‘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.

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.

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:

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.”

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.

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