OPENINGS: This was supposed to be the kick-off weekend for the holiday movie season, but Dune 2 decamped for 2024 and the studios didn’t step in to replace it, so the biggest arrival of the week was the expansion of PRISCILLA (A24) from 4 theaters to 1359 with $5.1M. That’s not a bad number these days for an indie going wide (Asteroid City, with bigger names attached, had $9.1M at 1675, but Past Lives was only at $1.7M at 906). It remains to be seen, though, whether Sofia Coppola’s arthouse approach to the Elvis and Priscilla story will maintain wide appeal over time.
WHAT HAPPENS LATER (Bleecker Street) managed just $1.6M at 1492 theaters, and will hope to find a profit on its low production costs when it reaches home viewing.
THE MARSH KING’S DAUGHTER (STX/Roadside/Lionsgate) was DOA with $850K at 1055.
HOLDOVERS: Coming off its Halloween-record launch, FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S (Blumhouse/Universal, also on Peacock) crashed by 76% to $19.4M. That puts it in the 50 worst Weekend 2 drops in wide release history, but Freddy’s may still top $150M in the US, and it’s already hugely profitable. It also has $103.5M overseas after a $35.6M weekend.
The expectation was that TAYLOR SWIFT: THE ERAS TOUR (Variance/AMC Theaters) would be massively frontloaded with fans and fade quickly at the boxoffice. But in its 4th weekend, possibly refueled by the release of the star’s latest re-recorded album, the concert movie slipped just 12.5% to $13.5M, the best hold in the Top 10, and if it can hold onto its theaters, it has an outside shot of reaching $200M in the US. It’s less of an event internationally, where it has $65.1M to date.
Rebounding from last weekend’s heavy drop, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON (Paramount/Apple) dipped 25% to $7M, and will hope to reach $75M in the US. It also has $66.8M overseas. That still makes the epic an expensive piece of promotion for Apple, far from the film’s $250M+ in production/marketing costs.
THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER (Morgan Creek/Blumhouse/Universal, also on VOD) dropped 34% to $2.2M in its 5th weekend, and may reach $70M in the US. The overseas total is $61.4M.
The Christian pseudo-documentary AFTER DEATH (Angel) fell 60% to $2M off last week’s opening, and might stretch to $15M in the US. It hasn’t opened internationally.
PAW PATROL: THE MIGHTY MOVIE (Nickelodeon/Paramount, also on VOD) was down a slim 15% to $2M in its 6th weekend, heading to $70M in the US. It’s even bigger overseas with $119.7M.
FREELANCE (Relativity) lost 40% to $1.2M in its 2nd weekend, and won’t hit $10M in the US. The international total is $1.3M.
SAW X (Lionsgate, also on VOD) shed 37% to $1.1M in its 6th weekend, on its way to $55M in the US. It also has $43.3M overseas.
LIMITED RELEASE: RADICAL (Pantelion/Lionsgate) had a solid $2.7M start at 419 theaters, a $6500 weekend per-theater average. ANATOMY OF A FALL (Neon) expanded to a near-wide 440 theaters and averaged a quieter $1400. THE HOLDOVERS (Focus/Universal) widened to 64 with a $9400 average. The expansion of THE PERSIAN VERSION (Sony Classics) to 480 was disastrous with an average below $400. THE TUNNEL TO SUMMER, THE EXIT OF GOODBYES (Sental) averaged $450 at 167. ALL DIRT ROADS TASTE OF SALT (A24) averaged $4200 at 3 despite rave reviews. The documentary SUBJECT (Greenwich) had a $3800 average at 2.
NEXT WEEKEND: The holiday season arrives, but with THE MARVELS (Marvel/Disney), which is preceded by what may be the worst buzz in MCU history. Limited releases include DREAM SCENARIO (A24).
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