Of highest importance
WRITING SUNDAY: There's not much going on at the weekend box office. Yes, point the finger at the impact of the double strikes on the cinema schedule. But it's also January, which typically sees a few lowest-grossing weekends of the year. The three-day price for all titles is $68 million, which is not only the first weak weekend of the new year, but also -8% below the same range a year ago of $72.4 million brought in. According to Box Office Mojo, the first two weekends in January grossed $85.7 million and $97 million, respectively.
As Sundance – celebrating indie cinema and discovering new filmmakers – rages on in Park City, UT, there's never really been a connection between what's going on in Park City and what's at the national marquee is running, although before Covid we saw films perform significantly better at the end of January. This time last year, Avatar: The Way of Water topped the charts in its sixth weekend with $20.1 million – again, something we don't really have this year: a strong holiday tentpole carryover from last year. Sony's “Searching” was the studio's industry release, grossing $9.1 million.
This year it's Paramount's second weekend Mean Girls in 3,826 cinemas $11.7 million-59% decline for a ten day period $50 million. In 10 days, the new “Mean Girls” is 19% ahead of 2004's “Mean Girls,” which grossed $86 million. Why the drop? Was it because the marketing didn't inform audiences that it was a musical? No, Mean Girls fans are fully aware of this. Two reasons: It's a young women's film (46% under 25), and the films are usually shown in advance, plus the B CinemaScore. Mean Girls fans have high expectations in the second round. Nevertheless, this January is all about “Mean Girls”.
Amazon/MGM's second picture from David Ayer's Jason Statham film, The beekeeperis in second place with 3,330 cinemas $8.4 million-49%, for a ten-day rolling total through EOD Sunday $31.1 million. The domestic final for Beekeeper is $45 million, which is more than Guy Ritchie's pre-Covid 2020 meat-and-potatoes action title The Gentleman in early January, which was at $36.4 million ended.
Ariana DeBose in “ISS” Courtesy of LD Entertainment
There was just one major release this weekend, Bleecker Street's Ariana DeBose-Chris Messina-John Gallagher Jr. international space station thriller about Russian and U.S. astronauts' battle beyond the stars. EAT At a $3 million With the film opening in 2,520 theaters, it's easy for the mainstream box office press to call this a bomb. But here's the post-pandemic reality (and, let's be honest, it even started before): For those in charge of distribution here, it's not always about a box office rally. Similar to the Lionsgate model, it's all about reasonable P&A spend and low MG that pulls the title along in secondary windows.
After the Corona crisis, Bleecker Street opened its wide admission tickets in this ticket office area. With an opening like this, ISS should end up grossing around $10 million in terms of sales and after all windows. The final purchase price will be between $5 and $7 million. For this particular film, ISS is a distribution deal for Bleecker Street, so they collect a fee and are not responsible for P&A expenses. The ISS was always expected to open in the low single digits.
Critics don't like ISS, with a 62% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and moviegoers who left the theater weren't happy about being stuck on board, giving the film a C CinemaScore and a low 49% positive rating and a 27% strong recommend rating Screen Engine awarded /Comscores PostTrak.
Those who chose to participate were 69% men, with 47% aged between 18 and 34 and the largest group being 25 to 34 year olds at 30%. The diversity demonstrations were 57% Caucasian, 25% Latino and Hispanic, 7% Black, 5% Asian and 5% Other. The majority of pic's ticket sales occur in West, Mountain and South Central, with AMC Burbank being the top grossing venue at just over $8,000.
Imax's weekend launch fills the void in a market devoid of event films Queen Rock Montreal, what posts $2 million in 387 halls. We know there are huge numbers in Canada, New York, Los Angeles and Minnesota. The large-format exhibitor says it's its biggest Imax exclusive event ever, surpassing Stop Making Sense and Beatles: Get Back Rooftop Concert. The film is the historic concert from 1981, digitally remastered for the first time for the Imax sound and image experience.
“Experiencing Queen Rock Montreal in IMAX is like stepping into a time machine – it's an opportunity to watch the band perform their most famous hits in a visceral, immediate way that I never thought possible “said Rich Gelfond, CEO of IMAX statement. “The way this film has been shot and now restored and presented in IMAX is truly impressive and only surpasses the way it was in house in 1981.”
NEON
NEON's Ava DuVernay drama opens in limited release at 125 theaters in 31 markets this weekend. Origin, the most tested film in the distribution's history. The image comes with an estimate $875,000. At an average of $7,000 per theater, it's above NEON's $5,000 expectations. NEON booked major black theaters in Baltimore, Chicago and Atlanta. Some important local and national places were booked. NEON worked closely with DuVernays Array on a multi-level marketing campaign. We are hearing good numbers in NY, LA, Atlanta and San Francisco. The film is certified 81% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
Chart updated with Sunday numbers.
1.) Mean Girls (Par) 3,826 (+25) Theaters, Fri $3.25M (-72%) Sat $5.2M Sun $3.2M Sun 3 days $11.7 million (-59%), total $50 million/week 2
2.) The beekeeper (AMZ MGM) 3,330 (+27) Theaters, Fri $2.44M (-64%) Sat $3.7M Sun $2.26M 3 days $8.4 million (-49%), total $31.1 million/week 2
3.) Wonka (WB) 3,136 (-210) theaters, Fri $1.545M (-15%) Sat $3.1M Sun $1.73M 3 days $6.44 million (-24%), total $187.1 million/week 6
Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney in “Anyone but You” Sony
4.) Everyone but you (Sony) 2,928 (-7) Fri $1.74M (-17%) Sat $2.3M Sun $1.3M 3 days $5.4 million (-24%),Total $64.2 million/week 5
The romantic comedy has surpassed $100 million worldwide and is the highest-grossing R-rated romantic comedy since 2016's Bridget Jones' Baby.
5.) migration (Ill/Uni) 3,094 (-130) Theaters, Fri $1.1M (-4%) Sat $2.6M Sun $1.57M 3 days $5.3 million (-15%), total $94.6 million/ Week 5
6.) Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (WB) 2,423 (-318) Theaters, Fri $865,000 Sat $1.69M Sun $1.1M 3 days $3.655 million (-30%) /Total $114.1 million/week 5
7.) EAT (BST) 2,520 cinemas, Fri $1.2m Sat $1.1m Sun $663k 3 days $3 million/Week 1
8th.) Night swimming (Uni) 2,708 (-549) Theaters, Fri $740,000 Sat $1.3M Sun $650,000 3 days $2.7 million (-42%), total $23.7 million/week 3
9.) Boys in the boat (AMZ MGM) 2,012 (+5) Theaters, Fri $792,000 Sat $1M Sun $653,000 3 days $2.535 million (-26%), total $43.8 millionWeek 4
10.) Poor things (Lake) 1,400 (+820) Fri $575,000 (+26%) Sat $855,000 Sun $613,000 3 days $2.04 million (+13%)/Total $20.3 million/week 7
11.) Queen Rock Montreal (Imax) 387 cinemas, 3 days $2 million/Week 1
Notables
Origin (NEO) 125 cinemas Fri $385,000 Sat $285,000 Sun $205,000 3 days $875,000/Week 1