OPENINGS: There’s some inconsistency in the way the weekend numbers for JUJUTSU KEISEN 0 (Crunchyroll) are being reported, with some outlets using the $17.7M figure that includes pre-Friday shows, and others using the $14.8M that begins the count on Friday itself. For better or worse, the convention these days is to roll what are sometimes days of “preview” screenings into what’s called “Friday,” so we’ll consider the $17.7M accurate here. At that rate, Jujutsu is about 17% below last year’s $21.2M US opening for Demon Slayer. As is typical for anime, Jujutsu was highly frontloaded, down 37% from Friday to Saturday, and could reach $40M in the US. However, while Jujutsu is stronger internationally ($112.1M so far) than it is in the US, it’s far weaker in its home base of Japan than Demon Slayer was, with $108.4M compared to $364.8M.
X (A24) received critical raves, especially for the horror genre, but opened at $4.4M, somewhat below the $6.6M start for the same studio’s previous “elevated horror” film Midsommar. (The studio’s weekend estimate for X also assumes a particularly strong Sunday that may not hold up in final numbers.) Midsommar legged out to $27.4M in the US, and X could top $15M. It hasn’t yet opened overseas.
THE OUTFIT (Focus/Universal), aimed at an older audience, had a light $1.5M opening at 1324 theaters. It will likely follow the usual Focus pattern of being available online after 17 days of theatrical release, so it may not get much higher than $5M in theaters. It hasn’t yet begun its international release.
UMMA (Stage 6/Sony) was one too many low-budget horror movies for the weekend, particularly because its reviews were far less favorable than those for X (95% vs 29% on Rotten Tomatoes), and it had a tepid launch with $900K at 805 theaters, international release to follow.
HOLDOVERS: None of the newcomers were much of a challenge to THE BATMAN (DC/Warners), which dropped 45% to $36.8M in its 3rd weekend, and remains on track for $400M+ in the US. Overseas, it has $298M, after a $49.1M weekend in all major markets including China, where the film opened at a dim $12.1M, dented by theater closings due to Covid outbreaks as well as the country’s generally lukewarm current response to Hollywood releases.
UNCHARTED (Columbia/Sony) held very well in its 5th weekend, down 14% to $8M, and now seems likely to pass $150M in the US. It’s reached $211.4M overseas after a $19M weekend that included a $10.4M opening in China.
DOG (UA/MGM, also on VOD) dipped 21% to $4.1M in its 5th weekend, on its way past $65M in the US. It also has $7.9M overseas.
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME (Marvel/Columbia/Sony) was down 21% to $3.2M in its 14th weekend, and should hit $400M in the US sometime in the next week. The overseas total (without China) is $1.09B.
DEATH ON THE NILE (20th/Disney) fell 30% to $1.7M in its 6th weekend, and still has hope of seeing $50M in the US. It has $87.1M overseas.
SING 2 (Illumination/Universal, also on VOD) slipped just 8% to $1.5M in its 13th weekend, on track for $165M in the US, and with $218M overseas.
LIMITED RELEASE: THE KASHMIR FILES (Zee) is the latest Indian-language release to make a mark, with $1.5M in only 230 theaters, a $6500 weekend per-theater average. ALICE (Roadside) opened with a $1K average in 170. JANE BY CHARLOTTE (Utopia) averaged $1900 at 7.
NEXT WEEKEND: The Batman receives its first real competition with the arrival of THE LOST CITY (Paramount). Limited releases include EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE (A24) and MOTHERING SUNDAY (Sony Classics).
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