. Slightly female heavy at 52% for the R-rated movie, with 67% of the audience between 18-34 and the biggest demo being 18-24 at 38%. Diversity demos show Latino and Hispanic moviegoers leading at 43%, 26% Caucasian, 12% Black and 18% Asian/other. The Nun 2 played strong everywhere, I’m told, but the best in the South Central and West. PLF and Imax auditorium bookings are driving close to 40% of the weekend’s gross to date. As of EOD Friday, Adam Aron’s AMC Burbank is the highest grossing cinema in the nation for the sequel at $89K.

Top ten locations for Nun 2 are 1. AMC Burbank, 2. AMC Orange Los Angeles, 3. AMC
Ontario Mills Los Angeles, 4. AMC Puente Hills Los Angeles, 5. Harkins Estrella Falls Phoenix, 6. Cinemark Tinseltown El Paso, 7. Cinemark Rialto Los Angeles, 8. Harkins Cerritos Los Angeles, 9. AMC Mesquite Dallas, and 10. AMC Grove Los Angeles.

The top 10 DMA markets are: 1. Los Angeles, 2. New York, 3. Dallas, 4. Houston 5. San Francisco 6. Chicago 7. Phoenix 8. Toronto 9. Atlanta 10. Philadelphia.

Nia Vardalos’ second feature directorial, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 from Focus Features posted a $3.7M Friday (including previews) and was even on Saturday with the same amount of cash for a $10M opening at 3,650 for third behind the second weekend of Sony’s The Equalizer 3 ($12.1M, -65%). Pic gets a B on CinemaScore which is a downgrade from the previous pic’s A-. PostTrak audiences were harder on the threequel at 73% positive and a 55% recommend. Women came out at 72% with the largest demo being the over 55 bunch at 24%. Diversity demos showed 53% Caucasian, 28% Latino and Hispanic, 5% Black and 14% Asian/other. Greek Wedding 3 played strongest in the East, South and Midwest with The AMC Burbank now the best cinema so far in the nation for the pic at $22K.

Atlee’s action thriller Jawan is owning fourth with an estimated $1.7M on Friday, $2.4M on Saturday for a $6.1M 3-day, $7.5M four day. The Yash Raj Films title is booked at 827 locations with strong ticket sales in NYC, Toronto, Dallas, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, DC and Austin. Starring Shah Rukh Khan, the pic’s blurb reads: An emotional journey of a man who is set to rectify the wrongs in the society, in an attempt to get even with his past, driven by a personal vendetta while keeping up to a promise made years ago. A high-octane action thriller where he is up against a dreadful monstrous outlaw who knows no fear and has caused extreme suffering to many. In the journey he will cross paths with a high-minded seasoned lady officer whose emotions might get the better of her as she gets involved in this battle. As his past catches up with him, to overcome the challenges and restore the harmony in their world, he will need all the firepower and intelligence to do so.

Trailer is below:

Studio reported figures as of Sunday

1.) The Nun 2 (NL) 3,728 theaters, Fri $13.1M Sat $11.8M Sun $7.7M Sun 3-day $32.6M/Wk 1

2.) Equalizer 3 (Sony) 3,965 theaters Fri $3.4M Sat $5.2M Sun $3.4M 3-day $12.1M (-65%), Total: $61.9M/Wk 2
Global gross on the Denzel Washington threequel is $107.7M. Previous Equalizer movies finished in the $190M-$192M worldwide range.

3.) My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 (Uni) 3,650 theaters Fri $3.7M Sat $3.7M Sun $2.56M 3-day $10M/Wk 1

4.) Jawan (Yash Raj) 813 theaters, Fri $1.7M Sat $2.4M Sun $2M 3-day $6.1M, Total $7.5M/Wk 1

5.) Barbie (WB) 3,281 (-305) theaters, Fri $1.4M Sat $2.5M Sun $1.9M 3-day $5.9M (-42%) Total $620.4M/Wk 8

6.) Blue Beetle 2,786 (-530) theaters, Fri $850K Sat $1.7M Sun $1.1M 3-day $3.77M (-47%), Total $63.7M/Wk 4
The DC Latino superhero movie has outstripped Shazam Fury of the Gods stateside’s take of $57.6M, and has also minted a global take of $100M.

7.) Gran Turismo (Sony) 2,765 (-1,091) theaters, Fri $900K Sat $1.5M Sun $945K 3-day $3.37M (-61%), total $35.7M/Total Wk 3

8.) Oppenheimer (Uni) 2,091 (-452) theaters Fri $800K Sat $1.36M Sun $840K 3-day $3M (-48%)/Total $315.1M/Wk 8

9.) Teenage Mutanta Ninja Turtles…(Par) 2,500 (-455) theaters Fri $570M Sat $1.3M Sun $730K 3-day $2.6M (-44%) Total $111.3M/Wk 6

10.) Bottoms (MGM) 1,265 (+550) theaters, Fri $631K Sat $811K Sun $609K 3-day $2.05M (-33%) Total $7.6M/Wk 3

via Deadline

‘Jawan’ Delivers Record-Breaking Debut for Bollywood at the Worldwide BO!!

The Indian blockbuster Jawan, starring Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, is hoping for a top-place finish at the global box office in its opening weekend, as it takes on The Nun II. Having already broken multiple records in India, many of which were set by Khan’s own Pathaan earlier this year, the film is also looking at a top-five finish at the domestic box office. The movie is eyeing a $5.5 million opening weekend domestically; Pathaan opened on a Wednesday and generated $9.5 million across is five-day domestic opening.

On Sunday, Red Chillies Entertainment — that’s Khan’s production company — reported that Jawan has made ₹384 crore across the world in three days, which converts to approximately $46 million, most of which (around $30 million) has come from India. The action movie debuted globally on Thursday and is projected to handily pass the ₹500 crore ($60 million) mark worldwide by the end of its extended opening. The higher end of projections put these figures between $70 million and $80 million.

This would make it one of the biggest-ever openings for an Indian film, behind only Baahubali 2: The Conclusion and RRR — both of which were directed by filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli, and went on to gross between $60 million and $70 million in their traditional three-day debuts. But Jawan can certainly claim to have delivered the biggest Hindi-language debut of all time, having overtaken Pathaan’s three-day worldwide gross of around $36 million. Pathaan went on to become the second-biggest Hindi movie of all time behind Dangal, having made approximately $130 million globally, and Jawan is expected to challenge that number, if not overtake it.

This Is the Year of SRK

India has several regional film industries that mainly function independently of each other, although for any movie to deliver numbers such as these, they must appeal to a nationwide audience. Both Baahubali 2 and RRR did phenomenal business across India despite hailing from the Telugu-language industry, but the majority of Jawan’s revenue is still coming from the main Hindi-language release and not the Tamil and Telugu dubbed versions. Jawan was, however, designed to have cross-country appeal; it involves director Atlee, best known for his collaborations with Tamil megastar Vijay, and stars Nayanthara and Vijay Sethupathi — all three of whom are best known for their work in south Indian cinema.

SRK, as he is fondly known, has sustained unprecedented levels of popularity across three decades in Hindi-language films — best known across the globe as Bollywood. He had a rather rough few years before the pandemic and went into a self-imposed sabbatical that lasted five years. He bounced back with Pathaan and is continuing the momentum with Jawan. He has one more release lined up for this year, hitmaker director Rajkumar Hirani’s Dunki, which will be released around Christmastime.

Jawan is out now in theaters. Stay tuned at Collider for future updates!

via Collider

‘Jawan’ Sets All-time Highest Opening Day Record with Rs. 65.50 Cr at the BO!!

The much talked about and keenly awaited Shah Rukh Khan starrer Jawan finally hit screens. The Atlee directorial that also features Nayanthara, and Vijay Sethupathi that has been making waves in the run up to its release has started off on a thunderous note. With a massive rate of advance bookings, and immense euphoria amongst fans Jawan has set the ball rolling with a strong push at the box office.

In this box office report, we look at the opening day collections of Jawan while comparing the same to all-time previous releases. Not surprisingly, Jawan, which came with immense hopes, expectations, anticipation, and hype, has managed to rake in a staggering Rs. 65.50 cr on Day 1. With this, the film has managed to eclipse the opening day collections of previous releases to emerge as the all-time highest opening day grosser. In fact, the business of the film has out beaten releases like Pathaan which collected Rs. 57 cr, KGF – Chapter 2 which collected Rs. 53.95 cr, War which collected Rs. 53.35 cr, Thugs of Hindostan which collected Rs. 52.25 cr, and a host of other releases which include Happy New Year, Bharat, Baahubali 2 – The Conclusion, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, and even the recent release Gadar 2.

As of now, Jawan, which enjoys incredible trending, has received highly positive reviews from the critics and audience alike. This immensely positive wave for the film, coupled with a high rate of advance bookings, with little to no competition have ensured that the business of the film will continue to rake in the moolah. In fact, advance trade predictions state that the business of Jawan could likely see collections more than Rs. 150 cr by the end of its opening weekend.

Top 10 All-Time Highest Opening Day Grossers at a glance:

Jawan – Rs. 65.50 cr

Pathaan – Rs. 57 cr

KGF – Chapter 2 – Rs. 53.95 cr

War – Rs. 53.35 cr

Thugs of Hindostan – Rs. 52.25 cr

Happy New Year – Rs. 44.97 cr

Bharat – Rs. 42.30 cr

Baahubali 2 – The Conclusion – Rs. 41 cr

Prem Ratan Dhan Payo – Rs. 40.35 cr

Gadar 2 – Rs. 40.10 cr

 

via Bollywood Hungama

‘The Equalizer 3’ Seizes Top Spot With Second-Best Labor Day Opening Ever at the BO!!

Sony/Escape Artists’ The Equalizer 3 will hit $42M over four-days, easily the second-best opening of Labor Day weekend ever following 2021’s Shang-Chi, which did $94.6M. 3-day is $34.5M (or 2.6M patrons, per EntTelligence), which is the third-best domestic opening for filmmaker Antoine Fuqua after Equalizer 2 ($36M) and The Magnificent Seven ($35M), and the second-best start for the franchise. Friday was $13.1M, including Thursday previews, which is jacking up forecasts for the weekend. Equalizer 3 is cofinanced by TSG and Eagle Pictures.

As Comscore predicted, the summer box office has clicked past $4 billion — a normal threshold in any summer, but the first post-pandemic. Thank you, Barbenheimer. Read our summer wrap here.

The other thing to applaud with this threequel is that, quite often, these guy-with-a-gun-movies become diluted at the box office. Sony and Escape Artists have finely developed this Denzel Washington series with great care, and kept the powder dry, and the ticket sales are showing that. The series is Washington’s only film franchise on his resume. It’s not about shoot ’em ups in an Equalizer movie — rather, the intensity of the character Robert McCall, who the 2x Oscar-winner adores playing.

In regards to getting the pic’s opening B.O. to this level sans actors’ promotions during the SAG-AFTRA strike, that’s a glass half-full situation. On one hand, it’s an excellent start, with the threequel opening right in the wheelhouse of other Equalizer films on a 3-day basis. We always knew sequels and genre titles would be able to open at the box office during a SAG-AFTRA strike. But on the other hand, one wonders how much bigger the box office would be here for Equalizer 3 if there wasn’t a strike.

The threequel gets its second “A” after Equalizer 2 (first movie got an A-) with Comscore/Screen Engine PostTrak exits seeing a 90% positive and a 72% recommend. Mostly guys showed up at 55%, which is no surprise, while the 18-34 year olds repped 31%. However, older moviegoers are definitely out of the house, watching this movie with 49% over 45, and the largest demo being 55+ at 26%. Diversity demos were 33% Caucasian, 31% Black, 20% Latino and Hispanic, and 15% Asian/other. PLF and Imax are pulling in 38% of the weekend ticket sales so far, shelling out an average of $16.37 to see the Fuqua pic vs. $13.28, which was the average ticket price for all formats on the title. 54% of the audience came to see the movie after 5 PM, per EntTelligence.

As of EOD Saturday, the AMC Southlake Pavillion in Atlanta is Equalizer 3‘s top-grossing venue, with north of $76K.

Imaxes were apparently split between Equalizer 3 and Oppenheimer. The Washington movie did a 4-day opening of $3.4M at 360 Imax auditoriums, while Oppeneheimer made $900K, for a running total of $85.5M for that film.

MGM’s expansion of Bottoms from ten locations to 715 theaters should not be ignored. The teen LGBTQ+ high school comedy posted a $3M 3-day and $3.58M 4-day. Great numbers in NYC, LA, San Francisco, DC, Chicago, Austin, and Dallas. Look out for this one.

Audience exits for the pic outside NYC and LA continue to be above norms, at 91% positive and 86% recommend, with a big young audience here; 80% are between 18-34. 55% are female, 42% male, and 3% non-binary. Diversity demos are 67% White, 29% Latino and Hispanic, 2% Black, and 2% Asian/other.

Social buzz is big at 106K convos, the most volume for a theatrical comedy since 2020, trailing only the social phenomenon that is Barbie. Female (58%) moviegoers lead buzz, LGBTQ+, GEN Z, African American, AAPI, Hispanic. College audiences comprise this younger-skewing and diverse coalition of moviegoers.

Newcomer Kushi (in Telugu) is showing strong numbers in Austin, Dallas, DC, Seattle, NYC, San Francisco, and Atlanta, for an estimated $1.28M 4-day weekend at 336 locations in 109 markets. Friday was $363K and yesterday was $352K. 3-day is bound for $1.04M.

The 4-day box office for all movies looks to land around $115.9M, which is up 63% over last year’s Labor Day weekend of $71.1M per Box Office Mojo, when there wasn’t any product. However, this year’s holiday B.O. is off -17% from 2021, when Shang-Chi began bringing moviegoers back, all pics then grossing $139M.

1.) Equalizer 3 (Sony) Fri $13.1M Sat $11.1M Sun $10.2M Mon $7.5M 3-day $34.5M, 4-day $42M/Wk 1

‘Gran Turismo’ Races Ahead to Debut at the Top of the BO!!!

In one of the dullest weekends of the year, there was a lot of melodrama. However, Sony’s Gran Turismo won the weekend with $17.4M — and rival studios, except for Warners Bros, see it that way too.

Barbie came in with $15.1M, not $17.1M, to no one’s shock. “It was never going to do that kind of business,” said one rival distribution cappo this AM. Warners was throwing furniture all weekend long because Sony included nine days of previews in its Friday total, propelling Gran Turismo to No. 1, stopping Barbie‘s collection of No. 1 weekends. It will be interesting to see how the dust settles next weekend: Will Sony have the No. 1 and 2 movie in Equalizer 3 (which is expected to do $30M+ business over four days) and Gran Turismo?

Barbie‘s Sunday came in at $5.7M, +6% over Saturday’s $5.4M, while Gran Turismo‘s Sunday was $4.7M, +15% over Saturday’s $4.1M — both juiced by National Cinema Day $4 tickets. We’ll have more stats on that day soon. Barbie did 1.42M admissions yesterday to Gran Turismo‘s 1.17M, which if you scroll down, you’ll see that’s where the industry saw the former in terms of ticket stubs — not 1.937M.

Again, rival studios are acting like cats with birds in their mouth over this whole Gran Turismo and Barbie war because everyone has stuffed previews into their opening days before — just not to the degree that Sony has. Why not call B.S.? Because, you too Warners, will one day get to put nine days of previews into your opening day number.

Sunday AM: With National Cinema Day today and all tickets for all movies $4 –a celebration which brings mixed emotions to those in the industry–many are seeing Sony’s Gran Turismo waving the checkered flag with around $17.3M after a $4.1M Saturday that plummeted due to the fact that it was up against an $8.5M Friday chock full of nine days of previews.

Warner Bros. is calling Barbie‘s sixth weekend at $17.1M while rivals show it at a $15.1M take after a $5.3M Saturday that was +33% over its Friday. As we mentioned Warners are irate over Sony’s handling of preview box office accounting on Gran Turismo. Warners believes that Sony should back out all the non-Thursday previews out of Gran Turismo‘s Friday ($3.9M) so that Barbie can be No. 1 for a fifth time in a row. No rival studio’s internal box office chart sees it that way. Where is Warner getting the logic that Barbie gets to $17.1M this weekend? Read on, as it’s all about National Cinema Day.

Meanwhile, Oppenheimer is expected to hit $300M by EOD today.

Now the Cinema Day of it all…

While we won’t have hard admission stats until tomorrow, box office analytics firm EntTelligence is currently seeing committed 3.1M ticket purchases (not box office, that’s admissions people) for today in presales. Will walk-up business get us to a level of last year’s National Cinema Day, which fell on a Saturday during Labor Day weekend, and clocked 8 million? One studio is betting that we do 8.75M in admissions today.

Barbie, as expected, is leading Sunday in admissions with over 504K. Now Warner Bros is projecting that they’ll do $7.75M worth of business today for Barbie. That means Barbie will have to do 1.937M in admissions off of $4 ticket sales. Some don’t see how that’s possible as they believe Barbie will do around $5.8M in National Cinema Day admissions which means 1.45M admissions.

Other top presellers in terms of admission so far today are Blue Beetle (501K+), Gran Turismo (391K), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (322K+) and Oppenheimer (302K).

Gran Turismo is projected to do $4.45M today (and rivals agree) which would mean 1.1M admissions.

As of this weekend during her entire domestic run, Barbie will have over 50M tickets sold or $594.8M per EntTelligence.

EntTelligence says that 40% of National Cinema Day sales so far are for movies playing between 1PM and 5PM while 27% are between 5PM-9PM.

While exhibition is happy about National Cinema Day as more bodies bring concessions dollars, studios aren’t yippy skippy as it means less box office, especially this year when there’s premium product on the marquee. This wasn’t a big deal last year as there weren’t any new studio wide releases due to the Covid post-production logjam, just re-releases like Spider-Man: No Way Home and Jaws. The thinking by some is that we needed National Cinema Day more last year than this year in regards to encouraging people to return to cinemas, particularly at a time when there was no product and people still hesitant from Covid. The whole day boils down to a fight between admissions and dollars: Do you generate enough in admissions that still yields big box office? At the end of the day, didn’t you just crater business on Friday and Saturday in favor of Sunday? One rival studio projection is that National Cinema Day will ring up $35M for all titles (or 8.75M admissions), which is 13% above Saturday’s $31M, and 22% ahead of Friday’s $28.6M for all titles in what’s looking like a $94.6M weekend, +79% over the same frame a year ago.

Other news:

MGM’s Bottoms looks to hit a theater average of $51,6K for $516,2K, which could beat Everything Everywhere All at Once‘s $50,1K opening theater average. Next weekend, the film will expand to approximately 700 additional theaters across North America. The Emma Seligman directed and written title, and produced by Elizabeth Banks and Max Handelman is 93% positive. Women under 25 rated it 98% with a 96% definite recommend on PostTrak. The opening night audience was young (86% between 18-34), LGBTQ+ (59%). Diversity demos were 67% Caucasian, 20% Latino and Hispanic, 7% Black and 14% Asian. The studio reports “that attendees were avid, smarthouse moviegoers who came to see the film because of its fresh/original take on the high school, coming of age genre.”

A note about the Liam Neeson movie Retribution. This is the nth recent Neeson action film that’s coming in with an opening in the lower single digits after last year’s Marlowe ($1.8M), Memory ($3.1M), Blacklight ($3.5M) and 2021’s The Marksman ($3.1M). But get this, these movies are profitable or else they wouldn’t get made. “I wish I had a Liam Neeson action film,” drooled one foreign sales boss to me. It remains to be seen at the fall film festival troika who’ll actually snap up acquisition titles with the Byzantine legalese of SAG-AFTRA agreements. There could be booby traps. We won’t know until an acquisition is made; and what the aftermath of that is for the buyer in regards to downstreams. However, a Liam Neeson movie (if one was in the marketplace) is well worth whatever SAG-AFTRA termed deal is. Retribution, made by StudioCanal and the Picture Company, was made for a price around $20M. Neeson gets a payday in the upper single digits. Lionsgate bought U.S. for $6M, (Memory finaled domestic at $7.3M) and they keep the P&A low in the high single digit range. PVOD is where this movie overindexes. Between foreign sales and Lionsgate, that’s covering about $18M of the production cost. StudioCanal already has its own territories that they’re reaping box office and ancillaries off of with France, Germany, Australia, UK and Poland. Everyone comes out of the wash OK, I’m told by sources. For foreign sales folks and distributors, is being in business on a Neeson pic similar to that of a Nicolas Cage movie? “It’s better,” says another foreign sales exec.

The chart…

1.) Gran Turismo (Sony) 3,856 theaters, Fri $8.65M (includes $5.3M previews) Sat $4.2M Sun $4.45M 3-day $17.3M/Wk 1

2.) Barbie (WB) 3,736 (-267) theaters, Fri $4M (-37%) Sat $5.35M Sun $7.75M 3-day $17.1M (-19%)/Total $594.8M/Wk 6

3.) Blue Beetle (WB) 3,871 theaters, Fri $2.6M (-74%), Sat $4.1M Sun $2.28M 3-day $12.7M (-49%)/Total $46.3M/Wk 2

4.) Oppenheimer (Uni) 2,872 (-449) theaters Fri $2.28M (-25%),Sat $3.2M Sun $3.45M 3-day $9M (-16%)/Total $300M/Wk 6

5.) Teenage Mutanta Ninja Turtles…(Par) 3,145 (-332) theaters Fri $1.53M (-35%) Sat $2.4M Sun $2.16M 3-day $6.1M (-29%), Total $98.1M/Wk 4

6.) The Meg 2: The Trench (WB) 2,932 (-470) theaters Fri $1M (-43%) Sat $1.76M Sun $2.28M 3-day $5.1M (-25%)/Total $74.4M/ Wk 4

7.) Strays (Uni) 3,232 (+9) theaters, Fri $1.16M (-66%) Sat $1.66M Sun $1.83M 3-day $4.65M (-44%)/Total $16.1M/ Wk 2

8.) Retribution (Road) 1,750 theaters, Fri $1.29M Sat $1.08M Sun $975K 3-day $3.348M/Wk 1

9.) Talk to Me (A24) 1,789 (-x) theaters Fri $971K Sat $1.26M Sun $890K 3-day $3.12M (-38%) Total $37.3M/Wk 4

10.) The Hill (Briar) 1,570 theaters Fri $805K Sat $830K Sun $880K 3-day $2.515M Wk 1

Notables:
Golda (BST) 883 theaters, Fri $782K Sat $522K Sun $418K 3-day $1.72M /Wk 1

 

via Deadline

‘Talk to Me’ Has Become A24’s Fifth Highest-Grossing Film at the Worldwide BO!!

While Barbie and Oppenheimer have been dominating the global box office over the past few weeks, another movie has been quietly landing punches in its own weight class. After almost exactly a month in release, the horror film Talk to Me has passed the $50 million mark at the global box office, cementing itself as one of the biggest movies in indie outfit A24’s history.

Released in late July to very positive reviews, Talk to Me has grossed $38.9 million domestically and another $11.2 million from international markets, for a running global total of $50 million. The horror film’s biggest foreign markets are Mexico ($3.6 million), the U.K. ($2.5 million), Australia ($1.9 million), Spain ($1.3 million) and Russia (just under $1 million). Talk to Me opened with a healthy $10 million in its debut weekend at the domestic box office, and fell by only 39% in its second weekend, adding over $6 million to its tally. This was highly unusual, considering how most horror films are notoriously front-loaded.

But Talk to Me’s solid performance has now made it A24’s fifth-biggest film of all time at the global box office, overtaking Uncut Gems by roughly $200,000. The list includes two Best Picture Oscar winners — Everything Everywhere All at Once ($111 million) and Moonlight ($64 million) — the horror hit Hereditary ($81 million), and Greta Gerwig’s coming-of-age comedy drama Lady Bird ($80 million). A24 has steadily established itself as a major player in the indie space, utilizing a strong brand identity and slick marketing.

The Movie Was Successful Both Critically and Commercially

Directed by Australian YouTubers-turned-filmmakers Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou, Talk to Me premiered at the Adelaide Film Festival last year. It cost only $4.5 million to produce, which means that the return on investment on it would be stellar. It was obviously strong enough for a sequel to be announced by A24 shortly after its debut. The follow-up film has been titled Talk 2 Me, and will also be directed by the Philippous.

Only five horror movies have performed better than Talk to Me at the domestic box office this year: Scream VI ($108 million), M3GAN ($95 million), Insidious: The Red Door ($81 million), Evil Dead Rise ($67 million) and The Boogeyman ($43 million). Only one of these films has zero IP ties, further highlighting what a remarkable achievement this has been for a wholly original movie like Talk to Me. The film stars Sophie Wilde, Joe Bird, Alexandra Jensen, Otis Dhanji, Miranda Otto, Marcus Johnson, Alexandria Steffensen, Zoe Terakes, Chris Alosio, and Ari McCarthy.

via Collider

‘Barbie’ Has Become the Highest-Grossing Domestic Film of 2023!!

Today, it’s been confirmed that Barbie has become the biggest film of 2023 at the domestic box office, capping off the most unexpected performance seen since the film it toppled, The Super Mario Bros. Movie. With Wednesday’s takings, Greta Gerwig‘s film has overtaken the $574.2 million earned domestically by the Nintendo movie, which was distributed by Universal and Illumination, and starred Chris Pratt, to become the highest-grossing film of the year to date with $575.4 million.

In Barbie, Margot Robbie portrays the iconic doll living what appears to be an idyllic life with her friends, Barbie, Barbie, Barbie, Midge and Allan. However, her world is turned upside down when she awakens one day to the realisation that she must venture into the human world to seek answers. Accompanying her on this journey is her friend, and no more than that, Ken, played by Ryan Gosling. Their visit to California exposes them to a different set of rules compared to Barbie Land, leading them down distinct paths of discovery. Along the way, the film explores themes such as patriarchy, aging, and the consequences of living in a divided world. Gerwig’s latest project combines musical numbers with a sense of existential unease. Barbie has already amassed an impressive $1.286 billion in global box office earnings.

The last time Warner Bros. topped the domestic box office was 12 years ago, following the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II, which amassed $381 million upon its release. Warner has the chance to bolster its box office further this year, as it has still has three big budget films with A-list stars and high audience awareness still to come out, in the form of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom which will star Jason Momoa, as well as Dune Part Two (although this may be delayed until 2024) and Wonka, both of which will feature Timothée Chalamet, who is joined by a vast ensemble cast for the former in the shape of Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Javier Bardem and Stellan Skarsgård.

How the Numbers Compare

The Super Mario Bros Movie took 138 days to reach a total of $574.2 million, whereas last year’s top domestic film, Top.Gun: Maverick, achieved that milestone in just 40 days. Barbie, however, accomplished this feat in an even shorter time frame, only 34 days. As of Monday, Barbie, which also happens to be the highest-grossing film ever to be directed by a woman, had grossed $572.8 million on Tuesday, virtually guaranteeing it the number one slot by the end of Wednesday.

Top Gun: Maverick, on the other hand, took 47 days to hit the $600 million mark, trailing behind Barbie. Barbie reached the $500 million domestic threshold in just 22 days, outpacing Top Gun, which took 30 days to achieve the same milestone. The Super Mario Bros Movie needed 31 days to cross the half-billion-dollar mark in the U.S. and Canada.

During its fifth weekend, Barbie earned an impressive $21 million, surpassing the $18.55 million garnered by Super Mario Bros during its fifth weekend. However, it still fell short of Top Gun, which raked in $29.6 million at the same point in its release. In its upcoming sixth weekend, Barbie is anticipated to generate between $12 million and $13 million.

 

via Collider

‘Oppenheimer’ Has Become One of the Highest-Grossing IMAX Movies Ever!!

Following on from the weekend’s news that Oppenheimer, the latest masterpiece from director Christopher Nolan, had crossed the $700 million threshold over the weekend, it was also confirmed that the Cillian Murphy-led retelling of the Manhattan Project and the construction of the atomic bomb had breached the top five all-time IMAX movies in terms of total gross earned in the premium large screen format.

Oppenheimer‘s success on IMAX isn’t a secret, but when you factor in the competition it faced and the movies that still lie above it, it becomes clear what a staggering accomplishment this is for Nolan. The movie has earned a superb $146.4 million from IMAX alone, which represents 20% of its total worldwide gross, and of that $146.4 million, over $17 million of that has come from just 30 screens, which have been showing the film on 70mm print, the format which Nolan has previously declared as the gold standard of cinema.

The movies to have grossed more on IMAX ahead of Oppenheimer? Well, you may have heard of them, given that they are 4 of the 5 highest-grossing in history, namely Avatar and its sequel The Way of Water, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Avengers: Endgame. The film has exclusive play in 70mm IMAX theaters through the end of this month before ceding screens to The Equalizer 3, but expect it to return soon after.

Inventing a New Standard

Nolan‘s commitment to filming in IMAX is legendary, to the point that he and his cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema decided to work with Kodak in order to develop new technology to be able to film more intimate scenes in black-and-white for the film. In an interview with Collider van Hoytema explained:

“I very much loved the structural assistance and the aesthetic charge of shifting between color and black and white that I had on Memento. I’d always been looking for a reason to go back to that. And in the case of Oppenheimer and the way in which we tell this story, it’s very subjectively told, but also with a more objective story strand that intertwines with that. It was really the perfect time to go back to that device that I loved so much. So we challenged the people at Kodak photochem to make this work for us. And they stepped up. For the first time ever, we were able to shoot IMAX film in black-and-white. And the results were thrilling and extraordinary. As soon as Hoyte and I saw the first tests come in, we just knew that this was a format that we were immediately in love with.”

via Collider

‘Blue Beetle’ Steals Top Spot from ‘Barbie’ for an Underwhelming Debut at the BO!!

Even though this weekend’s new entries – Warner Bros/DC’s Blue Beetle and Universal’s Strays – aren’t coming in at the top of their projections, with respective lower weekends of $25.4M and $8.3M, the overall health of the theatrical business is still in good shape. It’s being further bolstered by the fifth weekends of Barbie ($21.5M) and Oppenheimer ($10.6M), which are fueling an estimated $100.7M weekend that’s +28% over the same August frame a year ago. That was a dry spell, led by CrunchyRoll’s Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero ($21.1M).

It remains to be seen what the toll will be on today’s box office in Los Angeles from the onset of Hurricane Hilary. If it’s heavy rains, no one is going out. Blue Beetle is currently overperforming in LA.

Seriously, this weekend could have seen the subtraction of Blue Beetle because of the SAG-AFTRA strike. Warner Bros. kept the movie on track and the marketplace is $25M richer.

After making $10M on Friday, Blue Beetle eased 15% on Saturday for $8.5M; which indicates front-loading. According to ComScore, more kids returned to school on Friday, with those K-12 off at 46% versus a week prior, which was 70%. EntTelligence reports 2 million admissions for Blue Beetle, repping 23% of the weekend’s foot traffic vs. Barbie, which pulled in 19% of the weekend’s admissions.

Why the under-delivery here on Blue Beetle? Even at $30M, that isn’t a big enough start for this $104M production. The movie gets a B+ CinemaScore overall, which explains it all. Under 18 on CinemaScore gave it an A. Grades were better on Comscore/Screen Engine’s PostTrak, where the movie gets a 90% with Latino and Hispanic moviegoers, who led the charge at 39% to Caucasians’ 27% turnout and 75% grade.

However, the result here for Blue Beetle isn’t shocking next to other Latino and Hispanic fueled action pics, i.e. Alita: Battle Angel ($28.5M 3-day), Spy Kids ($26.5M), and the R-rated Once Upon a Time in Mexico ($23.4M) — all unadjusted for inflation.

Why wasn’t this movie even strutted at San Diego Comic-Con? In a perfect world, without a SAG-AFTRA strike, it would have been with Cobra Kai star Xolo Maridueña and Blue Beetle‘s cast spreading the gospel on the film, much like Gal Gadot on the first Wonder Woman.

There was buzz that Warners had Hall H cobooked with Legendary for a Blue Beetle-Dune: Part Two combo. But still, even sans stars, how much does it cost for a studio to rent two movie auditoriums, popcorn and soda, and two-night hotel accommodations for a director so that the movie can be shown off to fans and screamed across social media? Warners opted to focus more of their marketing on the Latino and Hispanic marketplace (during early August, iSpot saw that Univision was pulling in a bulk of the ad impressions on Blue Beetle at 11%, with studio spending on such shows as Eternamente amándonos (2.6%).

Social media stat firm RelishMix says that Blue Beetle‘s social media reach of 462.5M across Facebook, Twitter/X, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok are 14% under superhero genre norms. Heck, the social media reach of The Flash was higher at 670.5M. Still, RelishMix says that “the cast has handed over buzz-making duties to fans, who have posted and re-posted materials at a rate of 81:1 on YouTube and 137K fans on official pages.”

In addition, much like what we saw with Shazam: Fury of the Gods, which crashed with a $30M start, the loudspeaker of the new DC Universe under James Gunn and Peter Safran has stolen thunder from the current slate of previously Walter Hamada-hatched DC projects. Hence, the larger set of DC fans aren’t rushing to these movies as must-sees. Still, Gunn has been supportive of Blue Beetle on social, retweeting ads and saying that the protag will be an essential part of the new DC going forward.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by James Gunn (@jamesgunn)

Still, you can always tell how much a studio supports a movie when it comes to the number of one-sheets they print up, and Blue Beetle touted 11 next to a paltry four from Universal’s Strays.

Other diagnostics on Blue Beetle: Pic gets an overall 82% positive in the top two boxes, with a 65% recommend for the general audience. Kids under 12 love it at 99% positive and a 61% must-see-right-away. Dude-skewing at 66%, with 58% between 18-34. The biggest demos are currently tied between 18-24 and 25-34 at 29% apiece. Blue Beetle is playing the best in the South, South Central, and West, which is to be expected. All those PLF and Imax screens are working in Warner’s favor and responsible for 42% of the current weekend gross.

Adam Aron’s AMC Burbank is the top-grossing theater in the nation for the DC pic with $91K currently. Other top grossing theaters for Blue Beetle were 2) AMC Empire New York, 3) Harkins Estrella Falls Phoenix, 4) AMC Grove Los Angeles, 5) AMC Century City Los Angeles, 6) AMC Puente Hills Los Angeles, 7) Santikos Casa Blanca San Antonio, 8) Cinemark Tinseltown El Paso, 9) AMC Orange Los Angeles, and 10. AMC Disney Springs Orlando.

EntTelligence shows that the bulk of Blue Beetle‘s were 67% between 1pm-8pm

Still, it doesn’t help that the SAG-AFTRA strike started one month before this pic’s promotion, and the wattage of the cast could have made all the difference for this deep-universe superhero movie.

The availability of actors and late night talk shows could have certainly raised the profile of Strays. However, the marketing campaign and the positioning of the movie was off.

Still, that could have been partially corrected by simply putting Will Ferrell out there on late-night talk shows in a tour with dogs. His bit at CinemaCon with the pup Sophie, one of the canine stars of the film, was one of the few hysterical highlights from the exhibition confab. That alone would have helped sell the message that this talking animal movie is for adults, not kids. While Ferrell was available back in June before the SAG-AFTRA strike, on the old release date for this R-rated comedy on June 9, late night talk shows were not because of the WGA strike.

Part of the problem here is that Universal has released a few family dog movies, read: A Dog’s Journey and A Dog’s Purpose, and the posters here for Strays looked quite similar. Even the trailer appeared kid-friendly.

Compounding problems for Strays is that it didn’t have any on-screen stars, unlike Universal’s other foul-mouthed talking teddy bear movie, Ted, which starred Mark Wahlberg. Stars would have helped break up the whole look of this film, which screams family. Can’t wait to hear stories from this weekend of the parent who bought a ticket to Strays and took their kids, then yelled at theater management, unbeknownst that the movie was really for adults.

Universal was able to pull off a R-rated hit in the foul-mouthed, kid-starring Good Boys, which opened exactly four years ago this weekend to $21.4M. But not this time. However, more to the point: It’s harder to execute comedies than ever since they’ve been cannibalized on streaming menus, and Strays screams streaming in its execution. What works, comedy-wise, on the big-screen? More edgier, far more clever, and more hybrid. Deadpool 3, please don’t move off your first weekend of May summer 2024 start date.

The few who bought tickets to Strays were 56% guys, 53% 18-34, 67% over 25 and 46% Caucasian, 30% Hispanic and Latino, 13% Black and 6% Asian.

There’s another wide release in Luminosity

Entertainment/GVN/5120’s R-rated comedy, Back on the Strip, directed by Chris Spencer and starring Tiffany Haddish, JB Smoove, Bill Bellamy, Gary Owen, Kevin Hart and Faizon Love. It did $170K last night for an estimated $461K opening at 1,317 theaters. At the last minute, the indie pic got a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement to have its cast promote. However, the pic’s marketing had to get more creative because of the strike, with stunts like the Laugh Factory’s “Stand Up for Strikers” fundraiser, Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival, and the EssenceFest Trailer Launch After Hours party. Pic wasn’t received well by critics at 27% Rotten, nor moviegoers on RT at 40%.

Back on the Strip did get 78% in PostTrak exits, pulling in 57% women, 43% between 18-34, with 40% over 35. The diversity mix was 38% Caucasian, 30% Black, 15% Hispanic and Latino, and 17% Asian/other. Best results were in the South and Midwest. The iPic in Atlanta was the highest- grossing theater so far in the U.S. with close to $2K.

Other highlights on the specialty side this weekend:

NEON’s 20th anniversary release of Oldboy in 245 locations in 70 markets is putting up good figures in NY, LA, San Fran, Atlanta, Chicago and Denver. $167K Friday, 3-day is $534K ($2,1K), 5-day is $919K.

Trafalgar Releasing has Metallica M72 world Tour Live at 673 locations and 158 markets, and strong ticket sales in Quebec, Fresno, Denver, Nashville, and Miami. $480K on Friday and an estimated $655K for the weekend.

MGM released Cory Finley’s Landscape With Invisible Hand in 304 theaters and 87 markets with soft numbers with $37K on Friday, $33K on Saturday and $23,3K on Sunday for a $93K opening. The R-rated sci-fi drama is based on the M.T. Anderson novel and is produced by Plan B and Annapurna. Pic made its world premiere at Sundance back in January. The pic is 70% on Rotten Tomatoes with critics and 50% with audiences.

The chart fully updated with Sunday figures

1.) Blue Beetle 3,871 theaters, Fri $10M, Sat $8.55M Sun $6.85M 3-day $25.4M/Wk 1

2.) Barbie (WB) 4003 (-175) theaters, Fri $6.3M (-38%) Sat $8.4M Sun $6.75M 3-day $21.5M (-36%)/Total $567.2M/Wk 5

3.) Oppenheimer (Uni) 3,321 (-440) theaters Fri $3M (-40%) Sat $4.3M Sun $3.2M 3-day $10.6M (-44%)/Total $285.2M/Wk 5

4.) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles…(Par) 3,477 (-473) theaters Fri $2.3M (-44%) Sat $3.6M Sun $2.5M 3-day $8.4M (-45%), Total $88.1M/Wk 3

5.) Strays (Uni) 3,223 theaters, Fri $3.4M Sat $2.7M Sun $2M 3-day $8.3M/Wk 1

6.) The Meg 2: The Trench (WB) 3,402 (-202) theaters Fri $1.8M (-49%) Sat $2.9M Sun $2M 3-day $6.7M (-48%)/Total $66.5M/Wk 3

7.) Talk to Me (A24) 1789 (-590) theates, Fri $946K (-37%) Sat $1.2M Sun $962K 3-day $3.15M (-36%) Total $37.3M/Wk 4

8.) Haunted Mansion (Dis) 2180 (-680) theaters Fri $795K (-49%) Sat $1.3M Sun $905K 3-day $3M (-47%)/Total $58.8M/Wk 4

9.) Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (Par) 1,608 (-527) Fri $770K (-38%) Sat $1.15M Sun $805K 3-day $2.72M (-41%), Total $164.6M/Wk 6

10.) Last Voyage of the Demeter (Uni/Amb) 2175 theaters, Fri $740K (-72%) Sat $1M Sun $720K 3-day $2.5M (-62%), Total $11.3M/Wk 2

11.) Sound of Freedom (Angel) 2100 (-703) theaters Fri $700,5K, Sat $1M Sun $717K 3-day $2.45M (-49%), Total $177.6M/Wk 8

via Deadline

‘Oppenheimer’ Set to Become the Highest-Grossing Movie in Domestic History that Never Topped the BO!!

Oppenheimer, the phenomenally successful and critically acclaimed dramatic thriller from Christopher Nolan, has achieved a new record milestone in US theatrical history, as it is poised surpass 2016’s Sing to become the highest-grossing domestic movie of all time to never reach the top spot at the box office. One can argue that Oppenheimer may not have reached that achievement, or even the total domestic gross that it did, were it not for the accompanying Barbie factor alongside it, but nonetheless, the film has now hit the target by grossing over $270 million in four weeks of release.

Sing had previously seen outstanding commercial success when it was released, but it was hit by a double whammy when in theaters. Firstly, it came up against Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which ultimately ended up grossing $534.9 million domestically, obviously taking the number one spot against Sing. Then, as the film showed good legs, it was then prevented from reaching number one again by Hidden Figures, the sleeper hit about the mathematicians behind the first moon landing. However, try not to feel too bad for Sing—it did end up with $634.2 million worldwide, a number which Oppenheimer will also now surpass.

Oppenheimer does have quite a bit of work to do to take the top spot in the “never hit number one” race worldwide. The film needs to gross over $902,548,476 to overtake The Battle at Lake Changjin, a Chinese film that only saw a limited release in the US and Canada. It will also have company in the top ten, however, by another Nolan film in the form of Interstellar, which opened in second place in 2014 against Disney‘s Big Hero 6, although ironically Interstellar, as with many Nolan films, legged out and the sci-fi epic ended up outgrossing Baymax and Hiro by $20 million worldwide.

Given its popularity in premium large format theaters, Oppenheimer will undoubtedly continue to bring in money as IMAX screens remain sold out for weeks to come, with the film capturing the imagination of the public in ways that were surely unforeseen by Nolan and his studio, Universal, prior to the film’s release. However, for a cinephile like the Brit auteur, the satisfaction must be overwhelming, and a statistic like being top of the box office will never truly matter to him as long as his film has been seen by as many movie lovers as possible.

 

via Collider

‘Last Voyage of the Demeter’ Opens Poor as ‘Barbie’ Continues to Dominate at the BO!!

The momentum of Barbenheimer, as well as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem and The Meg 2: The Trench, are propelling a significantly better August than a year ago. The weekend is set to top an estimated $118.5M, +76% from the same frame in 2022 per industry sources.

Unfortunately, the tanking of Amblin/Universal’s $45M-costing The Last Voyage of the Demeter stands out like a wart, since we haven’t had many misfires this summer. Granted, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One‘s profitability might be in question next to their exorbitant Covid costs. But these pics have put up tentpole grosses in the nine digits, and have been mass draws (just not as massive as they were hoped to be). Note the filmmakers aimed to keep this period horror pic as cheap as they could: Exteriors were shot in Malta, while interior were shot in Germany, both those countries respectively having tax credits of 50% and 30%.

What makes the $6.5M opening here for Demeter more pronounced is simply given the fact that it’s the only major studio-wide entry this weekend. Note, we’ve known due to tracking that this vampire ship pic was headed for the cliffs.

Look, Amblin makes these elevated genre mid-budget size movies, not necessarily as thrifty as Blumhouse. There was Captive State, which was made for $25M and was released pre-spring 2019 and fell down with a global gross less than $9M. Amblin had some money in that film, but it was largely financed by Participant.

Then there was the under-$10M horror pic, Come Play, which was released when major movie capitals like NYC and L.A. weren’t opened. That grossed $13.1M WW, and I’m told it broke even thanks to vibrant PVOD during the pandemic, and everyone watching at home. Demeter will have to look to the saving grace of downstream ancillaries. Remember, if there’s anything that theatrical day-and-date taught us, it’s that it’s always better to release theatrically, prop the pic’s profile, bomb, and make money thereafter.

Sitting in a movie theater this summer and watching a rhythmic flow of riveting trailers, including not just Barbie and Oppenheimer, but also Sony’s upcoming (what looks-to-be hysterical) holiday romantic comedy, Anyone But You, starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell — then the trailer for Demeter hits the screen and screeches all fun to a halt. What is this overly dark Master and Commander clipper ship type movie? ‘What’s a Demeter?’ one asks. Then two minutes into the trailer, just before you’re about to doze off, one’s response is ‘Oh, it’s about Dracula.’ That was one of the biggest problems I found in the marketing: The trailer was a huge ‘do-not-see-this-movie,’ especially with the non-starry cast (another hurdle for this horror pic).

I enjoyed Last Voyage of the Demeter so much: gorgeous, lavish and savage!!

— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) August 10, 2023

I was doubtful about THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER, but it's a throat-ripping good time. It reminded me of the best of the Hammer movies from the 60s and 70s.

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) August 10, 2023

In addition to critics who aren’t fans of Demeter, audiences are asleep, too, with a B- CinemaScore and 66% positive on Comscore/Screen Engine’s PostTrak. Guys bought tickets at 62%, 52% of the 18-34 demo was present, and 25-34 year olds were the largest quad at 32%. Diversity mix was 44% Caucasian, 25% Latino and Hispanic, 16% Black, and 16% Asian/other. Demeter played strongest in the South, South Central and West. The annual income for a part-time entry level worker at McDonalds is higher than what this movie made at the AMC Burbank since Thursday (Demeter‘s highest grossing venue) which is under $12.5K so far.

There’s no need for the studio to use the excuse that stars weren’t available to promote because of the SAG-AFTRA strike, for it remains to be seen whether or not they would have moved the meter on this title. The pic’s problems are inherent. As Deadline film critic Valerie Complex points out about Demeter, “The visual palette drenched in melancholic grays and blues are effective in creating atmosphere, but the film falls prey to predictability.” She also observes that her journey on the Demeter “feels longer than it actually is.”

Furthermore, Universal did push Demeter as much as they could. The pic trailered on movies like Indiana Jones and Mission: Impossible in-theaters. The trailer trended #10 on YouTube, generated 90+ press breaks, and garnered more than 61M views. Spots ran on such TV shows as American Ninja Warrior, America’s Got Talent, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia finale, Mayans finale, The Walking Dead: Dead City finale, Shark Week, Big Brother premiere, and The Challenge premiere. On streaming, spots ran on such shows as The Bear, What We Do in the Shadows and Only Murders in the Building.

In the sports arena, Demeter floated into a UFC 291 PPV sponsorship (including coveted spot right before the match begins, lower thirds, billboards, announcer callouts), NBA Finals Games 2&5, MLB All-Star Game, WWE RAW, League’s Cup, All Elite Wrestling: Rampage, Boxing PPV Spence v. Crawford Sponsorship, UFC Fight Night, NFL Hall of Game. While on streaming, the campaign also had placements in NBC’s NFL streaming coverage and a sponsorship of Peacock’s WWE Summer Slam.

Despite all noble efforts here by Uni — no one’s buying tickets for a trip on the Demeter. Amblin’s linear cable deal is with Showtime, so Demeter won’t end up on Peacock. Onward to PVOD, Ho!

Some trivia: Sony’s Gran Turismo, which was suppose to come out this weekend but was pushed to Aug. 25 because of the SAG-AFTRA strike, has been playing sneaks, just like the Culver City lot promised. I’m told there were Imax early access screenings on Wednesday, regular sneaks on Thursday. Today, there’s a 2 PM at the Regal North Hollywood, LA Live, and TCL Chinese Theatre. Where will the extra money be counted? I understand it will be in the end-running total. The Playstation Studios movie opened abroad with $10.7M from 4,900+ screens in 30 markets. France led all markets with a strong $2.3 million, followed by the UK with $1.3 million. Australia and Germany both launched with $1.0 million.

The chart is updating with Sunday figures, indicated by Saturday and Sunday figures:

1 Barbie (WB) 4,178 theaters – Fri $10M (-38%) Sat $13.2M Sun $10.5M, 3-day $33.7M (-36%), Total $526.3M/Wk 4

2) Oppenheimer (Uni) 3,761 (+149) theaters, Fri $5.1M (-39%) Sat $7.6M Sun $6.1M 3-day $18.8M (-35%), Total $264.2M/Wk 4
Pic’s Imax weekend is $5.5M raising its total in the large format’s theaters to $75.8M. That’s the highest ever IMAX Domestic result for a Nolan title, as well as the 4^th highest IMAX Domestic result of all time.

3) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (Par) 3,950 theaters (+92), Fri $4M (-56%), Sat $6.3M Sun $5.4M 3-day $15.7M (-44%), Total $72.7M/Wk 2

4) The Meg 2 (WB) 3,604 theaters (+101), Fri $3.5M (-71%) Sat $5.4M Sun $3.8M 3-day $12.7M (-58%), Total $54.5M/Wk 2

5) Last Voyage of the Demeter (Amb/Uni) 2,715 theaters, Fri $2.62M Sat 2.26M Sun $1.64M 3-day $6.5M/Wk 1

6) Haunted Mansion (Dis) 2,860 theaters (-880) Fri $1.5M (-44%) Sat $2.4M Sun $1.6M 3-day $5.6M (-39%), Total $52.8M/Wk 3

7) Talk to Me (A24) 2,379 theaters (+9), Fri $1.5M (-21%) Sat $2M Sun $1.6M 3-day $5.1M (-23%) Total $31.3M/Wk 3

8) Sound of Freedom (Angel) 2,803 (-172) theaters, Fri $1.3M Sat $1.9M Sun $1.5M 3-day $4.83M (-36%), Total $172.8M/Wk 7

9) Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning (Par) 2,135 (-287) theaters Fri $1.24M (-34%) Sat $1.95M Sun $1.47M 3-day $4.66M (-29%) /Total $159.55M /Wk 5
In the run-off between very expensive tentpoles this summer, Mission: Impossible raises its global take to $522.4M to Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny‘s $370.6M.

10) Jailer (Indin) 450 theaters, Fri $774K Sat $995K Sun $731K 3-day $2.5M Total $4.1M/Wk 1
This action comedy in126 markets put up some big numbers in Seattle, Dallas, San Francisco, Austin, NYC, Chicago and LA.

via Deadline

‘Oppenheimer’ Has Become the Sixth-Highest Grossing Film at the 2023 Global BO!!

In a year when three major superhero movies have underperformed, a dense, three-hour biographical drama has outgrossed them all. Director Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer continued its phenomenal run at the box office this weekend, as it passed another major milestone. Having played in theaters for three full weeks, the film has now made nearly $650 million globally.

Oppenheimer added $18.8 million to its domestic tally this weekend — its fourth — and took its running gross to $264 million. The film has made $385 million from 78 international territories, for a global haul of $649 million. Having already overtaken Nolan’s own World War II film Dunkirk at the global box office, Oppenheimer will now set its sights on Interstellar and Inception, both of which finished with around $800 million worldwide.

Nolan’s highest grossing films at the global box office remain The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, which both earned a little more than $1 billion apiece. A huge proponent of the big screen experience, he remains probably the only filmmaker in the world with the ability to draw audiences to theaters regardless of what movie he’s showcasing. You don’t see a period movie do this kind of business every day. Remarkably, $134 million of Oppenheimer’s global gross — a full 21% — has come from IMAX theaters.

Oppenheimer remains the sixth-biggest Hollywood release of the year so far, behind Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ($684 million), Fast X ($719 million), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ($846 million), Barbie ($1.1 billion) and The Super Mario Bros. Movie ($1.35 billion). Earlier this year, major movies such as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and to an extent, even Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One, all underperformed at the box office, for various reasons.

“Barbenheimer” Benefited Both Movies

But the film’s performance was no doubt impacted by the publicity generated by the “Barbenheimer” online meme — a cultural event revolving around the simultaneous release of Oppenheimer and the satirical comedy Barbie. This might have started as a game of chicken between Warner Bros. and Universal, but it ultimately ended up benefiting both movies. Nolan famously walked out of W.B. after a years-long partnership, in protest of the studio’s controversial decision to release each of its 2021 movies on the Max streaming service. He chose Universal as his new home for Oppenheimer. But it has recently been reported that W.B. is trying to court him to return.

Based on the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, known as the father of the atomic bomb, the film stars Cillian Murphy in the lead role, alongside a supporting cast that includes Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon and Florence Pugh.

 

via Collider

‘Barbie’ Remains at Top as ‘Turtles’, ‘Meg 2’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ Lead Excellent Weekend at the BO!!

As the Hollywood labor stoppage continues, the 2023 box office rally rages on, as domestic box office soars past $6 billion, +22% over the same January-August period a year ago. This weekend for all movies stands at an estimated $178M. This is the fourth time in box office history to have four movies cross $25M; the last time was Thanksgiving weekend 2018.

We always knew this weekend would beat the first frame of August a year ago ($92M), and that’s happening at +94%. But the current Friday-Sunday is also kicking the first weekend of August 2019’s $148.99M by +20%, and that’s when Hobbs & Shaw ruled the chart.

Barbie remains box office queen bee with $53M in weekend 3 after a $17M Friday and $20M Saturday. By EOD, Barbie is roughly $40M shy from passing the half billion mark at the domestic box office, her gross set to stand at $459.4M. A $1 billion running global cume happens today!

That fierce battle for second place we say yesterday between Paramount’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Oppenheimer, and The Meg 2: The Trench is settling down.

That second place winner is Meg 2 with $30M, an amazing one-two punch for the weekend by Warner Bros. No one was expecting Meg 2 to rank second place. Here’s the takeaway with Meg 2 this weekend: For all those studios clutching their pearls and worried about stars not doing press, and looking to dynamite the rest of the 2023 calendar. Meg 2‘s opening was achieved off a screening program campaign, with in theater and online trailers and TV spots. I hear that Jason Statham and the cast didn’t do that much press here in the U.S. Such is the plus of opening a sequel off the gas of its established IP. The first Meg‘s campy comedic marketing campaign five years ago already did the heavy lifting in establishing the brand. The sequel’s trailers just needed to run with it.

Beamed Jeff Goldstein, Domestic Distribution President of Warner Bros, “This is an extraordinary time for Barbie fans as the blowout parties continue. Meg 2 delivered the one-two punch and scared audiences everywhere.”

Uni’s Oppenheimer is third with $28.7M. Since opening, per EntTelligene, Barbenheimer, has pulled in 55.5M moviegoers, broken out that’s 39M for Barbie and another 16.5M for Oppenheimer.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles after a great Saturday of $10.3M, +11% over Friday’s $9.3M, is coming in at $28M over 3-days and $43M, which is still great for this $70M production.

Wow, that was easy, everyone played nice. Typically, when there’s a tie in an upper ranking, especially No. 1, it’s a game of chicken among the majors on Sunday morning when calling it. More specifically, there’s a delay in reporting with snarking all around. One of the more notorious fights over first in recent memory was the weekend of Sept. 29-Oct. 1, 2017 when the opening of Tom Cruise’s American Made, the fourth weekend of It and the second weekend of Kingsman: The Golden Circle were all ranking in the high $16M range. Kingsman won with $16.935M.

Turtles is a huge win for the Brian Robbins Paramount administration particularly as he builds out and revives franchises.

Said Chris Aronson, Paramount’s Domestic Distribution Boss this AM, “We’re over the moon with this opening. We exceeded pre-release expectations with this movie which has been a labor of love for a long time.”

The decision to revive Turtles happened back in 2018 when Robbins was at Nickelodeon with Ramsey Naito, current President, Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation, and they sparked to the idea of Seth Rogen’s involvement, as well as filmmaker Jeff Rowe –both lifelong fans–who truly wanted to lean into the ‘teenage’ part of the IP. Paramount, like all their movies this year, has gotten behind promoting the animated pic 200%, having Rogen show off extended footage at CinemaCon, and a work-in-progress cut at Annecy back in June. Props to Paramount: They were the only studio who realized that there would be a full-house crowd down at San Diego Comic-Con; fans unfazed by the strikes. So they took Turtles down to Hall H and showed off more footage to fans with Rowe in tow as well as TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman — the latter who just stoked the crowd. Why skip an opportunity? Very smart on the Melrose Lot for being fearless and creative sans stars in their promotion. Rival studios, take note.

The second animated take of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has a Comscore/Screen Engine PostTrak audience score of 88% positive and a 70% recommend, with kids under 12 giving it 94%, and a 69% must-see. That’s enough ooze to keep chugging into the fall. That’s on top of the pic’s already “A” CinemaScore. Men showing up at 60% to women’s 40%, with 56% of the crowd between 18-34. The biggest demo is 18-24 at 34%. Diversity demos are 33% Caucasian, a great 33% Latino and Hispanic, 17% Black, and 16% Asian/other. The South Central and the West are the most robust here for the Nickelodeon/Point Grey production. Oppenheimer still has Imax, but the Turtles have PLFs, which are driving 16% of ticket sales and another 11% from 3D. Adam Aron’s AMC Burbank is the top-grossing movie theater in the nation at $103K-plus so far. Cowabunga.

TMNT:MM saw Canada delivering 5% of the gross with major markets that over-indexed being LA, Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, San Antonio, and Austin while the only major markets that under-indexed were Seattle and Toronto. Top theaters came from LA, NY, Phoenix, Orlando, Dallas, Pharr TX, El Paso, Nashville, San Antonio, and Houston.

Social media analytics corp RelishMix says that Turtles’ social media universe is 309.8M across Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok combined. Ahead of release, RelishMix said those stats were under family animated averages. But clearly there’s an appetite here for the movie, as it’s greatly over-performing.

PostTrak audiences gave Meg 2 72% in the top two boxes, with a 55% recommend, and a B- to the first chapter’s B+. South Central and South are the biggest-grossing regions. Note, there’s a lot of walk-up business here, like there was on the first movie, from the Latino and Hispanic moviegoers who are showing up at 25% to Caucasian 41%, Black 15%, and Asian American at 13%. Warners does have some PLFs for the shark that are shared with the Turtles, accounting for 22.5% of the overall gross with another 18% coming from 3D screens. The Regal Fresno Riverpark is leading the pack with $39K in gross (including early shows) so far.

RelishMix counts a social media universe for the sequel of 350.8M, 14% above genre averages next to action-adventure sci-fi titles, with Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom on the high end at 611.3M SMU. “Chatter flows positive on The Meg 2, which makes new waves as the audacious, over-the-top shark sequel being hailed as a high-octane escape into ‘stupid-crazy-fun entertainment’ with endless positive snarky threads. The return of Jason Statham draws a splash as fans gush, ‘Looks amazing, especially with Jason Statham in this epic shark movie.’” reports RelishMix.

Jason Statham, who counts 111M fans on social media, got this modest plug in for the film on Instagram before the SAG-AFTRA strikes began:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jason Statham (@jasonstatham)

The chart with Sunday AM figures:

1.) Barbie (WB) 4,178 (-159) theaters, Fri $17M (-41%) Sat $20M Sun $16M 3-day $53M (-43%)/Total $459.4M/Wk 3

2.) The Meg 2: The Trench (WB) 3,503 theaters Fri $12.2M, Sat $10M Sun $7.8M 3-day $30M/Wk 1

3.) Oppenheimer (Uni) 3,612 (-35) theaters Fri $8.3M (-38%) Sat $11.1M Sun $9.1M 3-day $28.7M (-39%)/Total $228.5M/Wk 3

4) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles…(Par) 3,858 theaters Fri $9.3M Sat $10.3M Sun $8.3M 3-day $28M, Total $43M/Wk 1

5.) Haunted Mansion (Dis) 3,740 theaters Fri $2.68M (-73%) Sat $3.6M Sun $2.69M 3-day $8.97M (-63%), Total $42M/Wk 2

6.) Sound of Freedom (Angel) 3,001 theaters Fri $2.2M, Sat $2.8M Sun $2M, 3-day $7M (-45%), Total $163.4M/Wk 5

7.) Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (Par) 2,422 (-337) Fri $1.87M (-38%) Sat $2.6M Sun $1.96M 3-day $6.45M (-39%), Total $151M/Wk 4

8.) Talk to Me (A24) 2370 (+30) theatres, Fri $1.94M (-54%) Sat $2.4M Sun $1.9M 3-day $6.2M (-40%) Total $22.1M/Wk 2

9) Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (Moviegoer) 275 theaters (-85) Fri $476K Sat $617K Sun $487K 3-day $1.58M Total $4.6M/Wk 2

10.) Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Dis) 1,190 (-975) theaters, Fri $460K (-60%) Sat $620K Sun $441K 3-day $1.52M (-62%)/Total $170.6M/Wk 6

via Deadline

‘Barbie’ Crosses a Billion at the Global BO; Makes Greta Gerwig First Solo Female Director with the Achievement!!

This Barbie has just crossed $1 billion at the box office after a strong third weekend at the global box office. That’s right, Greta Gerwig‘s toy-based romp has continued its very pink and very sparkly takeover of the global box office, and is only the second film of the year to pass the rarified $1 billion mark at the box office, following The Super Mario Bros. Movie. This milestone is impressive in its own right, but even more impressive is the fact that the film’s billion-dollar box office feat has made Gerwig the first solo female director to make a billion dollars at the global box office.

Everyone Wants to go to Barbie Land

It looks like everyone is seeing pink lately as Barbie‘s box office dominance continues into August. Globally, Barbie took in a whopping $127 million this weekend, pushing the film’s total global box office to an astounding $1.031 billion just two weeks after its original theatrical release. Internationally, the film took in $74 million, which is down 41 percent from last week. This week’s performance has brought the international box office total to $572.1 million so far. But Barbie has really shined domestically, bringing in a total of $459.4 million so far, accounting for a good bulk of the film’s success.

There is no mistaking Barbie’s dominance at the domestic box office, the film once again took the top spot at the domestic box office, raking in an impressive $53 million on its third weekend, a strong showing under any conditions, but especially remarkable given the shark-infested waters of this week’s box office. The megalodon-loaded Meg 2: The Trench took a big bite out of the domestic box office as well, bringing in $30 million, and battling it out for the highly contested second spot at the box office along with the newly released Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem and Oppenheimer, which came in third at this weekend’s domestic box office, bringing in $28.7 million.

Regardless of the stiff competition, however, it looks like Barbie will remain at the top of the box office for some time to come. Despite some snags in the film’s international release, the film has surpassed even Gerwig‘s own very high expectations for the film. Even before the film’s astronomical success, Mattel was already developing a slew of other toy and game-based film projects, however, Barbie‘s mammoth box office success has only solidified the company’s pivot to entertainment.

Gerwig and her partner Noah Baumbach wrote Barbie together, and Gerwig directed the film. Barbie features an all-star cast including Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, and Michael Cera. The film is currently playing in theaters worldwide.

 

via Collider

‘Insidious: The Red Door’ Has Become the Highest-Grossing Horror Movie of 2023 Till Date!!

Sony‘s Insidious: The Red Door opened to decent reviews and is already the highest-grossing film of the Insidious franchise, and it can now add another crown to its box office achievements: The fifth Insidious installment has become the highest-grossing horror film of 2023.

Insidious: The Red Door has earned $182.5 million at the worldwide box office after a month in theaters. This surpasses Universal‘s M3GAN, which was previously 2023’s highest-grossing horror film with a global cumulative total of $180 million. While the two films may have been distributed by rival studios, both of them are products of horror mainstay Blumhouse Productions, which has seen a string of successful films released on its slate in recent years.

The newest Insidious film earned its title by making another $2.5 million overseas this weekend, from more than 2,200 screens in 59 international markets. This gives the film an international cumulative total of $101.8 million. Combine this with the film’s domestic legs, which have brought in another $1.1 million this weekend on 824 screens across the United States, and the film’s domestic total has ballooned to $80.6 million. Mexico remains the film’s best-performing international market, with a cumulative Mexican total of $13.8 million. The United Kingdom is close behind with another $10 million.

The Summer Gamble Paid Off for Insidious

Sony is likely quite happy with the performance of Insidious: The Red Door, especially given that it opened with some stiff competition. The film premiered alongside Disney and Lucasfilm‘s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Paramount‘s Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One, both expected to be powerhouses. While Dial of Destiny has consistently underperformed, Mission: Impossible is closing in on half a billion dollars at the global box office, as it recently passed $493 million. Beyond this, Insidious would face the biggest juggernaut of the summer premiering just two weeks later — Universal‘s Oppenheimer and Warner Bros.’ Barbie, with the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon already earning nearly $1.5 billion globally between the two films.

Releasing any film alongside “Barbenheimer” was clearly a risky bet for any studio, but it appears to have paid off for the horror franchise. Fans may have been eager to see the work of the film’s star, Patrick Wilson, who, beyond returning as Josh Lambert, helmed the film in his directorial debut. Insidious: The Red Door also stars Rose Byrne, Ty Simpkins, Hiam Abbass, and Sinclair Daniel. Wilson directed from a script by Scott Teems and a story by Teems and Leigh Whannell. The film was produced by franchise co-creator James Wan, Oren Peli, and Whannell for Screen Gems and Stage 6 Films, as well as Jason Blum for Blumhouse.

The film is likely to generate even more revenue for Sony given that it has recently been released for digital streaming. It remains unclear if any more frights will be cooked up in the Insidious franchise — The Red Door was billed as the final chapter of the saga for the Lambert family. However, a spinoff film titled Thread: An Insidious Tale is reportedly in the works starring Kumail Nanjiani and Mandy Moore, with Moon Knight head writer Jeremy Slater set to direct.

 

via Collider

‘Talk To Me’ Scares Up $10 Million Marking A24’s Second-Biggest Debut at the BO!!

A24’s supernatural horror Talk To Me by first time filmmakers Danny and Michael Philippou blew past box office projections grossing over $10 million on 2,340 screens opening weekend. The breakout by the first-time filmmaker brothers and popular YouTubers from Australia was no. six at the domestic box office.

The film was well reviewed as a fresh spin on the possession tale and had great exits with a B+ Cinemascore — pretty much tops for horror, especially indie horror — and A24’s best wide-release Cinemascore ever across all genres.

It’s the distributor’s biggest opening weekend ever since 2018’s Hereditary from Ari Aster, who gave a big shoutout to Talk To Me at Sundance, where it premiered and was snapped up by A24 in a bidding war. Hereditary opened at $13.6 million on 2,900 screens. It’s arguably rather rare for indie films to cross $10 million in a weekend, (especially post-pandemic), marking another breakout for a distributor with a uniquely strong brand and fan base. Talk To Me, about a group of friends messing around with an embalmed hand to no good end, was a broad horror crowd pleaser, playing well as expected in top NY, LA and San Francisco locations but also over-indexing across a broader swathe of markets from Houston, El Paso and San Antonio, to Phoenix, Albuquerque, Fresno and Orlando. It’s infamously out there, which doesn’t hurt ticket sales.

Nor does a theatrical resurgence with Barbie and Oppenheimer. Logically it would seem tough to open in the shadow of Barbenheimer, but in this case the top-notch scares met masses of theatergoers reconnecting with the experience and appreciating options. It’s reminder of what many in the industry have been insisting post-Covid –that a offering a range of different kinds of films to audiences consistently will bring them back. Current ebullience is tinged with anxiety as ongoing Hollywood strikes have started to see shifts in the theatrical release schedule out the fourth quarter.

Talk To Me‘s estimated grosses of $10,028,632 break out to $4,197,960 Friday; $3,566,160 Sat.; and $2,264,512 Sunday — for a tally that’s double original projections.

Specialty openings: Magnolia Pictures’ Kokomo City had a strong opening with $16,650 at the IFC Center in NYC. The Sundance-premiering documentary expands to 15 new markets this Friday, including LA, Chicago and Austin.

Music Box Films’ The Unknown Country opened at NYC’s Quad Cinema, the Nuart in LA and Northern Hills Cinema in Spearfish, South Dakota — the community where much of the film was shot – to $10,217, a per theater average of $3,406 for the film starring Lily Gladstone (The Killers of the Flower Moon). Will expand through August across urban markets Chicago, Seattle and Austin, and small ones like Missoula and Helena, Montana. Last week, the production notably signed one of the first interim agreement with SAG-AFTRA that allowed the cast to participate in promotion. Gladstone and Lainey Bearkiller Shangreaux, who also starred, and director Morissa Maltz, supported the film with Q&As.

From GKids, Takehiko Inoue’s feature debut, The First Slam Dunk, a box office hit in East Asian territories (and winner of Fantasia International Film Festival’s Satoshi Kon Award over the weekend), opened to $625,561 at 581 locations. Showings included both Japanese with English subtitles, and English dubbed.

National Geographic Documentary Films release of Moses Bwayo and Christopher Sharp’s documentary Bobi Wine: The People’s President grossed an estimated $18,200 on two screens (one each in NY and LA), for a per-screen average of $9,100, with sold out shows and strong group sales on both coasts. Starts a national expansion Friday with runs in San Francisco, Dallas, Atlanta, Seattle, Houston and Portland with plans for a continued rollout in August and September and into awards season.

Greenwich Entertainment’s The Beasts by Rodrigo Sorogoyen grossed an estimated $5k at one location, Manhattan’s Film Forum. Expands to LA’s Laemmle Royal and other top 25 markets Friday.

Holdovers: Searchlight Pictures’ Theater Camp by Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman grossed an estimated $634k in week three on 295 screens, a $2,100 per screen average and cume now topping $1.5 million. Expansion included 30+ new markets including Dallas, where it was #1 at the AMC Northpark Friday, Philadelphia, Seattle, San Diego, Miami and Houston.

Also in week three, the Sideshow and Janus Films’ release Afire saw an estimated $32,815 on 44 screens, for a new cume of $124,654. Continue its expansion next weekend with runs in Boston, San Francisco and Miami.

Sony Pictures Classics’ The Miracle Club grossed $103,152 on 121 screens (last week 271) in week three for a cume of $1.6 million.

IFC Films’ Lakota Nation vs. United States saw an estimated weekend gross of $6k at 16 locations in week two for a PSA of $375 and a cume of $22,750. Also this weekend, IFC’s RLJE Films opened Sympathy for the Devil with Nicholas Cage on 28 screens for a gross of $5.4k.

 

via Deadline

‘Haunted Mansion’ Sets Modest Debut as ‘Barbenheimer’ Continue Dominance on the Worldwide BO!!

Warner Bros’ Barbie continued to show its prowess this weekend worldwide, riding a wave of hot pink fun, savvy marketing and sincere message to a powerful $774.5M global through Sunday. This is just the sophomore session with the movie tops at the international box office and worldwide for the second weekend in a row.

The offshore take from this session was $122.2M in 69 markets, just 32% off opening. The international cume is $423.1M (domestic was $93M this weekend for a running North America cume of $351.4M).

Overseas, the Greta Gerwig-directed pic maintained its No. 1 slot in 57 markets with exceptional holds in numerous markets including Taiwan (+37%), Germany (+29%), Hong Kong (+19%), Holland (+11%), Singapore (+10%), China (-11%), Australia (-11%), France (-20%), Argentina (-25%), Indonesia (-27%), Italy (-30%), Spain (-30%) and the UK (-32%).

What’s more, the Margot Robbie-starrer is now the third-biggest film of the year worldwide and the fourth biggest for international.

The Barbies have already surpassed the lifetimes of an extensive list: Ant-Man and the Wasp, Wonder Woman, The Batman, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Kong: Skull Island, Man of Steel, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, It and Godzilla Vs Kong.

In like-for-like international markets and using today’s exchange rates, the film is tracking on par with Frozen II, 92% above Wonder Woman, 195% over Cinderella and 213% ahead of The Little Mermaid. In Latin America, Barbie is now the No. 2 WB movie ever, behind only Joker. In Europe, it’s the 2nd biggest film of 2023.

The UK leads play after the sophomore weekend with $61.5M, tracking ahead of the first 10 days of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 which is WB’s biggest movie ever in the market. Behind it, Mexico has grossed $41.4M to date (2nd biggest WB movie ever), followed by Brazil ($33.5M – biggest WB movie of all time, top film of 2023), Australia ($30.6M after the biggest 2nd weekend ever at the Oz box office) and China ($25.2M – including an increased screen count).

As for Universal’s Oppenheimer, it too had an incredible hold overseas, dropping just 26% in 78 markets during the sophomore session for an estimated international box office weekend of $72.4M and an offshore cume $226.3M. Globally, this puts the running total on the Christopher Nolan epic at $400.4M.

After just two frames, Oppenheimer is estimated to be the biggest Nolan film of all time in 28 markets including India, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Turkey. In 40, it’s the top non-Batman movie for Nolan including Mexico, Brazil, Norway, Philippines and Chile.

Overseas, it is running above Dunkirk, Interstellar, Tenet and The Dark Knight Rises at the same point of release.

The UK leads with $34.9M, which is just off Dark Knight Rises and in line with Dunkirk at the same point. It’s followed by Germany with $17.8M, above Dark Knight Rises at the same point and overtaking the lifetime of Interstellar. France has grossed $17.3M, higher than Dark Knight Rises, Dunkirk, Tenet and Interstellar at the same point; Australia is at $13.4M, over Dunkirk and more than double Interstellar; and India has $13M, now the No. 2 Hollywood movie of the year in the market.

In IMAX, the Cillian Murphy-starrer is now Nolan’s second-fastest ever to $80M worldwide ($80.7M to date). At $24M, this was the second-biggest second weekend ever for an IMAX title in like-for-like markets, and repped 20.2% of the opening frame. IMAX is extending the run an additional week through August 16/17, with plans to bring back IMAX showtimes of the thriller in the late summer/fall, as availability permits.

As noted yesterday (see below), Universal has now crossed $2B at the international box office marking only the fourth time a studio has reached the milestone since the pandemic and the 7th time Universal has reached the threshold. Also notable in Universal news, Illumination/Nintendo’s The Super Mario Bros Movie has become the No. 2 highest grossing studio animated film in Japan ever, behind only Frozen, with 13.376M yen ($96.61M). Mario is also now the No. 10 Hollywood movie ever in the market.

Disney’s new entry, Haunted Mansion, is on a staggered release pattern overseas, opening in just 35 material markets or 50% of the international landscape this session. The offshore debut was $9.1M; combined with domestic, the start is $33.3M.

Paramount/Skydance’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One added $31.7M in 71 markets this weekend for a 43% drop internationally. The overseas cume is $309.3M for $448.5M global. Amid strong local competition, M:I7’s top market is still China with $45.7M. It’s followed by Korea at $28M, the UK with $26.5M, France at $17.5M and Japan at $16.1M after only its second weekend and ranking No. 1 in the market.

In other holdover news, Disney/Pixar’s Elemental picked up an additional $16.1M in 51 markets with a $250.3M international cume to date. The movie will cross $400M global this week, currently at $395.3M through Sunday. As it continues to play into holidays, the movie dipped only 21% this session and saw increases in both Germany (+36%) and France (+9%). The Top 5 markets to date are Korea ($43.3M), Mexico ($19.4M), France ($16.8M), China ($15.8M) and the UK ($15.1M). Japan releases this week.

Also from Disney (and Lucasfilm), Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny whipped up a further $6.3M (-32%) in 52 markets during the 5th session, bringing the offshore total to $188.9M and global to $355.9M. The Top 5 here are the UK ($24.4M), France ($20.3M), Japan ($16.3M), Germany ($13.6M) and Spain ($11.5M).

And, let’s give a hand to Screen Gems/Stage 6 Films/Blumhouse’s Insidious: The Red Door which raised its worldwide cume to $174.3M this weekend, passing Insidious: The Last Key ($168M) to become the highest grossing film in the franchise. The offshore frame was $5.6M in 59 markets for an overseas cume of $96.3M. Top markets to date are Mexico ($13.3M), UK ($9.5M), Philippines ($6.9M), Indonesia ($6M) and France ($4.8M).

In local news, China’s Creation of the Gods: Kingdom of Storms has now topped $150M while Korea’s Smugglers enjoyed another No. 1 berth and has grossed $13.1M after two weekends.

MISC UPDATED CUMES/NOTABLE
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (SNY): $1.3M intl weekend (58 markets); $303.6M intl cume/$682.4M global
The Super Mario Bros Movie (UNI): $1.2M intl weekend (81 markets); $776.3M intl cume/$1.35B global
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (PAR): $745K intl weekend (44 markets); $273.1M intl cume/$429.7M global

 

via Deadline

‘Barbenheimer’ To Mark Biggest Second Weekend Presales of All Time at the BO!!

The “Barbenheimer” effect on movie theaters is continuing to bring in historic numbers, as the double bill of Barbie and Oppenheimer is set for yet another weekend that will be spoken of in myth in years to come. Following the fourth-biggest box office weekend in domestic theatrical history, exhibitors are gearing up for another very busy weekend. Deadline is reporting that presales for both movies are the highest in industry history for a second weekend.

After an opening three day period which saw the two movies gross a combined half a billion dollars, the two films are now being projected to bring in more eye-watering numbers as demand for both movies continues to overwhelm cinemas. The Exhibitor Relations Company, an entertainment and research data gathering organisation, which supplies studios and media outlets the necessary numbers to help with box office projections, are reporting that Barbie will, in its second weekend of release, be adding 94 more screens across the country to cope with the demand from cinemagoers.

A movie adding theaters in its second weekend isn’t entirely unheard of, but for a movie that already opened in over 4,200 screens, that’s almost unprecedented. There are unconfirmed reports that Oppenheimer will also be adding more screens this weekend, for a total of 3,647.

Nuking the Opposition

After just one week in theaters, Barbie has already earned nearly $260 million domestically, while Oppenheimer has amassed just under $130 million. This weekend, Barbie is poised to rake in an impressive $65 million to $85 million during its second weekend at the box office. Meanwhile, Oppenheimer has its sights set on a substantial second-weekend haul of $35 million to $45 million. By the end of Sunday, Barbie will have effortlessly surpassed the $300 million milestone in domestic earnings. In contrast, Oppenheimer is expected to soar past the $160 million mark.

The word-of-mouth phenomenon regarding the two, which began as a viral trend on platforms like TikTok, is working like Oppenheimer’s own atomic bomb — a chain reaction grows and grows which results in almost exponential growth until an explosion point. Both films have received critical acclaim from professionals, as well as high audience scores, plus Oppenheimer has IMAX screens sold out worldwide for the next two weeks, which will bring in profits at a higher price point. 47% of Oppenheimer‘s domestic tally was brought in by Premium Large Format film, with IMAX along representing $35 million of ticket sales.

Both films are still playing in theaters — but you might struggle to get a seat.

 

via Collider

‘Barbenheimer’ Deliver Fourth-Biggest Weekend in History at the BO!!

Dread it, run from it, Barbenheimer arrives all the same and it keeps growing exponentially. Barbie and Oppenheimer‘s dual release on Friday powered the domestic box office to bigger opening weekends than originally reported — and the fourth-biggest box office weekend in domestic theatrical history.

Greta Gerwig‘s fantasy-comedy starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken absolutely smashed through box office predictions with an astonishing $162 million take, above Sunday’s estimate of $155 million — which was already record breaking. The film declined just 9% from Saturday’s take to bring in an additional $43.7 million on Sunday alone, which is enough to rank as the highest opening weekend of the year, beating The Super Mario Bros. Movie which had already defied belief with its $146 million opening.

Barbie also now holds the record for the biggest debut ever for a film directed by a woman, overtaking the $153 million grossed by Captain Marvel in 2019 — that film was directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. The film added $182 million internationally for a sensational $337 million total. Warner Bros. president of domestic distribution Jeff Goldstein wrote a celebratory note to the press which stated: “This historic result reflects the intense heat, interest and enthusiasm for ‘Barbie’. This doll will indeed have long, long legs.”

Atomic Blonde

Barbie isn’t the only bombshell from this weekend, though. Oppenheimer brought in an arguably more impressive haul of $82.4 million, just slightly higher than Sunday’s atomic $81.5 million projection. Internationally, the biopic about the theoretical physicist in charge of the Manhattan Project took an additional $93.7 million for a worldwide total of $174 million, which is just an incredible number for a three-hour character study that is shot in black-and-white for large portions of the film. Domestically, as an R-rated film, it’s bested only by The Passion of the Christ which had something of a devoted pre-built following going into it.

The viral sensation of “Barbenheimer” — double features, special costumes and TikTok trends et al — helped pushed the box office to the biggest collective weekend since the pandemic and, more importantly, the fourth-biggest weekend in history with over $300 million. The top three weekends of all time were led by Avengers: Endgame, Avengers: Infinity War and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which gives you an idea of the cultural impact of this weekend past.

Both of the films also carried immaculate word-of-mouth and A CinemaScores, plus Oppenheimer has IMAX screens sold out worldwide for the next two weeks, which will bring in even more money. 47% of Oppenheimer‘s domestic tally was brought in by Premium Large Format film, with IMAX along representing $35 million of ticket sales.

Both films are still playing in cinemas — and they will be for some time.

 

via Collider

‘Barbie’ Marks Biggest Debut of the Year while ‘Oppenheimer’ Roars Close Behind at the BO!!

If you weren’t at Barbie or Oppenheimer, or both movies this weekend, consider yourself square.

Updated figures this AM show Warner Bros.’ new franchise based on the Mattel doll at $48.1M (-32% from Friday/previews), for what is shaping up to still be a $155M start, the biggest opening of 2023. Others believe in their bones this Greta Gerwing-directed, Margot Robbie-Ryan Gosling combo is destined for $160M. Warners isn’t a studio to get over their skis in estimates.

Meanwhile, Oppenheimer might be about a bomb, but it’s certainly not a bomb in the box office sense of the word, with the Universal Christopher Nolan-directed movie eyeing $25.8M on Saturday, -22% from Friday night/previews of $33M, for what’s shaping up to be an awesome $80.5M opening, per Universal this morning.

As we spotted on Thursday night, Oppenheimer looked like it was going to emulate the box office trajectory of the R-rated X-Men title, Logan. That pic’s first day/previews was also $33M. However, it had a $31.3M Saturday for what turned out to be an $88.4M opening. Point is, audiences are approaching this Nolan movie like a comic-book movie, not the adult drama that it is. In fact, both movies’ fervent fans are owning it in their cinema attire, dressing up like the characters in Barbie and Oppenheimer (scroll down).

Behold the foot traffic: box office analytics corp EntTelligence says that “Barbenheimer is going to pull in approximately 18.5M patrons this weekend. Other than Spider-Man: No Way Home in 2021 (20M patrons), this is the most foot traffic EntTelligence has monitored, for a three-day new opening film or combination of films, since our formation during the dark period of the pandemic.”

–Barbie clocked 12.8M admissions, which is the highest non-MCU/fresh IP film to open since EntTellgience began monitoring. Only Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Spider-Man: No Way Home are ahead of it.

Oppenheimer had 5.8M admissions, which EntTelligence says is a record-breaker in the firm’s post pandemic era. It is the most attendees for an R-rated opening, surpassing John Wick: Chapter 4‘s 5.2M.

Despite the awesome weekend for the industry, one rival distributor griped, “It’s hard to keep up with a killer combo like this which plays both cities and small towns.”

Exclaimed Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. Domestic Distribution President, “We had everybody from Halifax, VA to Honolulu.”

Beamed Universal’s Boss of Domestic Distribution Jim Orr this AM: “Nolan’s films are riveting, exhilarating, and true cinematic experiences. Oppenheimer is a perfect example of that, as it has captivated audiences around the world this weekend with its extraordinary craftmanship and emotional performances from an incredible cast led by Cillian Murphy.”

Barbie cost a net of $128M before P&A, while Oppenheimer cost around $100M.

EntTelligence also reports that four out of five moviegoers went to see Barbie or Oppenheimer this weekend, with the former generating 52% of the overall admission traffic, Oppenheimer repping 27%, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning drawing 6.5%, and Sound of Freedom pulling in 5.6%. Average ticket price for Barbie was $12.65, while Oppenheimer went for $13.65.

Business was hearty throughout the day for both pics, with a breakdown of admissions as follows:

                      BARBIE                  OPPENHEIMER

Pre 1PM               19%                                     21%

1PM to 5PM       31%                                     30%

5PM to 8PM       -27%                                     28%

Post 8PM             -23%                                     21%

For those who didn’t do their box office homework, we’ve had a late July Christopher Nolan pic vs. female demo tentpole face-off before, back in 2008. In fact, it was a Warner Bros-Universal fight as well. However, Nolan was in the No. 1 spot. That battle was Dark Knight ($158.4M opening) versus Mamma Mia! ($27.7M).

Arguments could be made that Barbie raised Oppenheimer‘s boat. However, that loss of Imax screens has Paramount’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning taking a second weekend hit of -64% with $19.5M, and running total of $118.7M. Sequel’s second Saturday business of $7.8M was up over Friday’s $5.5M by +40%. There’s been some scuttlebucket out there as to why Mission didn’t go in the first weekend of July. This pic could not be moved from its current release date, as prints were delivered quite wet to exhibitors.

Deadline is calling Mission in 3rd place at the box office. Angel Studios is trying to claim third with Sound of Freedom at $20.1M and reporting their weekend estimates hours after the industry publishes their results in the early AM. Realize Comscore is the police officer (among distributors) when it comes to reporting, and counts close to 100% of all theater grosses (at the end of the day, Comscore reports what distributors provide them after they tabulate the unmonitored locations). The industry average estimate for Sound of Freedom is $19M. There is no way a handful of mom and pop theaters which went unmonitored by Comscore collected $1M. Just no way. It’s not to say that Angel Studios doesn’t have a hit on their hands with a $100M-plus grossing title. But there’s some concern by rivals that there’s some puffing of numbers by this frosh distributor, and it’s not a case of Goliath versus David. Running total through weekend 3 is $123.6M, per industry estimates. Deadline is still looking into this to see where the extra $1M is coming from. We’ve asked Angel Studios to show us where the extra $1M is coming from.

More details on Oppenheimer: Uni had the lions share of premium screens this weekend, with showtimes on more than 80% of all PLFs. All in, PLF and Imax drove 47% of the gross.

Imax repped 26% of the gross, with 2% from 25 Imax 70MM prints. $70K Imax theater average. Another 85 standard 70mm film screens repped 4% of Oppenheimer ticket sales so far. Exhibitor-branded PLF screens, such as AMC Dolby Cinema, Cinemark XD, and Regal RPX, produced another stellar 17% of domestic gross thus far this weekend.

Said RelishMix about the online chatter for Barbie: “Excitement is palpable in chatter surrounding Barbie as Margot Robbie’s star power as a massive draw, with fans proclaiming, Anything with Margot Robbie.’ Ryan Gosling’s Ken has already claimed a fan-fave pedestal, and he’s not even out of the box yet — for the bold campiness of the film which is being embraced wholeheartedly, just as the iconic nostalgia evoked by Barbie and the surprisingly multifaceted narrative are being thoroughly appreciated as the film’s eclectic marketing strategy, which has connected fans.”

In regards to Oppenheimer, the social media analytics firm says, “The drumbeat on Oppenheimer is thunderous with solid positive anticipation as fans are all in for the Nolan-Murphy combo, ‘Looks extraordinary, like a life-changing experience — something I don’t usually associate with films.’ There’s no denying expectations for Nolan’s newest venture is being proclaimed as his ‘magnum opus.’ The presence of Peaky Blinders’ Cillian Murphy, declared a ‘genius,’ only heightens the fervor. The chatter isn’t simply about watching a movie, it’s about witnessing what could be a “seminal moment in cinematic history.” Mentions are comping Oppenheimer in the same breath as classics like Interstellar, Taxi Driver and The Godfather.  Even before its arrival, Oppenheimer had the online world held in its thrall, demonstrating once again the influence and reach of the Nolan brand.”

A $300M overall box office domestic weekend for all movies, thanks to Oppenheimer and Barbie, continues to be in store. The question is whether it becomes the third-highest by Monday.

“This was a phenomenal experience for people who love movies on the big screen,” beamed Michael O’Leary, the National Association of Theatre Owners new President & CEO. “It was a truly historic weekend and continues the positive box office momentum of 2023. More importantly, it proves once again that America loves going to the movies to see great films. People recognized that something special was happening and they wanted to be a part of it. Our partners in the creative community and at the studios gave audiences two uniquely different, smart and original stories that were meant for the big screen and movie lovers responded by gathering friends and family and heading to their local movie houses across the nation. The men and women who operate our theatres also responded by creating promotions and unique events to further enhance the moviegoing experience for enthusiastic movie lovers. This weekend is a shining example of how there is simply no substitute for seeing a motion picture in the cinema.”

The chart:

1.) Barbie (WB) 4,243 theaters, Fri $70.8M, Sat $48.1M Sun $36.1M 3-day $155M/Wk 1

2.) Oppenheimer (Uni) 3,610 theaters Fri $33M, Sat $26.1M Sun $21.3M 3-day $80.5M/Wk 1

3.) Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (Par) 4,321 (-6) theaters, Fri $5.56M Sat $7.8M Sun $6.1M 3-day $19.5M (-64%), Total $118.7M/Wk 2

4.) Sound of Freedom (Angel)
Angel Studios reported 3,285 (+20) theaters, Fri $5.7M Sat $7.4M Sun $7M 3-day $20.1M, Total $124.7M/Wk 3
Industry reported: 3,285 (+20) theaters, Fri $5.4M, Sat $6.9M Sun $6.7M 3-day $19M, Total $123.6M/Wk 3

5.)Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Dis) 2,885 (-980) theaters, Fri $1.9M Sat $2.6M Sun $2.1M 3-day $6.7M (-45%)/Total $159M/Wk 4

6.) Insidous: The Red Door (Sony/Blum) 2,554 (-634) theaters Fri $2.09M Sat $2.5M Sun $1.87M 3-day $6.5M (-50%)/Total $71M/Wk 3

7.) Elemental (Dis) 2,720 (-515) theaters, Fri $1.8M (-30%) Sat $2.2M Sun $1.8M 3-day $5.8M (-36%), Total $137.2M/Wk 6

8.) Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony) 1,669 (-908) theaters, Fri $857K Sat $1.07M Sun $883K 3-day $2.8M (-53%) Total $375.2M /Wk 8

9.) Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (Par) 834 (-1,207) theaters, Fri $311K Sat $462K Sun 347K 3-day $1.12M (-67%) Total $155.6M/Wk 7

10.) No Hard Feelings (Sony) 1,017 (-1036) theaters, Fri $360K Sat $415K Sun $300K 3-day $1.075M (-67%), Total $49.2M /Wk 5

 

via Deadline

‘‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’ Sets Franchise Record with $80M Opening at the BO!!

Facts are facts, and Paramount/Skydance’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One set a 5-day opening domestic record for the franchise with $80M. Paramount is calling the global opening here at $235M, read Nancy’s report here. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny only opened to $130M.

Asserted Paramount Domestic Distribution President Chris Aronson this morning, “Mission is a global story, has always been a global story, and will continue to be a global story.”

Previous best 5-day opening belonged to 2000’s Mission: Impossible II, which cleared a Wednesday-Sunday take over Memorial Day weekend of $78.8M. The 3-day record still belongs to 2018’s Mission: Impossible – Fallout which posted $61.2M. Dead Reckoning is seeing a 3-day of $56.2M at 4,327 theaters, including Imax and PLF auditoriums. Dead Reckoning reps Oscar- winning filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie’s third time directing a Mission movie after 2015’s Rogue Nation and Fallout. Technically, he has four Mission movies under his belt, as he’s also directing Dead Reckoning Part Two. That movie had to pause recently because of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

As we already told you, even though Dead Reckoning‘s 5-day is in the vicinity of older-leaning Disney/Lucasfilm finale Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Friday-Tuesday of $83.8M), a film we declared as a complete box office upset in regards to its $300M production cost, which is the same as Dead Reckoning), this Mission: Impossible sequel is a different beast, as it has great reviews (96% certified fresh) and excellent audience scores, with an A CinemaScore and 5 Stars Posttrak, enough fire to keep this fuse lit around the world, especially overseas. Dial of Destiny doesn’t have that momentum, and you can clearly see that in the global opening here for Dead Reckoning. More to the point: Dial of Destiny‘s global running total stands at $302M through three weeks, and the Cruise sequel in its first five days is just $67M shy of that.

In regards to U.S./Canada admissions, Dead Reckoning, per EntTelligence, clocked 5.6M patrons to Dial of Destiny‘s 6.4M opening 5-day. That patron divide, per the analytics firm, boils down to more moviegoers seeing Indy in standard format rather than premium.

On a like-for-like basis including previews, the International Box office, excluding China, is $129.6M,which is 15% ahead of Mission: Impossible Fallout, making it the biggest opening for the franchise. China is $25.4M,which is 66% below Mission: Impossible Fallout ($74M opening weekend). Pin that to the country turning its back on Hollywood fare post-pandemic.

Proof that good word-of-mouth is working for Dead Reckoning: Remember how we were scared that the sequel wouldn’t deliver greatly with a $15.5M opening day (plus previews)? How rivals estimated the sequel at a $70M 5-day? Well, here’s Dead Reckoning coming in much higher.

Saturday was $21.4M, repping a 28% spike over Friday’s $16.7M. Sunday is figured at a -15% ease with $18.1M. Despite that wild $90M projection, Dead Reckoning wound up performing just like a Tom Cruise Mission movie would.

While the Dead Reckoning campaign kicked off in May 2022 with teaser trailer on Top Gun: Maverick, and another behind-the-scenes featurette about Cruise’s biggest stunt in the film, the Norway Ramp Jump (in Imax tagged onto Avatar: The Way of Water), exhibitors actually got to see the latter as early as August 2021 at the first return-to-in-person CinemaCon during Covid.

The second trailer debuted in May with a spot in the NBA Playoffs, and synergistically across Paramount Global channels. Five additional featurettes showcased the stunts and scope of the film, including the Rome car chase, Cruise’s speed flying and train stunts, and McQuarrie’s filmmaking in Venice and Abu Dhabi.

Paramount held the Dead Reckoning at the Spanish Steps in Rome, which stars in the film; the first time a global movie premiere took place there. Cruise then went on to tour the film in London, Abu Dhabi, Seoul, Sydney, and New York, with Japan set to come later this month. Cruise and McQuarrie also showed up with the film for fans in Toronto, Washington D.C., Atlanta, and Miami.

Four cities. Four screenings. We had so much fun at the first fan screenings for Mission: Impossible! Thank you to everyone who came out. pic.twitter.com/qneMmdj00J

— Tom Cruise (@TomCruise) July 12, 2023

Promo partners on Dead Reckoning included Fiat, which created a bespoke TV campaign which featured the Rome car chase sequence in the film while showcasing the new Fiat Abarth electric car.

Etihad’s global campaign included a Mission: Impossible-branded plane with routes between Abu Dhabi and key destinations around the world. Etihad also had paid marketing support, with a behind-the-scenes content piece highlighting Abu Dhabi, an action-packed 30-second ad campaign, a targeted online stunt with Man City football club, and a skydive stunt with an orchestra playing the franchise theme song.

https://youtu.be/tf3cPIqggaU

https://youtu.be/aXLg7tDsFY8

Reportedly, Dead Reckoning garnered the largest Paramount synergy support ever for a theatrical release, with a 30-minute behind-the-scenes look at the making of the movie on CBS. The special included additional placement on Paramount+, MTV, Paramount Network, CBS affiliates, and Channel 10 in Australia. Support included a primetime roadblock to support the trailer, and a full Mission week on CBS Mornings including interviews with the cast in addition to trailer and premiere coverage. The newly acquired podcast, “Light the Fuse—The Official Mission: Impossible Podcast,” hosted a live podcast taping with cast and filmmakers.

The digital marketing for the sequel included a Twitter “Join the Mission” and Chatbot activation. Khaby Lame, a notable TikToker with a reach of over 240M, created custom Mission: Impossible content for TikTok and Instagram. Paramount launched a TikTok account focused on Tom Cruise’s greatest stunts. TikTok entered a first-of-its-kind global creator partnership for the pic which included localized content pages and creator collaborations using talent from around the world at each of the global premieres, a branded mission, live event with talent, and push notifications to its 1 billion monthly users.

Outdoor placement for the sequel included stunt barricades, train wraps, and murals. An aerial fly-over program launched in 10 markets for Fourth of July weekend, prompting fans to text to win a hometown screening.

TV spots aired on such global sporting events as the UEFA Champions League, CONCACAF Gold Cup, MotoGP, F1 Silverstone, and the NBA Finals.

In regards to foot traffic for Dead Reckoning, per EntTelligence, 18% of moviegoers watched the pic before 1PM, 33% during hard matinees of 1PM to 5PM, 32% between 5PM to 8PM and 17% late night after 8PM.

PLFs and Imax drove 42% of the weekend’s gross. Imax is reporting a $25M global opening, making it the biggest start for the franchise for their large format, and also the 2nd-highest global opening for Imax this year to date, and the third-highest global opening ever for Paramount in Imax. Domestic, Imax screens for Dead Reckoning racked up $11M, repping 14% of the 5-day take. It’s also the biggest domestic opening for Mission series in Imax.

“The shift to IMAX in moviegoing has never been more apparent than this summer, with ‘Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One’ just the latest in a long line of global releases in which we delivered an outsized share of box office,” said Rich Gelfond, CEO of Imax in a statement. “The fact that this franchise has scored its biggest opening ever with its seventh installment is a stunning testament to the timeless allure of Tom Cruise and his peerless brand of blockbuster filmmaking.”

Also faring extremely well here is Angels Studios’ anti-child trafficking thriller Sound of Freedom, which the distrib is calling at a $27M second weekend in second place, up a hu-mungo 37% (when does that ever happen?) for a running total of north of $85M at 3,265 theaters. This Jim Caviezel movie is going well north of $100M in the next week.

On the specialty side, Sony Pictures Classics had The Miracle Club starring Laura Linney, Kathy Bates, and Maggie Smith. The 68% fresh Rotten Tomatoes reviewed movie posted $680K from 678 theaters for a $1k theater average.

Searchlight opened their $8M Sundance pick-up, Theater Camp, from filmmakers Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman. The Erik Feig produced feature is posting an estimated $270K opening from 6 theaters or a $45K theater average. That’s the fourth best opening theater average for 2023 after Asteroid City ($142K), Beau Is Afraid ($80K) and Past Lives ($58K), and a great sign indie moviegoing is coming back. The comedy is 80% certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Theater Camp was happening at AMC LSQ, Alamo Brooklyn, Angelika, AMC Grove, AMC Burbank & AMC Century City in NYC and LA. Solid numbers with Q&As in the NYC bookings. AMC Lincoln Square was big with $30K on Friday.

Next week, it’s a brawl between Barbie and Oppenheimer, an overall frame that some are predicting hits $200M for all movies.

The chart…

1.) Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (Par) 4,327 theaters, Fri $16.7M, Sat $21.4M Sun $18.1M 3-day $56.2M, 5-day $80M/Wk 1

2.) Sound of Freedom (Angel) 3,265 (+413) theaters, Fri $7.4M, Sat $10.2M Sun $9.2M 3-day $27M (+37%), Total $85.4M/Wk 2

3.) Insidous: The Red Door (Sony/Blum) 3,188 theaters Fri $4.15M Sat $5M Sun $3.78M 3-day $13M (-60%)/Total $58M/Wk 2

4.)Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Dis) 3,865 (-735) theaters, Fri $3.3M Sat $4.9M Sun $3.8M 3-day $12M (-56%)/Total $145.3M/Wk 3

5.) Elemental (Dis) 3,235 (-205) theaters, Fri $2.6M Sat $3.5M Sun $2.6M 3-day $8.7M (-13%), Total $125.2M/Wk 5

6.) Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony) 2,577 (-446) theaters, Fri $1.72M Sat $2.3M Sun $1.95M 3-day $6.05M (-25%) Total $368.7M /Wk 7

7.) Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (Par) 2,041 (-434) theaters, Fri $940K Sat $1.38M Sun $1.1M 3-day $3.42M (-33%) Total $152.7M/Wk 6

8.) No Hard Feelings (Sony) 2,053 (-633) theaters, Fri $1M Sat $1.3M Sun $960K 3-day $3.3M (-39%), Total $46.5M /Wk 4

9.) Joy Ride (LG) 2,820 theaters, Fri $771K Sat $1M Sun $751K 3-day $2.57M (-56%)/Total $10.6M/Wk 2

10.) The Little Mermaid (Dis) 1,615 (-465) theaters, Fri $675K Sat $950K Sun $725K 3-day $2.35M (-36%) Total $293.9M/ Wk 8

 

via Deadline

‘Insidious: The Red Door’ Dethrones ‘Indiana Jones 5’ From Top Spot at the BO!!

Post Covid, there are a lot of studios that have been able to make horror work at the box office, including Paramount with Smile, Warner Bros with Evil Dead Rise, and Universal with M3GAN and The Black Phone.

But not Sony. Until now.

Red Door is opening to $32.65M this weekend, the second-best start in the Insidious franchise after Chapter 2′s $40.2M, entombing Indiana Jones in second place with a $26.5M second weekend. Red Door also reps the best start in the last two years for a PG-13 horror movie. More pom-poms for Sony: their Marvel Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse just outstripped Disney/Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 as the highest-grossing movie of the summer, $357.6M to $357.5M.

For Blumhouse, Red Door is its 16th title to open at No. 1. While tentpoles get all the glory in the post-Covid marketplace, Blumhouse continues to deliver.

Sony gets props here for finally getting their hands around a franchise they’ve always had a financial stake in. I hear Sony Motion Picture Group Chairman and CEO Tom Rothman selected the brilliant, daredevil release date here in between Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and ahead of the Tom Cruise summer box office cyclone, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning.

Talk about bravado: Typically studios avoid going in the wake of a big Disney movie, ala Marvel or Lucasfilm. However, rival studio brass often hear when the competition is coming up greatly short months before a pic’s opening. Either that, or box office history was telling: despite its huge $100M+ opening, the less-than-fan-fave Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull only held on to No. 1 for one weekend back in 2008, the pic unseated in weekend 2 by….Sex and the City, $57M to $44.7M.

Rothman was adamant that Red Door make its release date. Together with Sony Co-President Josh Greenstein, they knew they had a bigger hit on their hands with the latest installment of this jump scare movie than any other Insidious title.

What’s the difference between this Insidious and all others? It brings the original cast back together, including Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Ty Simpkins, Leigh Whannell and Lin Shaye. Making that happen was Wilson himself, who makes his feature directorial debut here.

Sony originally bought U.S. rights on the first film out of TIFF, but ended up making a distribution deal with Film District to release in the U.S. They handled the first two pics until they were absorbed by Universal’s Focus Features. Sony had foreign (except for UK and Spain) on Insidious 2 and 3. On Insidious: The Last Key, Sony got all foreign rights, plus full ownership of the IP, too. By Red Door, they nabbed all global rights.

The Insidious franchise is as alive as other long-running horror franchises; Saw V and the fifth Scream, putting up $30M starts.

Similar to Last Key, Insidious is able to overpower lackluster critical scores (36%) and so-so audience scores (3 1/2 stars, 72% on Screen Engine/Comscore’s Postrak) to deliver at the box office. No matter what the response is here, it’s clear moviegoers are bewitched enough to get in the car and go. It’s a total jump scare movie with great set pieces.

Some 38% went to see Red Door because it’s part of a franchise they love, while another 38% went because they love horror movies. What encouraged the audience to go and see Red Door the most in the pic’s marketing campaign, more than its trailer? PostTrak audiences said it was Red Door‘s social media campaign.

Get out a load of this LA stunt on Instagram:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Insidious Movie (@insidiousmovie)

RelishMix says that social media chatter on Red Door was indeed upbeat: “…striking power chords in the horror community with long-time franchise fans who are packed and ready for a return, fueled by a potent blend of anticipation and nostalgia. The reassembly of the original cast is met with excitement, ‘The dad still looks the same!’ Horror-hard cores are praising the fear-fest that blends real-world chills with a nod to past terrors.”

Red Door‘s social media universe across TikTok, YouTube views, Facebook, IG, and Twitter is weighed at 176.9M, which is ahead of Halloween Kills (147.3M), A Quiet Place II (170M), Halloween Ends (143.1M), Scream (126.2M) and Insidious: Last Key (114.7M). “Digital social awareness stats on Insidious tracks just above normal levels for a heathy set of five horror franchises by 4% across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok combined — including Scream, Halloween, Quiet Place, previous Insidious’ and Annabelle — with a solid social network for the movie with 4.9M fans, plus the Blumhouse effect with 2.8M fans,” reports RelishMix.

Muy bien, Sony, for opening a movie in a summer marketplace sans late night talk shows.

Red Door, like Last Key, was still female heavy at 52%, but a little less so, as the previous chapter drew 57%. The Insidious audience got a little older: 51% were under 25 vs. 68% on Last Chapter. Nonetheless, the tried-and-true 18-34 devoted moviegoing base showed up here at 67% in what was a very diverse crowd, with 41% Hispanic and Latino attending, 26% Caucasian, 16% Black, and 12% Asian.

Red Door played strongest in the South Central and West, and we hear that $1M is coming from PLFs. This despite the fact that Indy kept most of those screens and Imax. AMC Burbank is the highest-grossing theater in the U.S. for Red Door, with $44K so far.

Lionsgate’s attempt to revive the raunch R-rated comedy with the Asian American title Joy Ride is coming up greatly short with $5.85M. The opening is not far from Universal’s Asian American comedy last summer, Easter Sunday (though that was rated PG-13), which did $5.4M and ended its run at $13M. Despite all great intentions by Lionsgate to build a heartfelt fun comedy for diverse audiences (they rode the Adele Lim-directed and cowritten comedy to SXSW to light the fuse), Joy Ride is not Crazy Rich Asians. That latter movie greatly appealed to older audiences, and this is a little too blue for them. There was also a greater share of Asian moviegoers who attended Crazy Rich Asians, 38% to 26% on Joy Ride.

RelishMix says on social media, “Convo runs mixed-raucous on Joy Ride, as comedy connoisseurs are comping the film to Bridesmaids and Rough Night.”

Joy Ride turned out 58% women, 61% between 18-34. Joy Ride played strongest in the East and West, with latter driving 36% of the gross versus the norm of 25%. AMC Century City is the highest-grossing theater in the country with $22K to date.

Stats on Joy Ride social awareness social media levels are running well under genre norms at 33.5M for comedy and comedy-diverse titles, which include Girls Trip (71.1M), Night School at 214.4M, and Crazy Rich Asians, which opened with a social media universe count of 115.9M.

Furthermore, Warner Bros. conquered and made sure Crazy Rich Asians played to a broad audience beyond its core Asian American demo with a D-Day marketing campaign. Unfortunately, Lionsgate has the reputation of greatly spending on marketing only when the film test scores indicate there’s a potential for big box office. Again, that’s not to say they didn’t put their best foot forward on the film: After SXSW, Lionsgate screened Joy Ride early on for exhibitors at CinemaCon, where the pic was the centerpiece of the studio’s session.

Joy Ride‘s misfire here isn’t about the death of comedy on the big screen. Sony showed that R-rated, dirty comedies have a pulse with the Jennifer Lawrence vehicle, No Hard Feelings, which opened to $15M and is looking at running cume of $40.3M in weekend 3.

Sound of Freedom –the film everyone is talking about– will peg third place with $16.9M and a running six-day total of $38.9M by EOD Sunday. Those are industry estimates. Angel Studios is calling the weekend at $18.2M, $40M for six-days. Don’t know where that extra magic money is coming from; like the right-wing crowdfunding. Aside from right-wing groups funding ticket sales here, and Angel Studios energizing its faith-based followers, the Jim Caviezel action thriller is pulling in a huge Latino and Hispanic crowd at 30%, along with 57% Caucasian, 5% Black, and 9% Asian/other. Women are dominant here at 58%, with older people showing up big at 57% over 45 and 37% over 55. This is exactly how a faith-based movie plays. Strongest markets are South, South Central, and the middle of the country. Highest-grossing theater in the nation? Regal Thoroughbred in Nashville with $53K. How often do we see that? Hardly. This is all very reminiscent of American Sniper, but on an indie scale and level. I don’t mean in terms of gross, but in stoking red state moviegoers, which Hollywood doesn’t do often enough, leaving money on the table with what is perhaps the missing link in the post-pandemic box office.

Total weekend box office is at $128.4M, off 46% from last year’s $239.1M, when Marvel Studios/Disney’s Thor: Love and Thunder topped the chart.

On the arthouse side, A24’s Celine Song directed Past Lives is doing quite solid for the sector, making $1M in weekend 6 at 776 theaters for a running total of $8.3M. The pic has a shot at reaching $10M. Though lower than the $17.6M of A24’s 2019 Chinese Awkwafina drama The Farewell, Past Lives‘ cash is great for the specialty box office right now. Arthouses will gladly take it.

CMC Films has the Mandarin language movie Lost in the Stars from Rui Cui and Xiang Liu. Pic did big in NYC, Vancouver, Seattle, LA and Toronto for an $820K opening weekend or $13,2K per theater at 62 locations and 26 markets.

Trafalgar has the documentary, ODEZA: The Last Goodbye Cinematic Experience booked in 529 locations in 160 markets. Hearing solid numbers in Minnesota, NY, LA, Seattle, San Diego, Chicago and Denver for $760K, all from a Friday night play.

Bleecker Street has the Richard E. Grant and Julie Delpy thriller The Lesson at 268 theaters, 89 markets. Soft numbers I hear with a $157,7K opening and $588 theater average. Pic follows a young author who takes a tutoring position at the estate of a legendary writer. Out of its Tribeca Film Festival premiere, it’s 83% certified fresh with critics.

IFC Films rolled out the Mark Duplass and Sterling K. Brown comedy Biosphere at 48 theaters. It crashed with a $700 per theater and $34K opening. Pic has its opening at TIFF last year, and it’s 80% certified fresh with critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

Chart updated with Sunday figures.

1.) Insidious: The Red Door (Sony/Blum) 3,188 theaters Fri $15.22M, Sat $10.1M Sun $7.3M 3-day $32.65M/Wk 1

2.) Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Dis) 4,600 theaters, Fri $7.6M (-68%) Sat $10.9M Sun $8M 3-day $26.5M (-56%)/Total $121.2M/Wk 2
Indy‘s second weekend hold isn’t far from No Time to Die’s (-57%) and it’s actually higher than that film at $23.7M. Pic’s ten-day gross here is pacing 22% ahead of No Time to Die (which finaled at $160.8M) and 3% behind Mission: Impossible – Fallout (final $220.1M), both older guy leaning action movies. Some are estimating that Dial of Destiny ends its stateside run at $165M, which would be lower than 1984’s Temple of Doom ($179.8M) and The Last Crusade ($197.1M). Current global on Dial of Destiny is $248M.

3.) Sound of Freedom (Angel) 2,850 theaters, Fri $4.9M, Sat $6.7M Sun $5.3M 3-day $16.9M, Total $38.9M/Wk 1

4.) Elemental (Dis) 3,440 (-210) theaters, Fri $2.9M (-18%) Sat $3.8M Sun $2.9M 3-day $9.6M (-21%), Total $109.1M/Wk 4

5.) Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony) 3,023 (-382) theaters, Fri $2.3M (-32%) Sat $3.1M Sun $2.5M 3-day $8M (-33%) Total $357.6M /Wk 6

6.) Joy Ride (LG) 2,820 theaters, Fri $2.6M Sat $1.8M Sun $1.4M 3-day $5.85M/Wk 1

7.) No Hard Feelings (Sony) 2,686 (-522) theaters, Fri $1.6M (-27%) Sat $2.1M Sun $1.4M 3-day $5.25M (-33%), Total $40.4M /Wk 3

8.) Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (Par) 2,475 (-377) theaters, Fri $1.38M (-27%), Sat $2M Sun $1.55M 3-day $5M (-32%) Total $146.7M/Wk 5

9.) The Little Mermaid (Dis) 2,080 (-350) theaters, Fri $1.1M (-29%) Sat $1.4M Sun $1M 3-day $3.5M (-34%) Total $289M Wk 7

10.) Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken (Uni/DWA) 3,408 (+*) theaters, Fri $850K (-64%), Sat $1.1M Sun $850K 3-day $2.8M (-49%)/Total $11.6M/ Wk 2

 

 

via Deadline

‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ Takes an Underwhelming Start at the BO!!

Even though Disney/Lucasfilm’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is looking to hit the bottom rung of its tracking projection of $60M Sunday morning, there’s no question this is a disastrous result for the finale to a historically beloved franchise film. C’mon, Indiana Jones is one of the reasons why Disney shelled out $4 billion for Lucasfilm. Global start here at $130M, is $10M less than what we were seeing; Nancy will have more. The fan-loathed Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull had a $272.1M global start, unadjusted for inflation/currency swings back in 2008.

A few things to stomach: Not only did Star Wars bomb Solo open higher than Dial of Destiny, with $84.4M 3-day/$103M 4-day, but so did Paramount’s seventhquel Transformers: Rise of the Beasts ($61M).

How could Disney and Lucasfilm mess this up?

Yesterday, I learned from a key source that Indiana Jones and the Dial Destiny, before $100M in estimated P&A, cost a mindboggling $300M-plus. Much higher than the $250M-$295M that’s been leaked out there. Disney doesn’t comment on budgets, and I’m getting some pushback. But the high price tag here is due to the start and stops of production during Covid, Harrison Ford’s $20M fee, which I’m told director James Mangold got a pretty penny, with Steven Spielberg reaping as is standard a huge producing fee. That said, it stands to reason Disney would invest greatly here to revive a franchise; they spent $259M on Force Awakens. The point is for what the studio spent — they’re not getting anywhere near Star Wars box office results.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny has been destined to live in a Temple of Box Office doom since world premiering at Cannes to lackluster reviews. This resulted in landing like a wet towel on tracking three weeks ago, with projections not budgeting. This despite the fact that Dial of Destiny had a marketing and publicity global campaign louder than The Flash, with the cast doing several interviews and $90M in promotional partners.

It’s baffling that a storied franchise can end on a downer note at the box office in its finale. I found the movie out of Cannes to be too plug-and-play, laden in tropes of the franchise, from the kid sidekick to videogame-like action to it’s his goddaughter (not his dad) as his other sidekick. It completely lacked the breadth and nuance that Steven Spielberg provided in action scenes of the older films. And I’m a James Mangold fan! He knows how to make a styled and dramatically charged movie just like Spielberg, whether it’s Logan, Ford v. Ferrari, or Walk the Line.

I’m not too far off in my take on the film: CinemaScore audiences gave Dial of Destiny a B+, which isn’t that far from the previous unloved 2008 installment, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which landed a B.

So what the hell went wrong here with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny? Lucasfilm is so precious and fastidious when it comes to developing Star Wars properties, and the legend with Indiana Jones is that these movies could never be made unless George Lucas and Spielberg (and Harrison Ford) saw eye-to-eye on the script. Remember all the TLC that J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kadsan took in hatching Force Awakens? There were stories of them walking down NYC streets, going back and forth on storylines. Given the black eye that Lucasfilm took on Last Jedi, Rise of Skywalker, and Solo from fans, they’re careful not to just rush and dump sequels nowadays (thus, the safety of building out the franchise on Disney+), which is why it’s taken them so long to bake the next Star Wars sequels. All of this makes the misfire here with Dial of Destiny so concerning.

The biggest problem with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is that there were no efforts here to cast-it-up and make it appealing to an under-40, diverse crowd, like Paramount did with Top Gun: Maverick. Dial of Destiny was conceived for the hardcore Indy fan, which are dudes over 50. This is evident in the B- that Dial of Destiny received from 18-24 moviegoers. Disney reports that 42% of the audience was under 35 for Dial of Destiny.

I’m told from a few insiders that this movie did not have the behind-the-scenes calamity melodrama of such Lucasfilm titles as Rogue One (which had Tony Gilroy doing reshoots and rewrites on the Gareth Edwards directed film) and Solo: A Star Wars Story (which had the ungracious firing of Lord & Miller and Ron Howard rescue), installments that required major surgery during production. No melodrama meaning everyone got along, with Mangold calling the production and Lucasfilm Boss/Indy producer Kathleen Kennedy and producer Frank Marshall “family” at Cannes. Spielberg loved and signed off on the script by Mangold and his Ford v. Ferrari scribes, Jez and John Henry Butterworth, and that’s a challenging bar to clear.

Yesterday, I heard that several editors were brought in to get this one right. It’s unfortunately apparent here that the sublime which Mangold delivered to the X-Men franchise with the R-rated Logan did not translate here to Indiana Jones.

To date, Indy co-franchise architect George Lucas has remained silent about his thoughts on Dial of Destiny.

I’ve gotten clarity on the whole test-score scuttle bucket thing about inflated test scores. While Disney typically uses a ‘friends and family’ testing system so that no spoilers are leaked in advance; I’m now told Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny never tested. Take what you will from that.

Still, it’s so not like Disney to stick their head out there on a chopping block by launching so-so movies on a global stage when they’re not ready. The studio plots the marketing campaigns for their tentpoles like D-Day. Both of these planned tentpoles’ commercial potential went out the window the minute Disney took them to Cannes. Why did Elemental and Indy go to Cannes? To eventize them to overseas audiences, who aren’t as cynical as U.S. auds when it comes to sizing up a blockbuster. Plus, after Pixar was imprisoned on Disney+ during Covid, Disney had to show the world that family toon brand was truly back on the big screen. True, had both titles skipped Cannes, the band-aid would have been ripped off at some point in time. However, perhaps keeping the lid longer on these lukewarm movies and away from the press would have increased some box office revenue here on this crazy expensive sequel.

But here’s the consistent problem Indiana Jones has had at the box office and with critics, and that is, he’s always been in competition with himself. Raiders of the Lost Ark really blew audiences away back in 1982, bringing new life to the old adventure serial movies. The pic grossed more than $212M in its initial release, and had multiple reissues making its way to $248.1M. That’s been the gold standard against which all Indy sequels have been compared, and well, he generally comes up short. Read on.

I think to this day that part two, 1984’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, is still the best sequel to this day; it’s as edgy as hell. C’mon, it has a villain who pulls hearts of people and makes human sacrifices! It’s a PG movie that prompted the MPA to create a PG-13 rating because it scared the heck out of kids. However, I’ll never forget back then in the whip and buggy days before Rotten Tomatoes that critics loathed the movie. Variety’s then-critic, Deadline’s current, Todd McCarthy slammed Temple of Doom, writing, “The pic comes on like a sledgehammer, and there’s even a taste of vulgarity and senseless excess not apparent in ‘Raiders.’” That sentiment played out at the box office, where Temple of Doom saw its final domestic gross of $179.1M off 15% from Raiders of the Lost Ark‘s first-run gross. Temple of Doom didn’t receive the rereleases at the box office like Raiders did, as it has its fans and nonfans. Spielberg and Lucas were able to please fans with the Sean Connery co-starring Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, which landed an A CinemaScore in 1989 (during the exit poll firm’s early days) and boost domestic box office by 10% to $197.1M.

So why did the critically not-loved Crystal Skull (77% on RT, just like Temple of Doom), wind up being the franchise’s highest grossing film, with a massive $100M-plus opening, and 3x leg out to $317M stateside? Because it was coming off of Last Crusade, which was quite beloved, and there was an appetite from moviegoers to see the sequel because there hadn’t been an Indiana Jones film in close to two decades. But despite its blockbuster success in a stadium-seating, vibrant exhibition era, not many people liked Crystal Skull — hello, B CinemaScore. And that sequel, too, also doted and joked around about Indy going gray. Unlike 007, the same actor has always played Indiana Jones. The franchise’s legacy with Ford has prevented it from being rebooted with a new leading actor.

Which leads us to Dial of Destiny‘s blah results. Why so low? Because it’s coming off of a sequel not many loved, and it’s playing the same game of Indiana Jones getting older. Couple that with sour reviews coming out of Cannes, plus the finale’s older skewing audience (42% over 45) who are slow to come to cinemas, and here we are with a less-than-stellar box office result.

While Comscore/Screen Engine’s PostTrak exits show a 93% recommending Dial of Destiny (combined from the yes or probably recommend category) and 8% not recommending, dig further in this AM’s report and you’ll find a more-telling stat about how no one is rushing to Dial of Destiny: Only 9% heard it was good from friends and family.

Here’s the box office surprise no one was expecting this summer: At an opening of $61M, Paramount’s long-in-the-tooth franchise sequel Transformers: Rise of the Beasts opened higher than these high-gloss sequels, including Dial of Destiny and The Flash. The latter DC film counts a running total at end of weekend 3 of $99.2M; that’s 19% behind the running total of Rise of the Beasts at the same point in time. OMG. Rise of the Beasts currently has a running total of $136.1M at end of weekend 4. Can Indy even out-gross Rise of the Beasts by the end of the summer? Who the hell knew we’d be having this conversation??

Dial of Destiny‘s problems, to a certain degree, aren’t that different from Flash‘s: More than Ezra Miller’s lack of publicity on that DC film and tabloid dilemmas, that DC movie at the end of the day was a B CinemaScore film and way too long at 2 hours and 24 minutes. Dial of Destiny has a similar grade and is also too long at 2 hours and 34 minutes.

More diagnostics on Dial of Destiny:

–PostTrak’s audience is 79% and four stars. The leading guy 25+ ticket buyers at 43% are giving it a 77% grade. That’s not good. Overall, men at a 58% turnout are giving a 74% grade.

–Here’s what’s interesting: Even though 10% came to see Phoebe Waller-Bridge as the female lead in the movie, women like Dial of Destiny better than men with a 85% grade. Women over 25, who showed up at 35%, give it an 86%.

–The older Dial of Destiny‘s audience gets, the better the grades with the 45-55 sect (19% turnout) giving it 83% and the over 55 people (at 23%) giving it 89%.

–Diversity demos weren’t that diverse with 54% Caucasian (79% grade), 18% Latino and Hispanic (80% grade), Black at 10% (73% grade), and Asian 13% (80% grade).

—Dial of Destiny played best in the West, Mountain and Mid-West. PLF, Imax, Screen Box, D box driving 35% of the weekend to date. Broken down that’s 21% from PLF, 11% from Imax, 3% from combined 4D, D-box and Screen X. Disney’s El Capitan in Los Angeles is the top grossing theater so far with $114K running cume through end of Friday.

All tickets sales for movies are at $125M off 34% from a year ago per Comscore, which was led by Universal/Illumination’s Minions: Rise of Gru with $140.6M over its holiday Friday-Tuesday (July 4th fell on a Monday). Indiana Jones is expected to be around $82M over its five days, around -40% less Minions take last year — who’da thunk?

1.) Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Dis) 4,600 theaters, Fri $24M, Sat $19M, Sun $17M 3-day $60M/Wk 1

2.) Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony) 3,405 (-380) theaters, Fri $3.4M (-40%) Sat $4.3M Sun $3.7M 3-day $11.5M (-39%)/Total $339.8M /Wk 5

2.) Elemental (Dis) 3,650 (-385) theaters, Fri $3.4M (-40%), Sat $4.2M, Sun $3.7M 3-day $11.3M (-40%), Total $88.7M/Wk 3

4.) No Hard Feelings (Sony) 3,208 theaters, Fri $2.3M (-63%) Sat $2.8M Sun $2.4M 3-day $7.5M (-50%), Total $29.3M /Wk 2

5.) Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (Par) 2,852 (-671) theaters, Fri $1.92M (-40%) Sat $2.7M Sun $2.3M 3-day $7M (-40%), Total $136.1M/Wk 4

6.) Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken (Uni/DWA) 3,400 theaters, Fri $2.3M, Sat $1.6M Sun $1.2M 3-day $5.3M/Wk 1
Yikes, this movie is opened lower than Paws of Fury last summer. The results here make Strange World‘s 3-day of $12M look like a blockbuster. Just kidding. But seriously, we can’t take potshots at Pixar and ignore the fact here that a DreamWorks movie which cost $70M before P&A tanked. What’s the lesson here? Don’t make animated movies that have unknown protags in the title, and animation that looks like Strange World. Ruby Gillman‘s few moviegoers gave it a surprising A- CinemaScore, the same as last summer’s Paws of Fury. For the record, it’s higher than the B which Strange World got. PostTrak exits, which are always harder than CinemaScore, at 68% positive, however, kids under 12 said 91%. Moms leading, of course at 52% females, 64% between 18-34, biggest demo being 18-24 at 42%. The mix of audience was 39% White, 33% Latino and Hispanic, 11% Black, & 17% Asian/other. Kraken played strongest in the South, South Central & West. AMC Burbank best theater in the nation for the film with an awful take near $5k through EOD Friday.

7.) The Little Mermaid (Dis) 2,430 (-845) theaters, Fri $1.55M (-42%) Sat $1.9M Sun $1.7M 3-day $5.15M (-37%)/Total $280.9M Wk 6

8.) The Flash (WB) 2,718 (-1,538) theaters, Fri $1.4M (-68%), Sat $1.9M Sun $1.6M 3-day $5.15M (-67%), Total $99.2M/Wk 3

9.) Asteroid City (Foc) 1,901 (+226) theaters, Fri $1.18M (-69%), Sat $1.5M, Sun $1.12M 3-day $3.8M (-58%), Total $18.1M/Wk 3

10.) Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 3 (Dis) 1,165 (-845) theaters, Fri $525K Sat $725K Sun $550K 3-day $1.8M /Total $354.8M/Wk 9

11. The Boogeyman (Dis/20th) 1,020 (-620) theaters, Fri $575K (-29%), Sat $650K Sun $475K 3-day $1.7M (-29%) Total $40.8M/Wk 5

via Deadline

‘Spider-Verse’ Returns to Top, ‘No Hard Feelings’ Opens Strong as ‘The Flash’ Collapses at the BO!!

Somewhere across the multiverse, “The Flash,” once touted by its own studio as “one of the greatest superhero movies of all time,” should be towering over the box office with ease in its second weekend of release.

But in this universe, audiences are flat-out rejecting the Warner Bros. movie, starring Ezra Miller as the eponymous, timeline-spanning speedster. Rather than taking a victory lap, the DC comic book adventure is cratering in third place behind holdovers “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” and Pixar’s “Elemental” and ever-so-slightly ahead of Jennifer Lawrence’s new R-rated comedy “No Hard Feelings.”

Over the weekend, “The Flash” suffered a brutal 73% decline in its second weekend with $15.3 million from 4,265 North American theaters. That’s a far bigger drop than recent DC adaptations like “Black Adam” (59%) and “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” (69%), which ended up as notable money losers for the studio.

In the case of “The Flash,” it’s a catastrophic result for the $200 million-budgeted tentpole because it signals that ticket sales won’t rebound in its theatrical run. So far, the film has generated a lousy $87 million at the domestic box office and $123.3 million internationally, bringing the worldwide total to $210.9 million.

Part of the problem is the new leaders at DC Comics, James Gunn and Peter Safran, have announced plans to reset the flailing comic book universe. As a result, audiences are feeling ambivalent about lame-duck tentpoles like “The Flash.” That’s unfortunate for the two remaining DC entries in limbo, “Blue Beetle” (Aug. 18) and Jason Momoa’s “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” (Dec. 20).

Overall, it’s a chaotic weekend at the box office as Sony’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” returned to the No. 1 spot (in its fourth weekend of release, no less) with a mighty $19.3 million. It’s rare that a film returns to the top of charts this far into its theatrical run, especially in the heat of summer movie season. So far, “Across the Spider-Verse” has generated $316 million in North America and $560 million globally.

The “Spider-Verse” sequel narrowly beat out Disney and Pixar’s animated “Elemental,” which remained in second place with $18.5 million. That brings its domestic tally to $65 million and global total to $121 million. Ticket sales in its sophomore outing were stronger than anticipated, dropping only 37% from the prior weekend. Unfortunately for “Elemental,” it landed (by far) the worst start in modern history for Pixar. So it’ll need to remain the de facto choice for family audiences to justify its $200 million price tag and restore a little confidence in the Pixar brand.

Lawrence’s raunchy comedy “No Hard Feelings” opened in fourth place with $15 million from 3,208 venues. It’s not a bad result for a contemporary theatrical comedy, but analysts were expecting more from the $45 million-budgeted Sony movie that stars one of the biggest names in Hollywood. Earlier this year, for example, Universal’s wild R-rated “Cocaine Bear” managed to collect $23.2 million in its opening weekend without the promise of household names on the marquee.

Directed by Gene Stupnitsky, “No Hard Feelings” pulled in $9.5 million from 48 markets at the international box office. That’s a promising turnout because broad comedies tend to have limited overseas appeal.

“No Hard Feelings” stars Lawrence as a down-on-her-luck Uber driver who accepts a Craigslist ad to “date” an introverted 19-year-old boy (newcomer Andrew Barth Feldman) before he goes to college. Audiences mostly liked the film, which landed a “B+” CinemaScore.

“‘No Hard Feelings” wasn’t cheap to make at $45 million before marketing costs,” says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “That’s a big number at these box office levels.”

Rounding out the top five, Paramount’s “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” added $11.6 million from 3,523 theaters, a 44% decline in its third weekend. To date, the seventh “Transformers” installment has earned $122.9 million at the domestic box office and $218 million internationally. It cost $200 million to produce.

Elsewhere at the domestic box office, Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City” scored $9 million as it expanded to 1,675 theaters over the weekend. That’s a career-high for Anderson, the filmmaker of arthouse favorites like “The Royal Tenenbaums” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel.” By comparison, his latest feature, 2021’s “The French Dispatch,” brought in $2.5 million when it broadened its footprint to a similar number of theaters.

The 1950s-set “Asteroid City” takes place as a cosmic event disrupts a fictional desert town. The film stars Scarlett Johansson, Jason Schwartzman, Maya Hawke, Bryan Cranston and dozens of other Anderson regulars. Audiences — 64% were 35 years or younger — gave the film a so-so “B” CinemaScore.

“It’s fantastic to see the best weekend that Wes Anderson has ever had at the box office reignite the specialty marketplace,” says Lisa Bunnell, president of distribution at Focus Features. “The opening of ‘Asteroid City’ the past two weekends has been incredibly encouraging and inspiring.”

 

via Variety

‘The Flash’ Off to a Dismissal Start at the BO!!

There are a lot of lessons to be learned this weekend. But chief among them is what it’s like for a major motion picture studio to open a movie with largely a number of its cast, primarily its main star, not available to do press.

That was the big looming question which was on everyone’s minds in the wake of Ezra Miller’s tabloid laden 2020-2022 in regards to Warner Bros. DC’s $200M The Flash, and now we have our answer as the pic is opening to $55.1M over 3-days and $64M for the 4-day Juneteenth holiday weekend at 4,234 theaters, below Warner’s $70M-$75M 3-day expectations. 3-day projections just kept losing speed for this Andy Muschietti-directed movie.

Should the movie have gone straight to Warners streaming service, Max? Absolutely not. They need to make as much money as they can, and that’s through windows.

With a SAG-AFTRA strike authorization in place should talks go sideways, and actors not permitted to do press in those situations, the studios, streamers, etc. may want to think twice before playing notorious hardball, as this is what happens when your cast isn’t available to promote a major motion picture.

Already, San Diego Comic-Con is in check with the unavailability of TV series creators. Warners didn’t lean on Miller for The Flash‘s press tour, the star making his first Hollywood appearance post-legal troubles at the Monday night premiere of The Flash, which was limited to a red carpet photo call (not video or press interviews, except a couple of bloggers). But a majority of the cast weren’t available for 360-degrees press, we hear.

Know that late night shows going dark during the WGA Strike also compounded Warner’s woes here. While Keaton showed up at screenings for a Q&A in London and Paris, and tub thumped the movie on social, he was busy shooting Beetlejuice 2 for Warner Bros. Sasha Calle, who plays Supergirl, did do press down in Miami and Texas. Where was Ben Affleck? Late night TV provides a fun, not to mention a controlled environment, where talent can sidestep any sticky conversations. The reason why many didn’t sit down with a bulk of press is so that they didn’t have to be on the hook for fielding uncomfortable questions about the leading star of the film, Miller. The Flash also didn’t have a $80M-$100M-plus promotional partner campaign like most of these tentpoles do (that said, they had some partners, i.e. Puma with its Flash sneakers), which is essential when it comes to cutting through the noise of summer and opening a movie to big numbers.

But there’s something else going on here with The Flash, billed by co-DC Boss James Gunn back in January as “probably one of the greatest superhero movies ever made.” And that’s that moviegoers disagree, giving it a B CinemaScore and 77% on Comscore/Screen Engine PostTrak exits, with a 59% recommend. That buzz, coupled with the fact that The Flash is very male-heavy and not pulling in as many women as Aquaman and Wonder Woman, is slowing it down.

What about the whole multi-universe stuff and bringing back Michael Keaton’s Batman? To the average joe moviegoer, what The Flash is at the end of the day is a movie about a deeper universe DC character, and that’s The Flash. Going deep universe on a superhero movie comes with the risk of posting less than $100M-plus openings, and yes, franchises have to start somewhere, i.e. Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger ($65M) and Thor ($65.7M). Aquaman may have posted a $67.8M 3-day, but it was launched over a Christmas holiday, and with previews started with $105.4M over 5-days off an A- CinemaScore. However, you’ll notice heading into the weekend that Warner Bros. DC didn’t announce Flash 2 with filmmaker Andy Muschietti. Rather, they announced that he’s set to direct Gunn and co-DC Boss Peter Safran’s new Batman, Brave and the Bold.

Look, no studio is envying the position that Warners has been in with The Flash, and rivals and marketing peers praise the Burbank, CA lot for running the best campaign possible, with fun trailers that sold the movie chiefly on its superhero, The Flash, plus the return of Michael Keaton’s Batman. No one is blaming Warners for tying their shoes together and falling down here.

To get the word out, Warners spent big on trailers. iSpot, which monitors what studios shell out on U.S. TV spots (and again, this is just one facet of the The Flash‘s overall marketing campaign expense), shows Warners shelling out $31.3M on spots for the Miller movie, which pulled in 1.07 billion impressions. That’s more in iSpot metrics than what Disney spent on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ($24.3M) and Elemental ($12.9M), more than what Paramount expensed on Transformers: Rise of the Beasts ($17.2M), and 3x more than what Sony spent on Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ($10.9M). The top networks for Flash spots by impressions were ABC, ESPN, TNT, Fox, and NBC, while top shows for the DC movie spots were NBA games, SportsCenter, NFL (remember Warners took out a Super Bowl spot), men’s college basketball, and the Today show.

The Flash played best in the South Central and West. Warners has Imax on the film, and together with PLFs, we hear both formats are driving 42% of the pic’s gross. The best theater in the country for the DC movie is AMC Burbank with close to $93K so far this weekend, including early shows.

Other takeaways from this weekend:

As expected, not just Flash, but Disney/Pixar’s Elemental was neither fire nor glamorous ice, with $29.5M 3-day after a Friday around $11.8M. 4-day eyed at $33.3M at 4,035 theaters. We always knew after the sour reviews out of Cannes this Pixar movie about denizens in a fire and ice world wasn’t going to wow. The entire concept has been hard to win kids and families. But even more so, the film feels like a diluted version of the spirited existential stuff we’ve seen from the Emeryville, CA studio with Inside Out and Soul. Very same old, same old. You knew this was going to be bad when we heard about all those layoffs. Who knew we would be living in an era where Illumination would trump Pixar in grosses? Pixar and Disney Animation are indeed still looking to fill the creative hole left behind after John Lasseter’s exit.

Nonetheless, Elemental gets an “A” CinemaScore plus good PostTrak exits of 85% positive and 68% recommend. Kids under 12 liked it at 92% positive, 62% recommend. We knew it was always mom-leaning, with 63% women showing up and 66% between 18-34. Great diversity mix with 32% Latino/Hispanic, 30% Caucasian, 25% Asian/other, and 13% Black. Elemental played strongest in the middle of the country and the West. Elemental had a few PLFs driving 6% of weekend tickets sales, while 3D is repping close to 17%. The El Capitan in Hollywood is the top-grossing theater with north of $41K so far (including previews).

The four-day box office with all these holdovers like Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (also potential $27.8M 3-day in weekend 3, $32.4M 4-day at 3,873) is propelling the overall weekend box office to $192M weekend. That’s still something for the exhibition business to be happy about with all this product in the market, despite the lowers starts for Flash and Elemental.

Lionsgate’s The Blackening did $2.5M on Friday for what will be $6M over 3-days in 6th place at 1,775 theaters. The Tim Story-directed horror comedy gets a  B+ CinemaScore and PostTrak of 81% positive, and a 64% recommend. 50/50 male-female draw with 60% between 18-34 years old, and the largest demo being 18-24 at 31%. The audience mix was 27% White, 14% Latino, 53% Black, & 5% Asian/Other. Blackening played strongest in the East, South & Midwest.

A great blaze here at arthouses, as Focus Features’ Wes Anderson movie, Asteroid City, is posting a massive $132K theater average — the best post pandemic, as the pic is set to do $790K at six NYC and LA Theaters and $890K over the four-day. The Tom Hanks, Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Jeff Goldblum, Edward Norton ensemble is booked at the newly reopened Sunset 5, which Landmark took over, AMC Centurty City, AMC Burbank, Angelika NY, Alamo Brooklyn, AMC LSQ. Good news for arthouse in L.A. The Landmark Sunset 5 led the pack (a full theatre takeover) with an impressive $80K on Friday alone (Pic’s total Friday was $350K).

Chart as of Sunday AM

1.) The Flash (WB) 4,234 theaters Fri $24.5M,Sat $15.7M Sun $14.9M Mon $8.9M 3-day $55.1M, 4-day $64M/Wk 1

2.) Elemental (Dis) 4,035 theaters, Fri $11.8M, Sat $9.8M Sun $7.9M Mon $3.83M 3-day $29.5M, 4-day $33.3M/Wk 1

3) Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse (Sony) 3,873 (-459) theaters, Fri $8.1M Sat $10.1M Sun $9.5M $4.6M 3-day $27.8M (-50%)/4-day $32.4M Total $285M/Wk 3

4.) Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (Par) 3,680 (+2) theaters, Fri $5.2M, Sat $7.5M Sun $7.2M Mon $3M 3-day $20M (-67%), 4-day $23M, Total $103.6M /Wk 2

5.) The Little Mermaid (Dis) 3,480 (-840) theaters, Fri $3.7M Sat $4.4M Sun $3.5M Mon $1.74M 3 day $11.6M (-50%), 4-day $13.3M Total $255.2M/Wk 4

6.) The Blackening (LG) 1,775 theaters, Fri $2.5M Mon $1M 3-day $6M, 4-day $7M/Wk 1

7.) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Dis), 2,260 (-915) theaters, Fri $1.3M Sat $1.85M Sun $1.85M Mon $750K 3-day $5M (-31%), 4-day $5.75M Total $345.1M/ Wk 7

8.) The Boogeyman (20th/Dis) 2,140 (-1,065) theaters, Fri $1.2M, Sat $1.45M Sun $1.15M Mon $550K 3-day $3.8M (-46%), 4-day $4.35M/Total $33.1M/ Wk 3

9.) Fast X (Uni) 1,500 (-1,272) theaters Fri $540K Sat $760K Sun $720K Mon $320K 3-day $2M (-62%) 4-day $2.3M Total $142.7M/ Wk 5

10) Andripurush (Telegu) 550 theaters, Fri $1.4M, Sat $330K, Sun $220K, Mon $110K, 3-day $1.95M, 4-day $2M/Wk 1

Notables
Asteroid City (Foc) 6 theaters, Fri $350K Sat $250K Sun $190K Mon $100K 3-day $790K PTA $132K 4-day $890K/Wk 1

 

via Deadline

‘Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts’ Takes Over ‘Spider-Verse’ with $60M+ Opening at the BO!!

After a Saturday of $19.3M, -25% from Friday, Paramount/Skydance/Hasbro’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts has taken the weekend with $60.5M. This despite Sony Animation’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse winning Saturday with $21.2M, +26% over Friday, for a second weekend of $55.4M.

With a running cume of $225.5M, the sequel has already beaten the domestic take of the original 2018 Oscar-winning animated pic, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which did $190.2M. Still, at a -54% second weekend hold, that’s fantastic for a Marvel movie, after you consider a bulk of the Disney MCU titles have tumbled -60% to -70% in the post-pandemic era (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is the exception of late with a -48% second weekend hold).

Working in Rise of the Beasts’ favor to dominate over Across the Spider-Verse were those $8.8M previews, which were from Wednesday and Thursday showtimes.

What about the air quality in the Northeast? Did that throw a monkey-wrench into business? Possibly. The good news is that no theaters were forced to close. Rise of the Beasts overperformed in the West, South-central and Southeast, but under-indexed in the Northeast (the pic takes place in New York City). Canada drove 6.9% of the pic’s business, and the air quality issues there because of the wildfires may have impacted box office here as well. Major markets that over-indexed include L.A., Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix, and San Antonio, while major markets that under-indexed include Boston, Denver, and Minneapolis. Top theaters came from L.A., Phoenix, Atlanta, NY, Baltimore, Atlanta, Fresno, Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, Austin, and Miami.

Global start for Rise of the Beasts at $170.5M, with $40M coming from China.

“There’s a love for this franchise, that’s why there’s been as many films as there’s been,” said Paramount domestic distribution boss Chris Aronson this AM about the Steven Caple Jr.– directed sequel, “We’ve made a movie that was uber-satisfying for the audience.”

It should also be noted that Bumblebee, though owning the lowest opening in the Transformers franchise at $21.6M, laid the groundwork for introducing a more heartfelt tone to the crash, bang, boom protagonists. It’s part of the reason why we’re seeing a lift here in Rise of the Beasts. It’s important to note that Transformers movies typically open on their own weekend in a summer, and Bumblebee was a Christmas play serving as counter-programming and third fiddle to Warner Bros DC’s Aquaman.

Get this: Box office data firm EntTelligence is calling a tie in regards to admissions between Rise of the Beasts and Across the Spider-Verse with 4.3M apiece. How’s that? The photo-finish ranking vs box office can be attributed to pricing and availability with premium seating: Transformers had an average ticket price of $13.51, and saw 31% premium foot traffic, while Spider-Verse had an average ticket price of $12.49 and premium foot traffic of 9% (this despite Transformers having 399 Imax grossing $6.4M and 700 PLF screens).

EntTelligence also shows:

Both films with a family appeal had similar Saturday foot traffic patterns.

	TRANFORMERS	SPIDER-MAN
Pre 1PM	14%	15%
1PM to 5PM	31%	33%
5PM to 8PM	31%	31%
Post 8PM	24%	21%

There’s a lot to be happy about in the theatrical marketplace: People talk about franchise and superhero fatigue: That didn’t occur this weekend at the box office. A 16-year old cinema franchise based on a near 40-year old toy was able to revive interest in moviegoers and its fanbase after the movie series saw some of its lowest openings in its history.

On the comic book movie side, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is zooming toward a 3x multiple off its $118M opening weekend after we thought summer was off to a slow start, and Spider-Verse is injecting extra adrenaline into the box office, not just with its hold, but in regards to revolutionizing the superhero sub-genre. Yes, true, Warner Bros DC has the long-awaited The Flash next weekend, with its tabloid headline star Ezra Miller (who is not part of the press tour), and that’s only expected to open to $75M. Let’s wait and see where grosses go: the Rotten Tomatoes reviews are at 71% fresh off 117 reviews. Aquaman, the highest-grossing DC movie of all-time at $1.1 billion WW, notched 65% with Rotten Tomatoes critics.

Still, for two movies which are big draws among diverse demos to battle it out is a great thing for the marketplace. And it’s a sign that the summer box office is in full bloom. However, with all films grossing $164M this weekend, -1% from the same frame in pre-pandemic 2019, the question remains how counterprogramming and smaller films can fight their way through. That haggard argument that it’s about product stands tried and true: No one wants to see movies that look like they can be viewed at home on a streaming menu, read The Machine, About My Father (both of which lost north of 1,400 theaters in third weekend), and Kandahar. The arthouse will thrive off of vibrant, edgy, hipster fare like Everything Everywhere All at Once proved after Covid. What about Ticket to Paradise? New Julia Roberts and George Clooney romcoms aren’t available at home; that’s why that worked.

However, wait a second, talk about filling the void at the box office: A24 did it again this weekend with Past Lives. The Celine Song– directed love story starring Greta Lee had one of the best second weekend expansions in recent memory, definitely of the year, jumping up 22 theaters to 26 for a $520K second weekend take (+124%), or $20K theater average, which is bigger than Rise of the Beasts and Spider-Verse‘s theater average this weekend.

The pic, which counts a running total of $867K through ten days, is one of the best-reviewed of the year (97% Rotten Tomatoes) and will continue its rollout on June 23. A24 had another Asian American and Asian arthouse success back in pre-pandemic July 2019 with the Awkwafina drama, The Farewell, which had a similar launch: The pic bowed to $355K at four theaters in weekend one and moved up to 35 theaters in weekend two earning $1.1M. The Farewell finaled its stateside gross at $17.6M. Remember, the current arthouse space is missing goldmines such as the Hollywood Arclight in LA.

 

via Deadline

‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ Scores the Second-Biggest Debut of the Year at the BO!!

When Paramount lost Marvel to Disney, any even distribution of franchises among the major studios was disrupted. However, Sony’s reported $7M acquisition of Marvel’s Spider-Man franchise back in 1998 has continued to immensely pay off, no more evident than this weekend, as Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse posted an exceptional and $120.5M opening — one which tracking didn’t see coming, but exhibition did in advance ticket sales– making it the best start for a summer tentpole YTD (beating Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3‘s $118.4M) and the third-best opening for a Spider-Man movie (after No Way Home‘s $260.1M and Spider-Man 3‘s $151.1M). Global start here for Spider-Verse is $208.6M, well above the $150M we forecast, with China delivering $17.3M.

Among all animated pic domestic openings, Spider-Verse is sixth behind Incredibles 2 ($182.6M), Super Mario Bros ($146.3M), Finding Dory ($135M), Frozen 2 ($130.2M) and Toy Story 4 ($120.9M). The Marvel sequel reps the best start ever for Sony Animation.

Talk about growth in dollars and growth in audience for a subset of a major superhero franchise. But Across the Spider-Verse‘s domestic opening here is 241% ahead of the first movie, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse‘s $35.3M. Reports EntTelligence on admissions this morning for Spider-Verse: “The film is estimated to pull in well over 9M patrons this weekend.  (Aside from Super Mario, this is the most attended three-day period for a film since last summer)”. It’s also a remarkable opening for an animated movie which is at an ungodly length of 2 hours and 20 minutes.

After Super Mario Bros delivered a huge Easter, look out for next year’s holiday, because that’s when part three of this Sony Animation franchise, Beyond The Spider-Verse, hits on March 29.

Sony knew this movie was always a linchpin for them, and have been shouting from the rooftops about it since CinemaCon April 2022. That’s when they showed off the first 15 minutes of the movie to exhibition — and that’s after they moved the release date from Oct. 7 last year to this weekend because of the Covid post-production logjam.

Producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller, as well as filmmakers Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson, attempted a whole new animation style that would one-up the previous installment, which earned an Oscar for Best Animated Film. There’s no words to describe it, but it’s not rotoscoping. However, it has something to do with character lighting (reflecting different Spideys onscreen feelings) and redrawing over images, again to harken back to the look of the original Spider-Man comics.

Highlights of Sony’s campaign (arguably what will be their biggest movie of 2023) includes assembling a “Spider Society Ambassador Program.” What’s that? A program that recruited 200 celebrities, influencers, and fans across the globe into tubthumping the sequel to an audience of 994M. This included such people as Bad Bunny, Guillermo del Toro, Steph Curry, Rihanna, Beyonce, Tiffany Haddish, Priyanka and Nick Jonas. Highlights of how the studio rolled that out below:

.@sanbenito stans, rise up for the special #Spidersona we created for him! #SpiderVerse pic.twitter.com/rY7Jiyzjqz

— Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (@SpiderVerse) March 31, 2023

5 out of 5 stars for @RealGDT, the newest #Spidersona. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #SpiderVerse pic.twitter.com/M31tJix7px

— Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (@SpiderVerse) March 31, 2023

 

Three promo partners created animated spots or custom created animated content. That included Burger King, Nike and Hyundai. Partners also spent over $20 million in outdoor media across the globe.

Nike/Jordan Brand took the Jordan Brand and merged its iconic style with Miles Morales. In the film, Miles wears both classic AJ1 shoes and a newly designed AJ1 HI OG “Next Chapter” shoe, which the Jordan Brand released limited editions for purchase. Those sold out within the hour of launch. They also purchased key billboards, including a 3D board in Times Square, and created an outdoor and digital campaign featuring Metro Boomin and his siblings.

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A post shared by Jordan (@jumpman23)

The animated pic had an auto partner, which is unheard of with Hyundai Motors. Sony Pictures’ strategic car partner implemented a multi-dimensional marketing campaign across 25 markets. Filmmakers and Hyundai design teams teamed to create and integrate future mobility systems in the film’s 2099 Nueva York, and depict a flying version of Hyundai Motor’s Prophecy concept EV for the film. Sony Pictures and Hyundai Motor also collaborated on a brand new, animated TV commercial that featured Spider-Man, IONIQ 6, and IONIQ 5, with new music from the soundtrack. Hyundai did stunted executions in many markets. In the Shibuya area of Tokyo they dominated the area by purchasing 13 separate billboards. In London and Seoul they created an experiential build.

New @SpiderVerse Hyundai commercial dropped today featuring “Link Up” feat @DonToliver. Soundtrack dropping June 2nd featuring all original songs inspired by the film. #Metroverse 🕷️ pic.twitter.com/wEVg9bdsE0

— Metro Boomin (@MetroBoomin) May 15, 2023

Burger King created a Spider-Verse meal featuring a red bun with black seeds, custom packaging, and a Kids Meal program. They have also transformed six locations around the world into the world of Spider-Verse, including fully re-theming select locations. The red bun launched on May 15 and within the week in the US, all major cities sold out of the bun.

Fortnight and Free Fire were the sequel’s digital gaming partners, reaching more than 400 million players per month. Their programs included custom skins of the pic, character inclusion, and clips from the film.

Sony teamed with Amazon to create a Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Alexa Theme Pack, in which Miles Morales is dropped into the “Alexa-verse.” Once enabled on an Alexa device, the Spider-Verse theme pack featured customized prompts with Spider-Man related responses, visuals, and audio bites from the movie, a 3D Miles Morales avatar, an AR video call Spider-Man mask, and a scan-for-tickets QR function.

Is this the Alexa-verse? 🕷️ Enable the exclusive @alexa99 theme by saying "Alexa, enter the Spider-Verse" on your Echo device for movie tickets, weather, timers, alarms, jokes, and more. pic.twitter.com/pIJPRTSieq

— Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (@SpiderVerse) May 17, 2023

Broadcast cross-promos included turning ESPN SportsCenter into “Spider-Center,” as NFL 49er George Kittle and ESPN’s Stan Verrett and Ashley Brew competed over who was the #1 Spider-Man fan.

On Cartoon Network, Spider-Mania took over, as kids amped up to see the pic were donning their Spider-gear, showing off Spider-abilities, etc.

There was an enormous outdoor advertising campaign around the globe, including, but not limited to, dynamic 3D anamorphic large-format digital screens showing Miles and Gwen breaking the plain and traversing through the Spider-Verse:

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A post shared by Spider-Verse (@spiderversemovie)

The sequel’s second trailer at the time of its drop clocked the most for a summer film with 148.6 million views in a 24-hour period, beating Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (116.9 million) and The Flash (81.6 million). It was also the highest-viewed second trailer for all recent Marvel films in a 24-hour period.

Updated diagnostics on Spider-Verse: an A CinemaScore (surprise, surprise), which still isn’t bad next to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse‘s A+. An 82% definite recommendation from Comscore/Screen Engine PostTrak audiences is bigger than Spider-Man: Far Away From Home, Minions: Rise of Gru, and Sonic the Hedgehog, among others. Top cities were LA, NYC, Dallas, San Francisco and Chicago. Top theaters (for 2 day grosses) were AMC Burbank ($253K), AMC Empire NYC ($246K), AMC Century City ($225K), AMC Lincoln Square NYC ($221K), AMC Orange CA ($200K), and the Irvine Spectrum ($190K).

Saturday came in at $37.4M for Spider-Verse, -28% from Friday/previews’ $51.85M (revised), with Sunday factored at $31.25M. The movie played solid throughout all dayparts, per EntTelligence, with 31% of the traffic between 1 p.m.-5 p.m., 29% between 5 p.m.-8 p.m., and 23% after 8 p.m. Combined PLFs and Imax drove 33% of the weekend. Imax delivered $20M WW for Spider-Verse which reps the third-highest worldwide start for a Sony movie in Imax ever, and the second-highest animated pic opening of all-time for Imax behind Super Mario Bros’ $21M. Some 401 Imax U.S./Canada screens delivered $13.5M, or 11.2% of the weekend opening.

“’With Spider-Verse, the film’s incredible creative team and Sony have created one of the most visually dazzling franchises in cinema, and we are excited to see audiences overwhelmingly choose IMAX to experience it,” said Rich Gelfond, CEO of Imax, in a statement. “Both from Hollywood and thriving international film industries like Japan, animation has emerged as a powerful engine of growth for our global box office, and we are focused on capitalizing on this opportunity as filmmakers continue to raise the bar for the genre.”

The top five Sony Imax openings are all from Spider-Man movies, with Spider-Verse joining Spider-Man: No Way Home, Far From Home, Homecoming and The Amazing Spider-Man.

Chart below—Fathom title popped into the top 10 after a one-night-only play, pushing Open Road/Briarcliff Entertainment’s Kandahar to No. 11 with $765K.

1) Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony) 4,313 theaters, Fri $51.8M, Sat $37.4M Sun $31.25M 3-day $120.5M/Wk 1

2.) The Little Mermaid (Dis) 4,320 theaters, Fri $11.8M (-69%) Sat $16.2M Sun $12.6M 3 day $40.6M (-57%) Total $186.2M/Wk 2

3.) The Boogeyman (20th/Dis) 3,205 theaters, Fri $4.8M, Sat $4.4M Sun $3.1m 3-day $12.3M/Wk 1

4.) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Dis) 3,580 (-360) theaters, Fri $2.9M (-48%), Sat $4.4M Sun $2.9M 3-day $10.2M (-51%) Total $322.7M/ Wk 5

5.) Fast X (Uni) 3,467 (-621) theaters Fri $2.6M (-59%) Sat $3.8M Sun $2.7M 3-day $9.2M (-60%) Total $128.4M/ Wk 3

6.) Super Mario Bros (Uni) 2,344 (-804) theaters, Fri $940K Sat $1.38M Sun $1M 3-day $3.35M (-48%), Total $566.2M/Wk 9

7.) About My Father (LG) 2,464 theaters, Fri $576K, Sat $883K Sun $641K 3-day $2.1M (-51%), Total $8.8M/Wk 2

8.) The Machine (Sony/Leg) 2,409 theaters, Fri $535K (-76%), Sat $700K Sun $515K 3 day $1.75M (-65%) Total $8.7M/ Wk 2

9.) SUGA-Agust D Tour ‘D-Day’ in Japan: Live VI (Fathom) Sat $1.24M/Wk 1

10.) You Hurt My Feelings (A24) 912 theaters Fri $195,7K (-59%) Sat $318K Sun $255K 3-day $769K (-45%), Total $3/Wk 2

‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ Dethroned ‘Frozen’ to Become Second Biggest Animated Film of All Time!!

As it nears the end of its remarkable theatrical run, Universal’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie has passed what might be its final major milestone at the box office. The animated video game adaptation has been playing in theaters worldwide for about two months now, and during this time, it has broken numerous box office records. But earlier this week, Super Mario achieved its biggest feat yet, as it passed Frozen to become the second-biggest animated movie of all time at the global box office.

With $560 million at the domestic box office and a further $727 million from overseas territories, Super Mario has now made a staggering $1.288 billion worldwide, overtaking Frozen’s $1.284 billion haul from a decade ago. The movie now trails only Frozen 2 on the all-time chart, but it will have to pull off some kind of miracle to overtake that film’s $1.45 billion lifetime global haul. That being said, however, there is still one major record that Super Mario has a realistic chance at breaking. If it hangs on for just a little while longer, it could actually overtake Incredibles 2’s $608 million lifetime haul to become the biggest animated movie of all time at the domestic box office.

In these last two months, Super Mario outperformed every Pixar movie ever released, as well as every DreamWorks film, every Blue Sky film, and every Illumination film. To put things in context, it has out-grossed each entry from the far more established Toy Story, Shrek, Despicable Me, Kung Fu Panda and Ice Age franchises. And in addition to being the highest-grossing movie of the year (by far), Super Mario is also the biggest video game adaptation of all time. Directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, the new animated movie received mixed reviews, but successfully managed to attract diverse demographics, including young children and their parents.

‘Super Mario‘ Has Broken Numerous Records in its Theatrical Run

The movie landed in theaters in the first week of April, and pretty much dominated that entire month. It was projected to open to around $130 million across the extended five-day holiday weekend, but ultimately ended up grossing $204 million domestically. It topped the weekend box office charts four times in a row, and outdid expectations on each of those occasions. It was finally dethroned by Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in the first week of May, but continued to deliver stellar holds for the next few weeks. In fact, it fell by only 33% its last weekend — its eighth — as it added $6.4 million domestically, even though it’s been available on digital for a couple of weeks.

Super Mario marks yet another win for Illumination; the animation house has now released three movies that have grossed more than $1 billion worldwide, including Minions ($1.157 billion) and Despicable Me 3 ($1.032 billion). It is also another feather in star Chris Pratt’s hat; he previously led the smash-hit Jurassic World, The Lego Movie and Guardians of the Galaxy franchises. Super Mario is expected to spawn yet another franchise for Illumination, joining the ranks of Despicable Me, Sing and The Secret Life of Pets series. The movie also features Charlie Day, Anya Taylor-Joy, Keegan-Michael Key, Seth Rogen, Jack Black and Fred Armisen.

 

via Collider

‘The Little Mermaid’ Topples ‘Fast X’ from Top Spot at the BO!!

According to industry estimates, The Little Mermaid pulled in a $30m Saturday, which was the same amount of money Disney’s Aladdin pulled in on its Saturday over Memorial Day weekend; with revised outlook for the Rob Marshall directed musical at $95.5M over three days and $117.5M over four per Disney this AM.

Despite the easing of grosses, that’s not a bad thing; this just happens when the industry projects out a 4-day weekend. Rivals still see the movie doing between $121M-$123M, and it would not be shocking to see Little Mermaid resurfacing to that range which is closer to its earlier week opening projection. We’ll see how much a boost Sunday and Monday can bring. Aladdin wound up doing another $30M on its Sunday, and a $25.3M Memorial Day Monday for a $116.8M 4-day start. Imax screens were split up between Little Mermaid, which did $7M, and Fast X at night, which made $1.4M for an $8.2M running total.

EntTelligence estimates that Little Mermaid pulled in 7.4M admissions over three days and potentially 9.2M over four. Not including preview night, Little Mermaid reps 59% of this weekend’s moviegoing foot traffic so far. Average ticket price was $13.37 for all formats general, $11.19 for a child and $11.65 for a senior. Matinees (1PM-5PM) were huge repping 35%.

We’ve learned that The Little Mermaid had the biggest global promotional partner campaign for a Disney branded live-action title (not Lucasfilm or Marvel Cinematic Universe), estimated at $80M in value.

While there was no car partner, as is standard on a Marvel movie, Disney counted myriad ad partners:

–McDonald’s launched a Happy Meal program supported by an “under the sea fun” themed drive-thru.

–HSN and Disney teamed up with Regal to launch the first shoppable augmented reality experience of its kind for a collectible ticket, supported by a two-hour special.

–Mattel broke new ground with its manufacturing to create doll hair that depicts Ariel’s. The item was so hot, that the social presale drop sold out within 24 hours and was ranked No. 1 best seller in dolls across various retailers. In addition, they’ve created eight dolls to support the launch of the Mom Influencer Campaign focused on Black mothers, and launched a first-time global partnership to develop a custom TV spot.

–BOOKING.COM designed a bespoke listing for the Ultimate Little Mermaid Getaway that brought the ocean’s aesthetic to a home on land.

–ULTA partnered with two beauty brands, including Black Girl Sunscreen and Pacifica, for the first time ever and created a licensed collection of beauty products inspired by the film. Separately, Gelish created 36 film-inspired nail colors with 250k+ bottles available globally and a custom spot featured at Times Square.

–Kellogg’s made a splash at nearly 4K Walmart Stores with exclusive packs of Mermazing Berry, inspired by the film, as well as adding on-pack movie ticket offers to fan favorite cereals.

–Annie’s created a limited-edition line of snacks and pasta products featuring Ariel on-pack and a movie ticket offer on 4.1M+ packs.

–Pandora developed a custom The Little Mermaid collection with a global ad campaign over 80 markets.

–Carol’s Daughter – the first hair care brand to be on exhibit in the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture- developed a limited-edition line of products accompanied by a campaign called Let Your Curls Sing with activations at mass and boutique retail, including a Movie Ticket Offer and influencer support.

The campaign for Little Mermaid fired off at D23 last year with Marshall and star Halle Bailey onstage, showing attendees a first look of “Part of Your World” and debuting the teaser trailer.

There was a big music integration that was key to the campaign, spread across theaters, music streamers, Amazon and influencers. There were digital and deluxe versions of the soundtrack in CD and vinyl. Additionally, Target will play custom content with talent and film footage in 1,800+ locations. Spotify had an exclusive playlist takeover; a Disney Hub Placement, TV & Movies Hub placement, and in-app card modal was launched. The film also took over SiriusXM’s Disney Hits channel. In addition, several social media influencers have been singing classic songs from the film.

RelishMix measured The Little Mermaid social awareness stats before the pic’s opening and it stood 36% above family live genre norms across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok at 589.5 million. Comps included Sonic the Hedgehog (577M SMU/$58.1M), Detective Pikachu (569M SMU/$54.4M) and Dumbo (281M SMU/$46M). Disney social media pages and Disney music pumped this up. There was viral reposting with a strong rate of 31:1 off 19 videos on YouTube.

Total ticket sales for all movies over the 4-day is projected to be around $207.5M, which is off 7% from last year’s Memorial Day stretch when Top Gun: Maverick opened to a record high for the holiday of $160.5M.

The chart as of Sunday AM–updating:

1) Little Mermaid (Dis) 4,320 theaters, Fri $38M, Sat $30M Sun 3-day $104M, 4-day $121M-$123M/Wk 1

2) Fast X (Uni) 4,088 (+42) theaters, Fri $6.3M (-78%), Sat $8.5M Sun $8.1M Mon $5.67M 3-day $23M (-66%), 4-day $28.6M, Total $113.6M/Wk 2

3) Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 (Dis) 3,940 (-510) theaters, Fri $5.4M (-36%) 3-day $20.6M (-36%) 4-day $26.6M, Total $306M/Wk 4

4) The Super Mario Bros Movie (Uni) 3,148 (-392) theaters, Fri $1.69M (-29%) Sat $2.4M Sun $2.1M Mon $2.06M 3-day $6.27M (-35%), 4-day $8.3M, Total $560.6M/Wk 8

5) The Machine (Leg/Sony) 2,409 theaters, Fri $2.2M Sat $1.4M Sun $1.2M Mon $915K 3-day $4.9M, 4-day $5.8M/Wk 1

6) About My Father (LG) 2,464 theaters, Fri $1.46M Sat $1.45M Sun $1.34M Mon $1M 3-day $4.25M 4-day $5.25M/Wk 1

7) Kandahar (OR/Briar) 2,105 theaters, Fri $920K Sat $745K Sun $745K Mon $590K 3-day $2.4M 4-day $3M /Wk 1

8) You Hurt My Feelings (A24) 912 theaters Fri $474K Sat $481K Sun $433K Mon $377K 3-day $1.389M 4-day $1.76M/Wk 1

9) Evil Dead Rise (NL) 921 (-1,252 theaters) Fri $300K (-57%) Sat $385K Sun $367K 3-day $1.05M (-57%) 4-day $1.3M Total $66.4M/Wk 6

10) Book Club: Next Chapter (Foc) 1,339 (-2,174) theaters, Fri $250K (-73%), Sat $320K Sun $330K Mon $270K 3-day $900K (-70%) 4-day $1.17M, Total $16.3M/Wk 3

 

via Deadline

‘Fast X’ Takes Top Spot with Soft Domestic Debut at the BO!!

The Louis Leterrier-directed Fast X on Friday came in at $28 million, with Saturday easing by 21% to $22.2M for what has always been an expected $67 million start for the tenthquel. That is just $3M shy of F9‘s $70M — not too bad.

The finish line this weekend, as we’ve always told you, will be worldwide, which is on its way to a $320M haul, the third best global start for a Fast & Furious movie after Fate of the Furious ($541.9M) and Furious 7 ($397.6M). Endgame global on F9 was $726.2M, and clearly this should leg out to be a little higher than that, though lower than Fate of the Furious which ended its run at $1.2 billion global.

Here’s how top 10 chart estimates are looking for the weekend:

1.) Fast X (Uni) 4,046 theaters Fri $28M, Sat $22.2M, Sun $16.8M 3-day $67M/Wk 1

2.) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Dis) 4,450 theaters Fri $8.3M Sat $14M Sun $10.4M 3-day $32.7M (-47%), Total $267.2M/Wk 3

3) Super Mario Bros (Uni) 3,540 (-260) theaters, Fri $2.25M Sat $4.45M Sun 3-day $9.8M (-22%) Total $549.2M/Wk 7

4) Book Club: Next Chapter (Foc) 3,513 (+5) theaters Fri $900K Sat $1.2M Sun $900K 3-day $3M (-55%) Total $13.1M/Wk 2

5) Evil Dead Rise (NL) 2,173 (-648) theaters, Fri $685K Sat $1M Sun $715K 3-day $2.4M (-35%) Total $64.1M/Wk 5

6) John Wick Chapter 4 (LG) 1,312 (-301) theaters Fri $330K Sat $600K Sun $400K, 3-day $1.33M (-36%), Total $185.3M/Wk 9

7) Are You There God?…(LG) 1,668 (-697) theaters, Fri $330 Sat $600K Sun $400K, 3-day $1.3M (-48%) Total $18.6M /Wk 3

8) Hypnotic (Ketchup) 1,733 (-385) theaters, Fri $240K Sat $370K Sun $275K 3-day $885K (-63%) Total $4.1M/Wk 2

9) Blackberry (IFC) 595 (-75) theaters Fri $155K Sat $225K Sun $155K 3 day $535K (+9%) Total $1.2M/Wk 2

10) Dungeons & Dragons…(Par/eOne) 511 (-423) theaters Fri $104K Sat $178K Sun $108K 3-day $390K (-51%) Total $92.8M/Wk 8

The CinemaScore for Fast X came in at B+, the same grade as F9, both being down from latter sequel highs of Fate of the Furious (A), Furious 7 (A) and Hobbs & Shaw (A-) — all of which interestingly enough starred Dwayne Johnson.

PostTrak is 82% positive with a 67% recommend for the general crowd while kids under 12 (is that the demo now for these movies?) rated it with 91% in the top two and a 62% recommend. Guys leaning at 58% with vibrant multi-diverse demos of 29% Latino/Hispanic, 22% Black, 19% Asian/other and 29% Caucasian. The 18-34 bunch is at 59%. South, South Central and West were the most robust. All the PLFs and Imax are fueling over a third of the tenthquel’s gross so far. Top theater in the country? AMC Empire in New York City with close to $100,000 (plus early shows).

Fast X is one of two Universal tentpoles this summer next to Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, so it stands to reason the studio would program the film’s marketing campaign like D-Day. This all started for the film with the 60-second Super Bowl trailer spot which was preceded by nine custom legacy trailers that revisited each of the film’s chapters, followed by a trailer debut fan event with Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris and Sung Kang in downtown Los Angeles.

The second trailer for Fast X included a remix of Daddy Yankee’s hit song “Gasolina” by Myke Towers and Safari Riot, which won over Latino and Hispanic audiences with an integration and custom spot at the Latin American Music Awards and increased awareness with YouTube Hispanic Reach Accelerator and TikTok Latin Pulse media buys.

In addition to in-theater placements alongside big movies like Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania, Cocaine Bear, Creed III, John Wick: Chapter 4, and The Super Mario Bros Movie, the two trailers raced up over 750M digital views.

A targeted sports presence was critical to build the Fast X‘s mojo. There was a custom spot with Bronny James and Vin Diesel, which was posted on social by Bronny’s father, LeBron James.

Building off that spot, Fast X had a presence throughout the NBA playoffs including an appearance by Diesel, on-court signage in Round 1 and placements throughout the conference semifinals and Western Conference and Eastern Conference finals. Additional spots ran during March Madness, Premier League soccer, WWE and UFC programming.

Fast X took over the streets of Los Angeles and New York an Uber Blitz with additional targeting in Miami during F1 and New Jersey during UFC. The Fast X campaign brought the family to the F1 Miami Grand Prix, where Diesel and Rodriguez participated in a Sky Sports Grand Prix opener broadcast in 80 countries and an F1 interview with McLaren where they met their fleet of drivers. Rodriguez took a Hot Lap with McLaren, and Ludacris joined Diesel and Rodriguez on race day for numerous on-air hits.

Among pushes to the franchise’s core multicultural audience, there was a broadcast integration with the Latin American Music Awards, while the soundtrack’s artist Maria Becerra had a custom spot for Billboard’s Latin Women in Music Awards. Diesel appeared in J. Balvin’s upcoming “Toretto” music video. Fast X also had Telemundo integrations for the LIGA MX Quarter Finals, Women’s World Cup and Top Chef VIP.

Among the shows that Fast X aired spots on were FX’s Snowfall series finale, Family Guy, 9-1-1, The Voice, Survivor, American Idol, The Masked Singer, Station 19, SNL, MTV Movie & TV Awards and the Fear of the Walking Dead premiere. Fast X also dominated digital screens with a YouTube cost per hour masthead, YouTube Coachella Weekend 1 sponsorship, and high-impact takeovers on Meta, Vevo, TikTok, Hulu, IMDb, Fandango, Flixster, Rotten Tomatoes, Peacock and Paramount+.

And of course, the tentpole was promoted via NBCUniversal’s Symphony program, which tubthumps the movie throughout the conglom including an NBCU Fate of the Furious theme night, spots in NBC’s coverage of the Kentucky Derby and a Xfinity 10G campaign, and outdoor splashes Universal theme parks in Hollywood and Orlando.

Total box office weekend for all films is looking to be around $124M, +60% from the same frame a year ago but 16% off the same pre-Memorial Day weekend period in 2019, which totaled $148.3M. Despite box office climbing back up, there continues to be $20M-$30M missing from the overall weekend box office when stacked up against pre-pandemic norms.

 

via Deadline

Mother’s Day Weekend Sees ‘Guardians Vol 3’ Manage Hold Over ‘Book Club 2’ at the BO!!

The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 keeps getting stronger — and The Book Club: The Next Chapter weaker. If that latter Focus Features movie, which is now pegged at $6.5M, is going to rise to another level, it’s today on Mother’s Day by surprise. However, analysts have already built into the projection that isn’t happening. Note that older female moviegoers typically plan their trips to the cinema in advance, hence we’d see advance ticket sales.

With Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 repping the best second weekend hold for a Marvel Cinematic Universe title post-pandemic at -49% with $60.5M, it appears that the movie is sopping up all the mom action. But sources say that’s not the case. It’s a completely different film, aimed at the fanboy demo. GOTG3‘s second weekend ease is better than the -55% second weekend holds of the two previous GOTG movies, and the threequel’s weekend 2 is just $5M off from GOTG2‘s second frame of $65.2M, and it’s roughly $1.7M off from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness‘s second weekend of $61.7M. After a lower-than-usual MCU summer start last weekend of $118.4M, what’s clear is that the A CinemaScore is showing its mojo for the final James Gunn-directed title in the franchise.

The last time we saw a second weekend hold this strong during the pandemic for an MCU title was Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, with a -54% ease. Since then, most MCU titles have been in the deep -60% percentile, including last summer’s kickoff Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (-67%), and even the pandemic high Spider-Man: No Way Home (-68%). Gosh, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania fell -70% in weekend 2.

Before everyone cries ‘boo-hoo, female skewing movies aren’t working,’ or ‘boo-hoo, non-tentpole movies aren’t working,’ consider the fact that if Book Club 2 doesn’t get a big bounce on Mother’s Day today (right now, Sunday is being estimated at a +17% increase over Saturday), it may just boil down to product: No one was asking for a sequel here to the Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, Mary Steenburgen, and Diane Keaton ensemble.

Also, consider this: By pre-pandemic standards, the start here for Book Club 2 isn’t that far from where another older-skewing female title, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, was back in 2015, that posting a $8.5M opening (finaling at $33M stateside).

Furthermore, there isn’t any lower ticket pricing in place by exhibition like there was on the previous Fifth Season theatrical release, 80 for Brady, which starred Book Club 2 actress Fonda with cinematic buddy Lily Tomlin. That might have been a great idea here for circuits to practice. How else to open a movie to $12.7M during the winter around Super Bowl weekend (there’s also a theory that the ‘Brady’ in the title got some guys dragged along with their better halves). However, there’s nothing for guys to tag along to here on Book Club 2, with 77% women showing up, and the largest quad being over 55 at 48%.

In addition, we’ve seen female-skewing titles fare significantly better, read last summer’s Elvis ($31.2M) and even Focus Features’ Downton Abbey: A New Era ($16M). Realize the latter is a huge appealing franchise for older-skewing females in a way that Book Club is not. If counter-programming is going to work, you gotta eventize it. Old pre-pandemic ideas aren’t going to work.

More Mother’s Day drill-downs in relations to Book Club 2: Realize there’s nothing here in the sequel that’s appealing to the younger demo, meaning daughters. In pre-Covid 2019 Mother’s Day, there was the female Dirty Rotten Scoundrels remake The Hustle, starring younger fan faves Rebel Wilson and Anne Hathaway. The comedy opened to $13M off a B- with a near +7% uptick on Mother’s Day Sunday. The pic finaled domestic at $35.4M.

Going way back to the buggy whip days of 2016, there was Open Road’s Garry Marshall swan song, Mother’s Day, which had plenty of stars to appeal to moms and daughters in Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson, and Jason Sudeikis.

Here’s the interesting leg-out patter for that movie: It opened to a lackluster $8.3M the weekend preceding the Mother’s Day frame, then popped over the holiday weekend, that being $11M (+33%). Mother’s Day Sunday on that movie was +60% more than Saturday. So clearly, the anticipated letdown here with Book Club 2 comes down to product and not moviegoing habits, especially with last year’s examples, and, of course, the tried and true post-pandemic romantic comedy, Ticket to Paradise seeing a $16.5M opening, $68.2M final U.S./Canada take.

Also potentially slowing Book Club 2 down is that it got a B CinemaScore to the first pic’s A-. ComScore, and Screen Engine exits weren’t that far behind at 81% in the top two, with a 55% recommend for the general crowd. Diversity demos were 67% White, 20% Latino and Hispanic, 4% Black, & 9% Asian/other.

There’s also Ketchup Entertainment’s Robert Rodriguez $70M production Hypnotic, which is flailing with an estimated $2.3M start in sixth place. Don’t put that movie in the category of ‘Oh, smaller movies don’t work in a tentpole-driven, post Covid marketplace’ category, because clearly there wasn’t enough P&A spent to open this movie. Nor should a lofty marketing spend here be expected, given the complicated noir’s reception with critics at 39% on Rotten Tomatoes and Cinemascore audiences at C+. Deadline’s Andreas Wiseman detailed the pic’s hijinks to a theatrical release, including foreign sales buyers’ ire after seeing a cut at Berlin, Hypnotic‘s original distributor Solstice imploding, and that studio’s financier and pic’s EP Gareth West saving the movie through his Ketchup Entertainment. It’s not like Lionsgate acquired this movie and is contracted to spend $20M+ to open it. Hypnotic will also be playing during the Cannes Film Festival.

More poor diagnostics on Hypnotic: PostTrak exits were 69% in the top two, with a 44% recommend for the general crowd. Guy-leaning at 66%, and 37% between 18-34. Diversity demos were 44% White, 25% Latino, 15% Black, & 16% Asian/other. The movie, which is seeing most of its income from the West, with seven out of its ten runs from California, minted its best result (if you can call it that) at Regal Manchester in Fresno CA at a near $4K so far. If only one could clone all those rabid Rodriguez fans who came out for the film at its SXSW premiere.

Sony has the service deal for Toei Animation’s Knights of the Zodiac. The pic’s grosses were $222K for Friday, $186K yesterday and $127K today at 600 theaters, for a 3-day of $535k. So-so numbers in LA, San Diego, NYC and San Francisco, but that’s it.

The second weekend of summer 2023 looks to have clocked $103.3M for all movies per sources, +13% from the same period a year ago. Annual box officer at $3.3 billion, +28% from a year ago.

Sunday figures:

1) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 (Dis) 4,450 theaters, Fri $15.7M (-67%) Sat $26.3M Sun $18.5M 3-day $60.5M (-49%), Total $213.2M/Wk 2

2.) Super Mario Bros Movie (Ill/Uni) 3,800 (-109) theaters, Fri $2.99M (-30%) Sat $5.59M Sun $4.4M 3-day $13M (-30%), Total $535.9M/Wk 6

3.) Book Club: Next Chapter (Foc) 3,508 theaters Fri $2.1M Sat $2M Sun $2.35M 3-day $6.5M/Wk 1

4.) Evil Dead Rise (NL) 2,821 (-215) theaters, Fri $1.1M (-35%) Sat $1.6M Sun $978K 3-day $3.7M (-37%) Total $60.1M/Wk 4

5.) Are There God?…(LG) 2,359 (-984) theaters, Fri $508K (-43%), Sat $906,6K Sun $1.08M 3 day $2.5M (-22%) total $16.4M/ Wk 3

6.) Hypnotic (Ketch) 2,118 theaters, Fri $940K, 3-day $2.3M/Wk 1

7.) John Wick: Chapter 4 (LG) 1,613 (-45) theaters, Fri $478K (-20%),Sat $876K, Sun $570K 3-day $1.93M (-21%), Total $182.9M/Wk 8

8.) Love Again (Sony) 2,703 theaters, Fri $385K (-60%) Sat $540K Sun $625K 3-day $1.55M (-35%) Total $5M/Wk 2

9.) Air (Amazon) 1,210 (-422) theaters,Fri $223k (-42%), Sat $343K Sun $309K 3-day $875K (-37%), Total $51.7M/Wk 6

10.) Dungeons & Dragons (Par/eOne) 934 (-817) theaters, Fri $212K Sat $331K Sun $197K 3-day $740K (-45%), Total $92.1M/Wk 7

10) Blackberry (IFC) 450 theaters Friday $473K, 3-day $740K/Wk 1

via Deadline

‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ Takes Top Spot at the BO!!

Great news, as Disney/Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 held it together on Saturday with an estimated $38.8M, just -20% off from its Friday+previews’ figure of $48.2M. This will get the James Gunn-directed MCU swan song to $114M, which is higher than the $110M we were spotting earlier in the week. Essentially and logically, that great heat out there for the film kicked in. Phew! Global is $282M, with $168M overseas, which ranks as the 50th-highest global debut ever for a movie. EntTelligence says that there were 8M admissions in US/Canada for GOTG3, versus the 7.2M which Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania clocked in its opening weekend.

While better than expected, some still have concern about superhero fatigue. Still, a $100M+ opening start to summer, while easing some motion picture industry fears, does put stress on the rest of the season’s calendar to deliver (read on).

GOTG3’s opening here in recent memory is one of the lower kick-off-summer openings, excluding the pandemic. It’s just north of 2002’s Spider-Man from Sony ($114.8M), that pic being the first movie ever to open north of $100M+ in a given weekend. Last year, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness‘ opening ($187.4M) drove overall first weekend of May tickets sales to $222.3M, which resulted in a $3.44 billion summer, per Comscore, and at $156.7M this weekend, we’re off 30% from the same weekend in May a year ago, per ComScore. Doctor Strange 2 cleared $411.3M (repping 12% of last summer’s domestic figure), the second-highest grossing movie of summer after Top Gun: Maverick ($718.3M). No Guardians movie has ever cleared $400M stateside, GOTG doing $333.7M, and GOTG2 grossing $389.8M.

That said, why was the opening here for GOTG3 not as vibrant as GOTG2 ($146.5M)? Sources believe that part 2’s pinnacle was more of fluke in its overperformance, and that the gross here for GOTG3 is within the franchise’s and MCU deeper universe pic’s real mean, which we’ve been served plenty of, i.e. Deadpool 2 ($125.5M) in 2018, not to mention, we’ve seen the Guardians appear in a number of movies like Avengers and Thor. Another reason for GOTG2 popping in 2017 — there was a momentum leading into Avengers: Infinity War, which was teeing off the following summer of 2018. Still, many are telling me it’s not about the overexposure of the Guardians gang, interestingly enough.

More to the point — why did Ant-Man and the Wasp go up in its opening as a threequel and Guardians come down? Because the former had the added bonus of Kang the Conqueror, who Disney was fueling up as the next big villain coming off of Loki, and he was a huge part of Ant-Man‘s marketing getting Quantumania to a record 3-day $106.1M franchise best debut. GOTG3 in its execution (again inherent to the film) looked like the same old, same old; there wasn’t a big, new, notable Marvel personality to incorporate into the campaign (i.e. imagine if Harry Styles’ Starfox was part of the threequel). We’d be looking at even more money this weekend. Instead, one of the added MCU characters here in GOTG3 was Warlock.

Disney EVP Theatrical Distribution, Tony Chambers, is confident about the leg power of GOTG3, given its great audience scores, telling Deadline this AM, “This is a marathon, rather than a sprint, the international numbers are very strong.”

Still, despite the lower start here for the summer with GOTG3, there is enough product –if not more than last year–to make up ground and possibly inch up past last summer’s $3.4 billion. Last summer, there were 22 wide releases that played in north of 2,000 theaters. This summer looks like 33, still down from summer 2019’s 42 titles. Read, a bulk of the season will rest on such potential benchmarks as Little Mermaid (projected $110M opening, presales are strong), The Flash, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Barbie, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, and Spider-Man: Across the Universe.

None right now are expected to soar to $718.3M like Top Gun: Maverick. But we didn’t know what a phenomenon that sequel was until we had it. Furthermore, we have more of an August this year than last (which was dead after Bullet Train), with Blue Beetle, Meg 2, and Gran Turismo. That means more movies opening to north of $20M than last August. The question remains that in a summer with tentpoles on top of each other, even potentially going head-to-head, i.e. July 21-23 with Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, is the marketplace big enough to expand? That’s what is key in box office sustainability coming away from Covid.

“I’m not ringing any alarm bells on summer,” one distribution chief tells Deadline this morning.

Back in summer 2019, which minted $4.35 billion for the first weekend of May through Labor Day, Avengers Endgame‘s box office only repped 9% of the season (when you back out the pic’s first week, which resided in the spring season).

In regards to the number of movies that have opened to north of $100M in May, GOTG3 will put that figure at 18 titles, ranking No. 14 as of this post.

I know we’re at the end because just these little commercial things are making me weepy. Thanks for everyone who has gone to see the movie this weekend – and all of you going to see it today and tomorrow! #GotGVol3 pic.twitter.com/J2LAEyHL4e

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) May 6, 2023

The threequel’s Friday to Saturday ease is on par with the first film’s -18% between Friday/previews and Saturday, but lower than the -8.5% dip between those respective two days on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. However, GOTG3 in regards to its box office trajectory was never suppose to be like GOTG2.

GOTG3 was shot with IMAX-certified digital cameras, and the entire movie is in expanded aspect ratio on the large format exhibitor’s screens. Pic counts $10.7M from Imax screens, the second- highest opening for those auditoriums this year. EntTelligence reports that foot traffic was 49% before 5PM, and 51% after that time.

Among other pics, Illumination/Universal/Nintendo’s fifth weekend of Super Mario Bros saw $8.2M on Saturday, +95% over Friday, for a revised weekend of $18.6M, -54%, for a running total of $518.1M.

Sony/Screen Gems’ Love Again still isn’t finding any suitors, with an $865K Saturday, -9% from Friday, for a studio reported $2.4M 3-day. No CinemaScore was recorded, however, Rotten Tomatoes’ audience score was higher than PostTrak exits at 94%. That said, Rotten Tomatoes’ critics screamed ‘stay away’ at 12% rotten. Despite the low production cost at a supposed $9M net, this opening is nothing to brag about. Even if the film is profitable for the studio–which was the case with their low-grossing genre movie, The Invitation– this amount of money doesn’t do any great favors for exhibition.

The chart

1) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Dis) 4,450 theaters, Fri $48.2M, Sat $38.8M, Sun $27M 3-day $114M/Wk 1

2.) The Super Mario Bros Movie (Uni/Ill) 3,909 (-295) theaters, Fri $4.2M (-53%), Sat $8.2M Sun $6.1M 3-day $18.6M (-54%), Total $518.1M/Wk 5

3.) Evil Dead Rise (WB) 3,036 (-381) theaters, Fri $1.68M, Sat $2.5M Sun $1.5M 3-day $5.73M (-53%), Total $54.1M/Wk 3

4.) Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (LG) 3,343 theaters, Fri $866k (-61%), Sat $1.3M, Sun $1.1M 3-day $3.38M (-50%), Total $12.6M/Wk 2

5) Love Again (Sony) 2,703 theaters, Fri $955K, Sat $865K, Sun $605K Sun 3-day $2.4M/Wk 1

6.) John Wick: Chapter 4 (LG) 1,658 (-823) theaters, Fri $593K (-51%), Sat $1M Sun $736K 3-day $2.35M (-52%), Total $180M/Wk 7

7) Dungeons & Dragons (Par) 1,751 (-958) theaters Fri $372K (-64%) Sat $670K Sun $473K 3-day $1.5M (-64%), Total $90.9M/Wk 6

8 Air (AMZ) 1,632 (-770) theaters Fri $388k (-62%) Sat $610K Sun $397K 3 day $1.39M (-65%), Total $50.2M/Wk 5

9) Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant (MGM) 1,807 (-824) theaters Fri $339K (-65%) Sat $519K Sun $363K 3-day $1.22M (-66%) Total $14.77M/Wk 3

10) Sisu (LG) 1,006 theaters, Fri $300K (-78%) Sat $448K Sun $335K 3-day $1.08M (-67%) Total $5.5M/Wk 2

via Deadline

‘Evil Dead Rise’ Crosses $100 Million at the Worldwide BO!!

Horror is as hot as ever with hit after hit at the box office. Evil Dead Rise, which was released in mid-April, is just the latest genre offering to make a blood-soaked splash. The fifth film in the Evil Dead franchise has been on track to cross the $100 million mark for a while now and, just before it enters its third weekend of release, Rise has accomplished that impressive feat.

Evil Dead’s various social media pages celebrated the news by posting Rise‘s now iconic title card shot of a deadite rising out of the water against a haunting sunset. However, this time it’s not the sinister title emerging from the water, it’s $100 million in cold hard cash. Director Lee Cronin added to the post thanking fans saying, “So much love for the cast, crew, and all of you amazing movie-goers for taking Evil Dead Rise to this place today. Thank you for your support in helping the Deadites RISE all around the world!” This historic milestone now makes Rise the highest grossing film in the franchise. The previous film to hold the top spot was Evil Dead (2013) which made $97.5 million in its entire run. Rise, again is only entering its third weekend and its box office drop was very impressive from its opening to second weekend. Rise still at least has a couple more weeks to play in theaters before the film’s inevitable VOD home release. Because of that, it will be exciting to watch what kind of legs these hungry deadites have in that timeframe.

What’s Evil Dead Rise About?

Evil Dead Rise follows two sisters Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland) and Beth (Lily Sullivan) as they reconnect after many years of being apart. Beth needs her sister’s help with something, but when Ellie’s kids find the Necronomicon all hell breaks loose. The deadites quickly take possession of Ellie’s soul, and it’s up to Beth to save the family before it’s too late. What makes Rise so great is that it doesn’t try too hard to scare its audience. Cronin relies on classic atmosphere and gothic haunted house frights to set the film’s tone. He then applied that to the Evil Dead fans know and love. This successfully takes the cabin in the woods franchise setting and throws it in a claustrophobic apartment building. That allowed for a more brutal and intimate story with themes that stunningly highlights the worst fears of any mother or mother to be. When you add the killer marketing campaign and the all-time genre performances from both Sutherland and Sullivan, Rise was bound to slay all its deadly demons at the box office. Many Evil Dead fans have seen the film multiple times in theaters and have shown their love for the film in many ways. This includes a bunch of sick cheese grater tattoos.

The Deadites Continue to Rise

Evil Dead Rise is in theaters now. While fans wait for a sequel announcement and a dream crossover for Ash, Beth, and Mia, you can view the trailer for Rise down below.

#EvilDeadRise has grossed $100 million! From the bottom of our soulless hearts, thank you deadites! pic.twitter.com/oAmgHIXKDo

— Evil Dead (@EvilDead) May 5, 2023

via Collider

‘Super Mario Bros’ Continues Strong Hold as New Arrivals Die on Arrival at the BO!!

Two holdovers, Super Mario Bros Movie and Evil Dead Rise, are continuing to have a gravitational pull on the under-25 set, while frosh wide releases once again this spring are seeing single-digit million results.

Illumination/Nintendo/Universal’s Super Mario Bros at $40M continues to break records, with the best fourth weekend ever for an animated movie, beating Incredibles 2‘s $28.4M. It’s also the best fourth frame for a Universal title, easily beating Jurassic World‘s $29.2M. It’s even ahead of Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s fourth weekend, which did $32.1M. Domestic running cume by today rises to $490M. As Nancy reported yesterday, the pic is crossing $1 billion today, the fifth movie to do so in the pandemic era, and the third-highest grossing Illumination animated title after Minions and Despicable Me 3.

One small exhibitor at CinemaCon shared with me this weekend the great rental terms they opted in for on Super Mario Bros: They could either play the movie on a flat fee of 63% rental terms to Universal throughout the pic’s entire run, or choose a second option, which was 63% on the pic’s first weekend, with a sliding percent scale working in the exhibitor’s favor toward 35% in much latter weekends. They chose option B, and boy, are they happy for it. Similar to Puss in Boots: Last Wish’s run last winter, look for Super Mario Bros to continue to be in the box office top 10 well into June, especially since the next family animated movie, Elemental, doesn’t arrive until Father’s Day weekend.\

Now, New Line’s Evil Dead Rise — the young-ins love this movie so much, it’s only easing 50% to $12.2M. (Smile, by the way, had an amazing second weekend hold of -18%. But -45% for a horror movie is also something to brag about). That second weekend decline is better than that of the 2013 Fede Alvarez remake, which was -63%. By EOD Sunday, this latest version of the Sam Raimi franchise will be pacing ahead of the Alvarez edition by 9.8% with $44.4M.

All of this is flying over the heads of Lionsgate’s feature adaptation of Judy Blume’s Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret ($6.8M) in third, the same studio’s limited release of Finnish genre pic Sisu ($3.25M) in 10th place, and Sony/Affirm’s Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World ($3M) in 11th.

Further answering exhibitors’ demand for product is Disney, with the 40th anniversary reissue of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, which is gravy for the Mouse House at $4.7M in 4th place at 475 theaters and a fantastic $10,3K per screen

Diving into the numbers this AM, oy, Margaret. Despite excellent reviews at 99%, an A CinemaScore, and great PostTrak of 4 1/2 stars and 88% positive, there’s no urgency for the first big screen take of a Judy Blume novel. Those few who came out and gave the picture great exits were the noisiest on social, but at a low wattage, as the pic only had a social media reach of 66.1M across TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, per RelishMix. You can’t say that there’s no place for female- skewing movies based on bestsellers: Sony’s Where the Crawdads Sing, in the midst of a very competitive summer, busted through with a $17.2M opening, $90.2M stateside take, and near $75M in profit — and that was off bad reviews! Then there was Lionsgate’s Five Feet Apart (released in 2019), which opened to $13.1M off bad reviews and legged out to just over $45M. But Crawdads was a four-year-old bestseller, and Five Feet Apart just a year old before going theatrical. They weren’t 53-year-old properties like Margaret.

Margaret‘s prime audience are now moviegoers who are slow to make their way to theaters, and even slower post pandemic: over-50 Caucasian women. Some 55% of Margaret‘s audience were over 45, women over 25 numbered 62%, women under 25 were 16%. The 55+ demo was the largest quad, with Caucasians numbering 70%.

The movie was moved off a Sept. 16 release date when there was hardly any product on the calendar, but was then staring in the eyes of New Line’s (then perceived) Harry Styles potential breakout, Don’t Worry Darling. Would Margaret have made more money if it was in the fall? Possibly a tad, but not likely double what we’re seeing here: the overall IP is a feathered fish for today’s female moviegoers.

What Lionsgate wanted here was the opportunity to play into Mother’s Day weekend. The pic is on a healthy 53-day theatrical; perhaps it finds a 5x multiple and grosses its $30M budget. At $5.9M, Margaret‘s opening is slightly ahead of the $4.75M opening for Kelly Fremon Craig’s The Edge of Seventeen. That smart teen movie written by Craig was also praised by critics at 94% certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and liked by the few who say it with an A- CinemaScore, but was no Easy A at the box office because that female teen audience will only come out for movies based off hot books. In 2023, Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret, based on a 1970 novel, is out of its era.

Many will say this adolescent movie set in 1970s should’ve gone to streaming. After all, where’s the appeal? I say no to streaming: Craig is a talented filmmaker and is a great voice for women. If we keep burying great cinema on streaming, then buried it will remain. It’s like Martin Scorsese said at CinemaCon this past week: If we keep stifling cinema on streaming, how then can we cultivate future filmmakers? “Getting younger people to enjoy the theatrical experience … on a screen that is bigger and more engaging than films they see home will make a difference,” he said.

At least the big screen launch here for Margaret will draw enough attention to find an at-home audience ultimately. Margaret played best in the East, South, and Midwest, with the AMC Century City making around $10K.

So while Lionsgate is struggling to grab female audiences with Margaret, on a whole other level they’re showing some promise in the Sony Stage 6 genre movie, Sisu. This pic is buzzing among Cineastes, with the studio, I hear, even setting up a private screening for movie lover and comedian Patton Oswalt, and sending a print to Quentin Tarantino. At $3.25M at 1,006 theaters and a $3k-plus per theater, it’s a result on par with Beau Is Afraid‘s second weekend ($2.66M), and that’s pretty good for a limited genre audience right now.

For a subtitled foreign genre film, Sisu could ultimately top off at $10M, which would be double that of Luc Besson’s hipster 1990 movie La Femme Nikita ($5M) and about the same amount of money for the original Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, which had a different distribution playbook back in 2009, that of a platform release, and finaled at $10M stateside. Sisu is on an 18-day theatrical window. Lionsgate fought to get this movie at TIFF with a single digit acquisition cost, and they trailered Sisu to the John Wick audience. There was a method to the marketing here.

PostTrak audiences gave Sisu 80% positive with a 60% recommend for the general crowd. Guys showed up at 73%, 52% between 18-34 years old, with the largest quad being 25-34 years old at 33%. Diversity mix was 46% Caucasian, 21% Latino and Hispanic, 11% Black, & 21% Asian/Other. Sisu played strongest in the West with seven of the top ten runs coming from California, and the top gross coming from the AMC Burbank at $14K+.

Despite its A- CinemaScore and 86% positive PostTrak score, no one wanted to see the life story of the famed boxer and grill king, George Foreman, at 3,054 theaters. Audience was largely evenly split between male and female, with 44% over 45, and the 55+ quad at 28%. Diversity mix was 42% Caucasian, 29% Black, 19% Latino and Hispanic, and 10% Asian/other. George Foreman was pretty soft across the nation, but better in the South and South Central.

Busting into the top 10 is the resilient box office genre, the Indian epic, Ponniyan Selvan: Part Two at 600 locations with $3.6M. The Mani Ratnam-directed title follows Arulmozhi Varman, who continues on his journey to become Rajaraja I, the greatest ruler of the historic Chola empire of South India. Big ticket sales in Toronto, Seattle, San Francisco, Austin, NYC, Dallas, San Diego, DC and Chicago with Cinemark’s LSQ in Seattle minting close to $50K. A $6K theater average is something to savor.

Other mentions: A24’s second weekend expansion of its three-hour Ari Aster hijinks, Beau Is Afraid, at 2,125 theaters (+1,160 theaters) is looking at $1.43M outside in No. 13, -46%, and running total of $5.6M.

Focus Features’ Polite Society, from Nida Manzoor, which made its world premiere at Sundance and earned 91% certified fresh reviews, is looking at $280K Friday, a $310K Saturday heading toward a $800K 3-day at 927 theaters. Alright numbers in Boston, Chicago, NYC, San Francisco, LA and DC, and that’s it.

Overall ticket sales for the weekend are now at an estimated $100.4M, +50% from the same frame a year ago, but 75% off of the last weekend of April 2019, because that’s when Avengers: Endgame led the industry to an all-time record for all pics of $402M.

Updated Sunday chart includes Saturday and Sunday …

1) Super Mario Bros Movie (Ill/Uni) 4,204 (-146) theaters, Fri $8.9M (-37%) Sat $18.2M Sun $12.8M 3-day $40M (-33%), Total $490M/Wk 4

2.) Evil Dead Rise (NL) 3,417 (+15) Fri $3.6M (-65%) Sat $5.2M Sun $3.4M 3-day $12.2M (-50%) Cume $44.4M/Wk 2

3.) Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret (LG) 3,343 theaters Fri $2.25M Sat $2.4M Sun $2.1M 3-day $6.8M /Wk 1

4.) John Wick: Chapter 4 (LG) 2,481 (-204) theaters, Fri $1.22M (-21%) Sat $2.1M Sun $1.6M 3-day $5M (-23%), Total $175.65M/Wk 6

5.) Return of the Jedi (Dis) 475 theaters Fri $1.77M Sat $1.7M Sun $1.2M 3-day $4.7M, Lifetime cume $314M/Wk 1 of re-release

6.) Dungeons & Dragons (Par/eOne) 2,709 (-251) theaters, Fri $1M (-29%) Sat $1.86M Sun $1.24M 3-day $4.1M (-25%), Total $88.1M/Wk 5

7.) Air (AMZ) 2,402 (-421) theaters Fri $1M (-32%) Sat $1.8M Sun $1.18M 3-day $4M (-27%), Total $47.6M/Wk 4

8.) Ponniyin Selvan: Part Two (FDN) 600 theaters, Fri $1.78M Sat $1.25M Sun $783K 3-day $3.8M/Wk 1

9.) Guy Ritchie’s Covenant (MGM) 2,631 (+20) Fri $959K (-58%) Sat $1.56M Sun $1.09M 3-day $3.61M (-43%) Total $12.2M/ Wk 2

10.) Sisu (LG) 1,006 theaters Fri $1.4M, Sat $1.1M Sun $761K 3-day $3.25M/Wk 1

11.) Big George Foreman (Sony) 3,054 theaters, Fri $1M, Sat $1.15M Sun $825K 3-day $3M/Wk 1

 

via Deadline

‘The Super Mario Bros Movie’ Continues Domination as ‘Evil Dead Rise’ Exceeds Expectations at the BO!!

Illumination/Universal’s The Super Mario Bros Movie stayed on course with its third weekend estimate notching an $58.2M, which is the best third weekend for an animated movie ever, beating the $46.4M earned by Pixar/Disney’s The Incredibles 2 during June 29-July 1, 2018 which was a pre-Independence Day weekend.

As we told you, the Nintendo pic crossed the $400 million mark stateside yesterday in its 18th day, the second-fastest animated pic to that point after The Incredibles 2, which hit the four-century mark in 15 days. By EOD Super Mario Bros Movie will be the third highest-grossing Universal title of all time at the domestic box office with $434.3M, behind 2015’s Jurassic World ($653.4M) and the lifetime total of 1982’s E.T. The Extraterrestrial ($437.1M).

Some distribution sources thought Super Mario would take a slightly harder hit due to softer midweek numbers as kids returned to school after spring break. That’s so not the case.

Evil Dead Rise per Warner Bros this morning did $10.3M Friday, another $8.2M yesterday, -21%, for a fantastic $23.5M. That’s up there with recent pandemic genre hit starts, i.e. Cocaine Bear ($23.3M), Smile ($22.6M) and The Black Phone ($23.6M). That’s fantastic, and I’m hearing the negative pick-up cost for the film was $19M. Even if the movie goes down tonight, and the three-day total winds up to be $20M (which right now is not expected), CinemaCon will still be patting the Burbank, CA studio on the back after pivoting this intended HBO Max title to the big screen. Bravo, Warner Bros. CinemaScore is a B — higher than the C+ which the 2013 Evil Dead remake did. PostTrak is at 3 stars, 71% positive and 57% recommend.

“The filmmakers made a scary movie and the Warner Bros marketing team nailed it with evil moms,” beamed the studio’s domestic distribution boss Jeff Goldstein this AM.

On these horror movies, you have to find a hook, and something that resonates and that’s creepy — the masked guy in The Black Phone or wicked smiling people in Smile. Here it’s the evil mom. And that trailer where she’s trapped in the elevator, which was put out on social, I’ve never seen anything like that.

 

‘Super Mario Bros’ Continues Record Breaking for an Animated Movie at the BO!!

The cash keeps flowing through the pipes for Illumination/Universal’s Super Mario Bros Movie which had a better Sunday than expected with $30.5M, sending its second weekend to an awesome $92.45M. That’s still a record second frame for an animated movie, but also the 7th highest second weekend of all-time at the domestic box office. The pic’s running total stands at $353.2M. Super Mario Bros crossed the $300M mark on Saturday, it’s 11th day in release, making is the second fastest animated film to that threshold after The Incredibles 2 which did it nine days.

How the rest of the box office shook out as Super Mario Bros leapfrogged ahead of everybody:

Sony/Screen Gems’ The Pope’s Exorcist made it to a $9M opening, after a $2.2M Sunday in second.

Third right now belongs to Lionsgate’s John Wick: Chapter 4‘s fourth weekend of $8.1M after $2.47M Sunday.

Universal’s mid-sized budget Dracula comedy Renfield is fourth with $8.03M after a $1.99M Sunday.

And Amazon/Artists Equity/Skydance Sports/Mandalay’s second weekend of Air at $7.85M is in fifth place, -46% with a running total of $33.4M. By the end of its second weekend, Universal’s Ticket to Paradise, which is a comp here, stood at $33.5M, but that movie opened on a Friday compared to Air‘s Wednesday. Ticket to Paradise eased 40% in weekend 2 with $9.85M, but held like a rock in weekend 3, just down 13% to $8.5M.

Sixth place belongs to Paramount/eOne’s Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves with $7.5M, -46% after an estimated $2.28M Sunday. Running total is $74.2M. A belief stands in distribution land that this movie can still get to $100M.

Sony’s Crunchyroll’s original animation pic Suzume opened to $5M in 7th. We’ve seen much, much better from Crunchyroll, the uphill battle here is that this is a whimsical original piece of anime vs. the fantasy fight franchise films of Dragonball Z, etc.

There was a thought for a moment by distribution sources that Super Mario Bros Movie would be front-loaded — during its opening weekend, and in its second weekend. Boy, was that theory wrong. The Illumination/Universal/Nintendo feature take of the hit 1980s videogame is posting the best second weekend ever for an animated movie at the domestic box office with $87M, repping a great -41% hold off of a huge Easter weekend. That figure defeats the previous second weekend record for an animated movie held by Disney’s Frozen II ($85.9M). More high scores for the Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic directed movie: Super Mario Bros. jumped 75% between its second Friday of $22.6M and Saturday of $39.5M. Total running cume by EOD Sunday is $347.8M. While we’ve heard that Warner Bros.’ Evil Dead Rise, another horror film next weekend, is expected to do $15M-$20M+ after its pivot from HBO Max to theatrical (which would be a fantastic result), it’s clear that Super Mario Bros is going to continue to be the big King Koopa of the box office.

Despite the five wide releases this weekend, everyone just wanted to see Super Mario Bros either for the first time, or again as the competition did single digits (check out the chart below).

Among the weekend’s most prolific wide entries, Sony/Screen Gems’ Russell Crowe movie The Pope’s Exorcist looks to notch No. 2 with $8.5M while Universal’s Nicolas Cage vampire movie Renfield will settle in third place with $7.7M. Although the supply of movies is good for exhibition, the reality is that we’re not in a market where Super Mario Bros has raised the water level for all boats, rather the Nintendo movie reps 62% of the weekend’s entire est. $140M box office. Both Pope and Renfield had a mixed reaction on social per RelishMix ahead of the weekend. Let’s face it, they’re niche horror movies, and the going factor for Evil Dead Rise next weekend is that it’s from the beloved Sam Raimi franchise. Remember, Fede Alvarez’s remake of Evil Dead was embraced by horror fans, opening to $25.7M back in 2013 (and finaling at $54.2M and just over $97M off a $17M production cost).

In regards to the response to Pope, RelishMix says moviegoers were questioning “the accuracy of the film, while others are excited about Russell Crowe’s presence in the film. Others consider the movie to be a spin-off of the classic 1973 horror film The Exorcist, starring Linda Blair. Moreover, some viewers find the horror concept to be overdone, deeming the film as ‘another exorcist.’”

Total annual box office for 2023 for Jan. 1-April 16 is clocking $2.5 billion, +44% over the same period last year.

Here’s how the top 10 looks; still a close call for No. 3:

1) Super Mario Bros Movie (Ill/Uni) 4,371 (+28) theaters, Fri $22.6M Sat $39.5M Sun $24.9M 3-day $87M (-41%), Total $347.8M/Wk 2

2.) Pope’s Exorcist (Sony)3,178 Fri $3.465M Sat $3.1M Sun $1.9M 3-day $8.5M/Wk 1

3.) Renfield (Uni) 3,375 theaters Fri $3.1M Sat $2.75M Sun $1.85M 3-day $7.7M/Wk 1

4.) John Wick: Chapter 4 (LG) 3,033 (-574) theaters, Fri $2.1M, Sat $3.5M Sun $2.08M 3-day $7.67 (-47%), Total $159.8M/Wk 4

5.) Air (Amazon) 3,507 theaters,Fri $2.15M Sat $3.3M Sun $2.15M 3-day $7.6M, Total $33.1M/Wk 2

6.) Dungeons & Dragons (Par/eOne) 3,324 (-532) theaters, Fri $1.94M, Sat $3.3M Sun $2.1M 3-day $7.4M (-47%), Total $74.1M/Wk 3

7.) Suzume (Sony)2,170 theaters Fri $2.15M Sat $1.6M Sun $1.1M 3-day $4.8M/Wk 1

8.) Mamma Mafia (BST)2,002 theaters Fri $860K Sat $900K Sun $540K 3-day $2.3M/ Wk 1

9.) Scream VI (Par) 1,288 theaters (-998), Fri $430K Sat $640K Sun $350K 3-day $1.42M (-59%), Total $106.7M/Wk 6

10.) Nefarious (Soli Deo Gloria) 933 theaters Fri $495K Sat $475K Sun $290K 3-day $1.26M/Wk 1

via Deadline

‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ Sets Record-Breaking $204 Million Debut at the BO!!

At close to 10PM PST last night, we told you that Illumination/Universal’s Super Mario Bros was still raking in business. As of this morning, the feature take of the Nintendo game didn’t gross $56M, rather a near $57M,for what is now a $146.36M 3-day, massive $33,1K theater average, and a record 5-day of –wow– $204.6M, per Universal this AM. That kicks Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen‘s $200M Wednesday-Sunday opening to second place among 5-day U.S./Canada records.

Among Easter weekend openings, Super Mario Bros ranks third behind 2016’s Batman vs. Superman ($181M) and 2015’s Furious 7‘s $161M. If overseas is still at $173M by tomorrow AM, then the new global opening record for an animated movie set by Super Mario Bros stands at $377.2M.

In regards to U.S/Canada admissions, Super Mario Bros counts over 17M for the five-day weekend, per EntTelligence, repping over 74% of the nation’s overall moviegoing foot traffic. Since Covid, that’s the most amount of patrons since Spider-Man: No Way Home. This movie played like an everybody movie, not just a family film, evident in its attendance throughout all day-parts. EntTelligence says that 26% of Super Mario‘s audience went after 7PM, vs. 20% before 1pm, 28% between 1pm and 4pm, and 26% between 4p-7pm.

Exclaims Universal Domestic Distribution Chief Jim Orr this morning, “The incredible partnership of Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto’s iconic characters, with Illumination and Chris Meledandri’s unbeatable filmmaking and storytelling prowess, has led to this combustible moment at the worldwide box office. Audiences of all ages and backgrounds have flocked to theatres to revel in this extraordinary big-screen celebration.”   

Thirty-eight percent of Super Mario Bros‘ weekend domestic box office came from Imax, PLF, motion seats, and 3D screens. 3D drove 15% of the gross. For Imax, Super Mario Bros is their highest opening of all-time for an animated movie, with a global take of $21.6M. That figure includes the $16.6M stateside record for the pic at 403 auditoriums.

“2023 has now yielded our best opening ever for an animated film, sports movie, and local language release — demonstrating the strong diversification of our slate and soaring demand for the IMAX Experience across all audiences,” said Rich Gelfond, CEO of IMAX. “Illumination and Universal did an excellent job launching this new franchise, building on the great momentum we’re seeing at the global box office as a very promising summer blockbuster season approaches.”

Super Mario Bros in U.S/Canada beats the previous opening record set by Disney/Pixar’s Incredibles 2 and it beats the previous global debut of Disney’s Frozen 2.

On a 3-day basis, it’s close to a three-way tie for second place between Amazon’s Air ($14.4M as of Sunday), Paramount/eOne’s Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves ($14.5M second weekend, -61%, $62.2M cume) and Lionsgate’s John Wick: Chapter 4 ($14.6M third weekend, -48%, $147M cume). However, Amazon’s first global day-and-date release Air is definitely hitting $20.2M, a great start for a non-tentpole dramedy aimed at adults. That provides a lot of hope for other distributors with similar fare. The amount here for Air would make late MGM/Amazon Distribution Chief Erik Lomis beam, as he championed Air to pivot from a Prime Video debut to the big screen. Saturday for the Ben Affleck-Matt Damon-Viola Davis-Chris Tucker-Jason Bateman movie is $5.8M, +16% over Friday.

“This is the first time a streamer has stepped up and released a film globally theatrically. Kudos to Mike Hopkins and Jen Salke for listening to Erik Lomis when he believed in this movie and its theatricality,” says MGM/Amazon Theatrical Distribution Exec Kevin Wilson.

“Kudos to Amazon’s marketing and publicity team: R-rated adult dramas haven’t been easy to find audiences, and getting Air to $20M is a great feat,” Wilson added.

Damon and Affleck praised Lomis’ force behind the theatrical release of Air at the LA premiere of the film:

Matt Damon on the late Erik Lomis, the veteran movie distribution executive who worked at MGM among other studios: “I’m grateful that he was part of putting this here, the way we’re going to see it tonight” #AIRMovie pic.twitter.com/tBVpkVSwUf

— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) March 28, 2023

Ben Affleck remembers the late Erik Lomis: “Lovely, smart, kind, generous…” #AIRMovie pic.twitter.com/lw7OfrVLZ7

— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) March 28, 2023

Even though Air cost a reported $90M before P&A, and Amazon shelled out $125M to land the Artists Equity/Skydance Sports/Mandalay project, forget about the economics of it all (as the tech conglom has deep pockets), and let’s celebrate the fact that a streamer has ponied up and fully embraced a theatrical release for the second time –and they didn’t hide grosses. Also, you have to think that Apple’s ears are pricking up as they embrace a theatrical model for their big movies going forward, with Ridley Scott’s Napoleon and Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. At $14M+, it’s Amazon’s second-best opening at the domestic box office, after MGM/UAR’s Creed III ($58.3M) back in March.

By far, the biggest factor working in favor of Air is its release date. There’s nothing really competitive going up against this older skewing (49% over 35) title in the weeks to come, especially as far as R-rated dramedies go. April is filled with genre movies and female skewing titles like Book Club 2, Love Again, and Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. It’s not until you get to Memorial Day weekend when Lionsgate’s Sebastian Maniscalco comedy, About My Father, arrives in theaters. That lack of competition, plus Air‘s exit scores, is what can leg it out in the weeks to come.

Amazon shelled out $50M+ stateside in marketing to open the movie, and made it known to audiences that they should show up. There were two premieres for Air: SXSW’s surprise closing night and LA with stars showing up to all three.

The pic’s change-up to theatrical came at the end of January, with a marketing campaign that kicked off with a global trailer on Feb. 9, followed by a custom 60-second Super Bowl spot on Feb. 12. That trailer was also attached to all screens of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which, before Super Mario Bros., owned 2023’s biggest opening weekend at $106.1M, or 7M admissions (per EntTelligence). The trailer also ran on Creed III and John Wick: Chapter 4.

Other marketing stunts for Air included a national sneaker-cleaning activation across multiple markets, an exclusive partnership with Jason Markk, and a social rollout that brought to life the nostalgia of the ’80s in a reimagined and authentic way.

AIR partnered with creators and influencers from the sneaker community – rallying behind the “A shoe is just a shoe” mantra from the film – to further bring life to Michael Jordan and Nike’s legacy, and build a narrative around greatness and triumph.

Also fueling Air‘s profile were 550 global word-of-mouth screenings across the U.S. and 43 international markets between March 20 and April 4. Those attending included sports fans, sneakerheads, cinema loyalty membership programs, military/army bases, college/HBCUs, AARP, and multicultural targets. The program launched with specialty tastemaker screenings in NY, LA, Atlanta, Miami, Chicago, and London.

Early Saturday, the CMO of the No. 3 chain in the nation celebrated the big box office weekend:

“The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s strong performance with the family audience this weekend is just another example of the consistent consumer enthusiasm for seeing great films on the big screen,” said Wanda Gierhart Fearing, Cinemark Chief Marketing and Content Officer. “Moviegoers have demonstrated time and time again that they crave the immersive, cinematic experience only theaters can provide, and Cinemark looks forward to welcoming them as fantastic new movies continue to come to our auditoriums. Congratulations to our partners at Illumination Animation and Universal Pictures for generating so much excitement around such a beloved brand.”

Meanwhile, IFC’s Paint didn’t turn out to be a record opening, as industry estimates forecast on Saturday AM, but did post $750Kfor a $916 theater average at 819 locations.

The chart…

1) Super Mario Bros Movie (Ill/Uni) 4,343 theaters, Wed $31.7M Th $26.5M Fri $54.8M Sat $56.87M Sun 3-day $146.36M, 5-day $204.6M/Wk 1

2.) John Wick: Chapter 4 (LG) 3,607 (-248) theaters, Fri $4.8M (-39%), Sat $5.9M Sun $3.8M 3-day $14.6M (-48%), Total $147M/Wk 3

3.) Dungeons & Dragons (Par/eOne) 3,856 theaters, Fri $4.85M (-68%), Sat $5.8M Sun $3.85M 3-day $14.5M (-61%), Total $62.2M/Wk 2

4.) Air (Amazon) 3,507 theaters, Wed $3.2M Thu $2.4M Fri $5M Sat $5.8M Sun $3.5M 3-day $14.46M, 5-day $20.2M/Wk 1

5.) Scream VI (Par) 2,286 theaters (-156), Fri $1.2M (-20%) Sat $1.37M Sun $690K 3-day $3.31M (-38%), Total $103.8M/Wk 5

6.) His Only Son (Angel) 1,930 theaters, Fri $1M, Sat $1.25M Sun $1M 3-day $3.25M (-41%), Total $11M/Wk 2

7.) Creed III (MGM) 2,002 theaters (-825), Fri $1M (+112%) Sat $1.1M Sun $681K 3-day $2.8M (-44%), Total $153.2M/Wk 6

8.) Shazam! Fury of the Gods (WB) 2,203 (-1,248) theaters, Fri $600K (-50%) Sat $600K Sun $400K 3-day $1.6M (-65%), Total $56.6M/ Wk 4

9.) Paint (IFC) 819 theaters, Fri $293K, 3-day $750K/Wk 1

10.) Thousand and One (Foc) 926 theaters Fri $200K Sat $240K, Sun $160K 3-day $600K (-66%), Total $2.9M /Wk 2

via Deadline

‘Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ Opens with $38.5 Million at the BO!!

Paramount/eOne’s Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is settling at $38.5M, after a -15% decline on Saturday of $13.1M. Though north of $30M tracking, it’s below that nice round high point of $40M. Global is better than we expected at $71.5M (we pegged $65M) with offshore territories delivering $33M from 58 markets.

Does this opening rep the start of a franchise? Stateside, D&D outperformed its tracking over the past month, and still did not gross ‘enough’. However, the pic’s hold will be critical going forward.

“With great exits score and a $71M global start, the story on Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves isn’t going to be finished until well into its run,” Paramount Domestic Distribution Boss Chris Aronson told us this morning. The Melrose Ave. lot has been continually confident about this film.

In addition, as we mentioned before, this is a tough spot before Super Mario Bros. The good news, at least for Paramount, is that Illumination/Universal movie isn’t doing any Tuesday sneaks. For a lucrative property such as Super Mario Bros, no need to do previews on bargain Tuesdays. D&D, with a third of kids off from school tomorrow, could see a nice hold on Monday and Tuesday.

However, walking away from the energy of the Super Mario Bros world premiere last night in downtown Los Angeles, you can feel a huge tidal wave is coming in. This is par for the course: Before the weekend of a truly big mammoth movie, moviegoers curb their spending. Right now, the 5-day on Super Mario Bros is $125M, but there are crazy numbers out there, and Universal is trying to wrangle expectations.

Illumination/Universal’s Minions: Rise of Gru posted the best opening for an animated movie during the Covid era, with $107M 3-day, $123M 4-day. The biggest opening ever for an animated movie belongs to Disney/Pixar’s Incredibles 2 with $182.6M. Still, does the Easter holiday pull in more casual moviegoers who’ll spread their cash over the whole theatrical marketplace and not just Mario?

Look, two movies have controlled the marketplace before, and that’s poised to be Super Mario Bros and D&D for the month of April. Super Mario Bros skews younger, so there’s potentially room here for D&D to find an older audience.

However, there were further headwinds for D&D this past weekend in the weather: Tornados impacted the pic’s Southeast region traffic, and the Northeast saw harsh rain. Those two areas underdelivered for D&D, so there’s opportunity for growth. Further proof in the soft marketplace can be seen in the second weekend of John Wick: Chapter 4, which declined -62% or $28.2M. Going into the weekend, analysts had John Wick 4 down 55% to 60%.

Major markets that over-indexed for D&D include Seattle, Salt Lake City, Denver, Portland, Minneapolis, Austin, and Kansas City, while major markets that under-indexed include New York, Houston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Miami. Top theaters came from LA, NY, Orlando, San Diego, Seattle, SLC, Boston, Denver, Wash DC, Colorado Springs, Baltimore, Phoenix, Montreal, Minneapolis, Sacramento, and Montreal.

EntTelligence, which tracks admissions, says that 3M people saw D&D this past weekend, which is “similar foot traffic to Dune, which earned a tad more on opening weekend at $41M.” Note Dune, which is getting a sequel, saw its box office overall watered down by its day-and-date availability on HBO Max. The movie finaled at $108.3M domestic, $402M WW.

“The difference in box office can be attributed to format and ticket pricing,” says EntTelligence, “Not including early access activity, 74% of consumers have elected to see D&D in standard auditoriums, as opposed to a premium experience (which repped 58% of Dune).” Gross-wise, 22% of D&D‘s box office came from PLF screens, 10% came from Imax screens, and 3% came from other premium formats, all totaling 35% of box office from premium screen formats or $13.4M.

While there was a lot of late night play for John Wick: Chapter 4 last weekend, D&D saw the bulk of its foot traffic between 1pm-8pm, that being 67% of admissions.

Despite the great exits the movie has landed, if you’re wondering where the lack of rush is when it comes to this film, RelishMix observed a mixed take on social media, reporting, “Fans do love the entertaining, fun vibe of the trailer that reminds them of Mummy and Marvel movies. Many D&D enthusiasts have noted the relatable nature of the trailer, which they feel accurately depicts the essence of a typical role-playing session. One potential moviegoer said, ‘It’s giving me the Mummy vibes, I dig it — reminds me of Narnia and Harry Potter.’ Some materials have been criticized for its cheesy-ish and stereotypical humor — while critical of how this feels reminiscent of Marvel style filmmaking, with threads about CGI fatigue.”

The whole D&D of it all brings to mind another fan-fave repolished IP which launched in a crowded spring marketplace, that being Lionsgate’s Power Rangers in late March 2017. Made for $100M, the movie opened to $40.3M, which was considered very good at the time in the face of the second weekend of Disney’s live-action giant Beauty in the Beast. Power Rangers even got an A CinemaScore, but the pic’s legs buckled, only doing $85.3M stateside and $142.3M WW. A sequel was never made. Essentially, all the fans for Power Rangers came out on opening weekend. Will that happen with D&D? We will see. The only difference between the two is that Power Ranger is a brand whose reputation has been sopped up by TV and the home ancillary market: Why go to the theater when it’s an IP you can watch at home?

1.) Dungeons & Dragons (Par) 3,855 theaters, Fri $15.4M, $13.1M, Sun $10M, 3-day $38.5M/Wk 1

2.) John Wick Chapter 4 (LG) 3,855 theaters, Fri $7.85M (-73%), Sat $12.3M Sun $8M 3-day $28.2M (-62%), Total $122.8M/Wk 2

3.) Scream VI (Par) 3,106 theaters (-339), Fri $1.55M (-37%), Sat $2.3M, Sun $1.4M 3-day $5.3M (-36%), Total $98.2M/Wk 4

4. ) His Only Son (Angel) 1,920 theaters, Fri $2.1M, Sat $1.7M Sun $1.5M 3-day $5.3M/Wk 1

5.) Creed III (MGM) 2,827 (-380) theaters, Fri $1.4M (-35%), Sat $2.2M Sun $1.3M 3-day $5M (-39%), Total $148.5M/Wk 5

6.) Shazam: Fury of the Gods (WB) 3,451 (-620) theaters, Fri $1.2M (-49%), Sat $2.1M Sun $1.3M 3 day $4.7M (-49%), Total $53.5M/Wk 3

7.) A Thousand and One (Foc) 926 theaters, Fri $700K, Sat $650K Sun $450K 3-day $1.8M/Wk 1

8.) 65 (Sony) 2,113 (-673) theaters, Fri $440K (-49%), Sat $695K Sun $445K 3-day $1.58M (-51%), Total $30.5M/Wk 4

9.) Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (Dis) 1,440 (-475) theaters, Fri $338K (-44%) Sat $550K Sun $342K 3-day $1.23M (-49%), Total $212M/Wk 7

 

via Deadline

‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ Sets Franchise-Best Opening with $73.5 Million at the BO!!

John Wick: Chapter 4 shows up for $25.8M, a similar Friday/previews to Saturday trajectory of -12%, as did John Wick Chapter 3. That makes for a revised franchise and Lionsgate pandemic record opening of $73.5M. Worldwide start is also a franchise best, as we always knew it would be, with $137.5M. The Keanu Reeves movie debuted at No. 1 in each of the 71 markets where the pic opened this weekend. Internationally, the film took in an estimated $64M overseas, exceeding all pre-release estimates for the film.

Stateside, it’s Reeves’s second-best live-action opening, after the $91.7M made by 2003’s Matrix Reloaded, and worldwide, it’s likely the actor’s second-best debut after Matrix Revolutions‘s $201.4M global start in 2003.

Other bragging points:

—John Wick joins a select few film series that set a franchise record with their fourth outing, only nine in the past 40 years. Of those nine franchises, only five have done what John Wick has accomplished in building to four films with each new offering exceeding the last (i.e., 4 greater than 3, 3 greater than 2, 2 greater than 1).

John Wick: Chapter 4 is the biggest R-rated opening post-pandemic, exceeding Halloween Kills‘ $49.4M (which was hampered by a theatrical day-and-date release on streaming service Peacock).

To date, John Wick: Chapter 4 is the second-best domestic opening of 2023, after Disney/Marvel Studio’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania ($106.1M).

Interesting to note that this is supposedly Reeves’ swan song in the core franchise, and the fourthquel opened to more than No Time to Die ($55.2M) at the U.S./Canada box office.

Box Office Analytics firm EntTelligence reports that 5M people went to see the fourthquel this weekend, to Quantumania‘s 7M admissions.

Steady foot traffic through matinees, but also a great turnout after 8PM, as expected for this R-rated sequel. Fourteen percent came before 1PM yesterday, 30% came between 1P-5PM, 31% were there between 5PM and 8PM, while 25% came after 8PM. By comparison, Scream VI saw 33% of its admissions after 8PM.

Average ticket price for a John Wick: Chapter 4 regular ticket was $13.42, while premium tickets went for $17.08 apiece. So far, 32% of moviegoers have seen the film play in a premium format, paying an average of $2.99 more per ticket. Imax reports that at $12.7M WW, John Wick: Chapter 4 is the second-highest grossing Lionsgate title ever in their large format auditoriums. With $8.4M stateside in 400 Imax theaters, the fourthquel is the third-highest Imax opening for Lionsgate in U.S./Canada. Top markets for the Chad Stahelski-directed sequel in regards to admissions were LA, NYC, Dallas, Toronto, and San Francisco.

Back in December 2021, Lionsgate shifted John Wick: Chapter 4 off its previous Memorial Day weekend 2022 launch date to this weekend as the pic’s production was delayed, and Paramount had big footed that release date with Top Gun: Maverick. The first trailer made a debut at CinemaCon last spring, before being dropped during a Collider panel at San Diego Comic-Con with Chad Stahelski, and a surprise appearance by Keanu Reeves in Hall H. Lionsgate had a global screening and premiere strategy which was set to amplify audience and critical word of mouth, the wick for Wick being lit at a surprise SXSW screening with Reeves and Stahelski in attendance onstage.

The rest of the campaign was built around two pillars: one to reinforce that John Wick is a man, not a superhero, whose journey has been motivated by love and a painful loss. And two, that this movie would finally offer John Wick a path to freedom and peace. Everything that Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Chair Adam Fogelson, Lionsgate Marketing President JP Richards, and Co-President Keri Moore and their team devised –from the moment of the full trailer to that trailer’s choice of music, to the hourglass image in the main one sheet, to the use of dogs in both creative and publicity, was connected to those pillars.

Reeves playing with puppies on his talk show tour:

Comscore Senior Media Analyst Paul Dergarabedian tells Deadline this morning, “What generally happens with franchises is that over time, they lose their allure and appeal, either by wearing out their welcome or under-delivering on the promise of a first installment. When the first John Wick opened in 2014 to $14.4M, it had a solid multiple (2.99x, $43M domestic). But where it became a phenomenon was at home, and once film fans discovered John Wick, they determined that it was the movie theater where they wanted to see Keanu Reeves work his magic, and thus John Wick: Chapter Two and each successive film enjoyed an incremental increase in box office.”

“The big screen and the small screen can be complementary and additive, not adversarial. It’s the small screen experience that drove the Wick franchise to increasing returns at the multiplex with each sequel. That’s incredibly rare,” adds Dergarabedian.

“It’s lightning in a bottle to have this kind of ongoing success outside of the superhero genre, and if you were to create the blueprint for the perfect box office beast is, John Wick is it!”

Chart with Sunday figures from studios:

1.) John Wick: Chapter 4 (LG) 3,855 theaters, Fri $29.4M, Sat $25.8M Sun $18.2M 3-day $73.5M/Wk 1

2.) Shazam! Fury of the Gods (WB) 4,071 theaters, Fri $2.37M (-80%), Sat $4.3M Sun $3M 3-day $9.7M (-68%), Total $46.3M/ Wk 2

3.) Scream VI (Par) 3,355 theaters (-321), Fri $2.46M (-53%) Sat $3.6M Sun $2.29M 3-day $8.4M (-52%), Total $89.9M/Wk 3

4.) Creed III (MGM) 3,207 theaters (-270), Fri $2.279M (-48%) Sat $3.7M Sun $2.3M 3-day $8.36M (-46%), Total $140.88M/Wk 4

5.) 65 (Sony) 2,786 (-619) theaters, Fri $865K (-45%), Sat $1.4M Sun $950K 3-day $3.25M (-44%), Total $27.8M/Wk 3

6.) Ant-man and the Wasp Quantumania (Dis) 1,915 (-735) theaters, Fri $609k (-48%) Sat $1.1M Sun $691K 3-day $2.42M (-42%), Total $209.8M/Wk 6

7.) Cocaine Bear (Uni) 2,207 (-480) theaters, Fri $600k (-45%) Sat $930K Sun $560K 3-day $2.09M (-47%)/Total $62.1M/Wk 5

8.) Jesus Revolution (LG) 1,964 theaters (-390), Fri $547K (-43%) Sat $810K Sun $643K 3-day $2M (-43%)/Total $49M/ Wk 5

9.) Champions (Foc) 1,917 (-1,122) theaters, Fri $420K (-52%) Sat $690k Sun $430K 3-day $1.54M (-50%)/Total $13.5M/Wk 3

10.) Avatar: The Way of Water (Dis) 935 theaters (-255), Fri $316K (-39%) Sat $636K Sun $448K 3-day $1.4M (-33%)Total $680.4M /Wk 15

Notables:

A Good Person (MGM) 530 theaters, Fri $275K, Sat $339K, Sun $220K 3-day $834K/Wk 1

The Lost King (IFC) 753 theaters, 3-day $575K/Wk 1

Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24) 607 (-1,026) theaters, Fri $124,8K Sat $190,7K Sun $129,7K 3-day $445,4K (-65%), Total $76.67M/Wk 52
Since arriving on PVOD in its 11th weekend back in early June, the multi-Oscar winner has racked up an additional $16.1M. Give a cheer for theatrical windows. The Daniels directed pic made $1.29M last weekend in its re-expansion after taking home Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

via Deadline

‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ Shocks with Underwhelming $30.5 Million Opening at the BO!!

When New Line/DC’s Shazam: Fury of the Gods hit tracking four weeks ago with a low $35M projection, it was shocking and not shocking to rival distributors. Shocking, because in a spring full of franchise tentpoles, many of which are seeing record opening domestic highs, how can a DC property like Shazam! not keep up with the pack? Not shocking in that — well, it’s a goofy, old Shazam!

Now while it’s possible for a movie to start low in its projections on tracking and swell as the studio spends the bulk of a pic’s P&A in the final lap before its opening, the outlook on Shazam! Fury of the Gods didn’t budge, and now the David F. Sandberg-directed sequel, produced by Warner Bros. newly installed DC cohead Peter Safran, is looking at a$30.5M start in US/Canada as of Sunday AM, off 43% from the first 2019 movie’s $53.5M opening. The sequel also missed its $85M global opening projections with $65.5M

Shazam 2‘s Friday (and previews) at $11.7M is 42% off the first pic’s $20.3M Friday+previews. Even if Shazam 2 benefitted from family matinees and built up to a $35M-$40M opening, it would still be off from the first pic’s stateside start. Realize we live in a marketplace where we are used to seeing superhero sequels outperform the openings of their predecessors.

Audience diagnostics are off for Shazam: Fury of the Gods. The DC Captain Marvel received a B+ CinemaScore to the first title’s A, and pulled in less of the 18-34 demographic than chapter one, 56% to 64%. Audience exits on the first Shazam! were harder than CinemaScore results at 79% positive, 59% definite recommend– the sequel saw similar results at 78% positive, and a 64% recommend. Men over 25 were the biggest quad for Shazam! back in 2019 at 35% and and an 82% grade; part two saw a 40% share of guys over 25, with a lower grade of 77%. Rivals believe that the scores on the first Shazam! weren’t good enough to demand a sequel. Why did New Line make one? Because Shazam! netted a profit of $75M after all ancillaries off a $100M production cost and $105M global marketing spend.

Warners didn’t really drop the ball in marketing Shazam! Fury of the Gods, trotting out the first trailer and the cast at the return-to-in-person San Diego Comic-Con last July. In fact, of those who saw Shazam 2, 18% said the in-theater trailer, and 16% cited the YouTube trailer as the most influential means of marketing. Some sources snipe to me that the materials for Shazam! Fury of the Gods were giddy, and that the conceit of “Everybody is a Shazam” deflates from him being the almighty superhero.

However, that was always the spirit of this B-tier DC superhero, going back to the first film. Also, you can’t fault Warner distribution here for doing their jobs: They protected Shazam 2, getting it away from Avatar: The Way of Water at Christmas so it could have access to Imax and PLF ticket formats this weekend. Those premium tickets repped 36% of the pic’s business this weekend. Imax ticket sales were $2.6M at 401 auditoriums.

Shazam’s inability to fly at the box office has largely to do with the fact that there’s no want-to-see among core DC fans in regards to this sequel. It’s not part of a connective tissue in the DC universe, nor was it ever, and that’s a problem that DC Bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran are looking to fix. They’ve been very public about laying out their new multiverse, and it was never made certain that Shazam would be a definite part of their “Chapter One, Gods and Monsters,”

The exclusion of Shazam has taken away the sheen from what should be a standalone, crowd-pleasing movie. Again, not a must-see for DC fans. In fact, one of the reasons why Shazam was developed over at New Line was because it was a lighter comedy project, and an outlier to the gravitas of Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Aquaman. While Gunn and Safran don’t want to simply toss away the character played by Zachary Levi, the actor made it clear to Deadline’s Natalie Sitek at the sequel’s world premiere that if there’s a threequel, “It all comes down to what the people want.”

In wrangling the entire DC universe under one newly revised umbrella, something which Gunn and Safran are confident the previously Walter Hamada-designed The Flash can do on June 16, Gunn exclaimed on the DC press day back in January that “As everyone here probably knows, the history of DC is pretty messed up. It was f***ed up.”

Gunn expounded that day, “There’s the Arrowverse, there was the DC EU, which split and became the Joss Whedon Justice League at one point, became the Snyderverse at the other point, there was Superman and Lois, three is the Reeves verse, there is all these different things. Even us, we came in and did Suicide Squad and that became Peacemaker, and all of sudden Bat Mite is a real guy. No one was minding the mint, they were just giving away IP like they were party favors to any creators that smiled at them. What we’re going to do, from our first project forward is we’re going to be unified.”

Yes, Shazam is a family property, much like Marvel’s Ant-Man. However, Marvel Studios has grown that franchise’s openings to an all-time high of $106.1M with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, because they’ve made the deeper universe character important in the context of a larger universe, thus making it a must-see for fans.

A key driver for that threequel was the feature debut of new MCU baddie Kang the Conqueror, played by Jonathan Majors, who was introduced in the Disney+ series Loki. In sum, there’s no reason for the audience of The Batman and Spider-Man: No Way Home to go out of their way and spend time with Shazam in part two. He’s just not serious enough for them in regards to the larger canon.

While all of the above might be logical in regards to Shazam! Fury of the Gods‘ lackluster opening, there was another inherent element which didn’t work, and that is in the aging up of the pic’s protagonist Billy Batson from a 12-year-old in the 2019 film to a teenager in part two. The first Shazam! charmed in being like a superhero version of the Tom Hanks classic Big, and well, aging up Shazam to teenagedom isn’t as cute. No one was looking for a sequel to superhero Big.

Also, something that needs to be considered, even in this back-to-back tentpole spring market, is the fact that not all moviegoers are back after Covid. While all movies grossed an estimated $94.5M this weekend, +13% from a year ago, we’re still far off from pre-pandemic numbers, -29% from 2018 ($132.8M) and -32% off from 2019 ($139.8M). No, family films aren’t struggling. Puss in Boots 2, Sing 2, and Spider-Man: No Way Home proved that. It’s just that the avid moviegoers have returned, just not at the same frequency. It took two years to break the box office, and it’s going to take two years to build it back.

Top ten markets for Shazam! were LA, NYC, Dallas, Houston, Toronto, Chicago, San Francisco, Phoenix, San Antonio and DC. Top ten theaters were AMC Burbank, AMC Disney Springs Orlando, Santikos Palladium San Antonio, Harkins Estrella Falls Phoenix, Santikos Casa Blanca San Antonio, AMC Empire NYC, Regal Warren in Moore, OK, AMC Lincoln Square NYC, Cinemark Town Center in Pharr, TX, Cinemark Tinseltown in El Paso, TX.

Since Shazam! Fury of the Gods missed its $85M global start off a $125M production cost, does it still profit? Marketing costs for the sequel are on par to the first, if not less, as the new Warner Bros Discovery is about promoting their IPs through their owned and operated TV and streaming tentacles at an efficient spend. I’m told by those in the know that it will be pretty tough to get Shazam! Fury of the Gods in the black.

Here’s the top 10 box office as of Sunday AM:

1.) Shazam! Fury of the Gods (NL) 4,071 theaters Fri $11.7M, 3-day $30M/Wk 1

2.) Scream VI (Par) 3,676 (+1) theaters, Fri $5.2M (-73%), Sat $7.4M, Sunday $4.8M, 3-day $17.5M (-61%)/Total $76M/Wk 2

3.) Creed III (UAR) 3,477 (-530) theaters Fri $4.3M (-42%),Sat $6.6M, Sun $4.3M, 3-day $15.3M (-44%)/Total $127.7M/Wk 3

4.) 65 (Sony) 3,405 theaters, Fri $1.575M (-64%), Sat $2.5M, Sun $1.6M, 3-day $5.8M (-53%)/Total $22.4M/Wk 2

5.) Ant-man and the Wasp Quantumania (Dis) 2,650 (-455) theaters, Fri $1.175M (-30%), Sat $1.8M, Sunday $1M, 3-day $4.07M (-43%), Total $205.8M/Wk 5

6.) Cocaine Bear (Uni) 2,687 (-517) theaters, Fri $1.09M (-38%), Sat $1.7M Sun $1M 3-day $3.87M (-39%)/Total $58.4M/Wk 4

7.) Jesus Revolution (LG) 2,354 theaters (-165), Fri $960K (-30%), Sat $1.4M, Sun $1.1M, 3-day $3.5M (-32%)/Total $45.4M/ Wk 4

8.) Champions (Foc) 3,039 (+9) theaters, Fri $860K (-53%), Sat $1.36M, Sun $810K 3-day $3M (-41%)/Total $10.5M/Wk 2

9.) Avatar: The Way of Water (Dis) 1,190 theaters (-485), Fri $508K (-17%), Sat $918K, Sun $502K 3-day $1.92M (-28%)Total $678.1M /Wk 14

10.) Puss in Boots: Last Wish (Uni) 1,735 theaters (-81), Fri $430K (+21%), Sat $630K, Sun $450K, 3-day $1.5M (-14%), Total $182.5M/Wk 13

 

via Deadline

‘Scream VI’ Scores Franchise-Best Opening $44.5 Million Weekend at the BO!!

Paramount/Spyglass Media‘s Scream VI is at a new opening high this morning at $44.5M, after a Saturday that eased 20% to $15.4M off a $19.3M Friday. As we’ve said all along, this is a huge weekend for Paramount, with the No. 1 movie, a fireworks SXSW world premiere of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, which is already 92% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and nine Oscar nominations today, including a Best Picture for Top Gun: Maverick. Very good studio synergy.

The sixthquel came on tracking very strong, and it was clear then, as Deadline first told you, that this second Scream movie from Radio Silence would be a franchise best at the box office. Box Office data firm EntTelligence says that 3.2M people saw Scream VI, 18% in 3D. The movie grabbed 44% of its foot traffic in post 9PM shows.

Social media analytics corp RelishMix measured a massive social media reach of 360.8M at 2.4x over horror franchise norms, and even besting the Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram count of M3GAN, which had 330.3M followers. “The Scream fan base has been infiltrating TikTok at 771K subscribers and another 349M #views, keeping in mind that the franchise pages have 11M connected fans and growing.”

Paramount also dropped a spot for Scream VI during the Super Bowl pregame, which popped 24.1M views in the 24-hours after the game — while over on YouTube, fan posted and reposted mash-ups and reviews spot at an exceptional 57:1 virtal rate off of six videos.

However, what can’t be denied here is the star power of Scream VI actress Jenna Ortega. While she was in the franchise sequel last year, her star power is in another stratosphere after Netflix’s Wednesday, and she provided an extra lightning bolt for a Scream push last night by guest hosting Saturday Night Live.

RelishMix reports that her access to 41.5M fans on social, in addition to the other cast’s followers, were a marketing “weapon” for Paramount. Scream VI cast members on social include Samara Weaving at 1.3M, Hayden Panettiere at 1.2M, Melissa Barrera at 1.1M, and Courteney Cox who just activated her 15.5M fans the day before previews, having received her star on the Walk of Fame last week.

In the preopening chatter on social, RelishMix noticed, “Comments throw in timecode to call out Ghostface killers and breadcrumbs from the trailers. While there’s chatter about the absence of Sydney, which disappoints some —  expectations were strong for a ‘gritty, sinister, scary, dark, intense, new Scream movie’, with call-outs for Jenna Ortega, Samara Weaving, and Courteney Cox.”

Providing even more depth to the weekend box office was the second weekend of MGM/UAR’s Creed III, with $27.1M at 4,007 theaters, -53%, which is the best second weekend for a Creed movie. Pic’s running total is now $101.3M. The Michael B. Jordan-directed and starring pic was shot in Imax. The large format exhibitor saw $3.3M this weekend for the pic at 401 auditoriums, for a running total of $11.3M.

Also beating its estimates was Sony’s Adam Driver sci-fi movie 65. It was supposed to do high single digits, and landed $12.3M in third. Despite the lackluster audience and critical reaction, Sony put their best foot forward for the movie with a 360 degree cross platform stunt, including a spot during Super Bowl pregame, plus surrounding sports news TV coverage.

There was also a high impact YouTube Masthead on game day, preroll on NFL’s YouTube channels, and Twitter amplification with preroll on all game highlights. Sony worked with ESPN’s Sportscenter to do isolated in-the-studio/from the set throws to a :65 second break, all brought to the viewer from 65 the movie with special content. Additionally, there was a UFC Takeover in the Gane/Jones title bout. Also, a NBA Crash Landing custom-content starring the NBA’s Anthony Edward.

Focus Features’ Champions slotted No. 6 with $5.1M off 3,030 theaters.

SATURDAY AM: Quick update on Paramount/Spyglass Media’s Scream VI as it continues to shatter franchise opening records: The Radio Silence-directed horror pic clocked an estimated $19.5M yesterday, including those $5.7m previews, for what’s shaping up to be a $43.5M opening, per industry figures this AM. The pic gets a B+ CinemaScore, just like the last one, along with good PostTrak ratings of 87% positive, 74% definite recommend. The last Scream had a 78% top two and 59% recommend.

Demo make-up was 50/50 male-female, and 63% between 18-34, with the largest crowd being 18-24 at 41%. Diversity mix was 38% Latino and Hispanic, 38% Caucasian, 12% Black, and 12% Asian/other. Scream VI played best in the East, South Central, and West, but was strong everywhere. PLF screens drove 25% of ticket sales (vs. 24% on the last installment) and 3D repping a strong 22%.

Another situation here this weekend with a lot of walk-up business and ComScore/Screen Engine’s PostTrak shows that close to 70% of the audience who saw the movie bought their tickets on Friday or Thursday. Fifty-six percent went to see Scream VI, as it is part of a franchise they love, 33% came because Radio Silence directed it, and 24% came because it starred an actress they love, the sixthquel headlining Wednesday‘s Jenna Ortega and Vida‘s Melissa Barrera.

Overall industry weekend for all pics is around $116M, +14% from a year ago.

Creed III is heading to $100M+ by Sunday, with $26.7M in weekend 2, -54%, after a second Friday of $7.5M. That’s the best second weekend for a Creed movie, besting Creed II’s $16.6M and Creed‘s $14.9M. Final domestic outlook for the Michael B. Jordan– starring and directed threequel is $150M in U.S./Canada.

Sony’s $45M sci-fi production of 65, co-financed with Bron and TSG, is doing better than expected. Sony figured high single digits. They think it’s going to do $10.75M for the Adam Driver pic in third place; others think it has a shot at $11M+ Yesterday was $4.4M, including Thursday previews. Critics didn’t like 65, and audiences gave it a C+ CinemaScore and low PostTrak of 54% positive/37% recommend, which in hindsight, is no surprise, as Sony moved this movie all over the calendar. Again, at the end of the day, for pic’s financial longevity, better that it had a theatrical window here. Guys show up at 63%, 58% between 18-34, with 48% Caucasian, 23% Latino and Hispanic, 12% Black, and 17% Asian/other. 65 played best in the West, Mountain, and South Central.

Bobby Farrelly’s Champions dramedy is seeing a 7th place debut, with a $4.7M opening at 3,030 theaters. Yesterday was $1.8M. Those who bought tickets loved it, with an A Cinema and PostTrak exits of 83% positive and 66% recommend. Critics were so-so at 53% on Rotten Tomatoes. Female leaning here at 56%, and older at 61% over 35-years-old and 21% 55+. Diversity demos for the Woody Harrelson movie were 61% White, 22% Latino and Hispanic, 6% Black, and 11% Asian/other. Champions‘ best markets were in the Mountain, Mid-West, and South with the top location coming out of Salem Oregon (which is rare).

James Cameron over Oscar weekend here is literally beating himself at the box office, as 20th Century Studios/Lightstorm/Disney’s Avatar: The Way of Water will out-peg Titanic ($674.2M domestic) to become the eighth-highest-grossing movie ever at the domestic box office with $674.7M.

1.) Scream VI (Par) 3,675 theaters, Fri $19.5M 3-day $43.5M /Wk 1

2.) Creed III (UAR) 4,007 Fri $7.5M (-66%), 3-day $26.7M (-54%)/Total $100.9MWk 2

3.) 65 (Sony) 3,405 theaters, Fri $4.4M, 3-day $10.5M/Wk 1

4.) Ant-man and the Wasp Quantumania (Dis) 3,150 (-720) theaters, Fri $1.73M (-44%) 3-day $6.8M (-47%), Total $197.7M/Wk 4

5.) Cocaine Bear (Uni) 3,204 (-367) theaters, Fri $1.74M (-45%), 3-day $6.35M (-43%)/Total $51.8M/Wk 3

6.) Jesus Revolution (LG) 2,519 theaters (-56), Fri $1.42M (-35%) 3-day $5.3M (-38%)/Total $39.5M/ Wk 3

7.) Champions (Foc) 3,030 theaters, Fri $1.8M 3-day $4.77M/Wk 1

8.) Avatar: The Way of Water (Dis) 1,675 theaters (-625), Fri $610K (-21%) 3-day $2.7M (-26%)Total $674.7M /Wk 13

9.) Demon Slayer…Swordvillage (Cru) 1,700 theaters (-53%, Fri $514K (-87%), 3-day $1.7M (-83%)/Total $14.1M/Wk 2

10.) Puss in Boots: Last Wish (Uni) 1,816 theaters (-772), Fri $350K (-38%) 3-day $1.64M (-40%), Total $179.6M/Wk 12

via Deadline

‘Creed III’ Impresses with $58 Million Opening at the BO!!

Amazon bought MGM –a motion picture studio–for $8.45 billion back in May 2021, and this weekend the streamer had their first taste of how wonderful a box office blockbuster is, as MGM/UAR’s Creed III opened to a franchise record of $58.6M. That’s also the highest debut ever for a sports movie. At this level, Creed III stands to also become the highest-grossing Creed title stateside at $150M, besting Creed‘s $109.8M and Creed II‘s $115.7M, while also providing a lot of lift to a domestic box office looking to return to pre-Covid levels.

Some may argue, ‘Oh, well, Creed III was always meant to be theatrical.’ We can’t just go on that line, because we know how most streamers are prime to jettison a title onto their service nowadays. Following Amazon’s $8.45 billion purchase of MGM back in May 2021, the streamer put such Lion movies as Thirteen Days and Sylvester Stallone’s $100M Samaritan on the service.

But Amazon with Creed III has turned a corner, and it should come as a lesson to all streamers, including those motion picture studios who have services, that the best publicity for a film’s success doesn’t come in the quiet, anecdotal reporting of data (nor a service’s own defined measurement of viewership), but good, old American dollars.

Amazon Studios Head Jen Salke, who emulated the Netflix limited theatrical-to-OTT service distribution model starting with the 2019 Adam Driver movie The Report, told Deadline’s Natalie Sitek at the Creed III premiere Monday that “We can look forward to more” theatrical releases. Next up for Amazon is the Easter weekend release of the Ben Affleck-directed, Matt Damon-starring Air.

“We’ll look at each film individually and make the right decision for each of them. It couldn’t be more exciting,” Salke said, “Hopefully, we’ll bring tons of people back to theaters with these two movies to start.”

Jennifer Salke says the future is looking bright for more wide theatrical releases with #Creed3 and ‘Air’ pic.twitter.com/v1dGuAupNh

— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) February 28, 2023

More proof that Salke is serious about theatrical is in the hiring of former Warner Bros. President of Production Courtenay Valenti who is behind this year’s 8x Oscar-nominated Elvis, which was one of the movies to bring adults back to the movies last year, grossing $151M domestic, $287M+. You know what looks better heading into an Oscar race? A movie that can boast that it made money, not one that’s reporting $0. It just looks better, and image is everything.

While Netflix saw some $15M+ from the Thanksgiving week launch of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Story at 696 theaters after scooping up the Rian Johnson franchise for $400M, the streamer isn’t pivoting to full on theatrical wide releases, preferring to stay in its zone of high-priced tentpoles sans downstream windows.

Taking the reigns of WarnerMedia, Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav immediately recognized the sins of the conglom’s former administration in their theatrical-day-date HBO Max experiment with tentpoles like Dune, Mortal Kombat, Godzilla vs. Kong, and Suicide Squad, in how heaps of money was left on the table, and much cash burned in the talent slate buyout deals.

Recently, Warners put HBO Max’s Channing Tatum movie Magic Mike’s Last Dance into theaters, with the pic grossing $25M+ through four weekends. While the lowest of the Steven Soderbergh male stripper drama movies, what matters is that money was made, even if the movie didn’t profit in its theatrical window, and that big screen launch is the best publicity to carry the IP through to minting any amount of bucks in subsequent windows.

However, good on Amazon here as the WGA, DGA, and SAG sit-down with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Creed III is a win for data transparency, Amazon having hid their grosses on their limited theatrical releases of Coming 2 America, Cinderella, and the Harry Styles’ movie My Policeman.

For dealmaking purposes, and to justify clients’ worth, guilds want more access to viewership data in the next round of contract talks. However, they should be asking for more than that: Streamers should be giving up their churn rate info: As equally as important as it is that 364M hours were watched by global Netflix subscribers for the Dwayne Johnson/Gal Gadot/Ryan Reynolds movie Red Notice, it’s also vital for all creatives involved to know the amount of subscriber dollars that movie raked in for the streaming service.

A big deal here in regards to Creed III‘s win: it’s March release date. UAR/MGM moved the threequel away from Wakanda Forever at Thanksgiving and pushed it to here, the first weekend of March. Very smart play, as the threequel gained PLF and Imax screens which they wouldn’t have access to back in November, nor at Christmas if they decided to go then in the face of Avatar: The Way of Water.

More diagnostics on Creed III: Imax and PLF drove 35% of the pic’s domestic box office. Saturday only dipped -3% with $21.4M next to Friday’s $22M. Creed III is also a huge diverse win, with Blacks repping 38% of ticket buyers, followed by 28% Latino and Hispanic and 13% Asian/other.

Box office analytics corp EntTelligence observed excellent business in each daypart, especially late evenings when ticket sales taper off, with 30% attending between 1p-5p, 32% between 5p-8p and 29% after 8p. The movie represented 45% of all box office admissions this weekend outside its preview nights. Overall, 4M attended Creed III.

Per RelishMix, MGM and Amazon’s marketing team had Creed III primed heading into the weekend on social media, with a universe of 353.5M (+69% over Creed II) across TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Instagram. There were 88M views for Creed III materials alone on TikTok, with 464M #views the week of opening for #creed3. YouTube views stats exceed 212.2M, with an excellent viral reposting ratio at 21:1. Director/lead Michael B. Jordan weighed in with 29.4M activated fans, along with boxer Canelo Álvarez at 23.5M, former-boxer Tony Bellew at 1.5M, boxer Florian Munteanu at 807K, and Selenis Leyva at 782K in regards to talent pushes for the movie on social.

“In social threads, some fans took sides in the ongoing dispute between Sylvester Stallone and producers as a show of loyalty to Rocky and his brand as Rocky, which will be missing from the story. Otherwise, chatter ran positive from Jonathan Majors followers, who are getting the Ant-Man ‘Kang’ double feature effect in full play — along with appreciation for Jordan as director, the new Creed Camp video, and IMAX BTS materials.”

More at the box office:

Crunchyroll’s Demon Slayer Into the Swordsmith Village at a revised 1,780 theaters is seeing $10.1M after a $3.4M Saturday, -17% from Friday’s $4.1M.

Lionsgate’s release of Miramax’s Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerrein early AM numbers is seeing a $1.26M Saturday, +17% over Friday, for a $3.1M opening. RelishMix noticed Lionsgate re-activating the pic’s digital campaign from a year ago, which actually counts under 79M across social media from TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.

Said RelishMix on pic’s pulse, “Convo tone on Operation Fortune tracked mixed with questions about release date and studio pivots — interwoven with continuous affection for Aubrey Plaza and her recent projects, as she’s over-indexing on the risk-taker-meter — as well as Jason Statham super fans, who wonder if this will hit similar notes or break some new ground for his brand and characters. Guy Ritchie film fans were also paying attention at the campaign as it ramped back-up.”

via Deadline

‘Quantumania’ Sees Worst Drop for MCU Title as ‘Cocaine Bear’ and ‘Jesus Revolution’ Overperform at the BO!!

What did this weekend prove at the box office?

It’s not just about tentpoles.

The overall champs of the weekend were lower-budgeted releases, with Universal’s Cocaine Bear trampling its teen projections with $23.09M, and Lionsgate’s Jesus Revolution turning water into cash with $15.5M after being initially forecast in the $6M-$7M range.

However, both movies had something that propelled audiences: They had sticky titles. It doesn’t get much better than Cocaine Bear and Jesus in your movie titles when it comes to creating want-to-see marketing.

Los Angeles, despite being drenched and snowed upon,didn’t falter when it came to Cocaine Bear, the market +7.6% from its 52-week norm.

Not all animals-maul-people movies outside of sharks and King Kong open to great heights. Read Paramount’s alligator movie Crawl ($12M) and Uni’s Idris Elba lion movie, Beast ($11.5M). However, Cocaine Bear was different. She wasn’t all horror or serious, but had campy comedy. Audiences noticed that promptly in the trailer, and saw that it was a movie they could have fun with for an hour and 35 minutes. The pic also pawed another $5.3M abroad in 50 markets for a global start of $28.4M. While AMC, Regal, and Cinemark naturally led all circuits, Alamo Drafthouse was 100% over its 52-week norm with the title, leaning into it with their fanboy demos.

Said Universal Domestic Distribution chief Jim Orr, “This is a tremendous debut for Cocaine Bear, an outrageous comedy so well-crafted by director Elizabeth Banks. Audiences across North America were eager to see this original, hysterical film that continues what is shaping up to be a very good year at the domestic box office.”

Other top markets for Cocaine Bear included NYC, Chicago (+10% over 52 week norm), Dallas, San Francisco, DC, Philly, Atlanta, Boston (+10% over 52 week norm), and Phoenix. Detroit overperformed with Cocaine Bear by 25%. Northeast and West coast were the overindexing regions.

Jesus Revolution is a faith-based win for Lionsgate, as it looks to have a better 2023 stateside than it did in 2022. It’s director Jon Erwin’s (who directed here) fourth A+ CinemaScore of his career, after American Underdog, I Can Only Imagine, and Woodlawn. Lionsgate built word of mouth through several word of mouth church and university screenings, as well as an outreach to contemporary Christian musicians. Am hearing the movie was screened over 150x.

Tracking only saw this movie at the single digits? How did they miss this? The theory is that tracking only polled those people who had been to theaters in recent movies. That said, it’s been a while since the faith-based crowd has had a wide release like this. It’s mostly been short-run Fathom Events. Not just that, but the pic’s soundtrack is a huge magnet here as well for its followers, and Kelsey Grammer’s star power didn’t hurt. Also, Jesus Revolution stars Jonathan Roumie, who played Jesus in Angel Studios’ $34M-grossing franchise The Chosen; he’s a very popular faith-based star. Huge amount of walk-up business here with Comscore/Screen Engine’s PostTrak showing 74% of those seeing the movie either bought their ticket the day of or the day before.

Lionsgate is already hearing from exhibition about repeat business over the weekend. And the definite recommend here on PostTrak is — well, miraculous, at 90%. You never see that on any movie, including MCU and Star Wars titles. The pic was 97% positive on PostTrak. Females over 25 led (54%), men over 25 (37%), females under 25 (6%), and guys under 25 at 3%. Can we get an Amen?

Disney/Marvel’s official numbers for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania still show the worst drop for an MCU title at -69, with $32.2M after an estimated $14.6M Saturday, +76%, for a running total of $167.2M in first place.

How will Marvel post-mortem this? Aren’t they already “plus-ing” with every movie they make?

One insider close to the film isn’t worried, telling us, “Marvel takes something away from movie including Black Panther, including Avengers. I can say we’re incredibly proud of the film, Jonathan Majors does a fantastic job as Kang. It’s the movie we wanted to make. Box office is what it is. But it’s not going to stop people from going back to the theaters.”

Overall weekend looks to be around $91.6M for all movies, +47% from a year ago, but off 29% from the same frame in 2019, when Uni’s How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World led with $55M, and the second weekend of Alita: Battle Angel did $12.3M.

1.) Ant-man and the Wasp Quantumania (Dis) 4,345 theaters, Fri $8.3M (-82%) Sat $14.6M Sun $9.3M 3-day $32.2M (-70%), Total $167.3M/Wk 2

2.) Cocaine Bear (Uni) 3,534 theaters, Fri $8.65M, Sat $8.8M Sun $5.5M 3-day $23.09M/Wk 1

3.) Jesus Revolution (LG) 2,475 theaters, Fri $6.95M (includes $3.3M previews) Sat $4.7M Sun $3.8M 3-day $15.5M/Wk 1

4.) Avatar: The Way of Water (Dis) 2,495 theaters (-180), Fri $1.1M (-19%) Sat $2.3M Sun $1.3M 3-day $4.7M (-28%)Total $665.3M /Wk 11

5.) Puss in Boots: Last Wish (Uni) 2,840 theaters (-172), Fri $900K (-26%) Sat $1.95M Sun $1.27M 3-day $4.1M (-23%), Total $173.4M/Wk 10

6.) Magic Mike’s Last Dance (WB) 2,918 (-116) theaters,Fri $905K (-46%) Sat $1.23M Sun $865K 3-day $3M (-45%) total $23.2M/Wk 3

7.) Knock at the Cabin (Uni) 2,115 (-486) theaters, Fri $520K (-49%) Sat $870K Sun $480K 3-day $1.87M (-53%) Total $33.9M /Wk 4

8.) 80 for Brady (Par) 2,397 (-722) theaters, Fri $480K (-52%) Sat $820K Sun $530K 3-day $1.83M (-51%)/Total $36.4M/Wk 4

9.) Missing (Sony) 1,006 (-510) theaters, Fri $263K Sat $485K Sun $262K 3 day $1M (-41%) Total $31.4M/Wk 6

10.) A Man Called Otto (Sony) 1,118 (-607) theaters, Fri $217K Sat $391K Sun $242K 3-day $850K (-47%) Total $62.2M/Wk 9

 

via Deadline

‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ Opens Big with $118 Million at the BO!!

‘Magic Mike’s Last Dance’ Marks $8.2 Million Debut at the BO!!

For a slow time at the box office — before the marketplace gets rich with Marvel Studios/Disney’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania next weekend ($120M 4-day) — it sure is intriguing, particularly with smaller movies.

Last weekend, we had Paramount’s 80 for Brady and the whole discount ticketing stunt, as well as Universal’s Knock at the Cabin lukewarm opening, with the director M. Night Shyamalan leaving his agency the day after.

This weekend, it’s the reverse engineering of Steven Soderbergh’s Magic Mike’s Last Dance from HBO Max to an exclusive theatrical release. What could be wrong with that?

For the most part, really nothing. The movie, which was intentionally booked by Warner Bros. in specific theaters at 1,500, made $4.1M on Friday (with previews) and eased to $3.1M yesterday for an opening to $8.2M, per WB numbers this morning. The studio is estimating a 70% drop today from Saturday due to Super Bowl for a $940K take. Worldwide launch for the threequel was $18.6M in 42 markets. In fact, the movies in the top 10 today are looking at a 63% drop between today’s grosses and Saturday due to moviegoers peeling off for the big game. All pics looked to have grossed around $53.6M, even with the same Super Bowl weekend a year ago; that’s when 20th/Disney’s Death on the Nile opened to $12.8M. Warners is hoping to get a spike on Valentine’s Day Tuesday with Magic Mike’s Last Dance.

Magic Mike’s Last Dance reps Tatum’s third No. 1 opening in the Super Bowl and pre-Valentine’s Day space, after 2010’s Dear John ($30.4M) and 2012’s The Vow ($41.2M).

At a low level, Magic Mike’s Last Dance is a notch above Uni’s theatrical-day-and-date of Jennifer Lopez-Owen Wilson’s Marry Me opening a year ago ($7.9M), and it’s ahead of the opening for Soderbergh’s other theatrical distribution ‘experiment’, Logan Lucky ($7.6M, true different demos and specialty distributor, but read more about that here).

Look, in the wake of all the melodrama with Project Popcorn during the Jason Kilar era of WarnerMedia, with not just exhibition, but talent reps, too, the studio saw the opportunity to course-correct and capitalize by making certain movies exclusive to theatrical. Remember, Warner Discovery CEO David Zaslav believes in theatrical, believes in its patina and its downstream revenue opportunities.

However, in the wake of Paramount turning originally intended streaming movies Smile and 80 for Brady into theatrical marquee titles, the question remained why Warner Bros wasn’t doing the same with the movies that they’re reverse-engineering from HBO Max to theatrical. House Party ($3.9M opening, $8.8M domestic) didn’t seem to make any waves. Granted, the pic was always a cult title, but broke $19M-$20M in its previous ’90s installments. The Sam Raimi-executive produced Evil Dead Rises, another HBO Max-to big screen release, is expected to get more oomph in its release. Horror is working at the box office, and the pic is getting a big shiny world premiere at SXSW. That pic’s trailer played like a rock concert at CineEurope last summer.

“It’s a tax write-off!” cried one rival studio executive to me about Magic Mike’s Last Dance going theatrical. Um, well….There’s a real business decision by Warner Bros here to monetize off an ancillary rate card by going theatrical. And the M.O. is to hit breakeven. But with Magic Mike’s Last Dance costing in the high $40M range before a P&A spend of $20M+ (largely digital and less than the $30M+ promo spend for Channing Tatum’s Dog last year, which opened to $14.8M, legged out to $61M), how does this movie even approach breakeven? Best to go theatrical and capture as many ancillary revenues as possible than collapse windows and make the IP worthless.

Warners would promote these limited titles on female-targeted networks on Warner Discovery (Zas is a big proponent of corporate internal synergies working toward the greater good). iSpot told us earlier this week that they monitored just under $9M in TV spot buys for Magic Mike’s Last Dance, a campaign that yielded 1.37 billion impressions, with runs on TLC, Investigation Discovery, Food Network, TBS, and the Discovery Channel, and on shows such as The Big Bang Theory, Diners Drive-Ins and Dives, Dr. Phil, Sheldon, and 90 Day Fiance- The Other Way.

In sum, different studios are approaching their reverse engineering of streaming titles in different ways. Paramount turned Smile and looked to turn 80 for Brady into events. Warners is looking to reap money in the home market. Going theatrical triggers greater downstreams. What makes a title attractive on an HBO Max menu? Going theatrical.

So, Warners decided to put Magic Mike’s Last Dance into theaters after test screenings in Orange County. Exhibitors received favorable rentals terms. The only gripe some exhibitors have this weekend is that they wanted to play the movie, and weren’t able to book it. Considering that, an argument can be made, Warner Bros, whether money was left on the table here.

Top ten theaters for Magic Mike 3 were 1. Santikos Palladium San Antonio, 2. Santikos Casa Blanca
San Antonio, 3. AMC Century City Los Angeles, 4. Star Cinema Grill Baybrook Houston, 5. AMC
Burbank Los Angeles, 6. Alamo Brooklyn New York, 7. Harkins Estrella Falls Phoenix, 8. AMC
Porter Ranch Los Angeles, 9. AMC Lincoln Square New York, and 10. Cinemark Century 16
Corpus Christi Texas. Top markets were 1. Los Angeles, 2. New York, 3. Dallas, 4. Chicago, 5. San
Francisco, 6. Houston, 7. Washington DC, 8. Toronto, 9. Philadelphia, and 10. Phoenix.

Now –and I’m just the messenger here– there’s been chatter out there that Soderbergh and Tatum weren’t in favor of a theatrical release. Their thoughts reportedly was that the threequel was made as a platform play, not to the production zenith of a big screen release. Why go theatrical? It is the worst-reviewed Magic Mike of all-time at 46%. But audiences on Rotten Tomatoes like it the most out of the the three at 74% (there’s no CinemaScore or Posttrak exits, given the pic’s theater count threshold).

I’ve been told by parties close to both that that’s not true, and frankly, actions speak more than words: Soderbergh has talked up the movie in the press, and Tatum and Salma Hayek Pinault have been promoting the pic big time with a Miami press day, premiere, the actress doing Jimmy Kimmel, and both stars on Good Morning America.

Now, there’s another thing going on in distribution-land, and it’s a Cold War between distributors not sharing their box office numbers with each other in Comscore. This all started during the pandemic when Warner Bros. decided not to share numbers on Tenet; the studio was looking to block rival distributors from sharing numbers to the press and creating a narrative that wasn’t fueled by the studio.

Warners isn’t sharing numbers in Comscore on Magic Mike’s Last Dance. Paramount didn’t share numbers with rivals last Friday on 80 for Brady. However, it promptly lifted the embargo on Saturday AM. Part of the excuse on behalf of some distributors is — well, streamers like Amazon and Netflix don’t share numbers on their limited releases, why should we? Look, knowledge is power: If distributors aren’t sharing drilled-down box office details between each other, it just prevents other great (or not-so-great) maneuvers from happening in the marketplace.

The fear is that the box office media would compare Magic Mike’s Last Dance to its $39.1M 3-day opening of the 2012 film and the $12.8M 3-day of the 2015 film. Look, the threequel isn’t a Marvel movie. It’s a female- skewing threequel in an adult franchise. Even if the pic was originally conceived for theatrical, and had a wide release, the laws of gravity at the box office would prevail for Magic Mike’s Last Dance. Box office numbers speak for themselves:

As dignified and brave as Warners was by attempting a theatrical release with NYC and LA closed, Tenet‘s opening over Labor Day 2020 of $9.3M was so bad without those box office capitals, it forced distributors to pull movies and Regal to re-close until early March 2021. And that was with not-sharing numbers. So, let’s have cooler heads prevail and share intelligence, guys. No?

Paramount’s 25th anniversary rerelease of James Cameron’s Titanic is in third place with $6.4M, after a $2.7M Friday and near $2.7M Saturday. 3D locations only at 2,464 theaters. The movie’s current lifetime running total is $665.7M which includes a 2012 and 2017 rerelease, No. 8 on the list of all-time highest grossing movies in U.S./Canada while Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water through this weekend stands at $646.9M in 10th place.

Avatar: The Way of Water notched ahead of Titanic in the No. 2 spot in its 9th weekend with $6.9M. The global weekend win belongs to Avatar 2 in its fight against Titanic, $25.8M to $22.3M.

Great exits, duh, with Comscore/Screen Engine’s PostTrak at 96% and a 77% recommend, female-skewing crowd at 63% and 57% between 18-34. “Clearly a good date movie playing to all ages,” says one rival. Diversity demos are 52% Caucasian, 29% Latino and Hispanic, 5% Black and 14% Asian/other. Pic is overindexing on the coasts, but playing evenly across the country with AMC Empire and AMC Burbank the best of the bunch.

The Melrose Lot’s 80 for Brady is 3rd with $6M second weekend, -53% and a running total of $24.9M.

Top 10 chart as of Sunday AM:

1.) Magic Mike’s Last Dance (WB) 1500 theaters, Fri $4.1M, Sat $3.1M Sun $940K 3-day $8.2M/Wk 1

2.) Avatar: The Way of Water (Dis) 3,065 theaters (-945), Fri $1.69M (-29%), Sat $3.8M Sun $1.3M 3-day $6.9M (-39%), Total $646.9M /Wk 9

3.) Titanic (Par) 2,464 theaters, Fri $2.7M, Sat $2.6M Sun $995K 3-day $6.4M/Wk 1

4.) 80 for Brady (Par) 3,939 (+27) theaters, Fri $1.85M (-60%), Sat $2.8M Sun $1.3M 3-day $6M (-53%)/Total $24.9M/Wk 2

5.) Puss in Boots: Last Wish (Uni) 3,227 theaters (-63), Fri $1.3M (-24%),Sat $2.95M Sun $1.24M 3-day $5.5M (-30%) , Total $158.4M/Wk 8
The Dreamworks Animated movie passed the original 2011 Puss in Boots domestic haul of $149M last weekend, and at the same point in time as Sing 2‘s domestic run, is 10% ahead of that movie which finaled at $162.7M.

6.) Knock at the Cabin (Uni) 3,657 (+14) theaters, Fri $1.69M (-69%), Sat $2.8M Sun $1M 3-day $5.5M (-61%), Total $23.4M /Wk 2

8.) Missing (Sony) 2,315 (-250) theaters, Fri $710K, Sat $1.3M Sun $515K 3-day $2.6M (-30%) Total $26.6M/Wk 4

9.) M3GAN (Uni) 2,508 (-327), Fri $640K (-33%), Sat $1.27M Sun $450K 3-day $2.37M (-38%), Total $90.9M/Wk 6

10.) Plane (LG) 1,679 (-524) theaters, Fri $360K, Sat $657K Sun $168K 3-day $1.185M (-46%), Total $30.7M/Wk 5

via Deadline

‘Knock at the Cabin’ Opens with $14.2 Million while ’80 For Brady’ is Popular at the BO!!

Universal’s M. Night Shyamalan movie Knock at the Cabin held up over Paramount’s 80 for Brady, $14.2M to $12.5M, even though the latter had discount matinee ticketing in most theaters coast-to-coast.

While the experimental ticket price drop didn’t exactly mushroom more bucks than Knock at the Cabin, 80 for Brady pulled in more people than Knock at the Cabin, estimated 1.3 million to 1.1 million, according to box office stat corp EntTelligence, which actually counts seats for the industry. The average ticket price for 80 for Brady was $9.79 to Knock on the Cabin‘s $12.30. So, in regards to Paramount and exhibition’s great team-up, something definitely worked here that bears repeating with subsequent films for older demos. In the same breath, more admissions doesn’t always mean more bucks when tickets are discounted.

“The success of exhibition has always been predicated on more people in seats,” explains Paramount domestic distribution chief Chris Aronson, “What 80 for Brady proves is that when you give the audience what they want, they will respond.”

A reminder that 80 for Brady will have this discount ticketing plan in place for the remainder of its run. It’s not just a one-weekend price drop, ala the price gouge that top exhibitors do for superhero movies during their opening weekends. It will be interesting to see the hold for 80 for Brady next weekend over the Super Bowl, especially on Sunday, when men retreat from the cinemas. The Jane Fonda-Diana Keaton-Candice Bergen team-up, Book Club, eased -26% in weekend 2 or $10M while Warner Bros.’ 2017 older skewing Going in Style fell -47% in weekend 2. 80 for Brady‘s opening is just under Book Club’s $13.5M and above Going in Style‘s $11.9M. Paramount acquired the movie from Fifth Season, and financed it for $28M.

Uni gets bragging rights with Knock at the Cabin for being the first movie to open to No. 1 of 2023 and sideline Avatar 2 after its seven-weekends- straight reign at the top of the chart. Knock is also the seventh Shyamalan movie to open to No. 1.

“Knock At The Cabin debuted very well at the domestic box office this weekend,” said domestic distribution boss Jim Orr, “M. Night Shyamalan is a master storyteller who once again had audiences holding their collective breath from this intense thriller. We anticipate a very healthy run in theatres going forward from here.”

The pic came on tracking weeks ago at $20M, and then simmered to its current teen level. The opening for Knock is just under Old‘s $16.8M, even with Dolby and PLF tickets at 750 locations (which repped 27% of the pic’s box office). Yes, we’re far from the Shyamalan boom time of Split and Glass (both $40M+ starts), and Knock isn’t M3GAN ($30M start). However, there’s much to be thankful for: In this Covid-eased time, this pic isn’t theatrical day-and-date on Peacock. As we’ve overwritten, this is what happens with Shyamalan movies: Audiences are either stoked or they’re not, and thus, there’s a direct correlation to business. In terms of how the filmmaker rebounds box office-wise going forward, that’s a conversation between him and the studio. In the meantime, Uni is smart enough to keep these movies cheap, Knock at the Cabin was at $20M before P&A.

As we said, 80 for Brady would dominate matinees, while Knock at the Cabin stood tall in the evenings. EntTelligence shows that the Fonda-Tomlin-Sally Field-Rita Moreno movie’s best day part, admissions-wise, was 1-5 PM yesterday, driving more than 50% of its daily admissions, while Knock‘s was 5 PM-8 PM and post 8 PM, which combined, repped near 62% of that title’s foot traffic. Moe comps on days parts with 80 for Brady vs. Knock at the Cabin: Pre 1PM (12.96% vs. 6.24%), 1PM-5PM (50.5% vs. 31.96%), 5PM-8PM (29.88% vs. 37.46%), and post 8PM Saturday (6.6% vs. 24.3%).

Knock at the Cabin‘s campaign centered around two trailers, the first of which debuted in late September with the second dropping somewhat diabolically as families gathered together on Christmas Day. The second trailer went on to exceed the views of the first, which doesn’t always happen. Together, both trailers amassed more than 230 million global views to date. Heading into the weekend, social media data firm RelishMix reported that social media awareness stats on the Shyamalan film were 187% above genre norms for early year horror tiles — slightly below M3GAN from 4 weeks ago — with a strong balance of user engagement across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. Total social media universe was just under 250M. “Fans are making mixed comparisons to the book and how it will be parallel to the movie,” RelishMix commented on the pre-weekend chatter for Knock at the Cabin.

Digital and experiential marketing elements played a key role in the film’s campaign, including an immersive Knock at the Cabin themed experience hosted by Canon at CES that recreated the cabin from the film. Additionally, Dave Bautista debuted across his 15M-followed social channels new, longer-length :60 spots. Word-of-mouth screenings were held across 15 Alamo Drafthouse locations. Media spots ran during the NFC Championship Game, 12 NBA games, which included a :30, and the custom spot featuring Shyamalan and James Harden enjoying a getaway in their own cabin before being interrupted by some knocks at the door from Doc Rivers.

RelishMix reports that the social media universe for 80 for Brady stood at a strong 102.1M, especially for a movie targeted at 45+. “YouTube stats are strongest with Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok views at 37.3M, total views on Paramount channels, and for the movie — plus 12M TikTok hash-tagged views. Activity on the Tom Brady retirement news has obviously contributed,” says RelishMix. Key talent drivers were Brady with 25.7M followers, and Fonda with 3.5M fans.

Before opening, RelishMix pointed out, “Convo on 80 For Brady runs positive, as fans adore the press appearances on talk shows and behind the scenes digital programs — with absolute adoration of Rita Moreno and her energy at 91 years old, plus Sally Field, Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda as the new Fab-Four. Chatter recognizes everything that they represent as revolutionaries, change-makers, trendsetters, and role models. With that, the chemistry mixed with the plot and Tom Brady score extra points, crossing into multiple psychographic-demographic segments.”

Finals demos on 80 for Brady, 82% over 25, 73% over 35, 65% over 45, and a whopping 49% over 55. Diversity demos were 78% Caucasian, 12% Hispanic and Latino, 4% Black and 3% Asian. Women repped 68% of the audience.

Better news for the motion picture industry? The fifth weekend of February for all films grossed $81M. That’s +103% ahead of the same frame in 2019 ($73.4M), even with 2020 ($80.7M) and +36% from last year ($59.7M).

1.) Knock at the Cabin (Uni) 3,643 theaters, Fri $5.42M, Sat $5.47M Sun $3.3M 3-day $14.2M/Wk 1

2.) 80 for Brady (Par) 3,912 theaters, Fri $4.7M, Sat $4.55M, Sun $3.25 3-day $12.5M/Wk 1

3.) Avatar: The Way of Water (Dis) 3,310 theaters (-290), Fri $2.4M (-35%), Sat $5.4M Sun $3M 3-day $10.8M (-32%), Total $636.4M /Wk 8

4.) Puss in Boots: Last Wish (Uni) 3,290 theaters (-162), Fri $1.69M (-31%), Sat $3.7M Sun $2.46M 3-day $7.95M (-24%) , Total $151.2M/Wk 7

5.) BTS: Yet to Come in Cinemas (Tra) 1,125 theaters, Fri $1.68M, Sat $2.7M Sun $1.9M 3-day $6.3M, Total $9.1M/Wk 1

6.) A Man Called Otto (Sony) 3,407 (-550) theaters, Fri $1.1M (-43%), Sat $1.9M Sun $1.1M 3-day $4.1M (-37%) Total $53M/Wk 6

7.) M3GAN (Uni) 2,835 theaters (-581), Fri $950K (-43%), Sat $1.8M Sun $1M 3-day $3.8M (-39%), Total $87.5M/Wk 5

8.) Missing (Sony) 2,565 (-460) theaters, Fri $945K Sat $1.79M Sun $990K 3-day $3.7M (-34%) Total $23M/Wk 3

9.) Chosen Season 3 (Fath) 1,546 theaters, Fri $2.27M, Sat $783K Sun $587K 3-day $3.64M, Total $5.3M/Wk 1

10.) Pathaan (YSR) 700 (+5) theaters, Fri $686K, Sat $1.1M Sun $841K, 3-day $2.7M (-61%), Total $14.2M/Wk 2

via Deadline

‘Avatar 2’ Continues to Climb Charts of Top-Grossing Pics of All-Time; while SRK Starrer ‘Pathaan’ Opens Strong at the BO!!

Coming out of this weekend, by mid-week, Disney/20th Century Studios/Lightstorm’s Avatar: The Way of Water will easily surpass The Avengers as the No. 10 highest-grossing movie ever in U.S./Canada with $623.3M. The James Cameron-directed pic has made $15.7M in its seventh straight No. 1 weekend streak. Avatar 2‘s seven-weekend run at No. 1 ties with the original Avatar and the Henry Fonda-Katherine Hepburn multi-Oscar-winning movie, On Golden Pond.

By the end of today, Avatar 2 at $620.58M flies past Star Wars: The Last Jedi‘s domestic take of $620.1M as the 11th-highest grossing movie of all-time in the U.S./Canada. With a worldwide take now of $2.116 billion, Avatar 2 is the 4th-highest global release of all-time, having passed Force Awakens’ $2.07 billion, putting Cameron with the top three of the of top 4 movies of all-time: Avatar No. 1 ($2.9 billion), Titanic No. 3 ($2.19 billion) and Way of Water No. 4. Avengers: Endgame is No. 2 worldwide with $2.799B.

Among all the Oscar-nominated Best Pictures this year, the 4x nominated Avatar 2 is really the only movie expected to make buckets of money heading into Oscar night on March 12 (however, A24’s 11-Oscar nominated Everything Everywhere All at Once cleared $1M this weekend in rerelease — and it’s available to watch on Showtime). All of Avatar 2‘s money here isn’t technically from its Best Picture momentum, a rather blockbuster force in the marketplace. Avatar 2 still has all its Imax and a big chunk of PLF. I hear they cede their Dolby screens to Universal’s Knock at the Cabin next weekend, that movie hopefully providing a little lift to the sleepy winter box office with a $17M-$20M start. The domestic box office for 2023 goes into overdrive starting Presidents Day weekend, with the $120M 4-day start of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

With no major studio wide theatrical releases this weekend, all films are looking at around a $71.2M take, which is up a great +103% from a year ago, when the marketplace was shackled by Omicron, all titles grossing $35M.

Among those distributors and pics taking advantage of a frame where there aren’t any new major studio titles:

Yash Raj’s Indian spy pic Pathaan from Siddharth Anand looks to open to $5.95M at 695 locations in 162 markets. The movie in Hindi, Tamil, & Telugu had a Wednesday start and should file $8.5M by EOD today. Movie saw pretty strong numbers in Toronto, NYC, Chicago, Dallas, Vancouver, San Francisco, and Seattle. The movie follows an Indian spy who takes on the leader of a group of mercenaries, they having nefarious plans to target his homeland.

Fathom Events’ Left Behind: Rise of the Antichrist from Kevin Sorbo grossed $2.97 M at 1,362 theaters. The movie played the Faith-based belt of the South and Midwest, where eight of the top ten runs came from. The only L.A. theater to make the list was Burbank. Logline: The only light after the world falls into chaos is a charming new leader who rises to the head of the UN. But does he bring hope for a better future? Or is it the end of the world?

NEON/Topic Studio’s Sundance midnight premiere Infinity Pool from Brandon Cronenberg settled on a $2.72M opening at 1,835 theaters. While the Sundance director’s cut was NC-17 with scenes of orgies, breastfeeding, and several scenes to make one blush, the theatrical cut is R. That $3M start is better than Papa David Cronenberg’s $1.1M opening this past summer for his Cannes premiere Crimes of the Future, also from NEON, and it’s better than that pic’s lifetime domestic of $2.4M.

Though 88% fresh among critics, the Alexander Skarsgard, Mia Goth, Cleopatra Coleman movie got a C- Cinemascore with audiences and 52% among Comscore/Screen Engine PostTrak audiences, who gave it a lowly 28% recommend. Mostly guys here at 60% and 67% between 18-34. Diversity demos were 57% Caucasian, 24% Latino and Hispanic, 11% Asian/other, and 8% Black. The movie did its business on the coasts, where nine of the top ten theaters are. Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar in Austin ranked No. 7. I’m told ticket sales dropped off the deeper one looked into the best markets of NYC, LA, Chicago, Dallas, and Philly.

WellGoUSA’s release of Chinese sequel Wandering Earth II in 61 markets had solid numbers in NYC, LA, Boston, San Francisco, Toronto, and Vancouver with $1.3M. The movie cracked close to $70M in its opening over the Lunar New Year last weekend. The movie has amassed over $352M in China in its first week. Wow.

Trafalgar’s release of Billie Eilish: Live at the 02 is around the same amount, with $1.29M-$1.3M at 600 locations in 143 markets in a one-night only event. The movie delivered inside and outside big cities.

Chart is updating with Sunday numbers…

2. Puss in Boots 2 (Uni) 3,452 (-159) theaters Fri $2.4 (-13%), Sat $4.99M, Sun $3.19M, 3-day $10.6M (-10%), Total $140.8M/Wk 6

This Dreamworks sequel is now $8.46M from beating the original 2011 Puss in Boots film, which ended its domestic run at $149.2M. Through its 6th weekend, Puss in Boots 2 is officially ahead of Sing 2 at the same point in time by 4.8%. Sing 2 ended its domestic run at $162.7M.

3.) A Man Called Otto (Sony) 3,957 (+155) theaters, Fri $1.95M, Sat $3.1M, Sun $1.6M, 3 day $6.75M (-23%), Total $46M, Wk 5

4.) M3GAN (Uni/Blum) 3,416 (-212) theaters, Fri $1.64M (-38%), Sat $3.05M, Sun $1.68M, 3 day $6.37M (-34%), Total $82.2M/Wk 4

5.) Pathaan (Yash) 694 theaters, Fri $1.858M, Sat $2.86M Sun $1.2M 3-day $5.95M, Total $8.5M/Wk 1

6.) Missing (Sony) 3,025 theaters Fri $1.55M (-54%), Sat $2.7M Sun $1.4M 3-day $5.675M (-38%), Total $17.5M/Wk 2

7.) Plane (LG) Fri $1.06M (-32%), Sat $1.88M Sun $873k 3 day $3.8M (-28%), Total $25.3M/Wk 3

8.) Left Behind: Rise…(FATH) 1,362 theaters, Fri $1.3M, Sat $948K, Sun $712K, 3day $2.97M/Wk 1

9.) Infinity Pool (NEON) 1,835 theaters Fri $1.1M, Sat $910K, Sun $685K, 3-day $2.72M/Wk 1

10.) Wandering Earth II (Well) 142 theaters, Fri $372K, Sat $625K Sun $358K 3-day $1.355M/Total $3M (with previews)Wk 1

11.) Billie Eilish (Traf) 596 Fri $1.29M, 1-day $1.29M/Wk 1

 

via Deadline

‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Has Become the 4th Highest Grossing Movie of All Time!!

James Cameron‘s Avatar: The Way of Water continues to make a massive impact a month and a half after hitting theaters. Just a couple of days after surpassing Marvel Studios‘ Avengers: Infinity War at the worldwide box office, the first of Cameron‘s Pandora-centered sequels has now grossed $2.074 billion, placing it above Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘ $2.07 billion milestone obtained back in 2016. The Way of Water is now the fourth highest-grossing movie of all time at the worldwide box office, only below Cameron‘s Titanic ($2.19 billion), Avengers: Endgame ($2.799 billion), and the first Avatar movie ($2.9 billion).

Over a billion dollars from the film’s box office haul has been obtained from 3D screenings, meaning that around half of the people who ventured out to theaters to enjoy the film had a preference for the format. Added to that, The Way of Water became the second highest IMAX-grossing film in history last week, with its then $227 million gross from the format only bested by its predecessor.

Not only is The Way of Water the highest-grossing film of 2022, but is also the highest-grossing film out of this year’s Academy Awards nominees for Best Picture. The film is also nominated for Best Visual Effects, Best Production Design and Best Sound. The 95th Academy Awards ceremony will take place on March 12 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California. It remains to be seen how many awards the film can take home, after the original Avatar film won three awards out of nine nominations back in 2010.

The Way of Water is the first out of four planned sequels Cameron has in store. The third movie in the Avatar series is currently slated to hit theaters on December 20, 2024. There aren’t many plot details available regarding the upcoming film, but Cameron hasn’t been afraid to reveal a few tidbits, including the fact that Lo’ak (Britain Dalton) will serve as the narrator for it. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), Lo’ak’s father, was the narrator in the second film, where he set the tone for the opening and closing sequences of the story.

The first Avatar sequel is currently playing in theaters nationwide, where it is projected to spend its seventh weekend in a row at the top of the domestic box office chart.

 

via Collider

‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Has Become the 5th Highest Grossing Movie of All Time!!

The momentum for Avatar: The Way of Water doesn’t appear to be slowing down—the epic science fiction sequel recently surpassed $2.054 billion at the global box office, topping Avengers: Infinity War and becoming the fifth highest-grossing film of all time. The achievement comes shortly after recent reports announcing the long-awaited sequel crossed the $2 billion mark, making it the sixth film in history to do so and the third for director James Cameron, the first filmmaker in history to achieve it. In addition to passing the hit Marvel Studios film, the movie currently stands as the highest-grossing post-pandemic release.

In the coming days, the film will likely swim its way past Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘ spot at fourth place, where it will sit behind Titanic, another movie from Cameron. Whether the film can surpass Titanic‘s $2.194 billion remains to be seen, especially as the 1997 film enters its February re-release in celebration of its 25th anniversary. However, with a lack of competition for the next several weeks until the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the movie should continue to maintain steady legs as it continues to climb its way up the all-time list.

Domestically, the film has earned a total of $603 million, currently putting it behind Top Gun: Maverick‘s $718 million. However, the movie is now tracking ahead of Maverick on its 41st day of release, which tallied $579 million. Should the momentum continue, Avatar: The Way of Water will likely become the highest-grossing domestic release of 2022 in the next several weeks. Compared to its domestic opening of $134 million, the current box office total reflects the strong legs the film has held for the past several weeks following its December debut in contrast to the front-loaded nature of other major blockbusters.

A lot was at stake for the franchise’s future, with a third film already completed alongside several more down the line already in the works. However, it appears that the 13 years of development have finally paid off. Alongside its global dominance at the box office, the film recently earned four Academy Award nominations, which include Best Achievement in Visual Effects, Best Achievement in Production Design, Best Sound, and Best Motion Picture of the Year.

While details on the next film remain a mystery, Cameron previously revealed that the film will focus more on Lo’ak (Britain Dalton), the son of Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), and will feature the Ash People, a Na’vi tribe that lives in the volcanic regions of Pandora. With so much in store for the franchise’s future, fans have much to look forward to for the next few years.

Avatar: The Way of Water is now playing in theaters.

 

via Collider

‘Pathaan’: Shah Rukh Khan Sets Record Highest Single Day Opening with Rs. 57 Cr at the India BO!!

The Siddharth Anand directorial Pathaan starring Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, and John Abraham finally hit screens yesterday. After much talk, anticipation, and expectations the Yash Raj Films production opened to a thunderous response from the audience. After garnering positive reviews from the critics, the mass action entertainer saw its business soar, with advance bookings indicating a windfall collection on its opening day.

In this box office report, we take a look at the collections of Pathaan on its opening day while comparing the same to previous releases that have grossed the most on any single day. Released across 5500 screens in the domestic market alone Pathaan which has seen one of the widest releases for a Bollywood film ever, with shows starting at mid-night has managed to rake in a staggering Rs. 57 cr (Hindi Rs. 55 cr + Tamil & Telugu Rs. 2 cr). With this, the film has now emerged as the all-time highest single-day grosser. In fact, Pathaan has managed to surpass previous releases like KGF – Chapter 2, War, Thugs of Hindostan, Sanju, Baahubali 2 – The Conclusion, and Tiger Zinda Hai amongst others.

While emerging as the single day highest grosser ever is a feat in itself, going by the current scenario with the audience demand for Pathaan at an all-time high, and January 26 being a national holiday expectations are that the business of the film will see further growth. In fact, it will come as no surprise if Pathaan manages to surpass its own record on its second day running. As of now, trade predictions state that Pathaan could easily cross the Rs. 100 cr mark by the end of its second day, with predictions also claiming that the business of the film could cross the Rs. 200 cr mark by the end of its extended opening weekend.

 

via Bollywood Hungama

‘Avatar 2’, ‘Puss in Boots 2’ and ‘M3GAN’ Continue Hold at the BO!!

Thank to the legs on Christmas holdovers Avatar: The Way of Water and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, and M3GAN running to $73.2M, the 2023 box office is surging to an estimated $514.7M for the Jan. 1-Jan. 22 period, +39% over last year, which was at $370M per box office sources.

Avatar 2 landed a sixth weekend of $19.7M, which could get it to become the 7th-best sixth frame ever (a detailed record which the first Avatar holds at $34.9M). A year ago at this time, it was Spider-Man: No Way Home, which was leading the chart in its sixth weekend with a take of $14M. On the high end, the 20th Century Studios/Disney/Lightstorm title gets to $597.9M today, and hits $2.024 billion worldwide. On the global side, that’s still the 6th-highest grossing title ever, under Avengers: Infinity War ($2.05 billion). Friday was $4.6M, -34%. Imax counted $8.9M WW this weekend, 11.7% of the global weekend total, for a $227M global gross on the sequel, soaring past The Force Awakens to become the second-highest grossing Imax movie ever. US/Canada Imax theaters made $2.9M, repping close to 15% of the weekend’s ticket sales, for a running total of $79.4m.

Puss in Boots 2 in weekend 5 is at $11.5M, -21%, for a running total of $126.4M. That cume is now only 5% off from where Sing 2 was at the same point in time a year ago.

Sony’s Nicholas D. Johnson-Will Merrick movie Missing is filing in the high single digits with $9.3M, after a $3.4M Friday (that includes previews) and $3.6M Saturday. While Searching had a different type of launch back in 2018, then going wide over Labor Day weekend, Missing made more than that second weekend expansion of the Aneesh Chaganty directed/written thriller. Critics gave Missing an 82% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, while audiences graded it a B with CinemaScore and 81% positive/60% recommend on Comscore/Screen Engine’s PostTrak. Mostly women showed up, with 48% between 25-44. Diversity demos were 30% Caucasian, 26% Hispanic and Latino, 24% Black, and 20% Asian/other. The thriller played on the coasts and the South, with NY and LA owning six of the top ten runs.

Missing social media core awareness levels were tracking 8% over thriller norms at 114.8M across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, heavily on Instagram, and vigorously fan boosted on TikTok, according to RelishMix. Additional organic viral views on TikTok were running at 217M views, days before opening, now adding 18M views daily for #missingmovie, filled with review spots from screening in several markets. Pic’s star Storm Reid stoked her near-3M social media followers, as did Euphoria‘s Nia Long, who also stars and has 9.5M followers.

Universal/Atomic Monster/Blumhouse’s third weekend of M3GAN is looking at $9.1M over the three days.

Sony’s A Man Called Otto‘s fourth weekend is $9M, -30%, for a running total of $35.3M. Industry domestic outlook for the Tom Hanks drama is around $55M.

There is another wide release for the weekend, not just Missing, and it’s Crunchyroll’s The Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime The Movie: Scarlet Bond. Including Thursday previews, day one came in at $697,7K at 1,468 locations. Weekend outlook is $1.459M. Pic is is based on the best-selling light novel, written by Fuse and illustrated by Mitz Vah, and the fantasy adventure anime series That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. The series follows Mikami Satoru, an average 37-year-old who dies and is reincarnated as the most unremarkable creature imaginable—a slime. Initially, things are pretty grim. He’s blind, deaf, and weak. But by combining his two special abilities, “Predator” and “Great Sage,” the newly named Rimuru Tempest will use his blobby powers to gain friends and foes alike in a diverse new world.

The stand-alone story takes place following the ending of Season 2 of the anime series, currently streaming on Crunchyroll. In the movie, a long-running conspiracy is swirling over a mysterious power wielded by the Queen in Raja, a small country west of Tempest. When a slime who evolved into a Demon Lord named Rimuru Tempest crosses paths with Hiiro, a survivor of the Ogre race, an incredible adventure packed with new characters begins. The power of bonds are put to the test.

PostTrak exits were only 77% positive, with a 58% recommend. Guys, as is standard for anime, showed up at 75%, with 78% between 18-34. Diversity demos were 34% Caucasian, 28% Latino and Hispanic, 14% Black and 24% Asian/other. The movie played best in the West along with the South, where nine of the top ten runs came from.

Chart is updated with Sunday numbers

1.) Avatar 2 (Dis) 3,790 (-255) theaters Fri $4.6M (-34%) Sat $9.3M Sun $5.7M 3-day $19.7M (-40%), Total $597.9M /Wk 6

2.) Puss in in Boots 2 (Uni) 3,611 (-76) theaters Fri $2.75M (-10%) Sat $5.4M Sun $3.2M 3-day $11.5M (-21%)/Total $126.4M/Wk 5

3.) Missing (Sony) 3.025 theaters, Fri $3.4M, Sat $3.6M Sun $2.1M 3-day $9.3M/Wk 1

4.) M3GAN (Uni) 3,628 (+23) theaters Fri $2.6M (-46%)3-day $9.1M (-50%) Total $72.6M /Wk 3

5.) A Man Called Otto (Sony) 3,802 theaters, Fri $2.7M (-35%), Sat $3.8M Sun $2.4M, 3-day $9M (-30%)/Total $35.3M/Wk 4

6.) Plane (LG) 3,060 theaters (+37%), Fri $1.56M (-56%) Sat $2.3M Sun $1.3M 3-day $5.3M (-50%), Total $19.5M/Wk 2

7.) House Party (NL) 1,400 theaters, Fri $515K (-63%), $760K, Sun $500K 3-day $1.77M (-55%), Total $7.1M/Wk 2

8.) That Time I Got…(Crunchyroll), 1,468 theaters, Fri $697,7K, Sat $507,5K Sun $250K 3-day $1.459M/Wk 1

9.) Wakanda Forever (Dis) 1,525 (-385) theaters Fri $335K (-36%) Sat $658K Sun $405K 3-day $1.39M (-43%), Total $451.8M/ Wk 11

10) The Whale (A24) 1,591 (+91) theaters Fri $360,9K (-14%) Sat $541,3K Sun $378,9K 3 day $1.28M (-15%) Total $13.1M/Wk 7

 

via Deadline

‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Crosses $2 Billion at the Worldwide BO!!

Director James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water has become the sixth film in history to pass the $2 billion mark at the global box office. With $598 million domestically and $1.42 billion from overseas markets, The Way of Water’s global haul now stands at a phenomenal $2.023 billion.

The epic science-fiction sequel, released 13 years after the first Avatar, is still the sixth-biggest film of all time at the global box office, and will top Avengers: Infinity War ($2.048 billion) and Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2.064 billion) in a matter of hours, settling into the fourth spot. When it does, The Way of Water will trail only Titanic ($2.2 billion), Avengers: Endgame ($2.79 billion) and the first Avatar ($2.9 billion) — meaning that three of the top four movies in history will be Cameron’s.

This should leave no doubt in anybody’s mind that he is the undisputed king of the box office, and that questioning his ability to attract audience to theaters and push the boundaries of big-budget filmmaking is foolish. In the weeks and months leading up to The Way of Water’s release, there were concerns about the franchise’s cultural relevance, considering that more than a decade had passed since the first movie — a decade in which the film’s fans had clearly not been as vocally supportive of it as they could have, especially online. Even the usually boisterous Cameron appeared to be reluctant to make big claims, when he said in a GQ profile that the franchise’s future was still up in the air, and that it would ultimately depend on The Way of Water’s success, which wasn’t a sure thing.

Because of the film’s high production costs, he said, The Way of Water would need to finish as the third or fourth-biggest film of all time just to break even. Variety later suggested that the break even point was closer to $1.5 billion, but either way, The Way of Water has now met those high benchmarks, and Cameron has said that he will move ahead with the Avatar 3 after all. The filmmaker has two further sequels written, and portions of the fourth film have been shot. He has said that he could also go as far as directing a sixth and seventh films, but that he would eventually have to hand over the reins to other filmmakers.

The U.S. is still the film’s biggest global market, followed by China ($229 million), France ($129 million), Germany ($117 million), Korea ($96 million) and the United Kingdom ($81 million). The Way of Water received a rare China release, and an even rarer extension, at a time when the Middle Kingdom has been growing increasingly unaccommodating towards imports. Notably, the first Avatar debuted in China when the number of operational theaters was only a fraction of what it is now. Over the years, the first film has been re-released in the Middle Kingdom multiple times, pushing it past the $200 million mark.

The Way of Water became the biggest film of the pandemic era after it overtook Spider-Man: No Way Home some days ago, and it is the first film of the pandemic era to gross over $2 billion globally. It is also the biggest film of 2022, ahead of Top Gun: Maverick, and the biggest global hit since 2019’s Endgame.

There’s clearly still fuel left in the tank for it to continue performing over the next few weeks. The first Avatar famously refused to drop for months, and even though The Way of Water hasn’t been as resilient, a lack of competition combined with event movie-status has helped keep it afloat for weeks.

 

via Collider

‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Has Become the Sixth-Highest Grossing Film of All Time!!

It’s official – James Cameron has done it again. Even in the strange new world we find ourselves in after a global pandemic, the legendary filmmaker has continued to defy the odds and expectations of him, outdoing himself once again, as his blockbuster sequel to Avatar has smashed another box office record. Avatar: The Way of Water, the long-awaited follow-up to the highest grossing film of all time (at $2.9 billion), today crossed the $1.916 billion mark set by 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home to become both the sixth-highest grossing film of all time, and the highest-grossing movie of the post-pandemic era.

The movie’s next major hurdle is breaching that coveted $2 billion dollar mark, a feat which has only been achieved by five other movies in history – Avatar, Avengers: Endgame (with $2.79 million), Titanic ($2.2 billion), Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($2.069 billion) and Avengers: Infinity War ($2.04 billion). Should The Way of Water hit that milestone, it would mean half of the films in that Big Six were directed by Cameron, a man who truly knows the meaning of the word “blockbuster”.

To date, The Way of Water has grossed $574 million in North America and $1.35 billion internationally after less than six weeks in theaters, following its release on December 16th last year. The international tally is all the more impressive when external factors like a lack of performance in Japan, where the original grossed $176 million, and the total absence of screenings in Russia – more than $100 million grossed originally.

At the domestic box office, it currently stands at 13th in the all-time table, having just passed The Lion King, The Dark Knight, and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Overseas, the film is $20 million away from becoming the fourth-highest grossing film of all time, closing in on Infinity War which grossed $1.370 billion internationally.

The film cost $460 million to produce and promote, and as a result, is one of the most expensive films ever made. A figure of $1.4 billion to break even was banded around, but that was easily passed, with Cameron himself confirming that he now expected to be extremely busy finishing the next three films in his space fantasy franchise. Having developed his own technology to shoot The Way of Water and its subsequent sequels, the budgets and break-even points for the follow-ups is expected to be significantly lower.

Avatar 3 is scheduled to open in theaters in December 2024. The Way of Water is currently playing in theaters.

 

via Collider

‘Avatar 2’ and ‘M3GAN’ Continue Rule While ‘A Man Called Otto’ Bests Expectations with $15M at the BO!!

After a snowstorm laden Christmas weekend caused a lot of concern for exhibition and studios, the MLK frame has provided a lot of hope at the box office, with all studios seeing an improved outlook on their estimates than they imagined. Results for the top five films are higher, indicative of walk-up business.

Avatar: The Way of Water‘s 4-day is now at $38.5M, which still ranks as the 13th-highest grossing movie at the domestic box office at $570.3M, taking over Jon Favreau’s The Lion King ($543.6M). How much gas does the movie have left in the tank? Rival distribution sources believe that Avatar 2 has a shot at flying past the lifetime US/Canada gross of James Cameron’s Titanic ($659.3M). While Sony has the horror thriller Missing next weekend, and there’s no major studio wide release over Jan. 27-29, the prediction is that Universal’s M. Night Shyamalan movie Knock at the Cabin on Feb. 3 is the first title that’s bound to knock Avatar 2 out of the No. 1 spot. The sequel’s 3-day at $31.1M is one of the best fifth weekends stateside, ranking behind the fifth frames of American Sniper ($64.6M) and the first Avatar in 2010 ($42.7M).

Imax screens repped 14.3% of the sequel’s fifth weekend, PLFS repped close to 19% and 3D was responsible for over 62% of Avatar 2‘s weekend ticket sales. Imax alone counted $5.5M over the 4-day, for a $75.2M running total for the large-format exhibitor; their 3rd-highest title ever in US/Canada. At $1.89 billion around the world, Avatar 2 is the seventh-highest grossing movie of all-time.

M3GAN‘s 4-day is now an awesome $21.2M, Puss in Boots: Last Wish with $17.3M 4-day will get the DreamWorks Animation sequel to $110.3M, and Sony’s A Man Called Otto, which had zero LA & NYC runs in its top 50 theaters, is providing a tremendous amount of optimism for heartland moviegoing with a $15M take. Realize, rivals were betting against this Tom Hanks drama in the wake of adult pics Babylon and I Wanna Dance With Somebody flopping over Christmas weekend. This despite the fact that Otto popped to the No. 4 spot last weekend off just 637 theaters, with a $4.2M take and near $7K per theater. The fact that this movie was set to do $8M this weekend, comes in at $15M, deafening its 68% Rotten Tomatoes’ critics rating with an A CinemaScore, is to be commended. Sony, similar to their $90M-grossing pandemic summer sleeper Where the Crawdads Sing, has electrified a dormant audience once again.

Even Lionsgate’s Plane is besting its projections with a $10M 3-day, $11.6M 4-day, which is right in the neighborhood of STX’s pre-pandemic guy action pic, The Gentlemen, which did $11.4M over a nonholiday, four-day stretch during the last weekend of January. Plane, like Gentlemen, has a B+ Cinemascore. To clarify: There was a whole back and forth with this movie. Lionsgate first took domestic and a selection of foreign rights off the table at AFM 2019. Lionsgate has taken rights for North America, Latin America, the UK and India, back then with CAA Media Finance brokering domestic rights, and MadRiver International hanlding the rest of the world. Then Lionsgate exited in November 2020 because the production couldn’t get Covid insurance and the risk became too great a pic that was budgeted at $50M. Originally, Plane was suppose to be shooting in Malaysia but stalled because of a COVID spike there. Then Solstice Studios (remember, them?) stepped in to save the film, taking global rights and apparently finding a way to self-insure the film. But by May 2021, the final points in the Solstice deal couldn’t be agreed upon and so Lionsgate re-acquired the project (N.A., India, UK, and Latin America) for what I’m told was in the low $20M range with the pic shooting in Puerto Rico. P&A spend was also low $20Ms. Lionsgate re-boarded the movie as the world was beginning to open up in the spring/summer of 2021.

Plane star Daniella Pineda celebrating the movie over the weekend, giving a shoutout to fans, and even heading to the cinema with friends to see it.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Daniella Pineda (@notdaniellapineda)

New Line’s House Party‘s 4-day is at $4.5M ($3.9M 3-day) is right where it was expected to be. The first movie in 1990 opened to $4.6M and had a 5.7x multiple, the second title in 1991 debuted to $6M and had a 3x multiple to $19.4M. The third movie in 1994 had a 2.8x multiple off its $6.8M opening for a $19.2M domestic final. If this reboot winds up doing those sorts of numbers, that’s not too shabby. After all, it was always a cult franchise. At the end of the day for most motion picture studios, it’s better to grab whatever money you can in theatrical, which will set any title onto a conveyor belt of downstream windows vs. going theatrical day-and-date, or worse, not going theatrical at all.

The first 16 days of 2023 are off to a very good start with all titles estimated to ring up $377M, 43% ahead of the same period a year ago.

1.) Avatar 2 (Dis) 4,045 (-295) theaters Fri $7M (-39%) Sat $13.8M Sun $10.3M Mon $7.3M 3-day $31.1M (-32%), 4-day $38.5M Total $570.3M/Wk 5

2.) M3GAN (Uni) 3,605 (+96) theaters Fri $4.85M (-59%), Sat $7.4M Sun $5.6M Mon $3.3M 3-day $17.9M (-41%) 4-day $21.2M Total $59.7M /Wk 2

3.) Puss in in Boots 2 (Uni) 3,687 (-232) theaters Fri $3M (-10%) Sat $5.9M Sun $4.3M Mon $3.9M 3-day $13.4M (-1%)/4-day $17.3M/Total $110.2M/Wk 4

4.) A Man Called Otto (Sony) 3,802 (+3165) theaters, Fri $4M (+162%), Sat $5.1M Sun $3.4M Mon $2.3M 3-day $12.65M (+201%) , 4-day $15M/Total $21.2M/Wk 3

5.) Plane (LG) 3,023 theaters, Fri $3.54M, Sat $3.8M Sun $2.6M Mon $1.5M 3-day $10M, 4-day $11.6M/Wk 1

6.) House Party (NL) 1,350 theaters, Fri $1.4M, Sat $1.4M, Sun $1M Mon $615K 3-day $3.6M 4-day $4.5M/Wk 1

7.) Wakanda Forever (Dis) 1,910 (-345) theaters Fri $524K (-46%) Sat $1M Sun $650K Mon $416K 3-day $2.1M (-43%), 4-day $2.6M Total $449.5M/ Wk 10

8) The Whale (A24) 1,500 (+665) theaters Fri $418,5K (-1%), Sat $589,5K Sun $442K Mon $353,7K 3 day $1.4M (-7%), 4-day $1.8M Total $11.1M/Wk 6

9.) I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Sony) 2,205 (-979 theaters) Fri $300K (-57%) Sat $500K Sun $375K Mon $250K 3-day $1.1M (-54%) , 4-day $1.4M, Total $22.1M/ Wk 4

10.) Waltair Veeraya (Ind) 350 theaters, Fri $320K, Sat $400K Sun $280K Mon $84K 3-day $1M, 4-day $1.08M/Wk 1

 

via Deadline

‘M3GAN’ Over-Performs with $30 Million Opening at the BO!!

Universal/Blumhouse/Atomic Monster’s M3GAN is a monster at the box office, with an opening of $30.2M after a rich Saturday of $11.7M, even with Friday’s take, plus previews. What a great late Christmas present for exhibition. Not to mention the start of a new franchise, as this one will have legs and give some extra bounce to the box office. That’s as we wait for Ant-Man and Wasp: Quantumania over Presidents Day weekend to fully blast the year off on a momentum of weekend-to-weekend money. Behold the beauty of horror: Low-risk properties — but when they hit, the sky’s the limit. M3GAN was only made for $12M before P&A.

Also, Avatar: The Way of Water crossed the half billion mark yesterday in its 23rd day of release after a $20.6M Saturday. That’s faster than Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Avatar (both 32 days) and Top Gun: Maverick (30 days) to the $500M mark. Disney is reporting weekend 4 for Avatar 2 at $45M, -33%, and running total of $516.7M. Exhibition made a four-week pact with Disney to keep the sequel on Imax, PLF, Dolby screens, etc. They’d be crazy to pull them off with the pic making so much money. At this level, Avatar 2 saw the second-best 4th weekend for a film after the original 2009 film, which posted $50.3M. The pic is at $1.7 billion global, the seventh-highest of all-time, passing Jurassic World ($1.67 billion) and $208M away from overtaking Spider-Man: No Way Home ($1.9B).

“M3GAN had an incredible debut this weekend, and rightly so, certainly not surprising that a collaboration between Blumhouse and James Wan’s Atomic Monster would produce such a fun, creepy, thrilling story that audiences are piling into theatres to see. M3GAN over-performed industry expectations and normal grossing patterns all weekend, demonstrating great word of mouth as reenforced by its tremendous critical and audience reaction scores and no doubt pointing to a great run at the domestic box office ahead,” beamed Uni’s Domestic Distribution Boss Jim Orr this AM.

Why did Universal go this weekend with M3GAN instead of the MLK holiday weekend, when Scream went last year? Because this early January frame has proven to be a good one for horror, especially coming off a light holiday season that doesn’t have many wide releases, especially for this demographic. Also, heading into MLK weekend, M3GAN looks to have a great hold from the holiday stretch.

M3GAN pulled in 2.5M admissions this weekend repping a third of all foot traffic this weekend compared to Avatar 2, which counted 39% per EntTelligence. The average ticket price for the Blumhouse-Atomic Monster title was $11.54 (remember, it was all 2D business) compared to the national ticket average of $12.62 and Avatar 2‘s $14.60.

Indicating strong walk-up activity: EntTelligence PreSales estimated only 5% of M3GAN‘s opening weekend sales were committed the Wednesday before preview night. Scream, an established IP, had 14% complete. Evenings turned the most turnstiles at 45% after 7PM vs. 34% between 3PM to 7PM and 21% before 3PM.

Updated exits: M3GAN pulled in 53% females, overall audience of 56% over 25, and 62% between 18-34. Very diverse audience at 37% Caucasian, 28% Hispanic and Latino, 21% Black and 7% Asian. The film played like an excellent PG-13 movie would, over-exceeding its comp, that being Escape Room ($18.2M opening, 50% critics, B CinemaScore like M3GAN). While Escape Room finaled at $57M domestic, the sense is that M3GAN has more legs in her.

The pic over-indexed in Hispanic and Latino markets like Texas, where horror plays well, i.e. Rio Grande Valley, El Paso. But also over-performed in markets such as Chicago, Detroit, Memphis, and Birmingham.

Not to be overlooked here is Sony’s expansion of the Tom Hanks title A Man Called Otto, which posted a near $7K theater average from 637 theaters, or a $4.2M weekend. What makes this movie stand apart is, unlike the other adult movies in the marketplace which simply go after LA and NYC audiences, this one played to the heartland — a market which Hollywood has ignored and needs to consider more. Such movies as Top Gun: Maverick and American Sniper rallied in the 3,000 miles between the entertainment capitals. No NYC or LA runs in the pic’s top 10. The drama about a cynical retired older man who contemplates suicides, but has life get in the way, played best in Dallas, Chicago, Phoenix, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Philly, Denver, Settle, Sacramento, Tampa, Detroit, Orlando, and Kansas City. The pic goes wide over MLK. Hopefully it clicks more and proves to turn the tide for older-skewing titles. Rotten Tomatoes score from audiences stands at a great 97%.

What’s the endgame stateside for Avatar 2? Some think it has a shot at $650M. Imax drove $6M this weekend, 13% of ticket sales for a running total of $67M for the large format exhibitor and its fifth-highest grossing movie of all-time in US/Canada. 3D showtimes, I hear, repped a third of Avatar 2‘s fourth weekend take.

United Artists Releasing’s drama Women Talking jumped +21 theaters to 29 for a $143K third weekend, +214%, and a running total of $340K. It’s 90% certified fresh with critics, 83% with audiences (not bad) and expands another 75 theaters in 25 markets next weekend as we head into awards season.

Overall box office for the weekend looks to be around $105M, +67% over the first weekend of 2022.

1.) Avatar 2 (Dis) 4,340 (+138) theaters Fri $11.4M, Sat $20.6M, Sun $12.95M, 3-day $45M (-33%), Total $516.7M/Wk 4

2.) M3GAN (Uni) 3,509 theaters Fri $11.7M, Sat $11.7M, Sun $6.8M 3-day $30.2M/Wk 1

3.) Puss in in Boots 2 (Uni) 3,919 (-202) theaters Fri $3.3M Sat $5.9M Sun $3.8M 3-day $13.1M (-22%)/Total $87.7M/Wk 3

4.) A Man Called Otto (Sony) 637 (+633) theaters, Fri $1.5M Sat $1.6M Sun $1M 3-day $4.2M (+7366%) Total $4.285M/Wk 2

5.) Wakanda Forever (Dis) 2255 (-55) theaters Fri $968K Sat $1.4M Sun $951K 3-day $3.39M (-34%) Total $445.4M/ Wk 9

6.) I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Sony) 3184 (-441 theaters) Fri $700K Sat $1M Sun $615K 3-day $2.4M (-39%) Total $19.6M/ Wk 3

7) The Whale (A24) 835 (+212) theaters Fri $423K Sat $638K Sun $479K 3 day $1.5M (+9%) Total $8.5M/Wk 5

8.) Babylon (Par) 2,381 (-970) theaters Fri $430K Sat $625K Sun $375K 3 day $1.4M (-45%) Total $13.5M/Wk 3

9.) Violent Night (Uni) 1,981 (-582) theaters Fri $210K Sat $330K Sun $200K 3-day $740K (-65%) Total $49.4M/Wk 6

10.) The Menu (Sea) 800 (-60) theaters, Fri $211K Sat $309K Sun $193K 3-day $713K (-35%) Total $37.6M Wk 8

 

via Deadline

‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Crosses Past ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ to Become Highest-Grossing Film of 2022!!

It’s undeniable that the stakes were sky-high for Avatar: The Way of Water given the cultural and box office heights attained by its predecessor. After a lengthy 13-year wait, the James Cameron epic finally hit theaters just a week before Christmas and it has already made a splash of its own.

The sci-fi motion picture depicted a stunning shift of scenery into Pandora’s underwater universe and has now taken the lead over Tom Cruise‘s Top Gun: Maverick — which grossed an impressive $1.49 billion at the global box office. Since then, Avatar: The Way of Water has performed swimmingly in its own right. The movie raked in $454 million domestically and confidently surpassed $1 billion internationally on Wednesday, thus bringing its global total to a breathtaking $1.51 billion, edging its way to the highest-grossing film of 2022, per The Hollywood Reporter. Adding to the list of accolades, Avatar: The Way of Water is now the tenth top-grossing film of all time, an impressive feat. At present, the film is just shy of its predicted gross range, which suggests the film will take between $1.6 billion and $1.9 billion globally.

Although a remarkable accomplishment, widespread reports suggest the break-even mark for the venture sits at around $1.4 billion which means it has just about crossed that line. Cameron even made a point of proclaiming the project “f–king expensive,” adding that it would need to become the “third or fourth highest-grossing film in history” to be profitable. Unsurprisingly, the film is still a way behind the groundbreaking 2009 original. In addition to reaching new heights never before seen in film with unseen graphics and technological advancement, it cemented its place in history forever as the first film ever to accumulate $2.9 billion at the lifetime box office.

But more than financials are riding on Avatar: The Way of Water‘s wave, namely, the future of the Avatar universe. Whilst a slate of sequels are already in the works, all the way up to a fifth installment, the prolific director has been clear that their reality is dependent on the audience’s reception to Avatar 2. If things do go as planned, there are exciting times ahead for the other movies, with a potential trip to Earth for Neyirtri (Zoe Saldaña) on the cards in Avatar 5. Whether or not Cameron‘s subsequent dreams for Pandora will come to fruition will be revealed with time.

Avatar: The Way of Water is in theaters now.

 

via Collider

With $4.9 Billion Disney Tops 2022 at the Worldwide BO!!

Walt Disney wins 2022, at least in terms of box office grosses. It should come as no surprise that Disney had yet another strong year and finished No. 1 among studios at the box office both domestically and globally.

Disney ended the year with a grand total of $4.9 billion grossed worldwide and $2 billion domestic across the 16 theatrical releases of last year. This continues the lengthy streak that Disney has been on from 2016-2022 atop the year-end global box office.

Even if Top Gun: Maverick was the movie success story of 2022, topping both the single-movie domestic and worldwide box office charts, Disney still owned 40% of the top ten highest-grossing films in terms of domestic and global grosses due to its number of franchise releases including Avatar: The Way of Water (which has already grossed over $1.4 billion since coming out last month), Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($955 million worldwide/$411 million domestic), Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ($820 million worldwide/$439 million domestic) and Thor: Love and Thunder ($760 million worldwide, $343 million domestic).

To add to this accomplishment, only three of Disney’s films were released in China. Those were The Way of Water, Death on the Nile and Encanto (which was released in November 2021 stateside).

None of this comes as much of a surprise for Disney, as James Cameron’s long-awaited sequel to Avatar, The Way of Water, was always going to be a dominant force at the box office. In just two and a half weeks, The Way of Water grossed over $400 million at the domestic box office. That total haul only continues to grow past the holidays as it encounters no competition at the box office

Can Disney continue its streak atop the box office in 2023? The studio sure has a shot and will be aided by their dozen theatrical releases planned as of the time of this writing. Some of those include franchise fare such as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in February, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in May, the fifth Indiana Jones installment at the tail-end of June, and The Marvels in July. The studio will also offer original content such as Pixar’s latest film, Elemental, in June and another animated film, Wish, in November.

From the looks of it, 2023 will be another year dominated by the House of Mouse.

 

via Collider

‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Entering New Year with $400+ Million at the BO!!

While New Year’s Eve is typically a better moviegoing day than Christmas Eve, business was still down yesterday at -27% from Friday for all movies. That’s a similar decline to last weekend’s Friday-to-Christmas Eve (-26%). However, New Year’s Eve made more than Christmas Eve, $27.9M to $22.2M. Moviegoing is expected to be +19% on New Year’s Day today, and there will be an extra cushion in Monday, Jan. 2, as many typically have off in honor of the Sunday holiday. Per our sources, weather wasn’t an issue this weekend.

Disney/20th/Lightstorm’s Avatar: The Way of Water did $18M yesterday, taking its running total to $400M. Revised 3-day is $63.4M (+2% from last weekend, great), and 4-day is $82.4M, for a new domestic cume by EOD Monday of $440.5M. If those Disney estimates stick, Avatar 2 will be $400K shy of Rogue One‘s running total through its first 18 days. It took Rogue One another two weeks before it crossed the half billion mark stateside, the pic’s final total being $532.1M.

Through end of Sunday, Disney is reporting a $1.37 billion running global total for Avatar 2. Also by Monday, the 3D spectacle will pass the running domestic box office of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ($439.6M). By hitting $400M yesterday, Avatar 2 officially becomes the third Disney title to cross that threshold after Black Panther 2 and Doctor Strange 2 for 2022.

Rivals got excited and over-forecasted Avatar 2 for the 3-day and 4-day stretch, believing Saturday would be a $19.6M-$19.8M day. Again, today and Monday could put the James Cameron-directed, Jon Landau-produced sequel back on course to wild money.

Imax auditoriums added $8.4M to this weekend’s gross, -6% from last weekend, and repping 13.2% of 3-day ticket sales. Imax has racked up $55.3M from Avatar 2 so far in North America.

Sony’s A Man Called Otto at four NYC and LA sites is looking at $60K for the 3-day ($15K theater average) and a 4-day of $75K.

The second weekend of United Artists Releasing’s Women Talking at 8 sites did $42K, +3%, with a 4-day of $53K and running total of $159K. Next weekend, the Sarah Polley-directed drama goes to 30 runs in ten markets, with another expansion on Jan. 13. The pic is 89% certified fresh with critics on Rotten Tomatoes, with an 88% audience score. Polley’s screenplay and composer Hildur Guðnadóttir’s score are up for Golden Globes on Tuesday, Jan. 10.

The rest of the weekend is as follows:

1) Avatar: The Way of Water (Dis/20th) 4,202 theaters, Fri $24.4M (+27%), Sat $18M Sun $21M Mon $18.95M 3-day $63.4M (+2%)/4-day $82.4M/Total: $440.5M/ Wk 3
2) Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (Uni) 4,121 (+22) theaters, Fri $6.5M (+70%)  Sat $4.66M Sun $5.1M Mon $5.4M 3-day $16.3M (+31%), 4-day $21.7M/Total $66.1M/Wk 2

3) Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Dis) 2,310 (+60) theaters, Fri $1.82M (+82%) Sat $1.3M Sun $1.7M Mon $1.67M 3 day $4.83M (+38%)/4-day $6.5M/Total $439.6M/Wk 8

4) I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Sony) 3,625 theaters, Fri $1.46M (-27%) Sat $1.22M Sun $1.59M Mon $1.15M  3-day $4.25M (-11%) 4-day $5.4M/Total $16MWk 2

5) Babylon (Par) 3,351 (+8) theaters Fri $935K (-36%) Sat $730K Sun $1.06M Mon $900K 3-day $2.7M (-24%) 4-day $3.6M/Total  $11M/Wk 2

6) Violent Night (Uni) 2,563 (+1) Fri $820K Sat $560K Sun $750K Mon $540K  3-day $2.1M (-39%) 4-day $2.67M Total $48M/Wk 5

7) The Whale (A24) 623 (+20) theaters, Fri $491,5K (+64%), Sat $372,9K Sun $466,1K Mon $419,5K 3-day $1.33M (+28%) 4-day $1.75M Total $6.2M/Wk 4

8) Fabelmans (Uni/Amb) 1,149 (+27) theaters, Fri $320K (+157%) Sat $400K Sun $420K Mon $360K 3 day $1.14M (+53%), 4-day $1.5M Total $12.5M/Wk 8

9)The Menu (Sea) 860 (+20) theaters, Fri $386K (+121%) Sat $279K Sun $405K Mon $330K 3-day $1.07M (+58%) 4-Day $1.4M Total $36.4M/Wk 7

10.) Strange World (Dis) 1,240 (-150) theaters, Fri $201K (+39%) Sat $157K Sun $180K Mon $209K 3-day $538K (+30%), 4-day $747K, Total $37.2M/Wk 6

 

via Deadline