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Post by MarkInTexas on Oct 14, 2020 13:23:13 GMT -5
The dire times continue for the nation's theaters, as the never-ending pandemic continues to scramble upcoming release calendars, as the elusive blockbuster that will finally convince a reluctant populace to embrace moviegoing again continues to look very far away. Two new casualties this week were Disney/Pixar's Soul, which abandoned its Thanksgiving to be Disney+'s Christmas gift to everyone but AMC and Cinemark, and Paramount's Coming 2 America, which is now likely to bypass theaters and head straight for Amazon Prime. The departure of Soul from the calendar means the only remaining Thanksgiving title is The Croods: A New Age, and I doubt the sequel to a largely forgotten animated comedy from 2013 is going to make people rush back out there.
In the meantime, the most prominent film to come out since Tenet arrived and promptly dislodged the sci-fi actioner from the top spot. The War With Grandpa, which stars Robert De Niro as the titular Grandpa, who has to take over grandson's Oakes Fegley's bedroom, much to the kid's chagrin, has been sitting on the shelf for nearly three years. It's finally out, and with precious little else out there, took in $3.6 million. That's not a great number, but its easily the best opening since Tenet's even if it pales in comparison to what The New Mutants and even Unhinged opened to in the heady days of August.
Tenet creeped ever closer to $50 million, which in this environment might as well be $300 million, with a sixth weekend gross of $2.1 million. With its domestic total at $48.3 million, it should pass the half-century mark sometime in the next couple of weeks.
Having a decent hold for #3 is Hocus Pocus, which conjured up another $1.2 million for a ten-day re-release gross of $3.1 million. In fourth, The New Mutants took in $0.7 million, for a gross of $22 million. Unhinged came in fifth, grossing a bit below $0.7 million, to bring its total to $19.4 million.
Unlike stablemate Hocus Pocus, Coco, Disney/Pixar's 2017 hit about the Day of the Dead (the Mexican religious holiday, not the 1985 zombie movie) didn't attract much business with its re-release. It could only come up with $0.2 million.
After Infidel and Possessor Uncut in 7th and 8th, the other film debuting in the Top Ten, the drama Yellow Rose, about an aspiring Filipino country music singer, could only scrape up a bit over $150,000. The Empire Strikes Back rounds out the Top 10 with $145,000.
Grandpa's time on top might be short-lived because the latest actioner from Liam Neeson, Honest Thief, opens this weekend. Neeson's endless variations on the Taken formula have largely lost their appeal during normal times, but it could definitely attract an audience during these times. Could it open as high as $5 million? We'll find out next week.
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Post by MarkInTexas on Oct 21, 2020 17:45:20 GMT -5
In what passes for good news these days, no major upcoming releases were postponed or sent to streaming/VOD this week. In even better news, at least from the viewpoints of theater companies and studios, New York state announced that theaters outside of New York City would be able to start reopening this Friday. While this will still leave some of what are usually highest-grossing theaters in the country shut down for now, it will allow the rest of the state, including the suburbs, start taking in two months worth of new releases. This might provide a jolt to the box office and encourage studios to keep the blockbusters still on the calendar for December, including Wonder Woman 1984, in place.
Meanwhile, last weekend, Honest Thief, in which Liam Neeson's attempts to go straight are derailed when two crooked FBI agents frame him for murder, had a decent start to top the charts. The thriller took in $4.1 million, which is more than what Unhinged opened wide to back in August. That film, which admittedly had a $1 million head start because of an early release in Canada, has now grossed 5 times that amount, which is more a reflection of the lack of competition than the quality of the film. But with the upcoming schedule also fairly bare, there's no reason to think this couldn't do similar business.
Placing second is last week's champ, the family comedy The War With Grandpa, which brought in $2.5 million for a ten-day total of $7.3 million. This could be heading toward a $15 million final gross.
Tenet topped $50 million thanks to this weekend's $1.6 million total. Its domestic total now stands at $50.6 million. Whether it can make it above $55 million remains to be seen.
Opening in fourth was Disney's third Halloween-related re-release in three weeks, The Nightmare Before Christmas. The 1993 stop-motion musical opened to $1.3 million, handily beating last week's flop re-release of Coco but a bit below the $1.9 million fellow 1993 movie Hocus Pocus took in two weeks ago. The witches came in 5th, grossing $0.8 million for a re-release total of $3.8 million.
In sixth is another new release, the faith-based romantic drama 2 Hearts, in which the lives of two couples--one college kids living in the present day, and one an older couple living in the 60s/70s--come together via tragedy. Starring people you've probably only heard of if you watch the shows they're on, it opened to $0.5 million.
The New Mutants and the aforementioned Unhinged both keep chugging along, in 7th and 8th, with totals up to $22.7 million and $20 million, respectively. Rounding out the Top Ten are two other newcomers. Love and Monsters, which is also available on PPV VOD, took in $0.3 million, while The Kid Detective, which despite its title, is definitely not for kids, opened to $0.1 million.
This week brings the first theater-only big studio release since The Broken Hearts Gallery a month ago. Disneyith Century's The Empty Man, opening just in time for Halloween, is a spooky thriller about a cop trying to stop a mysterious cult from releasing an evil spirit. Also opening is After We Collided, a romantic drama that's the sequel to the One Direction fan-fiction inspired After, from last year. Will either film be able to knock Honest Thief out of the top spot? We'll find out next week.
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Post by Nudeviking on Oct 23, 2020 2:58:44 GMT -5
Meanwhile in South Korea, "The number of cinemagoers tallied 2.99 million for the month of September, according to the Korean Film Council. That was 79.7 percent lower than the same month last year and an all-time low for September since data collection began in 2004." - Korea Herald
The national average number of new cases per day here was around 100 per day throughout the month of September. I can't begin to fathom how fucked America's theaters are what with 60 or 70,000 new cases a day.
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Post by MarkInTexas on Oct 28, 2020 16:16:30 GMT -5
It was a slow weekend at the nation's open theaters, as, after a couple of weekends of new star vehicles, the only new wide releases this weekend were largely starless and little-attended. Leading the pack was Honest Thief, winning for the second weekend in a row, though only with a gross of $2.4 million. That's not only the lowest gross for the #1 movie since theaters reopened in August, but, outside of the Covid closings from March until August, it's the lowest gross for a #1 movie since at least 1981. The thriller's ten-day total stands at $7.5 million.
The War With Grandpa spent its second weekend at #2. The Robert De Niro family comedy brought in $1.9 million for a total gross of $9.8 million.
Opening in third is the little-noticed horror flick The Empty Man. Starring "Hey, it's that guy" actor James Badge Dale as cop who stumbles across an ancient curse, this was filmed back in 2017, and sat on a shelf until Disney, which bought the film when they bought Fox, threw it out with almost no promotion or critical screenings. The handful of reviews were largely negative, so it's not too surprising that the film mostly played to empty theaters. It opened to $1.3 million.
Tenet, making just a sliver less than The Empty Man, despite having been out for 8 weeks now, came in fourth. It's now up to $52.5 million and is the final film on this week's chart to top $1 million for the weekend.
Disney's re-releases took the 5th through 7th spots, as Halloween themed The Nightmare Before Christmas and Hocus Pocus brought their 2020 grosses to $1.9 million and $4.4 million, respectively. They were followed by the first weekend of Monsters, Inc., which apparently got an October re-release because of its title, even though it's a comedy that has nothing to do with Halloween. It took in just under $0.5 million, or even worse than fellow Pixar re-release Coco did two weeks ago.
In 8th is another new release, the romantic drama After We Collided. A sequel to last year's After, which was an adaption of a One Direction fan fic, the original seemed designed to be shown at sleepovers for middle school girls. That one was PG-13, but this one is R, since apparently the filmmakers forgot who their target audience is. Like a lot of movies these days, this one is also available on VOD, which limited its screen count and its grosses. The film appears to have been quietly playing in Canada for a while, which explains why its grosses are already at $2.1 million, even though its "opening weekend" was only a bit above $0.4 million.
Rounding out the top ten is Christian romantic drama 2 Hearts, which has a ten-day gross of $1 million, and another animated re-release, last year's The Addams Family.
With Halloween falling on Saturday this year, this was always going to be a very slow weekend, even if there was no pandemic. Only one movie is set to open, the horror flick Come Play, about a young autistic boy who discovers his new online friend is actually a scary monster. Given that it's a theater-only release, it has a decent shot of beating Honest Thief to take the weekend. We'll find out just how spooky the box office turns out to be next week.
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Post by MarkInTexas on Nov 6, 2020 15:37:49 GMT -5
Given that Halloween was on Saturday, it was always destined to be a slow weekend. Of course, with a vigorous October release schedule and a fully-functioning society, whatever finished at #1 would have done considerably better than this week's champion, Come Play. The horror flick, about a young boy haunted by a creature unleased by his iPad, took in $3.1 million. Given that it is a horror movie, and we are now past Halloween, expect this film to fade fast in the coming weeks.
Only two other movies were able to pull over a million dollars this weekend. Last week's #1, the Liam Neeson thriller Honest Thief, took in $1.4 million, to bring its total to a not-awful $9.6 million. The Robert De Niro family comedy The War With Grandpa made $1.3 million, for a gross of $11.5 million.
Coming in fourth was Tenet, which made $0.9 million for a total of $53.8 million. In 5th through 8th was long-shelved horror flop The Empty Man and Disney Halloween re-releases Hocus Pocus, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Monsters, Inc., all of which seem likely to vanish again after this weekend.
Opening in ninth with $0.2 million was the horror flick Spell, starring Loretta Devine, who hopefully got a good paycheck. The plot makes it sound like Misery with some supernatural elements mixed in. The film is also available on VOD. The animated Addams Family rounded out the Top 10.
The week's other wide opening, a re-release of 2019's Alita: Battle Angel, came in 12th, with just a bit over $100,000.
This week would normally kick off the holiday movie season, but instead, our only new wide release is the neo-Western Let Him Go, starring Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as a couple of ranchers who set out to rescue their late son's wife and their grandson from the clutches of her new husband and his evil family. This one should win the weekend easily. The only other wide release will be Toy Story, returning to theaters to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Will the newcomers breathe some life into the multiplexes? We'll find out next week.
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Post by Desert Dweller on Nov 10, 2020 1:32:11 GMT -5
My local theaters are running such great $5 ticket promotions. They have a mixture of new and classic films going. Ugh, if only I was willing to sit in a movie theater. Alas.
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Post by MarkInTexas on Nov 12, 2020 10:35:37 GMT -5
The first weekend of November has been the kickoff weekend for the holiday movie season for roughly a quarter-century now. Before the pandemic hit, the MCU movie Eternals was supposed to be the weekend's big attraction. After the summer movie season got wiped out, Disney shifted Black Widow, originally scheduled for May, to this date. But now, both movies are opening next year, one year after their original date, and the weekend's big attraction was a Kevin Costner western. No, it's not 1990.
Let Him Go, which co-stars Diane Lane, had an imprssive-for-2020 opening of $4 million, topping the openings of Come Play and The War With Grandpa, but trailing the opening of Honest Thief by a bit. Of course, this is the type of movie that likely wouldn't have even sniffed the top of the chart under normal circumstances, and this is also a movie that could end up having some decent legs, especially given that November's calendar is now fairly empty, particularly of adult-aimed movies. This is Costner's first #1 movie as a lead since Message in a Bottle topped its first weekend in 1999.
Last week's champ, Come Play, predictably sank after Halloween, but still earned $1.8 million in its second weekend. The horror flick's ten-day total is $5.7 million. The War With Grandpa had a rare uptick in business from last weekend (probably having to do with not having to compete against Halloween), bringing in $1.5 million. It's gross stands at $13.4 million. Honest Thief was the only other movie to top $1 million for the weekend, grossing $1.1 million, for a total of $11.2 million. Tenet also rose a bit from last week, coming in at $0.9 million and bringing its total for a pandemic blockbuster total of $55.1 million.
With the Halloween re-releases apparently all out of theaters now (which makes sense--who wants to watch Hocus Pocus in November?), Disney's one old movie on the chart this week was the 25th anniversary release of Toy Story. The original adventures of Buzz and Woody brought in $0.5 million on its opening weekend.
After long-shelved horror flick The Empty Man once again played to houses just full enough for a 7th place finish, urban thriller True to the Game 2 opened in 8th with $0.3 million. Rounding out the top 10 are two VOD titles, the holdover horror movie Spell and prison drama The Informer.
Scheduled to go wide this weekend is horror-comedy Freaky, about a teenage girl who, Freaky Friday style, switches bodies with a serial killer, and has to figure out how to stop him, as her, from slaughtering her classmates. Will it be freaky enough to knock Let Him Go off the top spot, or will Costner and Lane get to ride off into the sunset with two weeks at #1? We'll find out next week.
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Post by MarkInTexas on Nov 19, 2020 11:40:11 GMT -5
Horror movies that skip Halloween to open during November are usually respectable or classy, or at least desire to be. Think of last November's Doctor Sleep or Overlord from two years ago, which tried to blend a historical lesson about Nazi atrocities with zombies. Freaky, this November's horror movie, does not appear to have any pretentions. It's an old-fashioned slasher movie, albeit one with a well-known lead actor (even if he's a long way from his heyday), a steady dose of comedy, and surprisingly good reviews. That, along with a Friday the 13th opening date, helped it debut at #1 with $3.6 million, which is better than actual Halloween weekend horror movie Come Play opened at.
Coming in second was last week's champ, Let Him Go, which had a surprisingly sharp decline to $1.8 million, for a ten day total of $6.8 million. It's 56% decline from its opening weekend is big, both for the pandemic box office, which generally has seen smaller week-to-week declines from the top titles, and for this type of movie generally, since its audience is usually older and not as prone to rush out on opening weekend. Then again, with the pandemic fairing up to some of the worst numbers since the whole disaster began, it's probably better for the film's target audience (and indeed, everyone) to stay at home and wait for it to pop up on one of the streaming services in a few months.
Family comedy The War With Grandpa is, like The New Mutants, the very rare film that probably made more than it would have under normal circumstances. The family comedy took in $1.3 million to bring its total to $15.2 million. It's still $5 million behind Unhinged and $8 million behind Mutants, but given its steady box office, it is a definite threat to catch and pass both. Then again, next week sees the arrival of The Croods: A New Age, the first new family film to get a wide release since Grandpa opened in October.
The aforementioned Come Play was the only other title this week to top $1 million, making $1.1 million for a total gross of $7.3 million. Honest Thief, with a gross just under $0.8 million, rounded out the Top 5.
After Tenet in sixth was Guardians of the Galaxy, Disney's now weekly re-release for this weekend. It could only muster $0.4 million. Rounding out the Top 10 were True to the Game 2, Toy Story, and another re-release, Elf, which opened to just under $0.2 million.
Normally, the Friday before Thanksgiving has some of the biggest movies of the season scheduled. Frozen II opened there last year, for example. This year, the biggest releases are a Jackie Chan actioner named Vanguard, a drama called The Last Vermeer about an art forger who fooled Nazis, and the re-release of The Santa Clause. Horror movies typically fall hard in their second weekends. Could good reviews help Freaky's grosses stay high enough for a second weekend win? Or could Jackie Chan get his first live-action weekend #1 since The Karate Kid? We'll find out next week.
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Post by MarkInTexas on Dec 9, 2020 11:00:51 GMT -5
[This should have been posted a week ago]
One week after the box office slumped to its worst weekend since theaters started opening back up in August, a weekend when only one movie was able to top a million dollars--only one movie was able to top a million dollars this weekend. Then again, The Croods: A New Age made 7.5 times more than Freaky made last weekend, so theater owners were able to breathe a sigh of relief that, even amid the latest Covid surge and the begging to stay at home and skip Thanksgiving with anyone but your immediate household this year, people will still turn out for major animated titles.
Of course, under normal circumstances, The Croods's $9.7 million Friday-Sunday would be a disaster. Two years ago, for example, Ralph Breaks the Internet opened to $56.2 million, and that was considered something of a letdown. But in the age of pandemic, this is easily the best gross since Tenet arrived Labor Day weekend. With minimal competition over the next month, Croods, which has taken in $14.3 million since its Wednesday opening, could possibly do roughly $50 million by the beginning of 2021.
Unfortunately for theaters, a rising tide ended up sinking all the holdover boats. Two-time champ Freaky finished well behind in second, slashing down to $0.8 million for a total gross of $7 million. Taking the next few slots are what passes for hits these days, The War With Grandpa, Let Him Go, Come Play, and Honest Thief, of which only War has grossed more overall than The Crood's five day.
Rounding out the Top 10 was the re-release of Elf, Tenet, and two more holiday season re-releases, The Santa Clause and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Completely bombing was the re-release of Frozen. Apparently, audiences are finally ready to let it go, as it came in 13th.
Expect The Croods to repeat this weekend, as neither of the new wide releases, the romantic drama All My Life or the wacky comedy Half Brothers to do much business. We'll see if animated cavemen are susceptible to the usual post-Thanksgiving box-office collapse next week.
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Post by MarkInTexas on Dec 9, 2020 20:01:44 GMT -5
Obituaries were being written for the theatrical experience last weekend as Warners blindsided everyone with their announcement that their entire 2021 release slate would be available on HBO Max day and date with the theatrical release. It's still far too early to see how that will play out, especially once the pandemic subsides and people feel safe about heading to theaters again, but the general consensus is that its not good for the future of theaters.
Meanwhile, at theaters, exactly one movie did well while the rest, well, didn't. Leading the way for the second weekend in a row was The Croods: A New Age, which saw its numbers halved from Thanksgiving weekend as it took in $4.4 million. That's actually fairly common for the first week of December, as Thanksgiving usually means a lot of families heading to see a movie together. Still, hopes that the animated hit would finally jumpstart theatergoing seemed to be dashed. The comedy has now made $20.3 million since its opening the day before Thanksgiving, which pushes it past The War With Grandpa to be the highest-grossing film released since Tenet.
The Croods proved to be the only title to top $1 million for the second weekend in a row. Opening sluggishly in second was the starless comedy Half Brothers, about the titular duo, one Mexican, one American, who didn't know each other existed until their dying father sent them on a quest together. It took in $0.7 million.
Horror holdover Freaky came in third, with $0.5 million, ahead of the weekend's other newcomer, All My Life, starring Harry Shum Jr. and Jessica Rothe, as an engaged couple whose plans get upended when he's diagnosed with aggressive and terminal cancer. It took in $0.4 million.
Rounding out the Top 10 were the re-release of Elf, The War With Grandpa, Come Play, Let Him Go, Honest Thief, and another Christmas movie re-release, Die Hard. Because Universal is the only major studio currently releasing new films, they were responsible for the weekend's top 4 titles and 6 of the Top 10.
Next weekend looks like it will likely be more of the same, as the only new release getting even semi-wide distribution is the Netflix sci-fi drama The Midnight Sky, starring George Clooney. As the streamer notoriously refuses to release box office information, there will likely be little change in the Top 10. The big question is will The Croods have another big drop, or will its grosses stabilize. We'll find out next week.
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Post by MarkInTexas on Dec 17, 2020 11:58:47 GMT -5
With no wide releases this weekend, it was a very quiet time at the nation's multiplexes. Leading the charge for the third straight week was DreamWorks Animation's The Croods: A New Age, which had a fairly small drop from the previous weekend, taking in $3.1 million. That brings its total to $24.3 million, pushing it past The New Mutants to be the second-highest-grossing film since theaters reopened.
Croods finished well ahead of the #2 film, the comedy Half Brothers, which managed $0.5 million for a ten-day total of $1.4 million. Jumping to third is the first of this weekend's numerous Christmas re-releases, the 2003 family comedy Elf. That film, which took in a surprise $173 million during its holiday season 2003 run, grossed $0.4 million this weekend for a re-release total of $1.5 million.
Going the other way, horror-comedy Freaky came in fourth, earning $0.3 million for a total of $8.2 million. The War With Grandpa was fifth, with $0.3 million itself for a gross of $18 million.
Two more Christmas re-releases, 2004's The Polar Express and 1989's National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, took the 6th and 7th spots. In 8th was romantic drama All My Life, whose ten-day total stands at $0.7 million. Rounding out the Top 10 was a re-release of 2017's Wonder Woman, ahead of the Christmas Day debut of Wonder Woman 1984, and horror flick Come Play.
This weekend brings out two movies, both of which could challenge Croods for the top spot. Monster Hunter stars Milla Jovovich as a member of an elite army unit who falls through a portal into a world of giant monsters. The film is directed by Jovovich's husband, Paul W.S. Anderson. The other newcomer is Fatale, which looks to be a Fatal Attraction ripoff with Hilary Swank in the Glenn Close role. Both have enough starpower that they should be able to debut above $1 million, but will either have enough juice to knock off The Croods? We'll find out next week.
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Post by MarkInTexas on Dec 26, 2020 11:03:58 GMT -5
Twas the weekend before Christmas, and all through the theater, holiday moviegoers were doing what they had mostly been doing since the pandemic began--staying home. Leading the charge was Monster Hunter, the new sci-fi fantasy actioner from husband-and-wife team of director Paul W.S. Anderson and star Milla Jovovich. The thriller, which also starred Ron Perlman, Thai martial artist Tony Jaa, T.I., Meagan Good, and Diego Boneta, opened to $2.2 million. It edged out three-time champion The Croods: A New Age, which took in $2.1 million, for a total of $27.1 million. Opening in third was the neo-noir Fatale, starring Hilary Swank and Micahel Ealy. It couldn't quite make it to a million, opening to $0.9 million, but still finished well ahead of everything else in release, many of which were Christmas-themed re-releases.
Indeed at #4, with $0.4 million, was the 2003 Will Ferrell comedy Elf, followed by Half Brothers, The Polar Express, Freaky, The War With Grandpa, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the 2000 Jim Carrey version. Outside the Top 10 were The Grinch (the 2018 animated version, The Muppet Christmas Carol, and It's a Wonderful Life.
If any weekend is going to lift the box office out of its doldrums, it will be Christmas weekend, with four new features. Leading the charge is Wonder Woman 1984, which sees Gal Gadot's ageless Amazonian in the Reagan years, battling Kristin Wiig's Cheetah. Chris Pine somehow comes back too, despite the fact that his Steve Trevor died back in 1918 in the first movie. This, in theory, should be teed up for the best opening since Onward back in March, right before everything begin shutting down, but there is the extra wrinkle that it's also debuting on HBO Max. Of course, not everyone has that particular streaming service, but if Wonder Woman's opening is much softer than expected, that could be a key reason why.
Only opening in theaters, and a possible #1 if Wonder Woman falters, is Tom Hanks in the western News of the World, which is expected to be a major Oscar contender. Another contender is Promising Young Woman, a candy-colored revenge thriller starring Carey Mulligan. Finally, a new live-action Pinocchio, which opened last year in its native Italy, hits US theaters. This one, with its PG-13 rating, seems to be a darker take on the material. It marks the return to film of Oscar winner Roberto Benigni for the first time since 2012, 18 years after his own disastrous take on the story hit American theaters (this time, he's playing Gepetto). Will anyone show up to see these films on the big screen, or will everyone shelter in place and watch Netflix? We'll find out next week. Until then, have a very Merry (and safe) Christmas!
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Post by MarkInTexas on Dec 30, 2020 17:35:33 GMT -5
As it became obvious that the pandemic was not coming under control, and indeed, was actually getting worse, one blockbuster after another began fleeing the holidays for 2021. Dune, Coming 2 America, Free Guy, West Side Story, Death on the Nile--all were at least briefly scheduled to open in December, and all ended up moving to next year--and in the case of Coming 2 America, out of theaters entirely. In the end, only two major studio titles still stuck to December, both arriving on Christmas Day. And, in the case of one of them, it might be a film that saves moviegoing as we know it.
Wonder Woman 1984, which had originally been scheduled for June, then August, then October, and finally Christmas, burst out of the gate with a whopping-for-2020 opening of $16.7 million. This is easily the best weekend numbers since Onward opened to $39.1 million in early March, right before the bottom fell out. It was able to put these numbers up despite thousands of theaters being closed and the theaters that were open strictly limiting capacity in each auditorium. It also made that money despite also being available day and date on HBO Max, in an experiment that, at least for now, seems to have paid off. In one weekend, Wonder Woman is already the sixth-highest grossing film of the pandemic, and could easily be #2, breathing down the next of Tenet by this time next week. A lot of that will depend on the week between Christmas and New Year's retaining its usual pattern of Saturday-like grosses every day. But even if it doesn't, the upcoming release calendar looks even bleaker than January usually looks, so Wonder Woman could be #1 for weeks largely by default.
Opening way back at #2 was the other major studio title that didn't flee the month, News of the World. The western, starring Tom Hanks, reuniting with his Captain Phillips director Paul Greengrass, opened to $2.3 million. With stellar reviews and Hanks in the lead role, it's undeniably disappointing that its opening was roughly on par with Monster Hunter's last weekend. Then again, News of the World was always likely to have a smaller opening but better legs, as its audience is likely to be older than that of Wonder Woman, and it is likely to be an awards player.
Thanksgiving hit Croods: A New Age came in third, with a gross of $1.8 million. Its total stands now at $30.4 million. Last week's champ, Monster Hunter, fell to fourth, taking in $1.1 million. Its ten-day gross is now $4.2 million.
Opening rather disappointingly in 5th is Promising Young Woman. The Cary Mulligan-led thriller was unable to take advantage of its strong reviews and only took in $0.7 million. Like News of the World, its likely to be an awards contender (particularly for Mulligan), so it could stick around for a while.
The neo-noir Fatale came in 6th, earning $0.7 million for a ten-day total of $2 million. Opening in 7th is the week's final wide release, the latest remake of Pinocchio, which only grossed $0.3 million. Don't worry if you missed this one, as two more remakes are currently in pre-production.
Rounding out the Top 10 were two holiday re-releases, Elf and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and The War With Grandpa, which spent its 12th week in the Top 10. Even amid weak competition, that's an impressive feat.
As always, the post-Christmas weekend is devoid of new releases (a return of 1979's Alien is the only "new" film out this weekend), so expect the top few movies to stay fairly steady in their positioning. But what about their grosses? Wonder Woman winning New Year's is going to happen, but will it decline or come in with a similar gross to its Christmas numbers? We'll find out next week. Until then, Happy New Year!
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Post by MarkInTexas on Jan 7, 2021 11:04:07 GMT -5
Hopes that Wonder Woman 1984 would be the long-running hit the theater industry so desperately needs right now were largely dashed as the film's second weekend declined 2/3rds from its Christmas weekend opening. The $5.5 million it took in over New Year's weekend is still one of the best individual weekends of the pandemic, but it also suggests that most of the people who were eager to see Wonder Woman did so last weekend. There are a lot of factors as to why the film dived, including continued fears of the virus, the HBO Max deal, which will undoubtedly affect people who might have seen this more than once in the theater, and the film's quality. Its also entirely possible that, after this weekend, Wonder Woman will stabilize and have reasonably steady weekend grosses going forward. But theater owners who were hoping for a second straight weekend of huge sales have to be disappointed. The film's 10-day gross of $28.5 million does make it an easy third of all films released since theaters reopened in August, and it seems poised to pass The Croods: A New Age sometime in the next couple of weeks.
Speaking of Croods, it's having the sustained run that theaters are hoping that Wonder Woman will be able to pull off through January. It came in second for the weekend, taking in $2.2 million. That brings its total to $34.6 million, and with no other animated titles on the horizon until the animation/live-action hybrid Tom and Jerry arrives in late February, it could bop along with grosses above a million for a few more weeks.
Slipping to third, the Tom Hanks western News of the World remains an Oscar contender, but is attracting little business. It took in $1.7 million for a ten-day gross of $5.4 million. Even amid the pandemic, those are disappointing numbers. It now looks likely that this will be Hanks's lowest-grossing wide release since one of his earliest starring vehicles, the 1985 comedy The Man With One Red Shoe.
In fourth, Monster Hunter was the only other film to finish above a million dollars this weekend, taking in $1.3 million for a total of $6.3 million. As expectations were low and this looks like it might make it to $10 million, this has to count as a pandemic success story.
Four other movies finished above $100,000 this weekend. Thriller Fatale is likely to be regarded as a disappointment, with a gross so far of $3.1 million. So is Oscar contender Promising Young Woman, whose ten-day gross is only $1.9 million. At least it has grossed over a million total, unlike Pinocchio, whose total gross stands at $0.8 million. Finally, there's long-runner The War With Grandpa, which spends its 13th weekend in the Top 10. Who would have guessed that this silly Robert De Niro family comedy that was shot nearly four years ago and then bounced all over the schedule would be the leggiest film of the pandemic?
Rounding out the Top Ten was the re-release of the 1979 sci-fi horror classic Alien and new Halloween horror release Come Play, neither of which got particularly close to six figures.
This weekend looks like it could be more of the same, as nothing is going very wide. The biggest film opening appears to be an expansion of Amazon's Oscar contender One Night in Miami. The drama, directed by Oscar winner Regina King, takes place in a hotel room in 1964, in which Malcolm X, Jim Brown, Sam Cooke, and the soon-to-be renamed Cassius Clay gathered. The film has been in limited release since Christmas, but Amazon, which has, in the past released box office numbers for its films, has been silent about the grosses so far of this one. We'll see if they'll change course this weekend. If they do, expect this one to pop up in the Top 10. If they don't, expect everything to stay largely the same. We'll find out next week.
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Post by MarkInTexas on Jan 13, 2021 20:04:25 GMT -5
Only two weeks removed from the best gross for a film since the pandemic began, Wonder Woman 1984 fell to a $3 million gross in its third weekend. To be fair, the first post-holiday weekend isn't usually a great one, but with no major blockbusters on the horizon, there was hope that WW84 would be able to sustain the movie industry through at least January. Instead, its gross isn't too much more than what Honest Thief did on its third weekend. Of course, it doesn't help that the movie features a malevolent, frequently bankrupt businessman with a weird hairdo causing chaos and violence in Washington D.C. Overall, WW has grossed $32.6 million, and still trails the surprisingly leggy Croods: A New Age in overall earnings.
Speaking of The Croods, they came in second, taking in $1.8 million for a total gross of $36.9 million, still, for now, the second-highest pandemic release. News of the World has been holding up considerably better than Wonder Woman, but it started much lower and still has only grossed $7.1 million. Monster Hunter is the only other movie to top $1 million for the weekend, as the fantasy actioner, the type of movie that usually opens in early January, has now grossed $7.8 million.
Indeed, the entire top 8 is the exact same as last weekend, with Fatale, Promising Young Woman, Pinocchio, and The War With Grandpa (topping $19 million in its 14th weekend) taking slots 5-8. Last week's 9 and 10, Alien and Come Play, switch slots, though neither is able to hit $100,000.
This weekend brings a film that will likely challenge Wonder Woman for the top spot. Liam Neeson's latest Old Man of Action thriller, The Marksman, in which he plays a former Marine with a ranch along the border who tries to save a young boy from a viscous drug cartel. Disney appeared to skip its usual re-release last weekend, but is back this weekend with a return engagement for The Emperor's New Groove from 2000. Also returning, albeit in a lot fewer theaters, is the 2014 Ice Cube/Kevin Hart comedy Ride Along. For Martin Luther King weekend, there appear to also be limited re-releases of Selma and Harriet. Will Liam Neeson be able to knock off Wonder Woman? We'll find out next week.
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Post by MarkInTexas on Jan 20, 2021 19:33:28 GMT -5
Only three months after Liam Neeson's previous Old Man of Action movie, Honest Thief, opened at #1, his latest, The Marksman, pulls off the same feat. The thriller, in which Neeson plays a former Marine with a ranch on the border who takes it on himself to escort an orphaned Mexican boy to Chicago ahead of a vicious cartel that wants him dead, didn't get great reviews. But it is the first brand-new movie to get a wide release in the new year, and, coupled with the faster-than-expected fall-off of Wonder Woman 1984, it took the top spot this week at the box office with $3.1 million for the Friday-Sunday portion of the long weekend (throwing in Monday, it took in $3.5 million). This is actually about a million less than what Honest Thief opened to (at a time when the pandemic seemed to finally be beginning to abate), but is an improvement on what Monster Hunter did the weekend before Christmas, and about on par with what Come Play did over Halloween.
Despite early reports suggesting that Wonder Woman had fallen all the way to third, it did come in second, with $2.6 million. As this was a fairly small drop, it suggests that the film's weekend grosses, which have been in free fall since it's big Christmas weekend opening, are finally stabilizing. The film will be available for only one more week on HBO Max, so we'll see how it does in the marketplace when the only way to watch it is to head to the local multiplex. The film has grossed $35.8 million so far.
Universal has made The Croods: A New Age available on PPV since mid-December, but hasn't exactly gone out of the way to advertise that fact. That's probably because the film is still doing strong business in theaters, despite opening at Thanksgiving. The grosses actually jumped this week to $2 million, bringing its overall gross to $39.3 million. As Wonder Woman's weekend grosses aren't too much more than The Croods are now, it's looking unlikely that the Amazon will pass the cavemen in total domestic box office, an upset that no one saw coming.
News of the World came in fourth, making just under $1 million, for a total of $8.5 million. While passing Tom Hanks's 1985 flop The Man With One Red Shoe (which grossed $8.7 million) seems assured at this point, it will likely be a stretch to reach the grosses of his 1990 bomb The Bonfire of the Vanities, which wrapped with $15.4 million.
Looking likely to top $10 million is Monster Hunter, which finished just over $0.9 million and has now grosses $9 million. It has already passed Freaky, and should also top Let Him Go and Come Play by the time all is said and done.
Two movies about vengeful females, Fatale (which is not headed toward Oscar nominations) and Promising Young Woman (which likely is) came in 6th and 7th, bringing their grosses to $4.7 million and $3.4 million, respectively. Disney's latest re-release, of the 2000 animated comedy The Emperor's New Groove, opening in 8th, taking in $160,000. The War With Grandpa spent its 15th weekend in the Top Ten (still very impressive, even in the midst of the pandemic), running its gross to $19.2 million. Rounding out the Ten is the Italian remake of Pinocchio, which has now grossed $1.3 million domestically.
Next weekend could see a three-way fight for #1 between The Marksman, Wonder Woman, and The Croods, as the widest new release, the comedy-drama Our Friend, starring Casey Affleck and Dakota Johnson as a couple who receive a devastating medical diagnosis, and Jason Segal as the titular friend, doesn't seem to be getting that wide of a release. We'll see what happens next week.
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Post by MarkInTexas on Jan 27, 2021 13:47:45 GMT -5
The Marksman, Liam Neeson's attempt to be Clint Eastwood, won a narrow victory at the box office in its second weekend, taking in $2 million to lead for the second weekend in a row. The thriller now has a 10-day total of $6.1 million. This is slightly below both what Honest Thief made in its second weekend and where that film was after ten days. Thief finished its run with $14.1 million, suggesting that The Marksman is probably headed for a final gross somewhere in the $12-13 million range.
Marksman was able to hold off The Croods: A New Age, which rose back to #2, taking in $1.8 million in its 9th weekend. The animated hit crossed the $40 million mark to come in at $41.8 million, and there's no reason to think it won't ultimately make it to $50 million. It seems unlikely to catch Tenet's $57.9 million, but it could come close.
One film that won't be catching Tenet--or The Croods, for that matter--is Wonder Woman 1984, which slips to third with $1.6 million. The superhero saga stands at $37.7 million, a disappointing total, even with the pandemic. It seems clear at this point that poor word-of-mouth did the film in, though with the title now off HBO Max and PPV streaming and DVD release at least a couple of months away, the title will now at least be a theater exclusive for a while.
Monster Hunter came in fourth, grossing $0.8 million to go over $10 million domestic. News of the World also took in $0.8 million and moved to $9.6 million, meaning it will also pass $10 million, probably by next weekend, and also has now beaten 1985's The Man With One Red Shoe.
Fatale and Promising Young Woman continue to be hitched together in 6th and 7th, both finishing about $2,000 apart just under $0.4 million. Respective grosses are $5.3 million and $4 million.
Opening in 8th is dramady Our Friend, which finally came out after debuting at the 2019 Toronto Film Festival. The film, which boasts Casey Affleck, Dakota Johnson, and Jason Segal as its leads, was clearly made in order to win awards, and while the Oscar deadline this year has been extended to the end of February, this is unlikely to hear its name called when nominations are announced in March. The film opened to $0.3 million, and is already available on PPV.
At 9th is The War With Grandpa, which somehow has now tied Frozen for the longest stay in the Top 10 over the last decade. The comedy, now in its 16th week of release, has taken in $19.5 million. The longest run of the 21st century belongs to My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which racked up 19 weeks in the Top 10 (18 of then consecutive) in 2002. Will The War With Grandpa be able to equal or beat that? Probably not, but a couple of weeks ago, I assumed Grandpa wouldn't be able to tie Frozen, and yet here we are. And of course, with The Croods seemingly haven taken up permanent residence in the Top 3, even if Grandpa does manage to get the record, it might not be able to hold it for long.
Rounding out the Top 10 is Pinocchio, which will not be hitting 16 weeks in the Top 10, and it's a minor miracle it has made it 5 weeks in the Top 10. It has now grossed $1.5 million.
This week sees the release of one new wide release, the serial killer thriller The Little Things. It almost feels like this one is just slipping into theaters, despite the fact it stars Denzel Washington and co-stars two other recent Oscar winners in Rami Malek and Jared Leto. Even though, as noted above, this is eligible for Oscars this year, the fact that not one person has even hinted this is an Oscar film suggests it might have been released in January, even if there was no pandemic. The Little Things will also be the second straight to HBO Max film, which will likely affect its box office. That said, it's a new film starring Denzel Washington, his first in 2 1/2 years, opening against almost no competition. This should be an easy #1. We'll find out next week.
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Post by MarkInTexas on Feb 4, 2021 9:50:50 GMT -5
More evidence emerged this weekend that releasing movies simultaneously on a streaming service and theaters might not be a box office death knell as The Little Things, a serial killer thriller starring the all-Oscar winning team of Denzel Washington, Rami Malek (with No Time To Die getting pushed back a year and a half, this becomes his first major post-Oscar role), and Jared Leto (who scored an unexpected Golden Globe nomination for his performance this morning) became the second movie--and first that wasn't a preordained blockbuster--to be released simultaneously into theaters and on HBO Max. The film opened at #1 with a pandemic-solid $4.7 million. That gives it the fourth best opening of the pandemic era, behind only Wonder Woman 1984, Tenet, The Croods: A New Age, and The New Mutants. It does seem likely that the streaming service drained some money from its opening, but even with Washington in the lead, this felt like a fairly minor entry, so it probably wouldn't have opened much higher.
Staying steady in second, in its tenth weekend, is The Croods: A New Age, which brought home another $1.8 million for a total of $43.9 million. With family movies largely sitting out until Tom & Jerry arrives at the end of the month, Croods could stay firmly lodged near the top of the chart for weeks to come.
Wonder Woman 1984, which left HBO Max just as The Little Things arrived, came in third, with $1.3 million, bringing its total to $39.2 million. The grosses seemed to have stabilized, meaning there's a chance that Diana could find herself north of $50 million before this is over. In real 1984, a $50 million gross would have made a film the 13th biggest movie of the year. In 2020, Wonder Woman is already in 10th for the year, and will probably stay there.
Falling from 1st to 4th is The Marksman, taking in $1.2 million. Its gross is now up to $7.8 million. In 5th, Monster Hunter took home $0.7 million for a gross of $11.1 million. In 6th is News of the World, which earned two Golden Globe nods, for its score and an surprise Supporting Actress nomination for 12-year-old Helena Zengel. It took in $0.5 million for a total of $10.4 million.
Promising Young Woman and Fatale have been joined together since the former opened on Christmas, but for the first time, Young Woman's weekend outgrossed Fatale's. The Carey Mulligan thriller, which picked up four Globe nominations this morning, including Drama, Screenplay, Director, and Actress, still trails the Hilary Swank thriller, which received zero Globe nominations, in total box office, $5.6 million to $4.4 million. But I'd expect Woman to surpass Fatale's grosses in the coming weeks.
Rounding out the Top 10 is Our Friend, whose ten-day total is a disappointing $0.5 million (it also failed to earn any Globe nods), and The War With Grandpa. Pickings were so slim on the Comedy/Musical side of the Globes that there was some speculation that Robert De Niro might actually score a nomination. He didn't, but Grandpa did achieve something even more impressive, namely it's 17th straight weekend in the Top 10, officially beating Frozen's 16 weeks and becoming the most leggy movie of the last decade. That said, War's $19.6 million total gross is way, way, way behind Frozen's $400 million.
Even during normal times, Super Bowl weekend is usually a light weekend at the box office, but this year will be downright ghost townish, with no major new releases, nor even any re-releases out. The question is not will The Little Things repeat at #1--it will--but how far will its grosses drop. We'll find out next weekend.
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Post by MarkInTexas on Feb 10, 2021 16:15:50 GMT -5
Super Bowl weekend is usually a dismal box office weekend, even in normal times. And in the pandemic, when everything is dismal, this seemed like a particularly awful frame. The serial killer drama The Little Things fell 55% from last weekend to end up with $2.1 million. That would be a normal drop under normal circumstances, but it's steep during the pandemic. Things still won the weekend, though, and its ten-day gross is now $7.8 million. It seems likely to pass the final gross of Roman J. Israel, Esq., which despite Denzel Washington's Oscar nomination, is by far his lowest-grossing film since the early 90s, topping out just under $12 million. However, it will be lucky to hit the $16 million his 1995 box office disappointment Devil in a Blue Dress made.
More troubling for WB is that this is the second consecutive title to debut simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max to have a solid opening, and then a big drop. Upcoming titles Judas and the Black Messiah and Tom and Jerry will let us see if that was just something affecting Things and Wonder Woman 1984, or if it's a trend.
Coming close to recapturing the box office crown was The Croods: A New Age, spending it's 11th weekend in the Top 3. By comparison, Frozen only spent 8 weeks in the Top 3. Indeed, you have to go back to Titanic to find a streak that long. The Croods made $1.7 million for a total gross of $45.9 million. With the aforementioned Tom and Jerry arriving on February 26 and Raya and the Last Dragon coming a week later, that will likely end The Croods's stranglehold on family audiences. But it has two more weekends before the cat and mouse arrive.
The Marksman and Wonder Woman 1984 switch places, with Marksman finishing just below $1 million, and Wonder Woman finishing just above $0.9 million. Marksman is now at $9.1 million, while Wonder Woman passes $40 million, going to $40.3 million.
Coming in 5-7 are Christmas releases Monster Hunter, News of the World, and Promising Young Woman, whose grosses are now up to $11.9 million, $10.9 million, and $4.7 million, respectively.
Coming in 8th, with the best per-screen in the Top Ten, is the re-release of 2001's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Peter Jackson's beloved, epic adaption of the first book of the trilogy is the only movie in the Top 10 to break $1,000 per screen. It also finally cleaved Promising Young Woman from Fatale, which came in 9th, and has now grossed $5.8 million.
In tenth is The War With Grandpa, which has now tied My Big Fat Greek Wedding for most consecutive weeks in the Top Ten since the turn of the century. If it's able to hang around for one more weekend, it will both break the consecutive weekend record and tie Greek Wedding for most weeks overall in the top ten since the turn. Grandpa's gross is up to $19.8 million.
The weekend after the Super Bowl usually sees the first new blockbuster titles of the new year, and this weekend has the pandemic equivalent. Opening wide is Oscar contender Judas and the Black Messiah, starring Daniel Kaluuya as Fred Hampton, the fiery young leader of the Chicago branch of the Black Panthers, and his Get Out co-star Lakeith Stanfield as the FBI informant who infiltrates the group. As noted above, it will also debut on HBO Max. Countering is Land, starring Robin Wright (who also directed) as a woman who, after a tragedy, retreats to a remote cabin in the wilderness. It is exclusive to theaters. Also opening somewhat wide this weekend are the other two entries in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the Chinese fantasy A Writer's Odyssey. Will Judas be able to hit the top spot? We'll find out next weekend.
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Post by MarkInTexas on Feb 18, 2021 11:16:38 GMT -5
Under normal circumstances, The Croods: A New Age would have opened at Thanksgiving, likely had somewhere between $150 million and $200 million in the bank by Christmas, and been largely out of theaters by MLK weekend. Under covid circumstances, America's favorite non-Flintstone prehistoric family traded the grosses for longevity. Since its opening three months ago, the film has only grossed $48.4 million, but has spent the entire time in the box office top 3, and this week returned to the #1 slot for the first time since mid-December, beating each of the four movies (Monster Hunter, Wonder Woman 1984, The Marksman, and The Little Things) that reigned for at least a weekend since The Croods first gave up its crown. This weekend, the film jumped nearly 25% from last weekend to $2.1 million. Crossing $50 million is assured, and with Tenet less than $10 million away, it stands a strong chance of becoming the biggest pandemic release, at least for now.
Opening in second is Oscar contender Judas and the Black Messiah, the true story of the infiltration of the Chicago Black Panthers by a small-time crook (Lakeith Stanfield) working for the FBI. Co-star Daniel Kaluuya, as the head of the Chicago branch, is Golden Globe nominated and is considered a near shoo-in for his second Oscar nomination. Even though Stanfield and Kaluuya's last film together, Get Out in 2017, was a major success, audience response for this one was more muted. Still, with awards attention, it should have decent legs going forward.
Two-time champ The Little Things slipped to third. The Denzel Washington thriller, whose co-star Jared Leto is competing against Kaluuya at the Globes, made $2.1 million to bring its total to $9.9 million. Christmas release Wonder Woman 1984 stayed steady in 4th, picking up $1.1 million to bring its underwhelming gross to $41.4 million. In 5th is The Marksman, which, like Wonder Woman and The Croods, had a nice jump this weekend to $1.1 million, and now is up to $10.4 million.
Opening at $0.9 million is the weekend's other wide release, Robin Wright in Land. That is followed by Monster Hunter, News of the World, and Promising Young Woman, which are now up to $12.7 million, $11.4 million, and $4.9 million.
In its record-breaking 19th weekend in the Top 10 is The War With Grandpa, which, for now, owns the 21st century record for consecutive weeks on the chart...at least until The Croods passes it in 8 weeks.
No major openings are scheduled this weekend, so expect another close race for #1 among the holdovers. Will The Croods win again, will Judah and the Black Messiah rise to the top, or will another movie take the top spot? We'll find out next weekend.
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Post by MarkInTexas on Feb 26, 2021 7:36:40 GMT -5
In what turned out to be a fairly slow weekend at the box office, The Croods: A New Age took the top spot in its 13th weekend of release, pulling down $1.7 million. This is also the 13th straight weekend Croods has topped $1 million, which pandemic or not, is actually a very impressive stat. Avengers: Endgame, for example, had exactly 13 weekends of grosses above a million. Frozen II only hits that stat if you throw in the Monday totals for Presidents Day weekend. Croods has now grossed $50.9 million domestically, and stands a strong chance of catching Tenet and its $57.9 million final gross. However, its dominance of the family market is about to come to an end, which might prove to be a roadblock to hitting that number. It was a relatively quiet weekend below the top line. Coming in second is serial killer thriller The Little Things, which took in $1.2 million for a gross of $11.8 million. Every other movie fell below the million-dollar line, with Judas and the Black Messiah, falling a troubling 56.3% coming in third with a gross just over $900,000. It stands at $3.4 million. Wonder Woman 1984, The Marksman, and Monster Hunter came in 4-6, with total grosses of $42.7 million, $11.5 million, and $13.4 million, respectively.
Opening in 7th was Nomadland, the highly acclaimed drama starring two-time Oscar winner Francis McDormand as a laid-off worker discovering life outside of normal civilization. Searchlight gave it a surprisingly wide release on nearly 1,200 screens, and its likely they're disappointed that the film was only able to muster an opening of $0.5 million. With near-certain Oscar nominations coming for McDormand, director Chloe Zhao, and the film itself, it seems likely that it will stick around. But this is not a great opening for the film.
Land came in 8th in its second weekend, with a 10-day total of $1.6 million. In 9th was News of the World, which is up to $11.7 million. And, coming in 10th for the third weekend in a row, in its 20th weekend in the Top 10, is 21st century longevity champion The War With Grandpa, whose gross is now at $20.3 million.
This weekend's big release is the live-action/animated hybrid Tom and Jerry, in which the legendary cat and mouse team invade a fancy New York hotel. Chloe Grace Moretz, Michael Pena, Colin Jost, and Ken Jeong are the major humans. It's unclear how much cultural relevance T&J still have in 2021, so I wouldn't expect a huge opening, but it's almost certain to knock The Croods out of #1. Just how much will the film make? We'll find out next week.
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Post by MarkInTexas on Mar 4, 2021 18:30:12 GMT -5
Good news abounded this week. Coronavirus cases continue to decline, vaccine production and distribution continues to ramp up, New York City theaters are set to reopen, and it turns out that a cat and mouse team that has been around for 80 years are bigger movie stars than Denzel Washington and Liam Neeson.
Tom & Jerry, the live-action/animated hybrid marking a return to the big screen for the dynamic duo, shocked just about everyone by opening to $14.1 million. That's by far the biggest bow since Wonder Woman 1984, which had the advantage of opening Christmas weekend, and far ahead of the January openings of The Little Things and The Marksman. Indeed, Tom & Jerry has already outgrossed both those movies, and nearly everything else released since theaters first closed nearly a year ago. And, with the extremely long legs of the two most prominent family films released prior to this--The Croods: A New Age and The War With Grandpa--Tom & Jerry could very well be pulling in strong grosses for the next few months, even if its tenure at the top turns out to be short-lived.
Coming in a distant second is the aforementioned Croods, which took in $1.3 million for a total of $52.4 million. It continues to creep closer to Tenet. If it is able to maintain grosses at or at least near a million, it should pass it within the next few weeks. If it starts falling off dramatically, though, it could easily fall short.
Tom & Jerry and The Croods were the only two titles to top $1 million this weekend. Falling below that line were The Little Things, which is up to $12.9 million as it heads toward a possible Oscar nomination for co-star Jared Leto, Wonder Woman 1984, which is up to $43.6 million as it could cash in on some technical nominations (helped by being the year's only big budgeted superhero movie), and The Marksman, which is now up to $12.4 million and is likely not to be nominated for anything.
On the other hand, Nomadland can expect a bunch of nominations as it capped up its weekend by winning the Golden Globes for Best Picture-Drama and Best Director. It has now topped $1 million in grosses and actually ticked up a bit from last weekend. With a Best Picture nomination a certainty, it could have some strong legs of its own.
Judas and the Black Messiah, which also won a Globe for co-star Daniel Kaluuya, had another troubling drop of nearly half, but is still up to $4.1 million. We'll see if Kaluuya's certain Supporting Actor Oscar nod, as well as other potential nominations like Screenplay and maybe even Picture, will help the gross.
Rounding out the Top 10 are a pair of Christmas releases still chugging along, Monster Hunter and News of the World (which also has Oscar hopes), and recent opening Land. Their grosses are, respectively $14 million, $12 million, and $2.1 million.
Falling out of the Top 10 after 20 weeks is The War With Grandpa, which departs with $20.5 million in the bank.
Three new movies go wide this weekend. Likely topping the chart will be Disney's Raya and the Last Dragon. There could be trouble however, as Cinemark has refused to book the film in any of its theaters, apparently because the studio was refusing to yield on their normal, pre-pandemic terms even though the film is also debuting on Disney + this weekend (albeit with a $30 charge). That could eat into the film's grosses. Also opening is Chaos Walking, a sci-fi actioner starring Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley, and the basketball drama Boogie. Will Raya win the weekend as expected, or could Tom & Jerry pull an upset? We'll find out next week.
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Post by MarkInTexas on Mar 11, 2021 11:14:23 GMT -5
It has been one year since Disney released Onward, a few days before the pandemic went from "this is concerning" to "this is Contagion", and a week and a half before movie theaters closed down en masse. In the year since, the studio, which had already been planning a much more low-key 2020 as compared to their massive 2019, sent much of their planned output for the year (Artemis Fowl, The One and Only Ivan, Mulan, Soul) to Disney+ and the rest to (hopefully) hit theaters in 2021. While the studio has re-released a number of titles into theaters since last fall (finding some surprising success with an October run of Hocus Pocus), Raya and the Last Dragon is the first new Disney title to get released into theaters since Onward, though to hedge their bets, they also released it on Disney+, with a $30 upcharge.
The results were somewhat of a mixed bag. While Raya's $8.5 million opening is one of the better ones of the pandemic era, it's substantially below what the much less heralded Tom and Jerry opened to just last weekend. However, as the performances of The Croods and The War With Grandpa have shown, family films are, for now, built for the long haul, and as more theaters begin to open up and more restrictions are eased, Raya has the opportunity to play for a long, long time, especially as there isn't another family film scheduled to go wide in theaters until Peter Rabbit 2 arrives in mid-May.
Tom and Jerry slips to second, with $6.6 million, for a ten-day total of $23 million. While that drop is steeper than drops have typically been during the pandemic, it can probably be attributed at least in part to having direct competition this weekend. It should probably be noted that the combined grosses of Raya and T&J exceed what the cat and mouse did on their own last weekend, proving there is definitely a viable market for family films. Like Raya, Tom might just stick around for weeks on end.
Opening decently in third is Chaos Walking, a sci-fi thriller starring Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley. It took in $3.8 million, despite being lightly promoted. That's better than Monster Hunter opened to against lighter competition in December.
In fourth is the basketball drama Boogie, which got even less promotion than Chaos Walking, and still managed to pull in $1.2 million. We'll see if either film has decent legs to make it to the $10-20 million range.
Falling to fifth, and under $1 million for the first time, is The Croods: A New Age, which made $0.8 million for a total of $53.6 million. Right now, The Croods is a little over $4 million behind Tenet. If its grosses can stabilize in this area, it could pass Tenet by the middle of April. If Croods falls off rapidly going forward, it could be stuck looking up at the thriller.
Rounding out the Top 10 is The Little Things, which is up to $13.7 million, Wonder Woman 1984, at $44.4 million, The Marksman, which has taken in $13 million, Judas and the Black Messiah, with a gross of $4.5 million, and Monster Hunter, totaling $14.4 million.
This weekend looks to be much quieter than the last two weekends. The only films going even semi-wide are the drama The Father, opening ahead of Monday's Oscar nominations, for which most pundits expect Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Coleman to be named, and the romcom Long Weekend. Neither is likely to challenge Raya or Tom and Jerry for the top two slots, but could one or both displace Chaos Walking for third? We'll find out next week.
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Post by MarkInTexas on Mar 19, 2021 11:07:29 GMT -5
For the second weekend in a row, Raya and the Last Dragon took the top spot at the domestic box office. The Disney film, which already seems like a surefire nominee for Animated Feature at next year's Oscars, brought in $5.7 million in its second weekend, for a ten-day total of $16 million. By comparison, The Croods: A New Age was at $20.3 million by the end of its second weekend, but that film opened on Wednesday, and opened over Thanksgiving, and was a theatrical exclusive at that point in time. This does not mean that Raya is heading to a gross of $50 million +, of course, but its off to a solid start to get to that total.
The other family film in theaters, Tom and Jerry, also continues to do solid business, coming in second with $4.1 million, even though, like Raya, it is available to stream at home via its releasing company's service (though unlike Raya, which has a $30 surcharge, anyone with HBO Max can watch Tom for free). The cat and mouse duo is up to $28 million, which already makes it the fourth biggest pandemic grosser. Indeed, it's ahead of where The Croods was at the end of its third weekend. Like Raya, there's no guarantee of $50 million, but both films should profit over the lack of family films over the next couple of months.
The sci-fi drama Chaos Walking came in third with $2.3 million, for a ten-day total of $6.9 million. While not a great total, it does put it ahead of films like Monster Hunter and The Marksman after their first ten days. This looks to be heading for a final total in the mid-teens.
Basketball drama Boogie took in $0.8 million in its second weekend, for a ten-day total of $2.3 million, not an awful total for a film that was largely an afterthought. This looks to be heading to around $4-5 million.
The aforementioned Croods: A New Age continues to fade in the face of Raya and Tom and Jerry, taking in only $0.5 million. Its total is now up to $54.3 million, still nearly $4 million behind Tenet. It's beginning to look likely that the cavemen won't be able to catch the time travelers.
Indian comedy Jathi Ratnalu had a better-than-expected opening, taking in just under $0.5 million. Films from the subcontinent tend to be one-weekend wonders in the US, so we'll see if it is able to hold up next weekend.
After The Marksman at #7 (which is up to $13.6 million), British drama The Father, starring Anthony Hopkins as an elderly man suffering from dementia and Olivia Colman as his loving-but-stressed-out daughter, debuted in 8th with $0.4 million. Expect that number to rise now that it had picked up six Oscar nominations, including Picture, and acting nods for both Hopkins and Colman.
Rounding out the Top 10 is Wonder Woman 1984 and The Little Things, at $45 million and $14.2 million, respectively. Debuting just outside the Top Ten is romcom Long Weekend, which had a long weekend, only earning less than $0.3 million.
This could be another quiet weekend with only the Cold War thriller The Courier, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Rachel Brosnahan, getting a semi-wide release. However, there will likely be a resurgence from the Oscar nominated films. Expect jumps in gross not just from The Father, but Nomadland, Minari, and Judas and the Black Messiah, all of which are up for Best Picture. Will any of them be able to challenge Raya for #1? We'll find out next weekend.
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Post by MarkInTexas on Mar 25, 2021 9:44:26 GMT -5
Family movies continue to dominate, with the Top 2 and three of the Top 5 being partially or completely animated PG-rated films. Leading the charge is Disney's Raya and the Last Dragon, which fell a scant 10% from last weekend to come in at $5.1 million. The film's gross now stands at $23.4 million, which puts it less than a million dollars behind where The Croods: A New Age was at the same point in its run.
In second, for the third weekend in a row is Tom & Jerry, which slid an even smaller 7% to $3.8 million and is up to $33.7 million. With Peter Rabbit 2 getting bumped from early May until July 4, the next scheduled movie aimed at families is now Cruella on May 28 and Vivo on June 4, meaning that both Raya and Tom have almost no competition except each other until then.
In third is sci-fi actioner Chaos Walking, which fell only 14% to $1.9 million. Its gross now stands at $9.7 million, more than the grosses of Freaky and Let Him Go, and it should pass Come Play and News of the World in the coming weeks. The film isn't a success, but given the environment, I don't think we can call it a flop, either.
Opening in fourth was the well-received Cold War drama The Courier. It earned $1.8 million, which isn't bad given how lightly promoted the film was, but it's unlikely to top $5 million. In 5th, jumping 15% is the aforementioned Croods, which took in $0.6 million to bring its gross to $55.3 million, or only about $2.6 million behind Tenet.
Coming at 6th was Boogie, now up to $3.3 million, followed by The Marksman, which now stands at $14.3 million, Wonder Woman 1984, at $45.6 million, and The Little Things, at $14.7 million.
Rounding out the Top 10 was The Father, which despite picking up 6 Oscar nominations, actually fell 28%. Its total is now just under $1 million. Other Oscar contenders had better weekends, as Minari, Judas and the Black Messiah, Nomadland, and Promising Young Women saw higher grosses than last weekend.
This week sees one big new release, which is likely to challenge Raya for the top slot. Nobody stars Bob Odenkirk, in what appears to be his first lead role in a major movie ever, playing a man with a particular set of skills who has gone underground as a mild-mannered family man. When his former employer finds out where he lives, he has to once again use all those skills to protect his family. Will Nobody be a somebody, and take the top spot, or will Raya prevail again, or could Tom & Jerry re-emerge to win the weekend? We'll find out next week.
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Post by MarkInTexas on Mar 31, 2021 14:49:35 GMT -5
It's become a bit of a generic story. A seemingly normal, even boring guy, turns out to have a background involving extreme violence, which resurfaces once said guy has what he cares about the most threatened. The similar vibes to John Wick given off by Nobody is not a coincidence, as both films share a screenwriter. But just as audiences flocked to see Keanu Reeves get revenge for his dog, they came out to see Bob Odenkirk protect his family, as Nobody opened to a solid $6.8 million.
After three weeks on top, Raya and the Last Dragon fell to second, with $3.8 million. Its gross now stands at $28.7 million. Tom and Jerry continues to be the top movie of 2021, as it took in another $2.5 million for a gross of $37.1 million. Tom is a near-lock to get to $50 million, and Raya has an excellent shot at that number as well.
In fourth, Chaos Walking continues to plug away, taking in $1.2 million for an $11.5 total. In fifth was The Courier, which made $1.1 million for a ten-day total of $3.5 million. This was the first weekend in over a month in which five different movies grossed at least $1 million.
In sixth, The Croods: A New Age continues to creep toward both Tenet's final gross and The War With Grandpa's recently established longevity record. In its 18th weekend, its total stands at $56 million. The Marksman, in seventh, has grossed $14.8 million. Boogie faded fast, but has still brought in $3.8 million. In ninth, six-time Oscar nominee Minari led the pack of nominees for the weekend. It stands at $1.7 million. And rounding out the Top 10, Wonder Woman 1984, which, along with The Croods, is the last of the 2020 films still standing, has a gross of $45.9 million.
Under normal circumstances, I'd be skeptical of the chances of Godzilla vs. Kong, this week's big opening, because we're less than two years removed from Godzilla: King of the Monsters barely clearing $100 million domestic. But this is the first true visual spectacle released to theaters since Wonder Woman 1984 at Christmas, and coupled with surprisingly strong reviews, a holiday weekend, and an ever-increasing number of theaters opening (and previously open theaters upping their capacity rates as more people get vaccinated), and this (which opens today) could be quite (pandemic) big. Bigger than Tom and Jerry's $14.1 million opening, probably bigger than Wonder Woman's $16.7 million opening. Combined with the film's grosses today and tomorrow, Godzilla should be safely over $20 million by the end of the day Sunday. It could easily have the best gross since Onward opened just below $40 million days before everyone went to hell. Also hoping to pick up some money Easter weekend are two religious themed movies about girls who are blessed with healing powers, though that's about all they have in common. The Unholy, starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, is a horror film about the sinister events around the girl who claims to have gotten her gifts after being visited by the Virgin Mary. Meanwhile, Christian drama The Girl Who Believes in Miracles, starring Kevin Sorbo and Mira Sorvino, is about how the titular girl brought healing to her town, but at great cost to herself. Just how big will Godzilla vs. Kong get? We'll find out next week.
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Post by MarkInTexas on Apr 8, 2021 9:37:14 GMT -5
As it turns out, what would get a huge mass of reluctant moviegoers back into theaters wasn't time travelers, or animated cavemen, or Reagan-era Amazons, or cat and mouse combos, or animated dragons. It was a giant lizard and a giant monkey using the ruins of Hong Kong to beat each other senseless.
That's the lesson we can draw as Godzilla vs. Kong opened to $32.2 million over the weekend and $48.5 million since its opening last weekend. That's easily the best weekend performance since Onward's opening weekend at the beginning of March last year, in what would be the final "normal" moviegoing weekend. Godzilla easily passed Tom and Jerry to become 2021's highest grosser, and is only about $8.5 million behind Tenet to become the highest-grosser of the pandemic era. Short of a massive collapse, it's also well on its way to being the first $100 million movie since Sonic the Hedgehog passed that milestone in February 2020.
The fantastic performance of Kong is a huge relief to the exhibition industry, which probably can relax knowing that few, if any, more major movies will flee to farther away on the calendar (or just skip theaters entirely and head straight to streaming). While studios will still likely shift dates around, it will likely be to ensure the maximum return on the dollar, not to hope that the new date selected won't be wiped out as well.
And the good news for Kong is that with April and early May already bare and likely to stay that way (it's probably too late in the process for a studio to shift something major to the slot Black Widow abandoned a couple weeks ago), the film has a lot of room to play. It'll probably have a couple of steep declines, but then stabilize with steady weekly grosses at least until Spiral arrives in mid-May.
Godzilla utterly dominated the box office, accounting for nearly 3 out of every 4 tickets sold over the weekend, but there were some people in other auditoriums as well. Opening in a distant second was Catholic horror flick The Unholy, which opened to $3.2 million. Like most horror movies, expect this one to fade fast, though given the lack of hype and the massive competition, it didn't do too badly for itself. Last week's champ, Nobody, had a big drop, as did all the holdovers, but still came in third with $3 million. Its ten-day total stands at $11.8 million.
In fourth and fifth are joined-at-the-hips family films Raya and the Last Dragon and Tom and Jerry. Raya bought in $2 million for the weekend for a total of $32.2 million, while Tom relinquished its spot atop the 2021 box office chart to studiomate Kong, but it still has earned $39.5 million after a $1.4 million weekend. Those numbers are a bit concerning for the two films, as they're still a ways away from $50 million. That said, despite the big drops for both titles this week, they should stabilize again, as there are no family films out for quite some time.
Opening in 6th was the weekend's other religious film tied to Easter, The Girl Who Believed in Miracles. Its opening was not miraculous at all, as it was only able to earn $0.6 million. The Courier and Chaos Walking came in 7th and 8th, with totals to date of $4.3 million and $12.2 million. In ninth, The Croods: A New Age (in its 19th weekend) saw its dreams of being the top pandemic movie come to an end, because even if it does pass Tenet, Godzilla will have already passed both. It stands at $56.4 million. Opening wideish in tenth is the failed Oscar bait comedy French Exit, starring Michelle Pfeiffer, which took in just under $0.2 million.
Godzilla should rampage back to the top of the charts this weekend, but likely opening in #2 is Voyagers, a sci-fi thriller starring Tye Sheridan, Lily-Rose Depp, and Colin Farrell, about teenage astronauts who can no longer tell what's real and what's just hallucinations. How much Voyagers will open to, and how close it could come to the king (Kong) we'll find out next week.
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Post by MarkInTexas on Apr 15, 2021 9:23:35 GMT -5
It was another big weekend for the dynamic duo, as Godzilla vs. Kong won with $13.9 million. The drop from Easter weekend's monster opening was probably a bit steeper than Warners would have liked, but it is still the best second weekend gross of the pandemic era by a wide margin. After 12 days, the battle royale stands at $70 million, roaring into first overall among pandemic films, and it is still on track to become the first one to hit the $100 million mark.
Moving up one slot to second is the action hit Nobody, which took in $2.7 million for a total of $15.6 million. The Bob Odenkirk-channels-John Wick thriller looks to be heading to a final gross of between $25 and $30 million.
Holding up surprisingly decent in third, even if it did slip down one notch, is the religious horror film The Unholy, which brought in $2.4 million in its second weekend. The ten-day total stands at $6.7 million, and it looks to be heading over $10 million.
In fourth is Disney's Raya and the Last Dragon, which actually improved on its Easter weekend total. The animated feature scared up $2.2 million for a total of $35.3 million.
Opening dismally in fifth was the sci-fi drama Voyagers, about a bunch of teenagers bred specifically for space travel who discover their baser instincts mid-flight. It crashed with a $1.4 million opening, and might be lucky to hit $5 million.
For the first time in the pandemic era, six films finished above $1 million for the weekend. Coming in at #6 is Tom and Jerry, which brought in $1.2 million for a total of $41.2 million, as it pushes toward $50 million. With nothing family-friendly on the horizon until mid-May, it and Raya's grosses should be fairly even for the next few weeks.
Christian film The Girl Who Believes in Miracles surprisingly also improved from its Easter opening, but the film's ten-day still stands at only $1.3 million. The Courier and Chaos Walking came in 8th and 9th, with total grosses of $4.9 million and $12.7 million, respectively.
In 10th is The Croods: A New Age, which has now tied The War With Grandpa's recently established 21st century longevity record with its 20th weekend in the Top 10. The film's gross now stands at $56.7 million, as it now stands just a little over a million behind Tenet for second during the pandemic.
After a few weeks of major releases, the box office takes a breather, as nothing appears to be going wide this weekend. That should lead to a third straight victory for Godzilla vs. Kong, and it will be interesting to see if it becomes the first film to hit $10 million three straight weekends since Sonic the Hedgehog. Will Voyagers be able to stay above $1 million, and will we get six million dollar grossers this weekend? Will The Croods stay in the Top 10 one more week to get the longevity record all to itself? We'll find out next week.
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Post by MarkInTexas on Apr 22, 2021 9:09:29 GMT -5
Another week, another easy win for the giant monkey and lizard, as Godzilla vs. Kong threepeated on top. The action flick took in $7.9 million for a gross of $80.7 million. While Godzilla is by far the most successful film released since the pandemic shutdown, that third weekend number has to be causing some heartburn at Warners. The film over 40% from last weekend, which is more how a giant blockbuster would have dropped during normal times, which is why the film is now under $10 million for the weekend. While Kong is still on a likely trajectory toward $100 million, its no longer a slam dunk that it will get there, and if it does, it probably won't get much higher. If summer blockbusters perform the same way, the optimism that the opening of Godzilla brought just two weeks ago might be short-lived.
With no major releases this last week, the top 4 stayed the same. In second was Nobody, which beat up another $2.5 million for a total of $19 million, a solid total given the circumstances. Holding up surprisingly well in third is horror movie The Unholy, which scared up $2.1 million for a total of $9.6 million. It is turning into a sleeper hit. Raya and the Last Dragon held down fourth with $1.9 million, for a total of $37.8 million, which has to be somewhat of a disappointment to Disney.
In fifth is the only other movie to finish above $1 million for the weekend, long runner Tom & Jerry, which chased down another $1.1 million for a total of $42.6 million. It still seems to be heading for a final gross of around $50 million, and is likely to outgross Raya, which I don't think anyone would have predicted before the films opened.
Bomb Voyagers fell below $1 million, all the way down to just under $0.8 million, for a ten-day total of $2.6 million. Religious drama The Girl Who Believes in Miracles made almost exactly what it made the last two weeks, not enough to make it any sort of hit, but it does have a nice gross of $2 million now.
Opening in 8th is the one newcomer to this week's Top 10, British horror flick In the Earth, with made its domestic debut with a gross of $0.5 million. We'll see if it gets any traction from here on out.
Rounding out the Top Ten, The Courier has now grossed $5.5 million, and The Croods: A New Age officially dethrones The War With Grandpa as the film with the longest run in the Top Ten of the 21st century. In Week 21, the film is now up to $57.1 million.
Opening Friday is video game adaption Mortal Kombat. This is a reboot of the series that last saw theaters in 1997. Those 90s movies were PG-13, but this one is rated R, meaning that the game's notorious "fatalities" will be able to be recreated on screen in all their gory glory. It will likely hit #1 easily. Also opening, and looking for a Top 5 finish, will be anime Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train. A feature film spinoff of the popular TV show, this one also comes with an R rating, so expect a lot of gore there too. Will Kombat be able to break $20 million over the weekend? We'll find out next week.
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Post by MarkInTexas on Apr 29, 2021 9:17:50 GMT -5
It was a record-smashing weekend as, for the first time since the pandemic started, two titles had simultaneously strong openings, as the top two films this weekend had the second and third best openings of the Covid era, and combined for nearly $45 million in ticket sales. We're still well below pre-pandemic numbers, but things are clearly improving.
Opening at #1 is Mortal Kombat, a reboot of the movie franchise based on the popular video game that achieved fame and controversary in the early 90s for its ultraviolent "finishing moves". Those now look rather quaint, especially rendered in that generation's video game graphics, but the franchise itself has maintained its popularity. The R-rating allowed the film to show the violence that the earlier generation of Mortal Kombat movies, with their PG-13 ratings, couldn't. More fans turned out than expected, as Kombat fought its way to an impressive $23.3 million opening.
However, it's not nearly as impressive as the $21.1 million that the weekend's #2 title took in. Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train is a spin-off of the popular--and violent--anime about a teenage boy who becomes a demon slayer in order to avenge his family and hopefully save his sister, who survived the attack but is now possessed. In the movie, the characters have to fight a demon that has merged itself with the train they are traveling on, potentially putting themselves and every other passenger at great risk. Fans could chose to see it in the original Japanese with subtitles or in an English dub.
Demon Slayer had by far the biggest opening ever for a non-Pokemon anime title, and after just one weekend stands less than $10 million away from becoming the highest-grossing non-Pokemon anime title in North American history. Indeed, depending on how fast it falls off, it could end up grossing roughly about the same that Raya and the Last Dragon takes in. It should be pointed out that this is a massive hit overseas, having taken in nearly $400 million even before its American opening. Whatever money it earns here will be gravy, and its shaping up to be lots of gravy.
As encouraging as these openings are, there are issues. Both films' best day was Friday (so good for Demon Slayer that it actually won the day), before grosses fell throughout the rest of the weekend (dramatically in the case of the anime, which was down over 30% on Saturday). That's usually a tell-tale sign of front-loading, meaning both films will likely suffer big drops next weekend. That's been the story of the pandemic. Films that open small can often sustain those totals from week to week. Films that open big almost immediately have gigantic drops.
That's what happened to three-time champ Godzilla vs. Kong, which fell to third this weekend. The lizard vs. monkey showdown took in $4.3 million, a long way from what it earned just three weeks ago. Godzilla still stands as by far the biggest film of the pandemic era, though, with a gross of $86.7 million. It is still likely to be the first $100 million grosser in over a year, but its going to have to stop free-falling from week to week to achieve that.
In fourth was actioner Nobody, which took in $1.7 million for a gross of $21.6 million. If it can stay above $1 million for a few more weeks, it might be able to get to $30 million, though it seems likely to fall short.
In fifth, the aforementioned Raya and the Last Dragon was just a bit over a thousand dollars behind Nobody for the weekend. The somewhat disappointing animated title has now grossed $39.9 million, and will likely struggle to get to $50 million.
The horror flick The Unholy, which has blossomed into a minor sleeper hit, is the only other title above $1 million this weekend, as it took in $1.5 million. It has now grossed $11.6 million and looks to be headed to somewhere between $15 and $20 million.
Falling under a million for the first time is Tom & Jerry, whose overall gross is now $43.5 million. Unless there's an uptick in grosses, $50 million now seems out of the question, and it might have trouble staying ahead of Raya.
Opening in 8th is the weekend's other semi-wide release, the comedy Together Together, starring Ed Helms. Despite decent reviews, this didn't get sampled much, as it took in $0.5 million and seems likely to be heading off to a streaming service or two in the near future.
Rounding out the Top 10 is religious drama The Girl Who Believed in Miracles, which has grossed $2.5 million so far, and the thriller The Courier, which stands at $5.9 million.
For the first time since before Thanksgiving, the Top 10 is not the home of The Croods: A New Age, which fell to 12th this weekend after a record-setting 21-week run. Its overall gross stands at $57.4 million.
This weekend's one new opening is the horror flick Separation, about a young girl whose scary puppet collection comes to life, intending to wreck havoc. It seems unlikely to challenge either Mortal Kombat or Demon Slayer, even if both take a big tumble this weekend. Will Separation have to settle for #3? We'll find out next week.
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