OPENINGS: There weren’t a lot of significant changes from Friday night’s picture of the weekend box office. The only wide opening, ESCAPE ROOM (Columbia/Sony), inevitably fell 13% on Saturday, considering its genre and its unusually early Thursday afternoon start. Nevertheless, the $18M studio weekend estimate should stand up, and that’s a solid number for a low-budget release with targeted marketing.
HOLDOVERS: AQUAMAN (DC/Warners) continued to rule the box office seas, down 41% to $30.7M in the US, and now on track for $320M. That would still put it behind Wonder Woman, Batman v. Superman and Suicide Squad here, but that shortfall is more than made up by its huge international success. Aquaman had a $56.2M weekend in all major territories except Japan, with a $681M overseas total ($282.8M of that from China) that should bring the worldwide number well over $1B, already the biggest post-Dark Knight Rises DC title (not adjusted for inflation).
MARY POPPINS RETURNS (Disney) continues to perform a bit tepidly compared to expectations. In the US, it dropped 44% to $15.8M, and a $170M total won’t even come close to the studio’s Ralph Breaks The Internet. Overseas, it’s at $119.2M after a $23M weekend in 47 markets, which include most of the European locations where it was expected to shine.
SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE (Sony Animation/Columbia/Sony) held better, down 31% to $13M, but won’t get much higher than $160M in the US. It hasn’t caught fire overseas, either, where it’s at $141.5M after an $11.7M weekend in 47 markets ($59.5M of that from China), with Japan and Brazil still to come.
BUMBLEBEE (Tencent/Paramount) lost 39% to $12.8M in the US, heading for an unexceptional $125M. Overseas, it finally had its long-awaited China opening, which was an OK $59.4M (by comparison, the last Transformers opened there at $119.7M), for a $82.7M weekend in 67 territories and a $192M international total.
THE MULE (BRON/Warners) was down 26% to $9M (aided by a 15% boost in theatres), and should be able to reach an impressive $100M in the US on costs that were kept well under control. It hasn’t yet arrived overseas.
VICE (Annapurna), a bit surprisingly, is getting strong word of mouth and had the best hold in the Top 10, down 25% to $5.8M. Even if it reaches $50M in the US, profitability will be a challenge against $125M in production/marketing costs, but some big awards wins could change that quickly. It also hasn’t traveled overseas yet.
SECOND ACT (STX) declined 33% to $4.9M, and might get to $45M in the US. It has $9.9M after a $1.4M weekend in limited international release.
RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET (Disney) continues to track Coco fairly closely, down 30% to $4.7M, and likely to reach $200M in the US. Overseas, it’s now in 32 territories, and has a $217.6M total after a $25M weekend.
HOLMES & WATSON (Columbia/Sony) fell 50% to $3.4M, and might reach $35M in the US. Overseas, it’s at $7.1M after a $1.7M weekend in 14 markets.
The unstoppable BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY (Regency/20th) added 23% to its theatre count and actually went up 2% to $2.4M in its 10th weekend, as it sets its sights on $200M (and beating A Star Is Born, currently at $202.1M after a $600K weekend). There’s no contest overseas, where Rhapsody is at an incredible $550M after a $16.9M weekend in 43 territories. (Star Is Born is at $194.7M after a $2.3M weekend.)
MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS (Focus/Universal) increased its theatre count by 25% and still lost 19% for the weekend to $2.2M, a $2100 per-theatre average.
THE FAVOURITE (Fox Searchlight) lost a few theatres and was also down 19% to $2M, with a somewhat better $2600 average. Favourite, which also earned $5M in the UK for a $6.1M weekend and $7.5M international total, is better placed to enjoy some awards bumps.
LIMITED RELEASE: IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK (Annapurna) expanded to 335 theatres with a $5500 per-theatre average, considerably below the $12K average that 12 Years A Slave had at 410. ON THE BASIS OF SEX (Focus/Universal) widened to 112 with a $15K average, which compares well to the $10K average Darkest Hour had at 84. The single digit theatre counts were closely bunched: DESTROYER (Annapurna), now at 6, averaged $18K; COLD WAR (Amazon), at 6, averaged $15.5K; and STAN & OLLIE (Sony Classics), at 8, averaged $12K.
NEXT WEEKEND: The major studios are still holding their fire as the holiday releases play out. A DOG’S WAY HOME (Columbia/Sony) aims at the family audience, while REPLICAS (Entertainment Studios) is low-budget sci-fi, and THE UPSIDE (STX) was at the 2017 Toronto Film Festival as a Weinstein Company release and then struggled to find a new home.
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