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Behind the US/Worldwide Weekend Box Office – 5.26.2024

Posted May 26, 2024 by Mitch Salem

  OPENINGS:  It was a bleak Memorial Day weekend at the box office, the worst in decades.  FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA (Warners) limped to a victory for Friday-Sunday with $25.5M, but it may well tumble to 2nd place once the Monday holiday numbers are tallied.  Tellingly, Warners refused to so much as issue a […]

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Behind the US/Worldwide Weekend Box Office – 5.19.2024

Posted May 19, 2024 by Mitch Salem

  OPENINGS:  IF (Paramount) was at the low end of projections with $35M, although that was an improvement over where it seemed to be headed after Friday’s $10.4M.  The key was strong family turnout on Saturday, but while IF benefited from being the first major release for that demographic in the 11 weeks since Kung […]

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Behind the US/Worldwide Box Office – 5.12.2024

Posted May 12, 2024 by Mitch Salem

  OPENINGS:  After last week’s Fall Guy stumble, KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (20th/Disney) arrived at the high end of projections with $56.5M.   That was roughly on par with the starts for 2011’s Rise ($54.8M) and 2017’s War ($56.3M), although a bit lower than 2014’s Dawn ($72.6M).  The franchise has reliably done better […]

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Behind the US/Worldwide Weekend Box Office – 5.5.2024

Posted May 5, 2024 by Mitch Salem

  OPENINGS:  Pundits have been quick to celebrate the current fade of the comic book genre, but the truth is that Hollywood hasn’t yet found anything to reliably replace it at the top of the box office.  After years of Marvel sagas kicking off the summer movie season with extravagant grosses, this year the studio’s […]

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Behind the US/Worldwide Weekend Box Office – 4.21.2024

Posted April 21, 2024 by Mitch Salem

  OPENINGS:  ABIGAIL (Universal) launched at the low end of expectations with $10.2M, lower than the $11.8M for Night Swim and virtually the same as the $9.9M for Imaginary.  Those films are respectively at $32.5M and $28M in the US, which is the likely range for Abigail.  However, the new film reportedly cost $28M before […]

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Behind the US/Worldwide Weekend Box Office – 4.14.2024

Posted April 14, 2024 by Mitch Salem

  OPENINGS:  CIVIL WAR (A24) marked its studio’s biggest swing to date, with costs that will approach $100M for production and worldwide marketing.  (A24 limited its risk by pre-selling some overseas territories to subdistributors.)  The early results were promising, with a studio-record $25.7M weekend, alhough tepid audience surveys and the fact that the audience was […]

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Behind the US/Worldwide Weekend Box Office – 4.7.2024

Posted April 7, 2024 by Mitch Salem

  OPENINGS:  MONKEY MAN (Universal) walked an odd path to theaters, originally being targeted for a Netflix release.  While the result earned strong reviews (87% on Rotten Tomatoes), there was no storybook ending at the box office, as Dev Patel’s film was below expectations at $10.1M.  Nor did Monkey Man stir much excitement overseas, with […]

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Behind the US/Worldwide Weekend Box Office – 3.24.2024

Posted March 24, 2024 by Mitch Salem

  OPENINGS:  GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE (Columbia/Sony) played as a family movie, with a Saturday afternoon bump, and that enabled it to match projections at $45.2M, slightly higher than the $44M start for 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife.  However, Frozen Empire cost $25M more than Afterlife, so a 3% increase at the box office may not cover the […]

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