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Tag: box office

  • ‘Avatar 2’ Passes ‘Infinity War’ To Become 5th Biggest Movie Ever

    ‘Avatar 2’ Passes ‘Infinity War’ To Become 5th Biggest Movie Ever

    James Cameron is the king of the box-office world.

    With Avatar: The Way of Water continuing to dominate box-office charts around the country, it continues to rise up the list of the biggest moneymakers in cinema history. As of today it has passed Avengers: Infinity War and its $2.052 billion to become the fifth-highest-grossing movie ever. And with that, writer/director James Cameron can lay claim to a singular and incredible record: He has made three of the five biggest movies of all-time.

    The others, of course, are Avatar ($2.923 billion worldwide) and Titanic ($2.194 billion worldwide). The other two films in the top five are Marvel‘s Avengers: Endgame ($2.799 billion worldwide) and Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($2.071 billion). At the pace it is on, Avatar: The Way of Water will very likely pass The Force Awakens for fourth on the all-time list — meaning at that point Cameron would have made three of the four biggest movies ever. Unless something drastic changes in its trajectory, that is probably where it will finally wind up, although it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility that it passes Cameron’s Titanic for third all-time.

    20th Century Studios

    The result is quite a validation for Cameron who has spent a large portion of the time since 2009’s Avatar developing The Way of Water and the sequels that are expected to follow after it. While naysayers predicted the film would bomb because no one remembered Avatar or cared about its characters, that clearly wasn’t the case. The Way of Water has surpassed pretty much every other film in history … except for one Avengers, one Star Wars and two other movies that James Cameron made. Which is wild.

    Avatar 3 is currently scheduled for release on December 20, 2024. And given how well The Way of Water has performed, I would not expect Disney to drag its heels about getting the next movie into theaters. The full list of the top-grossing movies in history is below:

    The Biggest Box-Office Hits in History (Worldwide)

    These are the highest grossing films in the history of cinema.

    Matt Singer

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  • ‘Avatar’ Dethrones ‘Top Gun’ As Biggest Film of 2022

    ‘Avatar’ Dethrones ‘Top Gun’ As Biggest Film of 2022

    James Cameron, that old cinematic maverick, is king of the movie world yet again.

    After Tuesday’s box office grosses, Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water has now grossed more than $1 billion overseas, making it the only 2022 release to accomplish that feat. And that number doesn’t include its grosses in the U.S., where it has already made over $450 million dollars. All told, the movie is hours away from crossing $1.5 billion worldwide — putting it ever so slightly ahead of 2022’s previous box-office champion, Top Gun: Maverick.

    20th Century Studios

    Cameron has said that Avatar: The Way of Water would need to be one of the most successful films in history just to turn a profit, and right now it looks like it’s on pace to do just that. After a little over two weeks of release in theaters around the world, the movie is already the 11th biggest film ever. It’s already grossed more money than Frozen II, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Black Panther, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and Star Wars: The Last Jedi. It’s only a matter of days before it cracks the all-time worldwide box office top ten, where the number ten spot is currently occupied by Furious 7 and its $1.51 billion. (The original Avatar remains the all-time highest-grossing film ever, with $2.922 billion in earnings across its various theatrical releases.)

    While Top Gun: Maverick is going to wind up as 2022’s second-biggest film when all is said and done, it still earned more than $1.48 billion worldwide, vastly exceeding most expectations for the movie’s financial potential. And for now it also remains the biggest domestic hit of 2022. While Avatar has yet to clear $500 million in the U.S., Maverick grossed more than $718 million domestically. The Way of Water may never top that number, even as it continues to attract huge crowds around the world.

    Avatar: The Way of Water remains in release in theaters around the world. Top Gun: Maverick is now streaming on Paramount+.

    2022 Movies That Got a 0 on Rotten Tomatoes

    It might be an understatement to say these 2022 releases were not popular with critics…

    ScreenCrush Staff

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  • ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Passes $1 Billion at Box Office

    ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Passes $1 Billion at Box Office

    James Cameron has said that Avatar: The Way of Water was so expensive to make that it would need to become one of the biggest films in history to even turn a profit.

    So far, so good.

    The long-awaited sequel to Avatar defied naysayers who claimed the original — which remains the highest-grossing film in history — left behind no cultural impact has now grossed $1 billion worldwide in just 12 days of release.

    It is one of only three films to do so in 2022. The others were sequels as well: Top Gun: Maverick ($1.48 billion) and Jurassic World: Dominion ($1.001 billion). It has already outgrossed several of the other biggest hits of the year, including Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($955 million), Minions: The Rise of Gru ($939 million), Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ($801 million), The Batman ($770 million) and Thor: Love and Thunder ($760 million).

    20th Century Studios

    Even with $1 billion in worldwide grosses, The Way of Water has only achieved a fraction of the success of Avatar. After multiple re-releases, Cameron’s 2009 film has grossed $2.92 billion worldwide —more than Avengers: Endgame ($2.79 billion) and Cameron’s own Titanic ($2.2 billion).

    The Way of Water’s continued success will be crucial to the future of the franchise. Cameron has plans to make at least three — and possibly as many as five — additional sequels. Disney has committed to making Avatar 3, which Cameron has already shot, but if these two films aren’t enormous hits, the rest of the projects could fall by the wayside.

    At this point, The Way of Water is performing well, even despite terrible weather all over the country throughout the Christmas holiday. But time will tell just how long Cameron gets to spend on Pandora in the future.

    What to Know Before Avatar: The Way of Water

    Get ready for Avatar: The Way of Water with this refresher on the first film.

    Matt Singer

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  • ‘Avatar’ Makes Second Lap While ‘Babylon’ Bombs at Christmas Box Office

    ‘Avatar’ Makes Second Lap While ‘Babylon’ Bombs at Christmas Box Office

    There wasn’t much sunny about this past weekend at the box office. A devastating storm and extremely low temperatures across much of the nation put a bit of a chill on the idea of moviegoing. Hell, I don’t know about you, but I came up with excuses to put off taking out the trash! Theater owners were reportedly already anticipating lower numbers, since Christmas Eve and Christmas Day fell on a Saturday and Sunday, which reduced the number of days that most people would have off from work. As such, the three new major studio releases, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody, and Babylon found themselves iced out.

    There is, however, one success story: Avatar: The Way of Water. 

    Arctic blasts and worrisome flu chatter are apparently no match for James Cameron and his interplanetary adventures, with the second chapter of his saga bringing in an additional $56 million domestically in its second weekend. That number is likely to balloon to $84 million, factoring in Friday and Monday, all for a domestic total of $278 million. 

    The international box office for the picture—which is being exhibited in 3D, premium large format, and, in some cases, a controversial high frame rate—is now estimated at $855 million. For any other movie, the producers and studio heads would be swimming in champagne, but as Cameron himself put it, his goal is “to be the third or fourth highest-grossing film in history. That’s your threshold. That’s your break even.” Most analysts have put that number at $2 billion.

    Rarely does receipt-watching have this much drama to it, but it’s also rare for a writer-director-inventor-explorer to go on record as calling his project “the worst business case in movie history.” He’s a little less than halfway to the finish line after two weeks, and he’s got history behind him—the first Avatar was a slow-and-steady earner over many weeks, as was this summer’s Top Gun: Maverick.

    Also, the tale of Jake Sully, the tulkun, and the ava-cloned Col. Quaritch does not have much in the way of competition for many coming weeks, as evidenced by the three other studio releases this weekend, all of which did poorly. Puss In Boots tallied $11.3 million this weekend (accruing $24.6 million since its mid-week opening), which isn’t exactly chump change but is still low for a family film in the Shrek-verse. The last Puss In Boots ultimately made $554 million globally, but that was back in 2011. 

    Meanwhile, Naomi Ackie’s turn as pop legend Whitney Houston came in third place, with an estimated $7.5 to $9 million through Monday. By and large, few critics have been championing the latest music biopic, and it currently has a 46 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and a 55 on Metacritic. 

    Worst, through, was the awards season hopeful Babylon, Damien Chazelle’s kaleidoscopic three-hour ode to early Hollywood, starring A-listers Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt. The picture is a floparoonie (to put it in the terms the characters might use), earning a disastrous $5.3 through Monday. Though some critics were into it, it received a C+ on Cinemascore, which polls exiting ticket buyers. 

    This is not the best news for Chazelle, whose last picture, First Man, did not exactly achieve escape box office velocity. Maybe he should have done what James Cameron did, and shoot nearly all of his next picture (and even a high percentage of the one after that) before this one hit screens. 

    Jordan Hoffman

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  • ‘Glass Onion’ Estimated To Pull In $15 Million From Limited Theatrical Release

    ‘Glass Onion’ Estimated To Pull In $15 Million From Limited Theatrical Release

    By Corey Atad.
    Published:

    Netflix appears to have a theatrical hit on its hands.

    This week, the streamer released “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” on approximately 600 screen in North America, with box office watchers estimating it pulled in around $15 million.


    READ MORE:
    Daniel Craig Is On The Hunt In The Trailer For ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’

    Though Netflix is not releasing official box office tallies for its limited, one-week release of the Daniel Craig sequel, estimates show a strong $19,000 per-theatre average gross for the film, Variety reported.

    During the same timeframe in 2019, “Knives Out” pulled in over $41 million domestically from more than 3,400 screens for a nearly $12,000 per-theatre average. The film went on to make $165 million in North America, and over $300 million worldwide.


    READ MORE:
    Daniel Craig Didn’t Want His ‘Glass Onion’ Character’s Sexuality Reveal To Be ‘A Song And Dance’

    Netflix’s “Glass Onion” release marks a departure for the streamer, which until now had seen its theatrical releases limited to smaller independent theatres, with the larger multiplex chains declining to carry their films due to the short window between theatrical release and streaming premiere.

    News of the sequel’s theatrical success for Netflix comes as the streamer also saw success with a U.K. and Ireland theatrical release for “Matilda the Musical”, which earned $5 million and toppled “Black Panther 2” at the box office there.

    Corey Atad

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  • Disney’s ‘Strange World’ Could Lose $100 Million

    Disney’s ‘Strange World’ Could Lose $100 Million

    It was a tale of two divisions for Disney at the Thanksgiving box office. Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was once again the number one movie in the country last weekend, grossing an estimated $64 million across the extended holiday weekend. The film dropped roughly 30 percent from its opening weekend, which is a very strong result for a blockbuster. So that movie is doing just fine. Better than fine; it’s a major Marvel hit.

    But at the same time, the latest animated movie from Disney proper, Strange World, flopped badly. The film grossed just $18.6 million from Wednesday night to Sunday, barely a tenth of its reported $180 million budget, despite decent reviews from critics. To put that number in perspective: Glass Onion, the new Rian Johnson murder mystery, grossed nearly the same amount in 700 theaters. Strange World was playing on 4000 screens.

    According to Variety, “unless [Strange World’s] business rebounds dramatically in the next few weeks (and that seems unlikely given the film’s moderate reviews, lackluster audience reception and minimal buzz), sources estimate that “Strange World” will lose at least $100 million in its theatrical run.” They also claim, given its budget, that it would need to gross “roughly $360 million” to just break even.

    Strange World bombing at the box office comes at a key moment for Disney, which just replaced its CEO of the last two years, Bob Chapek, with the former head of the company, Bob Iger. While Strange World was bombing in theaters, Disney was releasing Disenchanted, a long-awaited sequel to a beloved movie, straight to streaming on Disney+. A few weeks before that, they let another sequel to another extremely popular title, Hocus Pocus, bypass theaters as well. How many hundreds of millions of dollars did Disney lose out on just by skipping theatrical releases on those two titles alone? And those are not the only recent examples.

    If you do want to see Strange World, which features the voices of Jake Gyllenhaal, Dennis Quaid, Gabrielle Union, Lucy Liu, and Jaboukie Young-White, it is playing in theaters

    Great Disney+ Movies You Might Have Missed

    These excellent films are all waiting to be discovered on Disney+.

    Matt Singer

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  • Feast and famine for Disney at Thanksgiving box office

    Feast and famine for Disney at Thanksgiving box office

    Thanksgiving often serves up a feast of new family movies at the box office, but the Walt Disney Co.’s animated offering “ Strange World ” fizzled with audiences out of the gates. The production, which carried a reported $180 million budget, grossed just $18.6 million in ticket sales in its first five days and $11.9 million over the weekend in North American theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday.

    The top spot for the holiday corridor, which runs from Wednesday through Sunday, instead went to another Disney movie, Marvel’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” which raked in an additional $64 million over the last five days, $45.9 million of which was from the weekend. The superhero sequel has reigned over the charts for three weekends now and has grossed $675.6 million worldwide.

    It was a muted weekend despite a buffet of well-reviewed options, including the Korean War aviation drama “ Devotion,” the nationwide expansion of the Timothée Chalamet cannibal romance “ Bones and All ” and Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans.”

    “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” also opened in 600 theaters nationwide for a weeklong limited run. It marks the first time a Netflix film has played in the nation’s major theater chains, including AMC, Regal and Cinemark, but neither Netflix nor the exhibitors provided sales estimates for the film, which won’t hit the streaming service until Dec. 23. The first “Knives Out,” which was released by Lionsgate, opened to $41.4 million over Thanksgiving weekend in 2019.

    Between the “Glass Onion” mystery and the “Strange World” miss, it was a reminder that the exhibition business is still far from normal.

    “This was not pre-destined to be a blockbuster Thanksgiving weekend,” said Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore’s senior media analyst. He noted that the marketplace is still being impacted by the pandemic’s effects on Hollywood production and release schedules.

    Disney has historically “owned” the Thanksgiving weekend. Walt Disney Studios and Pixar animated titles account for the top six Thanksgiving openings of all time, including films such as “Frozen,” which made $93.6 million in 2013, “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” which pulled in $84.8 million in 2018 and “Moana,” which earned $82.1 million when it opened in 2016. But it’s also been a difficult two years at the company, which last week stunned the industry when it announced that Bob Iger was returning to the company as CEO, replacing his handpicked successor Bob Chapek

    “Strange World” opened in 4,714 locations on Wednesday, but it was clear from early preview showings that it was going to be slow going. On Friday, it earned only $5.2 million. “Wakanda Forever,” by contrast, made $18.2 million on Friday in 4,258 theaters and has been out for three weeks.

    The animated adventure film’s debut is one of the bigger bombs in the modern history of the Disney Animation studio, similar to the $16 million 2002 Thanksgiving opening of “Treasure Planet.” “Strange World” was directed by Don Hall and Qui Nguyen and follows a family of explorers and features the voices of Jake Gyllenhaal, Dennis Quaid, Gabrielle Union and Lucy Liu. Reviews have been mostly positive, with a 73% Rotten Tomatoes score.

    A lack of new family oriented films over the past several weeks may have resulted in “muted” awareness for “Strange World,” according to Dergarabedian.

    Third place went to “Devotion,” directed by JD Dillard and starring Jonathan Majors and Glenn Powel, which made $9 million in its first five days and $6 million over the weekend from 3,405 locations. The film was made by Black Label Media and distributed by Columbia Pictures in 3,405 locations. The war epic is based on the true story of Jesse Brown, the first Black aviator in the history of the U.S. Navy, who along with his friend Tom Hudner were pivotal in turning the tide in one of the most brutal battles of the Korean War.

    “ The Menu,” the satirical fine-dining thriller starring Ralph Feinnes and Anya Taylor-Joy, landed in fourth in its second weekend, with $7.4 million over the past five days and $5.2 million over the weekend. Fifth place went to “Black Adam.”

    In sixth place for the weekend was Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans,” which is based on the filmmaker’s own family and teenage years. The Universal release expanded to 638 theaters, where it earned $3.1 million over five days and $2.2 million over the weekend.

    United Artists Releasing rolled “Bones and All” out to 2,727 theaters, where it made an estimated $3.6 million over the five-day opening, with $2.2 million of that coming from the weekend. According to exit polls, some 74% of the audience was between the ages of 18 and 34. The R-rated film from Luca Guadagnino stars Chalamet and Taylor Russell as young cannibals on a road trip through the American Midwest.

    In more limited releases, Elegance Bratton’s “The Inspection ” expanded to 32 screens and earned $103,033 over five days.

    Overall ticket sales are expected to net out around $125 million. That would be down about 12% from last year, which boasted releases such as “Encanto,” which opened to $40.6 million even with a spiking COVID-19 variant. For movie theater owners, it places even more pressure on “Avatar: The Way of Water,” to deliver a big windfall to close out the year. It launches on Dec. 16.

    “Usually Thanksgiving weekend is all about kids and families going to the theater. This year, it’s a heavy mix of films aimed at adults and that’s not a recipe for a box office feast in theaters,” Dergarabedian said. “But it’ll come back in a big way when Avatar opens.”

    Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore, with five-day Wednesday through Sunday in parentheses. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

    1. ”Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” $45.9 million ($64 million).

    2. “Strange World,” $11.9 million ($18.6 million).

    3. “Devotion,” $6 million ($9 million).

    4. “The Menu,” $5.2 million ($7.4 million).

    5. “Black Adam,” $3.4 million.

    6. “The Fabelmans,” $2.2 million ($3.1 million).

    7. “Bones and All,” $2.2 million ($3.6 million).

    8. “Ticket to Paradise,”$1.9 million ($2.6 million).

    9. “The Chosen Season 3: Episode 1 &2,” $1.6 million.

    10. “She Said,” $1.1 million ($1.5 million).

    —-

    Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr.

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  • Drishyam 2 box office collection: Ajay Devgn’s film earns Rs 15 crore on Day 9

    Drishyam 2 box office collection: Ajay Devgn’s film earns Rs 15 crore on Day 9

    Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn’s latest film ‘Drishyam 2’ has minted Rs 127 crore at the domestic box office. The Abhishek Pathak-directed movie has become the second-highest-grosser and opener of the year. Devgn, after a series of flops, has scored a hit with this film.

    Drishyam 2, after hitting a century on Day 7, has continued to earn in increasing numbers and is still pulling crowds to the theatres. Apart from Ajay Devgn, the film also features Tabu, Akshaye Khanna, Shriya Saran, Rajat Kapoor, and Ishita Dutta. It was released on November 18.

    The Hindi-language crime thriller film earned Rs 15.38 crore at the domestic box office on Day 1. Gradually, the film saw an increase in its collections and entered the Rs 100-crore club in just seven days.

    On Day 9, November 26, the film collected Rs 15 crore, taking its total collection to Rs 127.53 crore at the domestic ticket windows. Drishyam 2 has already surpassed the opening weekend collections of Bollywood films like Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, Gangubai Kathiawadi and The Kashmir Files.

    The movie is a sequel to Devgn’s 2015 crime thriller “Drishyam”, which was the Hindi remake of the Mohanlal-starrer Malayalam movie of the same name. The sequel to the Malayalam film released in February 2021.

    It is produced by Bhushan Kumar, Kumar Mangat Pathak, Abhishek Pathak and Krishan Kumar. The film is presented by Viacom18 Studios, T-Series and Panorama Studios.

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  • ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Pounces Toward a Record Weekend

    ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Pounces Toward a Record Weekend

    Profit margins forever!

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever surprised no one this weekend when it conquered the box office, bringing in a $180 million domestic tally, the biggest-ever opening for a November release, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Including receipts from international markets, the grand total comes to a whopping $330 million.

    These are, no doubt about it, strong numbers, but they suggest that the sequel will not have the monumental traction of the first Black Panther picture released in 2018. That opened at $202 million domestically, ultimately reaching $700 million, ranking it at number six for an all-time record. Worldwide, the Marvel release is at number 14 with $1.34 billion. The Ryan Coogler film was also the first superhero movie to be nominated for Best Picture Academy Award. (Joker followed suit the following year, and Joaquin Phoenix won the Best Actor prize.)

    The reviews for Wakanda Forever were also a little cooler, with an 84 percent at Rotten Tomatoes versus a 96 for the first film, and a 67 at Metacritic versus an 88. However, Cinemascore, which polls outgoing ticket buyers, awarded the movie an A. (The original, it should be noted, got the ever-rare A+.) V.F.‘s review praised the film, but also called it “scattered” and “a vast expansion with a hole at its center.”

    That the movie exists at all is something of a minor miracle. It faced some incredible hurdles, not the least of which was a complete script overhaul after the surprise passing of then-43-year-old Chadwick Boseman in August 2020. The production also suffered a shutdown when its lead, Letitia Wright, suffered an injury on set. Coogler and company shot around her as much as possible while she recovered, but eventually had to hit pause, ultimately delaying the release date by five months. 

    In addition to Wright, the sequel brings back Angela Bassett, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Martin Freeman, Isaach de Bankolé, and Florence Kusamba. (And maybe someone else, but we’re not spoiling that.) New to the cast are Michaela Coel, Dominique Thorne, Lake Bell, and Tenoch Huerta as Namor, the principal villain (though, like the first picture’s Killmonger, he kinda has a point.) Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who has drifted in and out of Marvel properties before, also pops up. 

    Jordan Hoffman

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  • Box Office: ‘Prey For The Devil’ Nabs $3 Million Friday As Oscar Contenders Struggle

    Box Office: ‘Prey For The Devil’ Nabs $3 Million Friday As Oscar Contenders Struggle

    With the big Halloween movies already in play and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever two weeks away, it is another quiet weekend for newbies at the domestic box office. The one new wide release is Lionsgate’s long-delayed Prey for the Devil. The PG-13 horror flick earned $660,000 in Thursday previews and grossed another $2.83 million Friday. That suggests an over/under $7 million opening weekend in 2,450 theaters, about in line with cautiously optimistic forecasts. Considering the relative lack of buzz, expectedly lousy reviews (17% and 3.6/10 on Rotten Tomatoes), star-free cast and harsh scary season competition, this is a moral victory even if it’s not remotely a barnburner. The film got a C+ from Cinemascore, which is almost good for a low-profile horror flick, but I would expect it will be ancient history by the time it pops up on PVOD in a few weeks.

    United Artists expanded Till into semi-wide release in its third frame. The acclaimed and Oscar-buzzy drama earned $1.03 million in 2,058 theaters. That suggests a $2.78 million (+665%) weekend for a mediocre $1,351 per-theater average and $3.607 million 17-day total. Unless it truly becomes a must-see film for Oscar watchers and related general audiences, and that could happen if Danielle Deadwyler gets a Best Actress nomination, we are looking at an under-$10 million domestic finish. With all due respect, audiences wanting a big studio flick for/from/by/about empowered Black heroes will flock to the MCU sequel opening in two weeks. To be fair, and I say this with zero judgment, we saw likewise in 2016 when Nate Parker’s much-discoursed Birth of the Nation was ignored in favor of Antoine Fuqua and Denzel Washington’s popcorn-y but righteously angry The Magnificent Seven remake.

    Likewise, rave reviews and social media discourse aside, Cate Blanchett’s TÁR isn’t exactly mainstream entertainment, and I would have said that in 1994 as well. I am old enough to remember critics and pundits decrying the lack of theatrical business for Quiz Show and Ed Wood, even if back then, at least folks were showing up for Pulp Fiction. The 2.5-hour melodrama about a world-famous and top-of-her-field conductor dealing with skeletons in her closet and/or chickens coming home to roost, expanded to 940 theaters on weekend three and earned $340,000 on Friday. That positions the Focus Features release for a $1 million weekend. That gives the Best Actress frontrunner (for now) a mere $920 per-theater average and $2.5 million 17-day total. Searchlight’s The Banshees of Inishin expanded to 59 theaters for an over/under $440,000 (+139%) weekend and $7,458 per-theater average.

    Focus Features’ Armageddon Time debuted in five theaters yesterday to indifferent results. James Grey’s mostly acclaimed 80’s set melodrama stars Anne Hathaway, Jeremy Strong and Anthony Hopkins and at least tries to be a little less nostalgic than is usual for the sub-genre. However, I imagine if any such (loosely autobiographical) coming-of-age drama is going to break out commercially, it will be Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans over Thanksgiving weekend. Armageddon Time earned $35,000 on Friday for an over/under $78,000 weekend and a $13,000 per-theater average. Nobody is expecting big bucks from films like Triangle of Sadness ($2.24 million in 24 days) or Decision to Leave ($794,000 after 17 days). Still, I will be curious to see which of this season’s awards contenders can at least make as much as David O. Russell’s mega-bomb Amsterdam ($15 million) or even Terrifier 2 ($7.7 million and rising).

    Scott Mendelson, Forbes Staff

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  • ‘Black Adam’ Hands Dwayne Johnson His Biggest Box Office Weekend As Leading Man

    ‘Black Adam’ Hands Dwayne Johnson His Biggest Box Office Weekend As Leading Man

    NEW YORK (AP) — Warner Bros.′ “Black Adam” opened with an estimated $67 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, handing Dwayne Johnson his biggest box-office weekend as a leading man and launching the D.C. Comics character he spent a decade to bring to the big screen.

    “Black Adam” was a $200-million bid to upset the power balance in a DC Extended Universe dominated by the likes of Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman. The $67 million debut fell well shy of that stratosphere, even with the considerable draw of Johnson acting in his first superhero movie. Still, “Black Adam” managed the highest opening weekend since “Thor: Love and Thunder” debuted with $143 million in July.

    “Black Adam,” which stars Johnson as an ancient Egyptian summoned to the modern day, was notably hobbled by poor reviews (40% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes). Moviegoers were kinder, giving the film a B+ CinemaScore. It collected $73 million internationally for a $140 million global haul.

    “Black Adam” took a circuitous route to reach theaters. The character had originally been planned to launch as a villain in 2019′s “Shazam!” before executives pivoted to give Black Adam a standalone feature. The goofier “Shazam!,” which cost closer to $100 million to make, opened with $53.5 million in ticket sales and wound up an over-achieving success with $366 million worldwide.

    The stakes were higher for “Black Adam,” though. While promoting the film, Johnson hasn’t been shy about his desire to follow up “Black Adam” with a showdown with Superman. But whether the receipts for “Black Adam” are enough to warrant that remains unclear. Under new leadership, Warner Bros. is overhauling its approach to DC Comics adaptations.

    Jeff Goldstein, distribution chief for Warner Bros., celebrated the results as a personal best for Johnson outside of the “Fast & Furious” films, and a PG-13 film with broad-based appeal that audiences responded to better than critics. Still, it’s a time of transition for Warner Bros.′ reorganizing DC unit as the studio seeks more Marvel-sized successes. Next on tap is “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” in March.

    “It’s all about making good movies. It’s all about finding the right scripts,” said Goldstein. “Our studio is definitely going through a major revamping of our production leadership and style and approach. I think that we’ll be able to crack this nut. We’re definitely focused in on doing that.”

    “Ticket to Paradise,” the Bali-set romantic comedy starring Julia Roberts and George Clooney, proved smart counterprogramming. The Universal Pictures release debuted with $16.3 million, well above recent sales for rom-coms, which have struggled in recent years at the box office. The film is already a hit abroad, where it’s been in release for the last month, accruing $80.2 million in ticket sales.

    Earlier this month, Universal’s R-rated “Bros,” an LGBTQ milestone in the genre, debuted with a disappointing $4.8 million. “Ticket to Paradise” had a notable advantage in its two stars, and appealed particularly to older audiences; 64% of ticket buyers were 35 and up, the studio said.

    “It became an event film for all audiences this weekend but especially for older audiences that can be difficult to get into theaters,” said Jim Orr, head of distribution for Universal. “We all know this is a demographic group that doesn’t exactly run out to see films opening weekend. That gives us great encouragement for the weeks and months ahead.”

    Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data firm Comscore, noted it was the first weekend with a $65 million opener and more than $100 million in overall domestic ticket sales since July. That was owed largely to star power, he said, in the appeal of both “Ticket to Paradise” and “Black Adam” with Johnson.

    “He was the engine that really drove this box office despite some headwinds in terms of the DC brand and this not being as known a character,” said Dergarabedian. “This is a very strong starting point for Dwayne Johnson in the mix of DC Comics. He’s like a box-office supercharger. Forty-percent Rotten Tomatoes, but people just want to see Dwayne Johnson on the big screen because he is bigger than life.”

    Last week’s top film, “Halloween Ends,” dropped massively in its second weekend. The Universal horror sequel, which was simultaneously released on Peacock, declined 80% with $8 million. Meanwhile, Paramount Pictures’ “Smile,” continued to defy the typical declines for horror releases. With $8.4 million in its fourth week of release, “Smile” came in third and boosted its overall domestic sales to $84.3 million.

    As more acclaimed awards contenders land in theaters, Searchlight Pictures’ “The Banshees of Inisherin” started its run with one of the best per-theater averages of the year. The Martin McDonagh drama, starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, opened with $181,000 in four theaters for a per-theater average of $45,250. For A24, Charlotte Wells’ “Aftersun,” starring Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio as a father and daughter on vacation, also debuted solidly in four theaters, with a $16,589 per-theater average.

    Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

    1. “Black Adam,” $67 million.

    2. “Ticket to Paradise,” $16.3 million.

    3. “Smile,” $8.4 million

    4. “Halloween Ends,” $8 million.

    5. “Lyle, Lyle Crocodile,” $4.2 million.

    6. “The Woman King,” $1.9 million.

    7. “Terrifier 2,” $1.9 million.

    8. “Don’t Worry Darling,” $880,000.

    9. “Amsterdam,” $811,000.

    10. “Triangle of Sadness,” $600,000.

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  • Weekend Box Office: ‘Ticket To Paradise’ Nabs $16 Million As Terrifier 2’ Jumps 84%

    Weekend Box Office: ‘Ticket To Paradise’ Nabs $16 Million As Terrifier 2’ Jumps 84%

    Universal’s Ticket to Paradise finally opened in North America with a refreshingly robust $16.3 million weekend. The last of Universal’s four live-action comedies this year, after Marry Me, Easter Sunday and Bros, showed that the sub-genre (even without music, action or fantasy) isn’t dead yet. Ol Parker’s $60 million rom-com, about two bitterly divorced parents (George Clooney and Julia Roberts) who team up to sabotage their daughter’s wedding, should be leggy. Oscar season expansions aside, there’s nothing for adults who don’t like superheroes or horror films until Thanksgiving weekend. It has already earned $80 million overseas, on par with The Lost City’s $85 million lifetime cume, following a month of slow international rollout. This gives the indifferently reviewed (I liked it, and your parents will too) studio programmer a $96 million global cume.

    It’s not a blockbuster, as it’s mostly winding down overseas and may end up with over/under $145 million global. But that will still be 2.45x its budget, with plenty more to come from PVOD rentals courtesy of older audiences either not caring about theaters or not wanting to pay for a babysitter. It may be a grim example of the modern theatrical business that a Julia Roberts/George Clooney romantic comedy barely scraping by is considered a sign of hope, but that’s where we are in the streaming era. Besides, if Hollywood were better at making new stars, we wouldn’t have to rely on the Tom Hanks, Tom Cruises and Julia Roberts of the world 20 years past their relative prime. That’s what Top Gun: Maverick, which finally fell out of the top ten on weekend 22, is subtextually about.

    Paramount’s
    PARA
     Smile remains the scary movie of the scary season, earning $8.35 million (-34%) while adding 142 theaters in weekend four. With $84.5 million domestic, it has passed Scream ($81 million) and will soon pass Halloween Kills ($92 million) next weekend as it races past the $100 million milestone. Heck, at the rate it’s going, it might pass Bullet Train ($103 million) *and* Jordan Peele’s Nope ($123 million) to become the biggest R-rated domestic earner of the Covid era. Oh, and it has earned $150 million worldwide, meaning it’ll soon pass Nope ($171 million) as this year’s biggest live-action Hollywood original. Hell, it may even pass $200 million worldwide before leaving theaters. Not bad for a $17 million, R-rated original initially intended for Paramount+. It will be more valuable to Paramount+ via its theatrical success.

    Universal and Blumhouse’s Halloween Ends took a massive 80% drop in weekend two, grossing just $8 million for a $54.177 million ten-day total. The poor review, divisive word-of-mouth and concurrent Peacock availability killed this one quick. Again, Peacock didn’t help, but it’s not like either Halloween Kills ($92 million from a $49 million debut) or the well-received and Peacock-free Halloween ($159 million/$77 million) were remotely leggy. I’m also old enough to remember when the biggest Halloween movies earned $47 million (Halloween in 1978), $55 million (Halloween: H20 in 1998) and $58 million (Rob Zombie’s Halloween remake in 2007) in total. Come what may, the $33 million slasher threequel has earned $82 million worldwide and should crack $110 million global before exiting theaters. The new Halloween trilogy should end with over/under $500 million worldwide on a combined $63 million budget.

    Sony’s Lyle Lyle Crocodile earned $4.2 million (-43%) in weekend three for a disappointing $28.7 million 17-day cume. Sony’s The Woman King earned $1.93 million (-48%) for a $62.9 million domestic and $83 million worldwide cume. The $50 million Viola Davis-led action drama may not be a theatrical hit. Still, it’s doing great domestically and is the sort of film Sony can justify making for theaters thanks to the first-window pay-tv deal they signed with Netflix
    NFLX
    . Warner Bros. Discovery’s Don’t Worry Darling has earned $44 million domestically and $80 million worldwide on a $35 million budget. 20th Century Studios’ all-star (and $80 million) Amsterdam has grossed just $14 million domestically and $21 million worldwide. 20th Century Studios’ $4 million, R-rated original Barbarian will cross $40 million domestic this weekend, even while Smile stole much of its buzz.

    Bloody Disgusting’s Terrifier 2 got oodles of mainstream media attention this week, as reports of audiences fainting or vomiting led to petitions to ban the film. Those petitions are no more serious than the morons advocating for a remake of Halloween Ends or the idiots who tried to raise $200 million to remake The Last Jedi. It’s nice to see that an old-school video nasty-type flick can still get the torches and pitchforks in this fragmented media culture. Art the Clown’s 138-minute epic slasher sequel earned $1.895 million (+85%) in weekend three for a $5.256 million domestic cume. Even accounting for the notion of demographically specific event movies (think RRR, Christmas with the Chosen, BTS: Permission to Dance, etc.), this is entirely unexpected. Art the Clown’s Terrifier 2 is turning into The Greatest Showman of unrated slasher epics.

    In Oscar rollout news, Martin McDonagh’s terrific The Banshees of Inisherin debuted in four theaters yesterday, earning $181,000 in its opening weekend. That will give Searchlight’s dark Brendan Gleeson/Colin Farrell/Kerry Condon/Barry Keoghan dramedy a promising $45,250 per-theater average. The film opened with $1.62 million in the United Kingdom. United Artists’ Till expanded to 104 theaters in advance of its nationwide rollout next weekend. The acclaimed true-life drama, for which Danielle Deadwyler is earning serious Oscar buzz, earned $376,000 in weekend two (+55%) for a $3,617 per-theater average and $666,500 ten-day cume. Cate Blanchett’s TÁR will also go wide next weekend. It expanded to 141 theaters and made $470,000 (+42%) for a $3,333 per-theater average and $1.175 million 17-day cume. We’ll see how many of this year’s critically acclaimed Oscar contenders can outgross Terrifier 2 ($5.3 million and rising rather than falling).

    Scott Mendelson, Forbes Staff

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  • ‘Black Adam’ Has Biggest Opening Weekend of Dwayne Johnson’s Career

    ‘Black Adam’ Has Biggest Opening Weekend of Dwayne Johnson’s Career

    DC Comics fans know Black Adam, but in the wider moviegoing world, he’s a very obscure character. So when people showed up this weekend for the movie in large numbers, it wasn’t necessarily the droves and droves of Black Adam fans that made the movie a hit. It was Dwayne Johnson fans, looking for the chance to see their favorite play a comic-book hero for the first time.

    After its opening weekend, Black Adam has grossed an estimate $67 million. It’s not technically the biggest of any movie that Johnson has appeared in — several  Fast & Furious movies had bigger opening weekends — but in terms of films where Johnson was the main and primary star, it is the biggest box office debut of his entire career. (In fact, it even did better than Johnson‘s Fast & Furious spinoff, Hobbs & Shaw, which was a two-hander starring him and Jason Statham. That film grossed $60.0 million in U.S. theaters in its opening weekend back in 2019.)

    In terms of recent DC movies, Black Adam is among the biggest opening weekends but not the champ. Earlier this year, The Batman debuted in theaters with $134 million in theaters. But, of course, that’s Batman we’re talking about; one of the best known and popular superheroes in history. Black Adam is a relatively minor character, mostly known (if known at all) as a Shazam villain or a member of the Justice Society of America. And Black Adam opened about equal with Aquaman, which had a $67.8 million opening weekend in 2018. And Aquaman is a far bigger name who had already appeared in Batman v Superman and Justice League by the time his movie came out. So this is a pretty solid number for Black Adam, all things considered.

    The next DC movie coming to theaters is Shazam! Fury of the Gods, which is currently scheduled for release on March 17, 2023.

    Every DC Comics Movie, Ranked From Worst to Best

    From Superman and the Mole Men to The Suicide Squad, we ranked every movie based on DC comics.

    Matt Singer

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  • Box Office: ‘Ticket To Paradise’ Nabs Solid $6.4 Million Friday, ‘Halloween Ends’ Plunges 88%

    Box Office: ‘Ticket To Paradise’ Nabs Solid $6.4 Million Friday, ‘Halloween Ends’ Plunges 88%

    In even better news for the overall theatrical industry, Universal’s Ticket to Paradise opened with a rousing $6.4 million on Friday. The last of Universal’s four live-action comedies offered up this year, after Marry Me, Easter Sunday and Bros, showed that the sub-genre (even without music, action or fantasy) isn’t quite dead yet. With mixed-negative reviews (I liked it a lot, and your parents will too) and an A- from Cinemascore, we can expect an over/under $16.5 million domestic launch. Ol Parker’s $60 million rom-com, about two bitterly divorced parents (George Clooney and Julia Roberts) who team up to sabotage their daughter’s wedding, should be leggy as hell. Oscar season expansions aside, there’s nothing for adults who don’t like superheroes or horror films until Thanksgiving weekend. It has already earned $73 million overseas following a month-long international rollout.

    In Oscar rollout news, Martin McDonagh’s terrific The Banshees of Inisherin debuted in four theaters yesterday, earning $67,000 for a likely $161,000 weekend. That will give Searchlight’s dark Brendan Gleeson/Colin Farrell/Kerry Condon/Barry Keoghan dramedy a promising $40,348 per-theater average. United Artists’ Till expanded to 104 theaters in advance of its nationwide rollout next weekend. The acclaimed true-life drama, for which Danielle Deadwyler is earning serious Oscar buzz, earned $120,000 on Friday for a likely $351,000 weekend (+45%) and $3,377 per-theater average. Cate Blanchett’s TÁR will also go wide next weekend. It expanded to 141 theaters and should gross $510,000 over the weekend for a $3,617 per-theater average and $1.215 million 17-day cume. We’ll see how many of this year’s critically acclaimed Oscar contenders are able to outgross Terrifier 2 ($5.7 million and rising rather than falling).

    Universal and Blumhouse’s Halloween Ends took a near-record 89% drop on its second Friday, earning just $2.74 million for a likely $8 million (-80%) weekend and $54.177 million ten-day total. The poor review, divisive word-of-mouth and concurrent Peacock availability killed this one quick. I’m old enough to remember when the biggest Halloween movies earned $47 million (Halloween in 1978), $55 million (Halloween: H20 in 1998) and $58 million (Rob Zombie’s Halloween remake in 2007) in total. Paramount’s
    PARA
     Smile remains the scary movie of the scary season, earning $2.57 million (-32%) while adding 142 theaters in weekend four. We can expect an $8.5 million (-32%) weekend and $84.5 million 24-day total, putting it above the $81 million cume of Scream. It’ll pass Halloween Kills ($92 million) next weekend as it races past the $100 million milestone.

    Bloody Disgusting’s Terrifier 2 got oodles of mainstream media attention this week, as reports of audiences fainting or vomiting led to petitions to get the film banned. Those petitions are no more serious than the idiots advocating for a remake of Halloween Ends or the schmucks who tried to raise $200 million to remake The Last Jedi. It’s nice to see that an old-school video nasty-type flick can still get the torches and pitchforks in this fragmented media culture. Art the Clown’s 138-minute epic slasher sequel earned $545,500 (+118%) on Friday for a likely $2.29 million (+122%) weekend and $5.651 million domestic cume. Even accounting for the notion of demographically specific event movies (think RRR, Christmas with the Chosen, BTS: Permission to Dance, etc.), this is quite unexpected. Terrifier 2 is turning into The Greatest Showman of unrated slasher epics.

    Sony’s Lyle Lyle Crocodile earned $1.185 million (-41%) on Friday for a likely $4.19 million (-43%) weekend and a disappointing $28.7 million 17-day cume. Sony’s The Woman King earned $520,000 (-49%) on Friday for a $1.93 million (-48%) weekend and $62.9 million 38-day domestic cume. Warner Bros. Discovery’s Don’t Worry Darling will have $44 million by day 31, while 20th Century Studios’ all-star (and $80 million) Amsterdam will have just $14 million by day 17. 20th Century Studios’ $4 million, R-rated original Barbarian will cross $40 million domestic this weekend, a remarkable achievement even while Smile stole much of its buzz. Top Gun: Maverick will plunge 61% in weekend 22 for a $261,000 weekend to absolutely, unquestionably and probably permanently fall out of the top ten. It’ll have to settle for Titanic-worthy legs, $716.5 million domestic and around $1.48 billion worldwide.

    Scott Mendelson, Forbes Staff

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  • INOX Leisure loss halves as box office income picks up

    INOX Leisure loss halves as box office income picks up

     INOX Leisure Ltd, India’s No.2 multiplex cinema operator, on Wednesday said its second-quarter loss more than halved, as box office and food and beverage revenues inched closer to pre-pandemic levels.

    The company, set to merge with bigger rival PVR Ltd, reported a loss of 403.7 million Indian rupees ($4.9 million) for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared to 876.6 million rupees a year earlier.

    PVR, too, reported a narrower loss for the quarter, although it missed analysts’ expectations.

    Multiplex chains like Inox and PVR have seen some traffic return to movie halls after almost two years of Covid-led curbs, with patrons back to spending on theater food and drinks.

    This has helped offset some pressure from a lacklustre slate of releases with the likes of “Raksha Bandhan” and “Laal Singh Chaddha” flopping at the box office.

    “The second quarter was impacted by the inconsistency in the content value chain, proving the importance of great quality content yet again,” Siddharth Jain, Director, INOX Leisure said.

    Still, net box office revenue of 2.09 billion was far higher than 270 million rupees in the pandemic-hit quarter a year ago, while food & beverage revenue jumped to 1.10 billion rupees from 150 million rupees.

    Box office revenue was 3.11 billion rupees in the corresponding pre-pandemic quarter, while food and beverage revenue was 1.41 billion rupees.

    The jump in box office and food sales helped overall revenue from operations surge eight-fold to 3.74 billion rupees and offset a 155.1% jump in total expenses.

    INOX’s average ticket price, a key indicator for the industry, rose to 215 rupees from 178 rupees, while the average amount spent by each customer hit a record high of 102 rupees.

    Jain said he expect a “spectacular” content pipeline and the festive fervour to help current-quarter results. ($1 = 82.9800 Indian rupees)

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  • ‘Halloween Ends’ wins box office but renews streaming debate

    ‘Halloween Ends’ wins box office but renews streaming debate

    No matter how you look at the numbers, “Halloween Ends” had a good opening weekend.

    Touted as the final showdown between Laurie Strode and Michael Myers, the slasher pic earned $41.3 million in ticket sales from 3,901 theaters in North America, according to studio estimates Sunday. It’s the first film to open higher than $40 million since “Nope” debuted in July and it surpassed its production budget, which has been reported to be between $20 and $30 million. Including international showings, it boasts a global total of $58.4 million.

    “We are extraordinarily excited that Blumhouse once again delivered an incredible film and another No. 1 opening,” said Jim Orr, Universal’s head of domestic distribution. “Jamie Lee Curtis had audiences across North America engaged and terrified.”

    The film also renewed an evergreen debate about day-and-date movie releases and some in Hollywood are wondering whether it could have been even bigger if it hadn’t debuted simultaneously on Peacock, NBC Universal’s streaming service.

    Going into the weekend, some analysts had pegged “Halloween Ends” for an opening in the $50 to $55 million range. “Halloween Kills,” the previous installment in the David Gordon Green-directed “Halloween” trilogy,” opened day-and-date last year and still grossed $49 million on opening weekend.

    Green’s first “Halloween,” by contrast, debuted to $76.2 million in 2018. But that was pre-pandemic, theatrical release only and the highly anticipated revival of a beloved franchise with good reviews. His subsequent “Halloween” films were more divisive among critics and fans, however. “Kills” had a 39% Rotten Tomatoes score while “Ends” has a 40% and still opened over $40 million.

    “The day-and-date model was put to the test again, but I think this is a mandate in favor of the movie theater,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “Audiences had the option to watch it at home but they chose to go to the theater.”

    Many studios experimented with day-and-date releases during the second year of the pandemic to varying results, but 2022 has seen most returning to traditional theatrical-first releases — especially for their most valuable brands and franchises.

    Still, it triggered a self-proclaimed “rant” from filmmaker Christopher Landon, who tweeted this weekend that he felt his horror film “Freaky” was hurt by its simultaneous release in theaters and streaming in November 2020.

    “Stop doing this. Please. It doesn’t work. Studios: stop gambling with filmmakers and their movies to try and prop up your fledgling streaming services,” Landon wrote on Twitter. “I begged the studio not to do this…We got hosed.”

    Though there was likely some financial impact on “Halloween Ends,” it’s hard to glean exactly how much money was left on the table with the release. Peacock is notably smaller than many of its streaming competitors, with 13 million paid subscribers reported at the end of July. Studios also rarely release specific streaming data.

    “Smile,” meanwhile, has continued to defy horror-movie odds with another strong weekend. Paramount’s original thriller added $12.4 million, bringing its domestic total to $71.2 million after three weeks.

    Dergarabedian noted that it’s rare two have two R-rated horror movies at the top of the box office charts.

    “The appeal of being scared in a movie theater is time honored,” Dergarabedian said. “Throughout the pandemic, horror movies have grossed over $1 billion, and that’s just domestically.”

    Third place for the weekend went to Sony’s “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile,” down 35% from its debut with $7.4 million, while “The Woman King” landed in fourth place with $3.7 million in its fifth weekend, bringing its domestic total to $59.7 million. “Amsterdam” rounded out the top five in weekend two with $2.9 million.

    In limited release, United Artists Releasing’s Mamie Till-Mobley film “TILL” got off to a strong start with $240,940 from only 16 locations. Director Chinonye Chukwu’s fact-based account of Emmett Till’s mother’s quest for justice will be expanding in the coming weeks.

    “Hats off to producers Barbara Broccoli, Keith Beauchamp, and Whoopi Goldberg who fought to get this movie made for decades,” said Erik Lomis, UAR’s President of Distribution. “This weekend, the film attracted an incredibly diverse, multi-generational audience, playing both ‘smarthouse’ and commercial venues. We’re off to a great start.”

    Focus Features’ “Tár,” another buzzy awards contender, also expanded into 36 theaters this weekend — earning another $360,000 — and will continue opening in more markets over the next two weeks.

    Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

    1. “Halloween Ends,” $41.3 million.

    2. “Smile,” $12.4 million.

    3. “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile,” $7.4 million.

    4. “The Woman King,” $3.7 million.

    5. “Amsterdam,” $2.9 million.

    6. “Don’t Worry Darling,” $2.2 million.

    7. “Barbarian,” $1.4 million.

    8. “Bros,” $920,000.

    9. “Terrifier 2,” $850,000.

    10. “Top Gun: Maverick,” $685,000.

    —-

    Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr.

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  • Friday Box Office: ‘Smile’ And ‘Terrifier 2’ Hold But ‘Amsterdam’ Drops 66%

    Friday Box Office: ‘Smile’ And ‘Terrifier 2’ Hold But ‘Amsterdam’ Drops 66%

    In holdover news for Friday, Paramount’s
    PARA
     Smile held its own against the mighty Michael Myers. Parker Finn’s buzzy breakout earned $3.73 million (-31%) on Friday for a likely $12.7 million (-31%) third-weekend gross. That will give it a jaw-dropping $71.5 million 17-day total. One more hold like this, and it’s sure to pass $100 million domestic (a milestone Halloween Ends may not reach since both previous Blumhouse entries were uber-frontloaded).

    In other ‘horror is good’ news, Barbarian earned $406,000 (-36%) on Friday for a likely $1.33 million (-39%) weekend and $38.9 million domestic cume. It’ll pass $40 million next weekend, a fine achievement for an R-rated, star-free grindhouse original. Bloody Disgusting’s Terrifier 2 earned $340,000 (-5%) while adding theaters in an extended theatrical engagement. We can expect a $810,000 (+1%) weekend and $2.255 million 11-day cume. That’ll do Art. That’ll do.

    Meanwhile, Columbia and Sony’s delightful Lyle, Lyle Crocodile earned $2 million (-45%) on Friday for a likely $7.6 million (-34%). That gives the $50 million family-friendly comedy a mediocre $23 million ten-day cume. I wish it were doing better, but the IP wasn’t as big a deal as Peter Rabbit, Paddington or Clifford the Big Red Dog.

    Sony’s The Woman King earned another $1 million (-24%) on Friday for a $3.91 million (-24%) weekend and $60 million 31-day cume. It should crawl to $70 million in the end, give or take Oscar season attention, with its overseas prospects still mostly unknown. It’s not a blockbuster, but it’s a great film pulling its domestic theatrical weight.

    Alas, David O. Russell’s Amsterdam crashed hard, earning just $888,000 (-66%) on Friday. We can expect the Christian Bale/Margot Robbie/John David Washington comic thriller to make just $2.85 million (-56%) for a miserable $12 million ten-day total. I liked this one a lot, but audiences no longer automatically show up for star-packed non-franchise films unless almost everything (reviews, high concept, ensemble cast, marquee director, promise of escapism) goes right.

    Warner Bros. Discovery’s Don’t Worry Darling earned $740,000 (-36%) on Friday for a likely $2.29 million (-35%) weekend and $42.5 million 24-day total. Again, it’s not a blockbuster or a franchise starter, but the $35 million Olivia Wilde-directed thriller will make money. Universal’s Bros earned $290,000 (-57%) on Friday for a $900,000 (-58%) weekend and poor $10.9 million 17-day total.

    Paramount and Skydance’s Top Gun: Maverick remained in the top ten with a $730,000 (-9%) weekend and a bonkers $716 million cume. By tomorrow, the Tom Cruise legacy sequel will have sold more tickets in North America than Black Panther. This will be its 21st consecutive weekend in the top ten, the first film to do so since Titanic in 1997 and Forrest Gump in 1994. I imagine this will be its last such weekend (at least consecutively), but we’ll see.

    Scott Mendelson, Forbes Staff

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  • Horror Pic ‘Smile’ Happy At No. 1, ‘Bros’ Starts In 4th

    Horror Pic ‘Smile’ Happy At No. 1, ‘Bros’ Starts In 4th

    Moviegoing audiences chose the horror movie over the romantic comedy to kick off the month of October. Paramount’s “Smile” topped the North American charts with $22 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday, leaving Billy Eichner’s rom-com “Bros” in the dust.

    Universal’s “Bros” launched with an estimated $4.8 million to take fourth place behind “Don’t Worry Darling” ($7.3 million) and “The Woman King” ($7 million). But opening weekends likely aren’t the final word on either “Bros” or “Smile.” Horror movie audiences are generally front-loaded, dropping off steeply after the first weekend, while something like “Bros,” which got great reviews and an A CinemaScore, suggesting strong word-of-mouth potential, is a movie that could continue finding audiences through the fall.

    “Bros” is significant for being the first gay rom-com given a wide theatrical release by a major studio, as well as the first studio movie starring and co-written by an openly gay man. Since premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival last month, the film has gotten stellar reviews from critics and also been the target of “review bombs” on IMDB. The site last week removed removed hundreds of one-star reviews for “Bros” that were logged before the film was released.

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