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Tag: box office

  • Box Office: ‘Despicable Me 4’ Easily Wins With $44.7M as ‘Longlegs’ Stuns With Record $22.6M Launch

    Box Office: ‘Despicable Me 4’ Easily Wins With $44.7M as ‘Longlegs’ Stuns With Record $22.6M Launch

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    Animation continue to the be hero of the summer office thanks to Despicable Me 4 and Inside Out 2, but Neon‘s Longlegs can rightly take a bow after scoring the biggest opening for an independent horror pic in a decade with $22.6 million in ticket sales.

    From Illumination and Universal, DM4 easily stayed atop the domestic box office chart in its second weekend with $44.7 million from 4,449 theaters as it jumped the $200 million mark to finish Sunday with a North American tally of $211.1 million. Overseas, Gru and the mischievous Minions also continued to stir up strong sales, earning $88 million from 78 markets for a foreign tally of $226.7 million and $437.8 million globally.

    In a notable milestone, the Despicable Me/Minions franchise has crossed $5 billion mark in global ticket sales, a feat no animated franchise has achieved before. (Earlier this week, Illumination announced that a Minions 3 is in the works.)

    The big surprise of the weekend is the better-than-expected performance of writer-director Osgood Perkins Longlegs, a serial killer chiller starring Maika Monroe and Nicolas Cage. The tense FBI procedural, playing in 2,510 cinemas, is the biggest opening ever for Tom Quinn‘s Oscar-winning specialty production and distribution outfit Neon, home of Parasite.

    Among other records, it’s Cage’s biggest opening since National Treasure: Book of Secrets almost twenty years ago in 2007. It’s also the top R-rated opening of 2024 to date. And it is the only indie horror film of the past decade to open to $20 million or more (this excludes one of the Insidious movies from Focus Features/Universal).

    Going back as far as 25 years, Neon also notes that very few indie films have crossed the $20 million threshold in their debut. For purposes of context, however, many indie titles — including Neon releases — only open a few theaters, versus rolling out nationwide from the get-go as Longlegs did.

    The well-reviewed movie earned $10 million on Friday alone, including previews, and wasn’t hampered by a C+ Cinemascore, since it’s common for the horror genre to land a grade in the C range. Fun fact: More than 70 percent of ticket buyers were between ages 18 and 34.

    The record-shattering Inside Out 2 — which has a shot at becoming the top-grossing animated film of all time — finished Sunday with a global cume of $1.35 billion. It’s already become the top-grossing Pixar title of all time and the third biggest animated title, not adjusted for inflation. The film has helped propel Disney become the first major studio to cross the $2 billion mark in 2024 global ticket sales.

    In North America, Inside Out 2 came in third in its fifth weekend with $20.8 million for a domestic tally of $572.6 million. Overseas, it earned another $50.2 million from 47 markets for a foreign cume of $777.5 million. It has yet to open in Japan, where it could do sizeable business.

    Paramount’s holdover A Quiet Place: Day One continues to entice moviegoers and placed fourth despite the entry of Longlegs. The prequel scared up another $11.8 million this weekend from 3,378 theaters for a domestic total of $116.2 million through Sunday.

    Apple Original Films‘ continues its theatrical ambitions with the release of director Greg Berlanti’s Fly Me to the Moon, a romantic comedy starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum. The period space-age movie, distributed by Sony on behalf of Apple, opened to a subdued $10 million from 3,356 sites to place No. 5. The number isn’t a surprise considering the film was fueled by older adults; more than half of ticket buyers were 45 or older, including 32 percent over the age of 55.

    The movie has earned meh reviews, but audiences were kinder in bestowing the older-skewing film an A- CinemaScore. Reviews matter more to older moviegoers, upon whom Berlanti’s film is relying, but Apple and Sony believe the film will have long legs, similar to Ticket to Paradise, which opened to $16.5 million domestically on its way to topping out at $68 million, and Where the Crawdads Sing, which opened to $17.7 million and topped out at $90 million domestic.

    At the specialty box office, new offerings include A24‘s Sing Sing, which is on course to score a solid per-theater average of $34,280 or thereabouts from four theaters in Los Angeles and New York. The film, from director Greg Kwedar, chronicles an arts program at the infamous Sing Sing prison.

    July 14, 7:45 a.m. Updated with revised estimates.

    This story was originally published July 13 at 10:16 a.m.

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    Pamela McClintock

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  • ‘Minions 3’ Will March Into Theaters in June 2027

    ‘Minions 3’ Will March Into Theaters in June 2027

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    That didn’t take long.

    Fresh off the successful box office debut of Despicable Me 4, Illumination and Universal announced plans for Minions 3, which has landed a release date of June 30, 2027.

    Written by Brian Lynch (Minions, The Secret Life of Pets films), Minions 3 will be directed by veteran Despicable Me/Minions helmer Pierre Coffin, who has also provided the voice for the Minions since their film debut in 2010.

    The film will be produced by Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri and Bill Ryan, who exec produced The Super Mario Bros. Movie. 

    More than ten years after their creation, Illumination trumpets the Minions as becoming the most iconic animated characters of their generation who have helped Illumination’s Despicable Me and Minions movies to a global box office of almost $5 billion. 

    The franchise includes Minions, one of the highest-grossing animated films of all time, as well as the Oscar nominated Despicable Me 2 and Despicable Me 3, which each made more than $1 billion at the global box office.

    In 2022, Minions: The Rise of Gru shattered box office records with the highest grossing July Fourth opening weekend in domestic history. This year’s Despicable Me 4 confirmed the Minions have plenty of life left on the big screen when opening to $230 million worldwide. 

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    Pamela McClintock

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  • China Box Office: Malaysian Crime Thriller ‘A Place Called Silence’ Makes $50 Million Debut

    China Box Office: Malaysian Crime Thriller ‘A Place Called Silence’ Makes $50 Million Debut

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    “A Place Called Silence,” a Malaysian crime thriller that debuted at the Busan film festival in 2022, kicked off its commercial career in mainland China with a $50 million theatrical debut.

    The film earned RMB290 million ($40.9 million) between Friday and Sunday, according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway. It was given an early start on Wednesday and over its full-five day opening run amassed $52.8 million.

    The Taiwan-set film, which explores corruption, faith and forgiveness, is structured as a thriller about a masked killer targeting the students of a girls’ high school.

    It is directed by Sam Quah, whose previous film “Sheep Without a Shepherd,” a remake of India’s “Drishyam” previously opened on top of the Chinese box office in late 2019.

    Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” climbed up a couple of places, into second position. It earned $6.9 million in its third week (down from $8.9 million in its second frame) and now has a running total of $36.5 million.

    In third place was previous chart-topper “Moments We Shared.” It scored $5.2 million, for a three-week total of $63.9 million.

    Alibaba Pictures “Welcome to My Side” opened in fourth spot with a $4.5 million opening weekend.

    Bona Film Group’s “A Legend” will officially release on Friday. But its advanced screenings already put it fifth over the latest weekend. It earned $4.1 million.

    Artisan Gateway calculates that the weekend nationwide box office was worth $70 million. That is a jump from the previous weekend’s $51 million, but still appears to be signaling a weak start to the summer season. The year-to-date deficit, compared with 2023, now stretches to more than 12%.

    The consultancy reports that June came in at just $314 million. That was a 46% decrease compared with June 2023 and represented the weakest month in China so far this year.
     
    For the first half of 2024, China’s gross box office totaled RMB23.9 billion ($3.4 billion) earned from 550 million admissions. Those were year-on-year decreases of 9.0% and 8.9% respectively – and the decrease came despite a record-breaking $1.1 billion Lunar New Year period.

    Four Lunar New Year films led the half-year market; “YOLO” and “Pegasus 2,” both with more than RMB3 billion hauls, followed by “Article 20” and “Boonie Bears 10,” both with more than RMB2 billion.

    “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire2 was the biggest import and overall number six film during the period, with $135 million, followed by Japanese animation “The Boy and the Heron” (“111 million), “Kung Fu Panda 4” ($52.5 million) and “Dune: Part Two” ($49.7 million).

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    Patrick Frater

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  • ‘Inside Out 2’ Is the First $1 Billion Movie of 2024

    ‘Inside Out 2’ Is the First $1 Billion Movie of 2024

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    2024 has its first mega-blockbuster, and it is Pixar’s Inside Out 2.

    After the final weekend of June, Inside Out 2 has grossed $1.014 billion worldwide; $469 million in the United States and $545 million throughout the rest of the world. That makes it the first movie of the calendar year to cross $1 billion at the global box office.

    Obviously that also makes it the top-grossing movie of the year to date. The #2 film is Dune: Part Two which has grossed a relatively puny $711 million worldwide.

    Inside Out 2 is also the first movie to gross $1 billion worldwide since last summer’s biggest hit Barbie. That film finished its box-office run with $1.445 billion worldwide, a number that might prove tough for Inside Out 2 to top.

    READ MORE: The Best Movies of 2024 So Far

    Still, Inside Out 2’s massive success worldwide is a major victory for Pixar after several years and movies that saw its fortunes dim significantly. Disney released all of the beloved studio’s Covid-era films direct to streaming, and its track record after its return to theaters was very spotty, particularly from the costly flop Lightyear. Last year’s Elemental got some of Pixar’s weakest reviews in history but wound up grossing a relatively solid $496 million worldwide.

    That said, the fact that Inside Out 2 has already doubled the “relatively solid” gross of Elemental says a lot about how big this movie is, and how much Pixar needed this sort of blockbuster to help reestablish its stature as a major financial force in the world of animation. (Creatively, I don’t think its stature was ever really in doubt, they still make wonderful movies.)

    Next we’ll see how the film compares to the big competition opening in theaters this weekend, Despicable Me 4, which will be fighting for that same family audience over the long Independence Day weekend. Despicable Me 3 grossed $1.035 billion in theaters in 2017. The most recent prequel in that franchise, Minions: The Rise of Gru, earned $940 million in 2022.

    The 10 Goofiest Digital Effects in Horror Movie History

    What’s scarier than a digital blob?

    Gallery Credit: Emma Stefansky

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    Matt Singer

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  • ‘Inside Out 2’ Had the Biggest Opening Day of Any 2024 Film

    ‘Inside Out 2’ Had the Biggest Opening Day of Any 2024 Film

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    Both Pixar and movie theaters could really use a hit right now, and it looks like Inside Out 2 could be the answer to both of their prayers.

    In early Thursday night previews, the sequel to Pixar’s 2014 animated hit earned an estimated $13 million. That’s the highest total for any Thursday opening for any 2024 release to date. Early estimates predict the film could make between $80 and $90 million over the weekend.

    The original Inside Out grossed $356 million in U.S. theaters and $857 million worldwide.

    READ MORE: Every Pixar Movie, Ranked From Worst to Best

    If Inside Out 2 can match or exceed expectations, it couldn’t happen at a better time, for either its studio or for the theaters showing it. Pixar is still reeling from the pandemic — when Disney shunted three of its films (Luca, Turning Red, and Soul) direct to Disney+, and from Lightyear grossly underperforming in theaters in 2022. Last year’s Elemental got some of Pixar’s most negative reviews in history, but the film did become a word-of-mouth hit in theaters, in part because there were so few other movies in theaters for families at the time.

    Pixar chief creative officer Pete Docter recently drew some criticism after he was quoted by Bloomberg saying that the studio recently went through “a real and intense period of self-scrutiny” and then determined that “the studio’s movies should be less a pursuit of any director’s catharsis and instead speak to a commonality of experience.”

    Theaters face a general lack of product this summer thanks to last year’s dual writers and actors strikes, and box office has been way down so far in 2024. Several of the movies we have gotten have underperformed, including The Fall Guy and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, leading to a lot of fretting about the state of movie theaters, and of Hollywood in general. A big honking animated hit for the whole family would do a lot to quiet those voices for a little while at least.

    The 10 Wildest Pixar Theories That Might Be True

    Pixar’s penchant for Easter eggs completely changed the way we watch these movies. 

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    Matt Singer

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  • Box Office: ‘Garfield’ Wins Sluggish Weekend With $14M as ‘Furiosa’ Runs Out of Gas

    Box Office: ‘Garfield’ Wins Sluggish Weekend With $14M as ‘Furiosa’ Runs Out of Gas

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    It’s another bummer of a weekend at the summer of box office, where overall domestic revenue looks to be down 69 percent — no, not a typo — from a year ago as Hollywood and theater owners continue to grapple with a lack of big event pics. And year-to-date revenue is now down 24 percent […]

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    Pamela McClintock

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  • ‘Bad Boys: Ride or Die’ Lands China Release Date

    ‘Bad Boys: Ride or Die’ Lands China Release Date

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    Will Smith and Martin Lawrence’s Bad Boys: Ride or Die has received clearance to roll into China. The Sony Pictures film will hit Chinese cinemas June 22, according to both the studio and local press reports in Beijing. The film opens theatrically in North America on June 7.

    The new film is the fourth installment in the long-running Bad Boys franchise, following Bad Boys for Life (2020), which revived the movie series after a 17-year hiatus and was a worldwide hit with $426 million in total ticket revenue. Bad Boys for Life earned just $3 million in China, but it was released there amid the challenges of the pandemic.

    Bad Boys 4 is helmed by Bad Boys for Life directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, the Belgian duo who infamously had their $90 million Batgirl feature for Max shelved for a tax break by Warner Bros. Discovery in 2022.

    The plot to Bad Boys 4 is driven by corruption within the Miami PD, with Captain Conrad Howard (Joe Pantoliano) accused of working with the drug cartels for years. Detectives Mike Lowrey (Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) put together a team to clear Howard’s name but become outlaws in the process.

    The cast also includes Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Paola Núñez, Eric Dane and Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd. Franchise regulars Pantoliano as Captain Conrad Howard and John Salley as Fletcher also return.

    Full critical reviews for Bad Boys 4 won’t drop till closer to the film’s release, but first reactions began to emerge from fans after a series of early screenings were held across the U.S. two weeks ago.

    Other upcoming U.S. releases in China include A24’s Civil War and Warner Bros‘ Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga on June 7 and Pixar’s Inside Out 2 on June 21.

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    Patrick Brzeski

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  • Box Office: ‘The Fall Guy’ Headed Toward $28M Debut

    Box Office: ‘The Fall Guy’ Headed Toward $28M Debut

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    The Fall Guy is kicking off summer movie season with a No. 1 debut at the box office this weekend, but it’s coming in below initial tracking. After earning $10.4 million on Friday, the feature is now projected to open to $28 million for the weekend, down from earlier tracking that had it in the $30-$35 million range.

    The film earned an A- CinemaScore from audiences, so it’s possible word of mouth could help the movie make up ground in the coming weeks. The Fall Guy is said to have a net budget of $130 million when accounting for incentives for shooting in Australia. Overseas, it is projected to take in another $25.8 million over the weekend, which would bring its global haul to $65.4 million. (It already opened in some markets last week.)

    David Leitch, the stuntman who over the past decade has become an in-demand director, is behind the project. Ryan Gosling leads the cast as a stuntman who must track down the star of a movie that has gone missing. Emily Blunt plays the director of the feature, and she also happens to be the ex of Gosling’s character, with the action-heavy movie also featuring romance as well. Aaron Taylor-Johnson appears as the missing movie star, with the cast also including Winston Duke, Hannah Waddingham and Stephanie Hsu. After premiering at South by Southwest in March, the film has an 83 percent critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.

    Universal has marketed the feature as a love letter to Hollywood and the stunt community, staging a stunt-heavy premiere, fight-centric TV appearances and a theme park show. The feature, based on the 1980s TV show, comes at the height of Gosling’s popularity, following his Oscar-nominated performance as Ken in last summer’s Barbie, and breakout moments at the Oscars and on Saturday Night Live. Leitch and his 87North banner, which he runs with wife and producing partner Kelly McCormick, is known for its influential stunt work on their films, such as Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, The Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw and Bullet Train.

    Amazon MGM Studios’ Challengers is holding in strong in its second weekend, falling just 42 percent for a projected second-place finish of $8.7 million for a cume of $30.5 million. Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist star in the sexy tennis drama.

    The weekend’s other new offering is the $8 million budgeted horror feature Tarot from Sony’s Screen Gems. It hails from directors Spenser Cohen and Anna Halberg, and centers on a group of seven friends who accidentally unleash an evil entity trapped in a deck of cursed Tarot cards. Audiences gave it a low C- CinemaScore, while critics bestowed it an 8 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. The studio embarked on an all-digital marketing campaign for Tarot (so no TV, no billboards), and it’s expected to come in fourth with $6.3 million, behind a re-release of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, which is back in theaters for its 25th anniversary as well as the Star Wars-centric May the Fourth holiday. It’s expected to bring in $7.5 million.

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    Aaron Couch

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  • Box Office: ‘Civil War’ Drawing Blood in Battle With New Vampire Pic ‘Abigail’ for No. 1

    Box Office: ‘Civil War’ Drawing Blood in Battle With New Vampire Pic ‘Abigail’ for No. 1

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    Alex Garland’s dystopian political action film Civil War about an America torn apart appears to be fending off new vampire pic Abigail at the box office.

    If estimates hold, Civil War will stay No. 1 in its second weekend with $11 million for a healthy domestic total of more than $44 million for indie studio A24.

    Heading into the weekend, Universal’s Abigail was expected to take a bigger bite out of Civil War but is now looking to open in the $10 million range (numbers could shift, of course, depending upon Saturday traffic). That’s still a respectable number for a studio film that cost a modest $28 million to make before marketing.

    Abigail is from Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the directing duo known as Radio Silence who were behind the reboot of the Scream franchise and the horror hit Ready or Not. Their new movie, written by Stephen Shields, follows the horrors that happen when a group of criminals kidnap the 12-year-old, who is the daughter of an underworld figure. The only problem: the young ballerina is a vampire.

    Warner Bros. and Legendary’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire remains a force to be reckoned with in its fourth weekend and is expected to come in No. 3 with more than $9 million as it clears the $170 million mark domestically.

    Guy Ritchie‘s new movie The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare shouldn’t be far behind with an opening in the $8.8 million range. The ensemble film, whose cast includes Henry Cavill, chronicles a covert World War II mission manned by a band of renegades who are tasked with destroying Nazi U-boats (it’s loosely based on real events). The Lionsgate film boasts an A- CinemaScore.

    Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s hit family film Kung Fu Panda 4, now in its seventh outing, and Crunchyroll’s new anime offering Spy × Family Code: White are in a close race for No. 4 with an estimated weekend haul in the $4.5 million range.

    Some box office pundits believe Spy x Family will prevail and come in higher. The animated Japanese spy-action comedy is based on the shōnen manga series Spy × Family by Tatsuya Endo.

    Kung Fu Panda 4‘s domestic total should hover around $180 million domestically through Sunday.

    Overall, weekend revenue is sluggish as year-to-date revenue tumbles more than 20 percent behind last year. Summer can’t come soon enough for Hollywood studios.

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    Pamela McClintock

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  • Box Office: ‘Civil War’ Ignites With $10.8M Friday, Now on Course for $25M-Plus Opening

    Box Office: ‘Civil War’ Ignites With $10.8M Friday, Now on Course for $25M-Plus Opening

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    Alex Garland‘s dystopian action movie Civil War found plenty of ammo at the Friday box office, earning a huge $10.8 million for a better-than-expected weekend opening of $25 million plus in North America. The movie will easily place No. 1.

    The $50 million movie about a divided America is a big swing for A24 as it tries to produce bigger movies, marking its most expensive production to date.

    There are clearly split feelings about the film. Moviegoers only bestowed it with a B- CinemaScore, while PostTrack exits were mixed. Overall, more than a third of the audience was male. Imax runs are a boon for the movie and are turning in 48 percent of the gross.

    The story follows a wartime photojournalist (Kirsten Dunst) and her colleagues as they make their way across a hostile United States of America that has been torn apart under the authoritarian rule of a three-term president (Nick Offerman).

    Yet the film shies away from red state/blue state divisions, and the politics behind the conflict are generally left unexplained, other than to say that one of the president’s first actions was to disband the FBI in an apparent nod to former President Donald Trump, who has called to “defund” the Bureau.

    Interestingly, the movie played best in the South and South Central regions of the country.

    Civil War‘s timing surely isn’t a coincidence as it hits cinemas amid a contentious election year in which President Biden and former President Trump are once again the leading candidates for their respective parties as Trump seeks to return to the White House

    At a SXSW panel following the film’s premiere, Garland said it made sense to release Civil War now, although it’s not as if there is anything new about the contentious political discourse gripping the country.

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    Pamela McClintock

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  • Pedro Pascal Net Worth: Exploring The Last Of Us Star’s Wealth And Fortune

    Pedro Pascal Net Worth: Exploring The Last Of Us Star’s Wealth And Fortune

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    Actor Pedro Pascal’s net worth in 2024 is rising rapidly. Well,  all credit goes to his latest blockbuster casting as Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Reed Richards in the cult franchise Fantastic Four. Even though for some people, it seemed like the actor just rose to fame overnight, he actually spent over two decades in Hollywood before making it big.  The actor, who has starred in a couple of shows, namely The Mandalorian and The Last of Us, has also starred in massive global hits like Game of Thrones and the cult Netflix crime thriller Narcos. Pascal earned a lot of appreciation in the series.

    Although, most people, however, saw him first in the show Narcos on Netflix., the actor went on to star in all three seasons. The hit crime thriller was based on the real-life events of DEA agent Javier Pena, who helped lead the international investigation and manhunt for Pablo Escobar, the Colombian drug lord. Before we go on in detail about the shows Pascal has featured in, let’s take a minute and explore more about his early life, net worth, personal life and insights into his career altogether. 

     

    1. Early Life

    Pedro Balmaceda, better known as Pedro Pascal, was born on April 2, 1975, in Santiago, Chile. He is the eldest child of Verónica Pascal Ureta, a child psychologist, and José Pedro Balmaceda Riera, a fertility doctor, both of whom are immigrants. His parents were vocal opponents of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorial regime, and when Pedro was still young, the family was compelled to leave Chile, eventually resettling in the United States. After a period in Texas, where Pedro excelled as a competitive swimmer, the family relocated to southern California. It was there that Pedro’s interest shifted towards acting, leading him to enroll at the Orange County School of the Arts in Santa Ana.

    In 1993, Pedro began his studies at New York University (NYU). Two years later, most of his family, including his parents and his two siblings, decided to return to Chile. This move coincided with allegations against José Balmaceda, who was accused of messing with embryos at the fertility clinic where he worked; in 2022, he admitted to tax fraud. Pedro Balmaceda completed his degree at NYU in 1997. Following his mother’s death two years later, he adopted her surname, Pascal. While pursuing an acting career, he tackled various roles, including working as a waiter at a restaurant and doing other side jobs. 

     

     

     

     

     

    2. Career

    What can we say about this brilliant actor’s career, As mentioned in the introduction, Pascal has been in Hollywood for more than two decades now. 

    In 1999, Pascal started his TV career with various shows, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And he soon became a known face on the small screen, landing guest spots in soaps like Touched by an Angel, NYPD Blue, Nurse Jackie, Homeland, and different Law & Order iterations.

    Notably, he portrayed an assistant district attorney in the first 2 seasons (2009–11) of The Good Wife, and essayed the role of an FBI agent on The Mentalist in 2014. Alongside his TV work, Pascal made his big-screen debut in Hermanas (2005; Sisters) and appeared in movies like The Adjustment Bureau and Sweet Little Lies (both 2011), although TV remained his main area of interest. 

    Despite working steadily for a while, Pascal’s breakthrough time arrived in 2014 when he stepped into the role of Oberyn Martell on season four of the wildly popular HBO series Game of Thrones.

    He played the vindictive prince who met a tragic end, Pascal’s role earned him immense fame and rose to fame after that. Further success came with his starring role as Javier Peña in the Netflix crime series Narcos, which premiered in 2015 and ran until 2017. Portraying a DEA agent hunting down drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, Pascal’s performance garnered praise from both critics and audiences.Pascal’s star continued to rise with his portrayal of the character in the Star Wars universe’s sci-fi series, The Mandalorian.

    As the bounty hunter known as Din Djarin or Mando, the character protects a young creature known as Baby Yoda (Grogu), forming an unexpected bond and goingon a journey where there is danger. If thats not all, Pascal is also into old school plays and theater shows; in fact, he has routinely gone back to the theatre world.  Some of his known roles included  productions like King Lear, Maple and Vine, Beauty of the Father, Sand, Based on a Totally True Story, Old Comedy After Aristophane’s Frogs, Some Men, Much Ado About Nothing, and Macbeth.

     

    3. The Last of Us Salary

    According to Variety, Pedro made a whopping $600,000 per episode (aka $5.4 million total) for season 1, which made him one of the highest-paid actors in 2021. Oh, and according to celebrity net worth, that per-episode salary, more specifically, made the celeb the 12th highest paid actor on TV that year.

    Pascal was cast as Joel Miller in the HBO series adaptation of The Last of Us, a drama show whose storyline was based on a popular video game. In the show, set in a post-apocalyptic world going through  a fungal infection turning people into zombies, Pascal’s Miller agrees to escort a teenage girl named Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey), who is immune, to a research lab in hopes of finding a cure. 

     

     

     

     

    4. Personal life

    Pedro Pascal’s personal life has been everyone’s interest ever since he rose to fame. And we cannot blame his fans either; after all, celebrity lives are barely their own these days, but the actor is not married yet and although he might have played the best father roles to date on screen, he does not have any children. 

    Despite his commercial success, the actor has been extremely private about his personal life. Furthermore, his only relationship that was quite public was with Law and Order actor Maria Dizzia, whom he reportedly dated in the 1990s. The two were even seen together at a lot of public events, but the reason for their breakup remains unknown to the media. 

    Another woman Pascal has been rumored to be dating in 2014 is none other than Lena Headey, who played Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones, although neither of them confirmed or denied the rumours. Therefore, his current relationship status still remains unknown to us. 

    Disclaimer: All amounts mentioned in the article are sourced from public platforms. In some cases, celebrities or their teams give their inputs too, which we incorporate if provided by them. We take all efforts to share possible accurate numbers, however unless otherwise mentioned they are all approximates. We are open to feedback and suggestions on editorial@pinkvilla.com.

     

     

    ALSO READ: Will Kate Middleton Address Her Health Issues Upon Returning To Royal Duty? Here’s What Royal Sources Had To Say

    TIME Women of the Year Gala 2024: Greta Gerwig, Taraji P. Henson, And More Walk Red Carpet

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    1137120

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  • ‘Godzilla’ and ‘Dune’ Power Imax-Led Premium Screen Boom While Theaters Struggle

    ‘Godzilla’ and ‘Dune’ Power Imax-Led Premium Screen Boom While Theaters Struggle

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    Aside from her husband, Christopher Nolan, their children and her mother-in-law, Oscar-winning producer Emma Thomas gave a shout-out to only one other person by name when accepting the Academy Award for best picture for Oppenheimer. “And I want to thank Rich Gelfond at Imax and everyone else at Imax for believing in this movie when it maybe didn’t make much sense to do so,” said Thomas. 

    For Gelfond, who was in the audience, that moment won’t be forgotten anytime soon and comes as his company witnesses its own atomic explosion, with more moviegoers than ever embracing the Imax and premium large-format (PLF) experience despite an average hefty upcharge of $5 per ticket (in L.A., an Imax seat can run $28). Imax collected a record $1.06 billion in global ticket sales in 2023, led by Nolan’s Oppenheimer.

    As many standard auditoriums remain sparsely populated, Imax, along with a robust offering of other PLF screens that have popped up in the past decade in hopes of emulating Gelfond’s model, is enjoying a post-pandemic boom. But Imax remains the leader and is on a mega winning streak as it expands beyond blockbusters to work with smaller indies. It has collaborated several times with Neon on such docs as the David Bowie film Moonage Daydream, and is doing a new monthly screening program with A24 along with giving a full run to Alex Garland’s Civil War. “It’s a long time coming and is all in service of feeding what is a very powerful audience and a younger audience,” says Neon chief Tom Quinn.

    Last year, Imax — which is seeing an increasing demand for its proprietary cameras — saw its record-breaking ticket sales come from 1,700 screens, including 417 domestically, even as overall box office revenue lagged. “When you look at the numbers, Imax gives the whole multiplex a lift, not only because of the people we bring in, but because of the sellouts and people who spill over into other theaters,” says Gelfond.

    The Contenders: Rival Premium Large-Format Players

    Now there are more than 1,000 premium large-format screens in North America, among them Cinemark Theatres’ XD, Regal Cinemas’ RDX and Canadian giant Cineplex’s UltraAVX. The premium category also includes 4DX, a motion experience designed to enhance what’s on the screen by moving seats and spraying water, among other gimmicks.

    The PLF slice of the opening-weekend pie, including Imax, keeps getting bigger across all genres in North America: Oppenheimer (48 percent), Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One (42 percent), Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (37 percent), Fast X (32 percent) and The Little Mermaid (26 percent). As a general rule, Imax still makes up about half the PLF pie domestically, despite having less than half the overall screen count.

    Dolby Cinema is praised for its proprietary projection system and sound, along with state-of-the art seating, but is exclusive to AMC in the United States. Since Imax had no room for Barbie, AMC offered exclusive runs. Dolby contributed a healthy 10 percent of the blockbuster’s $182 million opening. 

    The latest Hollywood tentpole to partake in the premium gold rush was Legendary and Warner Bros.’ Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, which stomped to $80 million domestically and $115.1 million overseas for a far better-than-expected $195.1 million global launch. Talk about an Easter surprise … or maybe not. Imax and other PLF screens made up more than 48 percent of the domestic gross, helping to explain why it did far more than the $45 million to $55 million expected in North America.

    Gelfond steers clear of assessing Dolby but isn’t impressed with the rest: “It’s not a coincidence that virtually every PLF has an ‘x’ in their name. It’s an exhibitor’s way of getting a higher ticket price. And a lot of the PLF business exists because Imax seats are sold out. The consumer believes they are a superior technical experience, but they aren’t. The screen is just larger.” Warner Bros. president of domestic distribution Jeff Goldstein is of a different mindset, noting, “What the audience is telling us loudly and clearly is they want all the screens to be premium, whether it’s Imax or private-label PLF or Dolby Cinema.”

    How Dune: Part Two Shakes Up the Field

    On the opening weekend of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune sequel, studio execs who have access to grosses in real time were mystified when Friday night traffic slowed. Was the movie in trouble? Then they realized what was happening: There were some diehard fans who were willing to skip opening weekend in order to later see the sci-fi epic in Imax. Dune ended up doing just fine on its opening, hitting $82.5 million domestically. But the better news is that it keeps playing and playing, especially in Imax.

    To date, Imax has generated $134 million in Dune 2 ticket sales, or more than 21 percent of the film’s running global gross of $627.3 million. That’s a record share that supplants Interstellar, Oppenheimer and Dunkirk — all Nolan films.

    The Christopher Nolan Factor

    For years, Nolan has used Imax cameras to shoot his movies, including the Dark Knight trilogy. But no one could have ever imagined that a three-hour biographical drama would earn nearly $1 billion at the box office, with nearly $200 million coming from Imax screens. “If I had shown you the treatment for Oppenheimer and told you it was about a physicist who developed the atomic bomb, that wouldn’t necessarily scream out at you as an Imax film, so it’s about how the vision was executed for Imax,” says Gelfond. The entire town is waiting to see whether Nolan will stick with Donna Langley and Universal after Oppenheimer’s box office and Oscar domination, or return to Warners (many are betting on the former). One thing is almost assured: He’ll be using Imax cameras.

    Thanks to Swifties, Imax Is No Longer Just for Fanboys

    The blockbuster Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour did sizable business, with Imax screens generating $13.1 million globally on opening weekend, a record start for a concert or documentary. That included $11.1 million from 377 Imax screens in North America, an 11.4 percent share. All told, Imax/PLFs represented 26 percent of the concert pic’s opening weekend. Not bad for a movie whose audience was 70 percent female — a typical gender split for many Imax blockbusters is 70 percent male.

    A version of this story first appeared in the March 27 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.

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    Erik Hayden

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  • ‘Godzilla x Kong: New Empire’ Roars to Monstrous $80M Box Office Opening, $194M Globally

    ‘Godzilla x Kong: New Empire’ Roars to Monstrous $80M Box Office Opening, $194M Globally

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    Enemies-turned-frenemies proved to be just what the Easter weekend box office needed.

    Warner Bros. and Legendary’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire opened to a monstrous $80 million at the domestic box office, well ahead of an expected $45 million to $55 million. The tentpole scored the second-best opening in the MonsterVerse Universe, no small feat for a fifth film in a franchise. It also delivered the fifth biggest Easter opening of all time, according to Sunday estimates.

    Globally, the film stomped to a $194 million launch after taking in $114 million overseas from 64 markets — including an impressive $44 million in China, where Legendary East is handling the movie. These days, many Hollywood event pics don’t come close to doing that level of business in China (on Monday, it will pass up the $46.5 million earned by Dune: Part II to rank as the top-grossing Hollywood title of 2024). Godzilla x Kong opened to $12.8 million in Mexico, a franchise best, and delivered the studio’s biggest opening ever in India ($5.5 million). The movie also has a handful of major markets yet to open.

    Many critics didn’t think highly of Godzilla x Kong, but audiences disagreed, giving in an A- CinemaScore and 4.5 stars on PostTrack. It’s also playing to an ethnically diverse audience and all key age groups, another plus. In terms of gender, males are buying more than 67 percent of tickets, while 62 percent were ages 35 and under.

    “This is certainly an exciting result,” says Mary Parent, chairman of worldwide production for Legendary. “The film does a great job for the core fans and succeeded in broadening the audience. It played to a new and younger audience.”

    Adam Wingard returned to direct the tentpole, which stars Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry and Dan Stevens. This time around, the two mega-monsters decide to put aside their differences and face a mysterious force that threatens to destroy their planet.

    Godzilla and Kong aren’t the only reason why WB and Legendary have reason to celebrate. Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two crossed the $600 million mark at the worldwide box office on Friday, compared to $406 million globally for the first Dune.

    Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire had no major competition to speak of, as Sony’s new Ghostbusters movie, which opened last weekend, fell 65 percent.

    Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire placed No. 2 with $15.7 million for a domestic total of $73.5 million and a lackluster $108.5 million globally.

    Dune II stayed squarely at No. 3 in its fifth outing despite losing most Imax and other premium screens to Godzilla x Kong (premium screens turned in a combined 48 percent of the opening weekend gross for Godzilla; motion 4D screens were a particular favorite).

    Domestically, Dune II grossed $11.1 million for a cume of $252.4 million, while overseas it took in another $18.4 million from 73 markets for a foreign tally of $373.7 million and $626.1 million globally.

    Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 4 also remained a winner in its fourth outing, placing No. 4 with $10.2 million for a domestic tally of $151.7 million and $347.3 million domestically.

    Universal’s Oscar victor Oppenheimer — which centers on the creation of the atomic bomb the U.S. dropped on Japan to end World War II — finally opened in Japan. It earned $2.6 million, the biggest opening of the year to date among any Hollywood title. That’s also ahead of most of director Christopher Nolan’s other films.

    Back in North America, Neon’s Immaculate rounded out the top five on the domestic chart with $3.3 million its second weekend for a domestic cume of $11 million.

    Among new offerings at the specialty box office, Sony Pictures Classics’ Wicked Little Letters, starring Olivia Colman, posted a solid per-theater average of $17,588 when launching in five cinemas.

    March 31, 9:15. Updated with foreign grosses.

    This story was originally published March 30 at 8:30 a.m.

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    Pamela McClintock

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  • ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ Leading Weekend Box Office With Tepid $41M-$44M Opening

    ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ Leading Weekend Box Office With Tepid $41M-$44M Opening

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    Sony’s Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire will have no trouble winning a relatively quiet weekend at the box office but opinion is divided as to whether it can reach $42 million to $44 million in its domestic opening.

    Sony remains bullish that it will indeed hit that mark after earning $16 million on Friday, including $4.7 million in Thursday previews. Rival studios, however, show Frozen Empire coming in at around $41 million, behind the $44 million launch of the pandemic-challenged Ghostbusters: Afterlife in 2021. Nearly 40 percent of Friday’s gross came from premium-format screens, including select Imax locations. (Dune: Part Two still has a large Imax footprint.)

    The newest Ghostbusters entry is challenged by middling reviews and a B+ CinemaScore from audiences, compared to an A- for Afterlife. Another challenge is bad weather along the east coast.

    Frozen Empire is a direct sequel to Afterlife, which succeeded in restoring the luster to the classic franchise created by the late Ivan Reitman. His son, Jason Reitman, directed Afterlife, but this time turned over helming duties to series co-scribe Gil Kenan.

    The movie features returning castmembers Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Celeste O’Connor and Logan Kim, alongside Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts and William Atherton, who starred in the original 1980s films. Series newcomers include Kumail Nanjiani and Patton Oswalt.

    Written by Kenan and Reitman, the story follows the Spengler family as they return to the New York City firehouse to team up with the original Ghostbusters, who have developed a top-secret research lab to take busting ghosts to the next level. But when the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an army of ghosts that casts a death chill upon the city, demon fighters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second Ice Age.

    The weekend’s other new nationwide opener is Neon’s specialty horror pic Immaculate, starring Sydney Sweeney, who is fresh off her hit rom-com Anyone But You.

    Immaculate, fueled by younger women, is on course to place No. 4 with an estimated $5 million, in line with expectations for the indie film. The pic earned a C CinemaScore, which isn’t unusual for a horror film.

    In Immaculate, Sweeney plays a devout nun traveling to a remote convent in the picturesque Italian countryside, but her journey soon devolves into a nightmare as it becomes clear her new home harbors a sinister secret and unspeakable horror. It is tracking to open in the low single digits.

    Legendary and Warner Bros.’ Dune sequel is holding at No. 2 with an estimated weekend haul of $16 million in its fourth outing. The movie will finish Sunday with a sensational domestic cume of $230 million, or thereabouts.

    Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 4 is also holding in nicely as more and more kids are sprung from school for spring break. The movie, now in its third outing, looks to earn an estimated $14.5 million for a domestic tally of $131 million through Sunday.

    Rounding out the top five is Lionsgate’s Arthur the King, starring Mark Wahlberg. The movie, about the inspirational bond formed between a dog and a group of professional adventurers, is pacing to earn $4.5 million in its second outing for a subdued domestic total of $14.3 million.

    Numbers will be updated Sunday.

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    Pamela McClintock

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  • ‘Dune: Part Two’ Has Already Outgrossed ‘Dune’ in U.S. Theaters

    ‘Dune: Part Two’ Has Already Outgrossed ‘Dune’ in U.S. Theaters

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    After only a week in theaters, Dune: Part Two has already grossed more in domestic release than the first Dune did.

    The new sequel — technically the second half of the first film by director Denis Villeneuve based on the Frank Herbert sci-fi novel Dune — has already grossed $111 million in the United States in one week. The first film, which debuted in the fall of 2021, earned just $108.8 million in the U.S. in the entirety of its six-month theatrical run.

    There is an important asterisk here, of course. Dune opened in 2021 during the midst of the Covid pandemic, and was part of a plan that saw Warner Bros. release all of its theatrical films that year simultaneously on the big screen and on its then-new HBO Max streaming service.

    HBO Max has since been rebranded as Max, and theatrical movies have since gone back to being exclusive to theaters before heading to streaming. So Dune: Part Two had the advantage of only playing in theaters, while Dune fans who wanted to see the first film could choose between the theater and streaming at home. I saw it in a theater, but I know lots of friends who went the other route.

    READ MORE: Dune: What’s Next For the Franchise After Part Two

    Plus, even with Dune: Part Two outgrossing Dune in the U.S., the original film has thus far earned way more total when you factor in international grosses. Dune earned $402 million worldwide in 2021 and 2022, while Dune: Part Two has made a little over $200 million so far.

    Still, the film’s surprisingly big start is encouraging, not just for Dune fans but for anyone who wants to see movie theaters busy and thriving. After all, those folks who saw Dune on streaming could have waited to see Part Two on streaming as well. It will be available on Max eventually. These numbers show pretty clearly that a lot of moviegoers decided they couldn’t wait.

    Dune: Part Two is now playing in theaters. While Villeneuve has openly discussed his interest in making a Dune: Part Three based on Herbert’s second Dune book, Dune Messiah, Warner Bros. has yet to green light the project. But with ticket sales like these, it seems like the project could actually happen.

    The Best Part 2 Sequels Ever

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    Matt Singer

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  • Super Bowl LVII: ‘Deadpool 3’ and ‘Twisters’ Among the Movie Spots Suiting Up for Game Day

    Super Bowl LVII: ‘Deadpool 3’ and ‘Twisters’ Among the Movie Spots Suiting Up for Game Day

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    In 2016, Ryan Reynolds‘ first Deadpool movie scored a huge marketing touchdown at the Super Bowl when using the weekend of the big game to hold a number of promotional events, culminating with a final trailer spot released during the showdown between the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers.

    Two weeks later, the irreverent R-rated pic turned into a box office sensation and launched a new superhero franchise for 20th Century, which was later bought by Disney, home of Marvel Studios. If you’re the betting kind, odds are good that Marvel and Disney will use this year’s Super Bowl on Feb. 11 in Las Vegas to drop the first trailer for its untitled Deadpool threequel, which hits theaters July 26 in North America. And don’t be surprised if the mercurial Reynolds — also a proven marketer — suits up himself in some fashion.

    The legacy Hollywood studios have long used TV’s most-watched live event of the year to advertise their upcoming wares, but have cut back notably in recent years because of soaring costs. This year, CBS is charging $7 million for a 30-second spot, according to numerous reports. A popular option is the official pregame show, where it can cost half as much to buy time for a movie ad.

    Studios are being coy as to their Super Bowl plans this year, although those who are ponying up the big bucks are certainly pleased that the Kansas City Chiefs, who will go up against the San Francisco 49ers, provide an added bonus in terms of ratings because of Taylor Swift, who is dating Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce (her presence at games this year has resulted in a notable spike in female viewership).

    There’s also a Deadpool connection; Reynolds and his wife, Blake Lively, are friends of Swift’s and have attended Kansas City games this season.

    The spot for Deadpool 3, directed by Shawn Levy and co-starring Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, is likely to air during the game, but Disney’s declining comment on any and all plans. Another Disney movie that could be advertised on Sunday is 20th Century’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. The reboot stomps into cinemas May 10.

    Paramount, whose sister network CBS is carrying the game, is sure to advertise Bob Marley: One Love — which opens on Valentine’s Day — A Quiet Place: Day One and IF, directed by John Krasinski and starring Reynolds (not a typo). In the past, Paramount has often used the pregame.

    Universal will have a big presence as well. The studio is believed to have bought time for summer event pics Fall Guy starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, Twisters and Illumination’s Despicable Me 4, as well as spring tentpole Kung Fu Panda 4, from DreamWorks Animation.

    Warner Bros. and Sony appear to be sitting out Super Bowl Sunday entirely. Instead, Warners advertised its upcoming March tenptole Dune: Part Two during the AFC and NFC championship games on Jan. 28.

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    Pamela McClintock

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  • Box Office: Matthew Vaughn and Apple’s Big-Budget ‘Argylle’ Bombing With $16.5M U.S. Debut

    Box Office: Matthew Vaughn and Apple’s Big-Budget ‘Argylle’ Bombing With $16.5M U.S. Debut

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    Spurned by many critics and consumers alike, Matthew Vaughn‘s pricey spy-comedy Argylle is bombing at the North American box office in the biggest miss to date for Apple’s theatrical ambitions.

    The movie — costing a reported $200 million to make before marketing — grossed $5.6 million on Friday for an estimated opening of $16.5 million. The results aren’t much better overseas, where Argylle is estimating a weekend opening of $16.9 million. Numbers will be updated Sunday morning.

    Because Apple is first and foremost one of the world’s richest tech companies whose priority on the content side is streaming, its theatrical efforts are judged differently. If legacy Hollywood studios released a $200 million movie with results like these, they would be skewered

    Universal is distributing Argylle on behalf of Apple Original Films in exchange for a distribution fee.

    Argylle, directed from a script by Wonder Woman‘s Jason Fuchs, tells the tale of a best-selling spy novelist and cat-loving recluse whose tranquil life is upended when the plots of her books begin coming to life.

    Vaughn’s reality-bending spy thriller doesn’t lack star power. The cast includes Bryce Dallas Howard, Henry Cavill, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, John Cena, Ariana DeBose, Dua Lipa, Catherine O’Hara, Sofia Boutella and Samuel L. Jackson. Alfie the cat is played by Chip, the real-life pet of supermodel Claudia Vaughn (née Schiffer).

    Argylle is Apple’s third traditional theatrical release in recent months following Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-nominated Killers of The Flower Moon and Ridley Scott’s Napoleon. Both movies likewise cost $200 million or more to produce. Many in Hollywood believe it’s a good thing to have Apple Original Films throw its hat into the ring since it means more movies on the big screen before they head for streaming on Apple TV+.

    While it may be an awards darling, Killers of the Flower Moon — which nabbed 10 Oscar nominations, the third most of any film behind Oppenheimer (13) and Poor Things (11) — Scorsese’s epic has only grossed $157.6 million at the global box office. Napoleon has fared somewhat better with $219.4 million to date (the latter film earned three Oscar noms).

    The other new action at the domestic box office this weekend is a special nationwide release of the faith-based series The Chosen: Season 4, Episode-1-3. The producers of the hit streaming series wanted to make it available first in theaters. Episodes four, five and six will play in cinemas later this month. Fathom Events is handling The Chosen theatrically in its widest release ever. This weekend’s tally is an estimated $3.3 million.

    Among holdovers, Warner Bros.’ musical Wonka is crossing the $200 million mark domestically, while Paramount’s musical Mean Girls is crossing $100 million in a vote-of-confidence for the oft-maligned genre.

    Grosses will be updated Sunday morning.

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    Pamela McClintock

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  • Anime and ‘Godzilla Minus One’ Push Japan’s Box Office Higher in 2023

    Anime and ‘Godzilla Minus One’ Push Japan’s Box Office Higher in 2023

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    Japan’s box office climbed 4 percent to a post-pandemic high of $1.5 billion (221.5 billion yen) in 2023, driven again by a strong slate of anime and a steady return to theaters. Hollywood films maintained the same market share of around 31 percent as the previous year, though a very weak yen reduced earnings in dollar terms.  

    The Japanese currency falling toward the 150-mark against the greenback means that when converted, the annual box office fell from last year’s $1.64 billion even though takings in yen climbed from 213 billion yen. Imported fare (676 films) took a total of $452 million, versus $995 million for 555 domestic productions.   

    The figures were announced in Tokyo on Tuesday by the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan, locally referred to as Eiren.  

    Topping the 2023 box office rankings was The First Slam Dunk, an anime from Toei based on a hit basketball manga with $107 million, followed by The Super Mario Bros. Movie ($95 million), and the latest anime in the Detective Conan series ($94 million). Those three titles were the only ones to surpass the locally significant 10 billion yen ($68 million) domestic blockbuster benchmark in 2023, though overall takings were second only to the all-time high of $1.77 billion (261 billion yen) in 2019.

    Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron was in fourth spot, taking $58 million. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One with $37 million was the only other Hollywood movie to make the top 10.

    Total admissions were up 2 percent to 155.5 million, with the number of screens up slightly to 3,653.

    The unexpected success of Godzilla Minus One in the American market was a hot topic at the announcement event, sparking multiple questions from the local media.

    Hiroyasu Matsuoka, CEO of Toho, the studio behind Japan’s most famous monster, said the film had helped group theatrical earnings top 100 billion yen ($680 million) for the first time. Toho also distributes Studio Ghibli films and the Conan series.  

    “Godzilla Minus One has taken more than $55 million in the United States. It recently became third highest-grossing non-English language film in the US market, overtaking Oscar-winner Parasite and setting multiple records such as the biggest opening weekend for a foreign film,” said Matsuoka. “This has given us great confidence in the potential for our films and IP.”

    Asked about the reasons for its success, he added, “We really didn’t think it would be such a big hit, to be honest. As well the high levels of recognition for the Godzilla name, it benefited from less competition on release due to the strike in Hollywood.”

    “And the rise of streaming platforms has helped make global audiences more receptive to reading subtitles and watching non-English content,” suggested Matsuoka.

    Fumio Yoshimura, CEO of TOEI, also spoke about the strength of anime and his company’s plans to target further expansion in the global market leveraging IP such as its Power Rangers and samurai films.

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    Gavin Blair

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  • China Box Office: ‘Jonny Keep Walking’ Keeps Pace Atop Unchanged Top-Five Chart

    China Box Office: ‘Jonny Keep Walking’ Keeps Pace Atop Unchanged Top-Five Chart

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    Fish out of water comedy film “Jonny Keep Walking” kept its place at the top of the mainland China box office in its fifth weekend of release. The top five titles remained unchanged from the previous week.

    “Jonny,” in which a man from the countryside struggles to hold down a corporate job in a big city, earned $12.1 million (RMB86.2 million), according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. That was another good hold after $15 million in the film’s fourth weekend. The cumulative total for “Jonny” is now $155 million (RMB1.10 million).

    Hong Kong-made action comedy “Rob N Roll,” with its starry cast of Aaron Kwok, Richie Jen and Lam Ka-tung, held on to second place, but slipped 56% weekend-on-weekend with $5.3 million, down from $12.1 million.

    Another Hong Kong-made film, “The Goldfinger” took $3.5 million in third place. Its cumulative stands at $71 million since releasing on Dec. 30.

    Jason Statham-starring “The Beekeeper” maintained fourth place in China with $1.9 million. Its total after 17 days on release stands at $12.9 million.

    “Follow Bear for Adventure,” which previously opened ahead of “The Beekeeper” remained in fifth place. It earned $1.5 million for a cumulative of $10.5 million.

    Across the nation, cinemas earned an aggregate $32.1 million, the lowest weekend score since mid-November. The figure reflects the paucity of new release titles coming into the market, a drought which may continue until mid-February’s Chinese New Year holidays.

    Artisan Gateway reports the running box office total so far this year as $346 million. But, with the holiday season notably late in 2024, the year-on-year comparisons hold little meaning at this stage.

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    Patrick Frater

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  • Box Office Results: The Beekeeper Flies Past Mean Girls to Claim Top Spot

    Box Office Results: The Beekeeper Flies Past Mean Girls to Claim Top Spot

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    In another quiet weekend, David Ayer’s The Beekeeper kicked Mean Girls out of the top spot in its third weekend, earning $7.4 million (-14%) compared to the latter’s $7.3M (-37%), per Deadline. To date, Beekeeper has collected $42.2M domestically, while Mean Girls sits at $60.8M.

    Otherwise, the only notable news was the financial bump (or lack thereof) given to Oscar hopefuls such as Barbie ($218K), Killers of the Flower Moon ($220K), The Holdovers ($520K, after expanding to 1,267 theaters), Anatomy of a Fall ($211K), American Fiction ($2.89M), Poor Things ($3M), and Oppenheimer ($1M).

    In other good news, Godzilla Minus One claimed the No. 10 spot with an estimated $2.6M and with $55M total domestically, has become the third highest-grossing foreign-language film in the US, surpassing Hero ($53.7M) and Parasite ($53.4M). The Toho International-produced drama sits behind Life is Beautiful ($57.6M) and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ($129M).

    Luckily, this weekend sees a major release in the form of Matthew Vaughn’s action comedy Argylle, which boasts enough star power to ensure decent numbers.

    Box Office Results: Domestic Top 10

    1.) The Beekeeper (AMZ MGM) 3,337 (+7) theaters, Fri $1.8M Sat $3.4M Sun $2.2M 3-day $7.4M (-14%), Total $42.2M/Wk 3

    2.) Mean Girls (Par) 3,544 (-282) theaters, Fri $1.9M Sat $3.2M Sun $2.145M 3-day $7.3M (-37%), Total $60.8M/Wk 3

    3.) Wonka (WB) 3,014 (-122) theaters, Fri $1.35M Sat $2.85M Sun $1.7M 3-day $5.9M (-12%), Total $195.1M/Wk 7

    4.) Migration (Ill/Uni) 2,962 (-132) theaters, Fri $1M Sat $2.54M Sun $1.57M 3-day $5.15M (-6%), Total $101.2M/ Wk 6

    5.) Anyone But You (Sony) 2,885 (-43) Fri $1.5M Sat $2.1M Sun $1.1M 3-day $4.8M (-11%),Total $71.1M/Wk 6

    6.) Fighter (Viva) 662 theaters, Fri $1M Sat $1.5M Sun $1.15M 3-day $3.74M/Total $4.3M Wk 1

    7.) Poor Things (Sea) 2,300 (+900) Fri $849K Sat $1.3M Sun $899K 3-day $3.04M (+43%)/Total $24.7M/Wk 8

    8.) American Fiction (AMZ MGM) 1,702 (+852) theaters, $791K Sat $1.27M Sun $829K, 3-day $2.89M (+65%), Total $11.8M/Wk 7

    9.) Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (WB) 2,423 (-318) theaters, Fri $650K Sat. $1.36M Sun $810K 3-day $2.82M (-23%) /Total $118.1M/Wk 6

    10.) Godzilla Minus One (Toho) 2,051 (+1516) theatres, Fri $761K Sat $1.2M Sun $616K 3-day $2.6M (+276%), Total $55M/Wk 9

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    Jeff Ames

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