OPENINGS: A variety of studios threw product at the Labor Day weekend wall. None of them broke through, but REAGAN (ShowbizDirect) zeroed in on its target audience–reportedly nearly 2/3 of the audience was over 55 years old, and 3/4 were white–for $7.4M over the 3-day weekend ($9.2M with Monday). Although films appealing to older […]
OPENINGS: DESPICABLE ME 4 (Illumination/Universal) arrived at the high end of expectations with a $75M 3-day weekend and $122.6M since its July 3 opening. That was a tad below 2013’s Despicable Me 2, which also opened on a Wednesday July 3 with $83.5M/$143.1M. Despicable 4 should pass $300M in the US, which would put […]
OPENINGS: INSIDE OUT 2 (Pixar/Disney) overdelivered massively compared to expectations with $155M in the US, a remarkable $65M higher than the start for 2015’s original Inside Out, and depending whether you count the “live-action” CG remake of The Lion King ($191.8M) as animated, either the #2 or #3 US opening for an animated feature […]
OPENINGS: It was a bleak Memorial Day weekend at the box office, the worst in decades. FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA (Warners) limped to a victory for Friday-Sunday with $25.5M, but it may well tumble to 2nd place once the Monday holiday numbers are tallied. Tellingly, Warners refused to so much as issue a […]
OPENINGS: After last week’s Fall Guy stumble, KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (20th/Disney) arrived at the high end of projections with $56.5M. That was roughly on par with the starts for 2011’s Rise ($54.8M) and 2017’s War ($56.3M), although a bit lower than 2014’s Dawn ($72.6M). The franchise has reliably done better […]
OPENINGS: The calendar did Hollywood a favor by placing Valentine’s Day on Wednesday, affording films a 6-day window with Presidents Day on Monday. The chief beneficiary was BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE (Paramount), which surpassed expectations with $51.1M through Monday ($27.7M over the traditional 3-day weekend). With little new competition in the wings next week, […]
OPENINGS: Christmas Day is one of the highest-grossing days of the year, and it will give a major bump to everything in the market. Even with that boost, AQUAMAN & THE LOST KINGDOM (DC/Warners) was only able to muster a $40M 4-day weekend studio estimate after $28.1M in 3 days (and given the 34% […]
OPENINGS: NAPOLEON (Apple/Sony) launched at the higher end of expectations, with $20.4M over the 3-day weekend and $32.5M for the 5-day holiday. As with Apple’s Killers of the Flower Moon, however, that leaves it a long way from any hope of breakeven on roughly $300M in production/marketing costs (particularly considering that audience polling indicated […]