OPENINGS: Sony is one of the last remaining studios to honor the full conventional theatrical distribution window, so MONSTER HUNTER (Screen Gems/Sony) will have roughly 3 months to sell tickets before it’s available at home. It may need every day of that time after a $2.2M start, weak even by pandemic terms. It’s also underperformed overseas with $4.8M to date, damaged badly by its truncated China release, which hasn’t been rescheduled although the film has been reedited to remove the line of dialogue that caused offense and led to its speedy yanking.
FATALE (Lionsgate, available digitally in 3 weeks) launched with a dim $925K, and hasn’t yet opened internationally.
The highest-profile opening of the weekend was overseas, where WONDER WOMAN 1984 (DC/Warners) opened in 32 markets where HBO Max is unavailable. It started significantly below expectations at $38.5M, much of that shortfall due to a slow $18.8M in China, where its opening was 50% below the first Wonder Woman
HOLDOVERS: THE CROODS: A NEW AGE (DreamWorks/Universal, also available digitally) dropped 35% to $2M in its 4th weekend, and will hope that families willing to go to theatres over the holidays will push it over $40M in the US. It’s earned a relatively robust $57.5M overseas.
HALF BROTHERS (Focus/Universal, available digitally this week) fell 48% to $260K in its 3rd weekend, and might reach $5M in US theatres, with no international release to date.
THE WAR WITH GRANDPA (101, available digitally this week) lost 35% to $170K in its 11th weekend, and still might hit $20M in US theatres. It also has $10.6M overseas.
FREAKY (Blumhouse/Universal, also available digitally) was down 48% to $165K in its 6th weekend, and probably won’t get past $10M in the US. It has $5.9M overseas.
NEXT WEEKEND: A holiday bonanza, or as much as the current circumstances will allow. Theatrical releases include NEWS OF THE WORLD (Universal), PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN (Focus/Universal) and PINOCCHIO (Roadside). In addition, Wonder Woman 1984 will kick off Warners’ controversial plan of releasing all its films in the US for the next 13 months (at least) simultaneously in theatres and on HBO Max.
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