Behind the US/Worldwide Weekend Box Office – 5.14.2023

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OPENINGS:  Despite a launch scheduled around Mother’s Day, BOOK CLUB: THE NEXT CHAPTER (Focus/Universal) had a soft start with $6.5M.  That’s less than half the $13.6M for the first Book Club in 2018, and also considerably below the $12.7M for this year’s 80 For Brady.  (The grasp for a closer comp with The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel ignores the fact that its $8.5M opening was at roughly half as many theaters.)  Although older-skewing titles typically hold well at the box office, next weekend could be a hard hit without a Mother’s Day Sunday bump, and Next Chapter may not get much past $25M in the US.  The overseas opening was $3.1M.

HYPNOTIC (Ketchup) faced distribution issues, bad reviews (38% on Rotten Tomatoes) and limited marketing, and did not emerge victoriously with $2.4M.  The film was surprisingly expensive to produce, with estimates around $65-70M, so its ink will likely match the color of its distributor’s name.  No international openings yet.

KNIGHTS OF THE ZODIAC (Stage 6/Sony) attracted little notice with $500K at 586 theaters, a weekend per-theater average around $900.  The overseas total is $4.5M.

Despite a solid cast led by star/writer/director Charlie Day, FOOL’S PARADISE (Roadside) cratered with $400K at 784 theaters, an average under $600.  It hasn’t gone beyond the US as of yet.

HOLDOVERS:  A lack of meaningful competition helped GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 3 (Marvel/Disney) to a $60.5M Weekend 2, down a mild 49% from its premiere.  That’s a better hold than Vol 2‘s 56% drop, although the combined total of that movie’s Weekend 2 wide openings was $38.1M, while Vol 3 only faced $9.5M from new competition (and the Book Club crowd likely overlaps very little with MCU fans).  We’ll have a better sense of where Vol 3 stands after Fast X opens next weekend, but for now Vol 3 seems to be headed for a US total around $400M.  Overseas, Vol 3 has $315.6M after a $91.9M weekend in 52 markets.

THE SUPER MARIO BROS MOVIE (Illumination/Universal) bounced back from last weekend’s Guardians-fueled drop, down just 30% to $13M in its 6th weekend, and on its way to $575M in the US.  The overseas total is $675M.

EVIL DEAD RISE (Warners) lost 37% to $3.7M in its 4th weekend, and should pass $70M in the US.  It also has $61M overseas.

ARE YOU THERE GOD?  IT’S ME, MARGARET (Lionsgate) is expected to benefit from a Mother’s Day bump, declining 23% to $2.5M in its 3rd weekend.  Nevertheless, it may not reach $25M in the US, and is still awaiting an international campaign.

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4 (Lionsgate) remained healthy after 8 weekends, down 18% to $1.9M as it heads toward $190M in the US.  Results are even stronger internationally, with $236.8M.

LOVE AGAIN (Screen Gems/Sony) is hoping to sell some Mother’s Day tickets, which would give it a 35% drop to $1.6M, possibly enabling it to stretch to a still-weak $10M in the US.  The overseas total is $2.6M.

LIMITED RELEASE:  BLACKBERRY (IFC) opened at a near-wide 450 theaters, but despite enthusiastic reviews (97% on Rotten Tomatoes) it found relatively few takers with an $1100 per-theater weekend average.  The documentary IT AIN’T OVER (Sony) averaged $1100 at 99.  MONICA (IFC) opened at 2 NY/LA arthouses with a $13K average.  THE STARLING GIRL (Bleecker Street) averaged $6200 at 4.  L’IMMENSITA (Music Box) had a $4600 average at 2.

NEXT WEEKEND:  The loudest arrival will be FAST X (Universal).  Limited releases include THE MASTER GARDENER (Magnolia).