OPENINGS: The musical remake of MEAN GIRLS (Paramount) was within expectations at $28M for the 3-day weekend ($32M is anticipated with the inclusion of Monday’s MLK Day holiday). The film, which was originally developed for streaming, had a moderate budget, so it should be on its way to a fair amount of profit. The international rollout began in 16 markets with $6.5M.
Jason Statham has recently been concentrating on franchises like Fast & the Furious, The Meg and The Expendables. His solo vehicle THE BEEKEEPER (MGM/Amazon) had a solid start at $16.8M ($19.2M with Monday), more than double the $8.3M opening for The Wrath of Man in 2021. It was even stronger overseas with $20.4M in 49 territories, and may give Statham yet another franchise for his mantle.
The first flop of 2024 was THE BOOK OF CLARENCE (Legendary/TriStar/Sony) with a weak $2.6M launch ($3M with the holiday). It didn’t open overseas.
Oscar hopeful AMERICAN FICTION (Orion/MGM/Amazon) expanded to the low edges of wide release at 625 theaters and found an OK $1.9M ($2.3M with the holiday), equating to a 3-day $3K per-theater average. That was comparable to the $2600 average for Poor Things when it widened to 800 theaters. It hasn’t yet opened internationally.
HOLDOVERS; WONKA (Warners) lost 41% to $8.3M in its 5th weekend ($10.9M with Monday). Given the weakness of the next few weeks of openings, it should have the legs to reach $200M in the US. Overseas is even better, with $329.1M after a $15.3M weekend in 77 markets.
Although ANYONE BUT YOU (Columbia/Sony) won’t be the highest-grossing release of the holidays, it may be the most notable success story. It slipped 29% to $6.9M in its 4th weekend ($8.3M with the holiday), on its way to $75M in the US. It’s still in just 23 overseas territories, and has $22.8M after a $5.1M weekend.
MIGRATION (Illumination/Universal) dipped 39% to $6.2M in its 4th weekend ($8.3M with MLK Day), and should pass $100M in the US. The overseas result is similar, with $86.9M after an $8.9M weekend in 74 regions.
AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM (DC/Warners) was down 51% to $5.3M in its 4th weekend ($6.6M with Monday), and may not get much past $125M in the US, just a bit higher than The Flash‘s $108.1M despite the advantage of playing through the holidays. Things are better overseas with $265.5M after a $16.6M weekend in 78 territories, but not enough to lift the spectacle to profit.
NIGHT SWIM (Blumhouse-Atomic Planet/Universal) fell an expected 61% to $4.7M ($5.5M with Monday), and has a chance of reaching $35M in the US. The international total is $10.6M after a $2.5M weekend in 40 markets.
THE BOYS IN THE BOAT (MGM/Amazon) dipped 37% to $3.5M in its 3rd weekend ($4.2M with the holiday) and may reach $50M in the US. It’s had only a token overseas release to date.
THE IRON CLAW (A24) dropped 47% to $2.4M in its 4th weekend ($3M with Monday), and has a chance to hit $40M in the US. It’s barely opened internationally.
THE COLOR PURPLE (Warners) continued its freefall, down 59% to $1.9M in its 3rd weekend ($2.6M with the holiday), and in need of some major Oscar attention to get much past $65M in the US. It’s scheduled to begin overseas release next week.
Despite losing more than 25% of its theaters, POOR THINGS (Searchlight/Disney) slipped just 8% to $1.8M in its 6th weekend ($2.2M with Monday), and assuming some major nominations, it may become the rare indie these days to pass $25M in the US. It also has $6.1M from early international release in 6 markets.
THE BOY AND THE HERON (GKids) shed 40% to $1.1M in its 6th weekend ($1.4M with MLK Day), on track for $45M in the US. The overseas total is $109.1M.
LIMITED RELEASE: An assortment of awards hopefuls expanded as the Oscar nominations approached, and had these 3-day weekend per-theater averages: ALL OF US STRANGERS (Searchlight/Disney) with $4K at 120, THE ZONE OF INTEREST (A24) with $9500 at 25, MEMORY (Ketchup) with $700 at 151, FREUD’S LAST SESSION (Sony Classics) with $1600 at 32, ANSELM (Janus) with $1300 at 24, and THE TEACHER’S LOUNGE (Sony Classics) with $3100 at 8. DRIVING MADELEINE (Cohen Media) opened with a $4K average at 6.
NEXT WEEKEND: As noted, the pickings are slim through the rest of January. ORIGIN (Neon), which had a 1-week NY/LA Oscar-qualifying run in December but has found no awards traction thus far, begins its real release, and the sci-fi thriller I.S.S. (Bleecker Street) will seek a different audience.
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