Box Office Report

[Marty McFourth]

‘Death on the Nile’ Sails To Top Spot With $12.8 Million Debut, J. Lo’s ‘Marry Me’ Gets No Love, and Liam Neeson’s Latest Is D.O.A.

www.boxofficemojo.com

Super Bowl weekend tends to be a pretty pokey period at the multiplex every year as folks are too busy scrambling to stock up on chips and dips. But this year, things looked like they might be different. After all, three big, star-driven debuts were set to arrive in theaters on the eve of the Big Game. Sadly, for two of them, the box-office roll of the dice didn’t pay off, with only 20th Century Studios’ Agatha Christie murder-mystery Death on the Nile claiming anything like a success as it wrested the top spot from Jackass Forever with $12.8 million. Meanwhile, despite its Valentine’s Day timing, the Jennifer Lopez rom-com Marry Me bowed in third place to a lukewarm $8 million and the latest Liam Neeson action-thriller, Blacklight, opened in fifth place with a soft $3.6 million.

 

[Marty McFourth]

Spidey Star Tom Holland Does Double Duty As ‘Uncharted’ Takes The Top Spot With $51 Million Over President’s Day Weekend

www.boxofficemojo.com

It’s official: the winter belongs to Tom Holland, the rest of us are just living in it. A mere ten weeks after the blockbuster launch of Spider-Man: No Way Home, the 25-year-old British actor (or should we now say “star”?) returned to the top of the box-office chart with his second out-of-the-gate smash of the season—the Indiana Jones-esque videogame adaptation Uncharted, which debuted over President’s Day weekend to a projected $51 million after Monday is factored in. Meanwhile, just a notch below in second place, Channing Tatum’s feel-good man-and-his-best-friend road movie, Dog, sunk its canines into an $18 million opening holiday frame while the less-cuddly four-legged flick, The Cursed, barely managed to nose its way into the top ten with a $1.9 million bow.

A prequel of sorts to Sony’s hit treasure-hunting videogame series, Uncharted was always expected to open in first place. Still, few expected the margin of victory to be quite as large as it was. The fact that it will surpass $50 million by the time the four-day holiday weekend is over seems to be a testament to both the loyalty of the game’s young male fanbase as well as Holland’s newly-minted drawing power in the wake of No Way Home. Pulling in a hair less than $44.2 million between Friday and Sunday, the PG-13-rated action-adventure now has the biggest domestic debut of 2022, blowing past Scream’s $30 million freshman frame a month a half ago. While critics were less than wowed by Uncharted (which also stars Mark Wahlberg), dismissing it as a National Treasure knock-off and giving it an anemic 39% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, audiences were clearly more smitten, handing the film a ‘B+’ CinemaScore grade. Unspooling in 4,275 theaters, Uncharted had an $11,929 per-screen average and stands to collect $88 million overseas by the time the weekend is through (it debuted a week earlier in several foreign markets), putting its worldwide box-office total at $139 million. Unlike Holland’s latest Spider-Man entry, Uncharted is scheduled to be released in China (on March 14), which should goose its global numbers nicely.

 

[Marty McFourth]

‘Uncharted’ & ‘Dog’ To Stay On Top In Weekend Two

www.boxofficemojo.com

Last weekend saw some solid over-performances from Uncharted and Dog in what was 2022’s best grossing weekend yet, coming in 32% ahead of the previous 2022 weekend best (Jan 14-17 when Scream opened and knocked Spider-Man: No Way Home from the top spot). Those two films will likely come in the top two slots again, ahead of what look like soft openings for this weekend’s newcomers Studio 666 and Cyrano. The lack of significant new content may lead to a box-office drop that makes this weekend the lowest grossing of February and one of the lowest of the year (though much depends on how well Uncharted holds), but not to fret – The Batman opens next weekend and could be one of the top grossers of the past few years.

Uncharted, at $55.5 million through Tuesday and pulling in weekday numbers that top most recent films’ weekend numbers, will finish its second weekend as the top grossing new release of the year, surpassing Scream’s $77.5 million haul. While these aren’t exactly Spider-Man/MCU numbers, it is still quite the handoff from one Sony film starring Tom Holland to another, and the synergy of the two has somehow led to No Way Home holding it down in third place in its tenth weekend with practically no box office dip from its ninth weekend.

Uncharted’s B+ CinemaScore, though solid, doesn’t indicate that it will have the word of mouth that led to the incredible holds we’ve seen from No Way Home and Sing 2, which both received the highly coveted A+. Nonetheless, the video-game-adaptation/adventure-film will likely benefit from a lack of competition, not to mention Tom Holland mania. Sony is already celebrating the film’s box office success, referring to Uncharted as “a new hit movie franchise for the company,” so unless it totally nosedives in its second weekend, we can probably expect a sequel to be in the planning.

Dog should come in second place once again. The word of mouth is positive, with an A- CinemaScore and 75% Tomatometer, so the Channing Tatum/canine buddy flick is expected to hold well.

The only fully wide newcomer is Open Road’s Studio 666, a horror-comedy starring the Foo Fighters. It is the first narrative film for the Dave Grohl fronted band which has previously been the subject of documentaries. Grohl came up with the story about the group’s efforts to record an album in a haunted house, and he stars in the film alongside his bandmates as exaggerated versions of themselves getting terrorized by demonic forces. It is at 63% on Rotten Tomatoes, and though many critics are praising the film, it seems to be a for-Foo-fans-only affair with little chance of breaking out with horror audiences.

Going semi-wide is United Artists’ Cyrano, coming two months after its one-week Oscar-qualifying run in Los Angeles in December. It is the latest of the many film adaptations of "Cyrano de Bergerac," this time from director Joe Wright and based on the stage musical by Erica Schmidt, who also wrote the screenplay. Peter Dinklage (who happens to be Schmidt’s husband and starred in the stage show) stars as the titular lovelorn poet, with Haley Bennett as Roxanne and Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Christian.

Cyrano is very much in Wright’s wheelhouse of period piece adaptations which have mostly given him commercial and critical success, and he has been less consistently successful when he strayed from that. That said, Wright’s period films play better abroad while his contemporary ones are actually bigger stateside. Cyrano seems unlikely to break that pattern, and though interest in the film on IMDb is solid, it is hard to say if it can gain traction in the U.S. without much awards buzz. It is one of the few Oscar season hopefuls to actually come out after the Oscar nominations (thanks to last minute Omicron-variant related delays), but any hope of the ticket sales getting an Oscar boost is gone. Despite being nominated for Best Actor and Best Picture Golden Globes in the musical or comedy section and earning a strong 85% on Rotten Tomatoes, the film mostly came up short in its Oscar noms, garnering just Best Costume Design, a category that doesn’t exactly pull in audiences.

Elsewhere in limited releases, we’re actually seeing some decent traffic on IMDb for the 50th anniversary re-release of The Godfather. Paramount is showing Francis Ford Coppola’s iconic mafia film in a new restoration that will be playing exclusively in Dolby Cinema theaters at AMC. Sounds like an offer we can’t refuse.

 

[Marty McFourth]

The Godfather still owning.

‘The Godfather’ Scores Top Weekend Box Office Average — 50 Years Later

The rerelease of Francis Ford Coppola's mob pic boasted the top location average of the Feb. 25-27 weekend.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

Talk about an oldie but goodie.

Over the Feb. 25-27 weekend, Paramount booked The Godfather in 156 theaters across North America in honor of the movie’s 50th anniversary.

Filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola’s iconic Mafia pic earned $970,000 for a per-location average of $6,218, the best of any film for the weekend. (The next closest was Uncharted’s $5,438 average from 4,275 theaters and The Automat’s $5,004 from three locations.)

The Godfather 50 Years was No. 1 or No. 2 in 50 percent of the theaters where it played, and among the top three in all 156 locations. It came in first in AMC Lincoln Square, one of the country’s busiest cinemas, as well as AMC Metreon in San Francisco and AMC Georgetown in Washington, D.C.

“These results are extraordinary,” says Paramount domestic distribution president Chris Aronson. “Most people have seen The Godfather, but not in the theater.

Last week, Paramount threw a bash in Los Angeles in honor of The Godfather‘s anniversary.

“A couple of times, I thought I was finished,” Coppola told The Hollywood Reporter in regards to his fear of being fired during filming. He wasn’t, of course, and the movie adaptation of Mario Puzo’s novel would go on to win three Oscars, including best picture, and become a cultural phenomenon.

The 50th anniversary rerelease also did well overseas, earning $1.4 million from a handful of markets.

The Godfather has grossed a total of $248.2 million at the global box office, not adjusted for inflation.

 

[Marty McFourth]

'The Batman' Global Box Office Brings In $248.5 Million Opening Weekend

The World’s Greatest Detective enacts his sweet vengeance on the global box office.

collider.com

The Batman has finally hit theaters, and —surprising no one — it has successfully claimed the best opening weekend and the biggest international industry opening of 2022 thus far, making $248.5 million in its first three days globally. The Matt Reeves' directed superhero crime epic has become the biggest opening weekend for Warner Brothers since the Joker in 2019, and it's Warner Bros' best pandemic international opening, excluding China.

Other international highlights include the film being Warner Bros' best opening of the pandemic era in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and Australia. It also had the second-best pandemic opening in Asia. On top of that, The Batman is currently the #1 film in 73 of the 74 territories it has opened in, and right now, the 74 territories make up 80% of the current overall international box office. The film opened on a massive number of over 30,000 screens, and this success is very impressive given that The Batman does not open in China until March 18th and in Japan on March 11th.

IMAX was a significant contributing factor to the film's international success, opening on 320 screens in the 74 international territories and bringing in $7.3 million. This is the biggest global IMAX weekend of 2022 and the second biggest since December 2019. In four markets, the film even had the biggest DC weekend for IMAX in Sweden, Belgium, Argentina, and Curaçao. The film is currently tracking ahead of Godzilla vs. Kong, Justice League, The Dark Knight, Wonder Woman and is only slightly behind The Dark Knight Rises.

As previously reported, The Batman has made $128.5 million in its domestic opening weekend, making it the largest opening in 2022 in the United States. This also makes it the only one of two films since December 2019 to open to over $100 million in the US. IMAX made up an impressive $15 million of that total, and the film made a killing in top market cities like Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Dallas, and San Francisco.

This has also become Reeves' largest opening weekend ever, both internationally and domestically. On top of that, the box office was likely helped by excellent critical scores and audience reactions across all major media sites, including CinemaScore, where the critics' score is at an A- and the audience score is at an A for the age group of 18 to 24-year-olds. Rotten Tomatoes also has a strong 85% critics rating and a 90% audience rating.

All these achievements and milestones further prove that the movie-going experience is far from dead. When you have a killer marketing campaign and a studio that puts in the effort to make the best film and write the best story possible, these are the kind of results you should get. This is much cause for celebration, and in a world that thought they did not need another Batman movie, this film blew our Bat-Socks off. It presented a uniquely dark detective thriller crime story with hints of romance that made us want to see it again despite the nearly three-hour run time. This is all reflected in the box office, and it is an excellent sign for the rest of the 2022 movie season. Like the Joker before it, this will most likely be WB's next billion-dollar film. People are eager to go back to the movies because of films like this!

 

[Marty McFourth]

‘The Batman’ Holds Top Spot in Second Weekend with $66 Million

www.boxofficemojo.com

The Caped Crusader isn’t just cleaning up Gotham these days, he’s also cleaning up in cities from coast to coast as the Dark Knight’s latest big-screen outing, The Batman, easily held onto the top spot in its second weekend of release thanks to a lack of major new competition. Raking in $66 million in its sophomore frame, Warner Bros.’ bruise-black reboot featuring Robert Pattinson beneath the cowl continued to draw impressive audiences a week after the movie came out of the gate as the second-biggest North American debut of the pandemic era—behind only fellow comic-book crimefighter Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Playing in 4,417 theaters, the PG-13-rated tentpole managed a robust $14,942 per-screen average. The Batman’s second week take fell -50.7% from the previous weekend, but as hefty as that sounds, it’s actually not as steep of a drop-off as most recent superhero movies. Despite the flick’s lengthy, three-hour running time, it has already racked up $238.5 million domestically. One reason for the film’s brisk business may be the fact that it is Warner Bros.’ first theatrical exclusive since Christopher Nolan’s Tenet back in September 2020. In other words, if you want to see Batman square off against Paul Dano’s Riddler, you have to leave the house and buy a ticket (fans will not be able to watch the film on the HBO Max streaming service until it’s been on big screens for 45 days). The movie, which also stars Colin Farrell as the Penguin, Andy Serkis as Alfred, and this week’s "Saturday Night Live" host Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, continued to clean up overseas as well, pulling in $224.7 million in its first ten days, bringing its two-week global cume to $463.2 million. It is scheduled to be released in the lucrative Chinese marketplace on March 18.

In the runner-up spot once again was Sony’s adaptation of the treasure-hunting videogame, Uncharted. The PG-13-rated film starring Spidey star Tom Holland took in just under $9.3 million in its fourth frame—a drop-off of -16.7% from the prior weekend. Playing in 3,725 theaters, Uncharted scored a $2,483 per-screen average. Its total domestic tally now stands at a hair less than $113.4 million. The movie continues to perform even better overseas, where it has piled on an additional $187.9 million so far, bringing its current global take to $301.3 million. That number should be goosed even higher when Uncharted finally gets unveiled in China this week.

Third place provided the weekend’s only real surprise—although it probably won’t come as much of a surprise if you have a music-loving tween living under your roof. Trafalgar Releasing’s concert event, BTS: Permission to Dance on Stage — Seoul: Live Viewing, a live-stream of one the hit K-pop band BTS’ sold-out shows in its homeland, scored a massive $6.8 million in 803 North American theaters on Saturday night (and Saturday night only), translating to an $8,500 per-screen average. No doubt accompanied by shrieks and hysteria, the film pocketed $36.2 million in 3,711 venues worldwide. We’re going to step out on a limb and predict that these BTS fellas might have a bright future.

In fourth, Channing Tatum’s Dog kept barking with $5.3 million in its fourth weekend—a dip of 12.6% from the previous frame. United Artists’ feel-good, PG-13-rated tale of an army ranger who travels cross-country with a military canine to attend the funeral of its former handler played at 3,407 locations and scored a $1,569 per-screen average. So far, Dog has dug up $47.8 million in North America and $6.4 million overseas (where it got a later start), putting its worldwide cume at $54.2 million.

Last but not least in fifth place was Spider-Man: No Way Home, which miraculously has still not finished outside of the top five since it debuted thirteen weeks ago. Sony’s superhero sensation tacked on $4.1 million over the weekend, a minor adjustment of just -9.8% from the previous session. In its third month in multiplexes, the PG-13-rated Tom Holland-starrer earned a $1,508 per-screen average at 2,702 locations. The film’s North American box office total is now $792.3 million. Overseas, No Way Home has stacked up a colossal $1.08 billion so far, putting its worldwide cumulative haul at just under $1.88 billion.

Finally, with the Oscars set to air on March 27, movie fans seem to be playing catch-up to see some of the more talked-about nominees before the statuettes are handed out. For example, this weekend three contenders in the top 20 saw week-over-week boosts in ticket sales: No. 12 Licorice Pizza popped +14%; No. 14 Belfast jumped +9.4%; and No. 16 Drive My Car got a +8.1% nudge.

 

[Marty McFourth]

The Batman at the top for the third week.

‘The Batman’ To Stay On Top As Horror Films ‘X’ & ‘Umma’ Open

www.boxofficemojo.com

The Batman has had the box office largely to itself in its first two weeks, and it will rule the roost again in its third week, likely to yet again be the only film to even cross $10 million. While the pitch black superhero reboot faces no competitors gunning for the top spot for another week, the rest of the top ten should be shaken up this weekend with a slew of small-ish newcomers entering into the arena. Horror audiences have multiple options with the wide releases X and Umma, and the limited releases The Outfit and Alice both have some buzz.

While The Batman’s $134 million opening was the fourth best in the series (behind The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, and Batman v Superman), its strong hold gave it the second best second weekend in the series with $66.5 million, behind only TDKR’s $75 million. Though its post second weekend total is still behind those films, another strong hold could put it past BvS by the end of the weekend. Comparing the 12-day grosses, The Batman has a $15 million gap to close before it catches up to BvS, which is a solid possibility considering the weekday grosses of The Batman are running around $3 million ahead of BvS’ at the same time in its release. The Robert Pattinson starrer looks like it is headed to be the third highest grossing Batman film domestically, though the international numbers are harder to predict.

The Batman releases in China on Friday, but what could have been a nice boost to the film’s international numbers is now less certain given the Covid wave and string of lockdowns hitting the country, which has caused around 30% of theaters to temporarily shut down. The past weekend was the year’s weakest yet, and Uncharted did not set the box office on fire when it opened on Monday, taking in $3.2 million when combined with its Saturday and Sunday preview showings. To get a sense of The Batman’s (now unlikely) potential, BvS grossed $95.8 million in China, making it the second best market for the film.

The Batman has been a boon to an otherwise sluggish first quarter box office, and the question now is what will step up to be the next major box office success. April should be the year’s biggest yet, with big releases such as Morbius, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore all having strong box office potential, though none are expected to hit the Bat-osphere (let’s say $300m+ domestic and $1b+ worldwide). May’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness could be the next bonafide box office smash, being the first MCU release since Spider-Man: No Way Home, in which Strange played a prominent role. However, if the film plays more like the first Doctor Strange ($233 million domestic, $678 million worldwide), the next potential mega grosser is Jurassic World Dominion in June.

As for this weekend’s new releases, the one gaining the most traction on IMDb is A24’s slasher film X, which so far is at 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. The 1970s based shocker follows an adult-film cast and crew to their filming location at a farmhouse in Texas. While the location at first seems ideal, the situation quickly turns from X-rated fantasy to Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Horror auteur Ti West (House of the Devil, The Innkeepers, The Sacrament) writes and directs, and though he has built a cult following over the years, it is his first wide release yet and potentially his first to see box office success. Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, Martin Henderson, Scott Mescudi, and Brittany Snow star in the film.

The other horror film opening is Umma, which Sony is releasing wide. The Sam Raimi produced chiller stars Sandra Oh as a Korean-American who is raising her daughter on a totally-cut-off-from-civilization rural farm, only for her idyllic life to be disturbed when a visitor comes with the ashes of her estranged mother. This tale of the spirit of her “Umma” (Korean for mother) haunting her family is the feature debut for writer/director Iris K. Shim. Reviews have yet to come in.

The critically acclaimed crime thriller The Outfit (96% on Rotten Tomatoes) is getting a limited release from Focus. Mark Rylance stars as a British tailor making suits for Chicago gangsters in the 1950s. It is the directorial debut for screenwriter Graham Moore, who won the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for The Imitation Game.

Also opening in limited from Roadside Attractions and Vertical is Alice, which premiered at Sundance. Reviews are mostly negative (20% on RT) for the tale of an enslaved African-American woman (played by Keke Palmer) who escapes from her Georgia plantation only to discover she is living in the 1970s. She reorients to the modern world with the help of a truck driver/civil rights activist (played by Common) and she seeks to get revenge on her former captor (Johnny Lee Miller).

 

[Deezy]

What is Water Gate Bridge?

 

[Marty McFourth]

What is Water Gate Bridge?

Water Gate Bridge (2022) ⭐ 5.6 | Action, Drama, History

2h 33m

www.imdb.com

 

[Deezy]

Water Gate Bridge (2022) ⭐ 5.6 | Action, Drama, History

2h 33m

www.imdb.com

So they count propaganda films now

 

[Marty McFourth]

Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum’s ‘The Lost City’ Finds $31 Million In Debut Weekend, Unseats ‘The Batman’ From the Top Spot

www.boxofficemojo.com

Just when it seemed like the endless cycle of franchises and superheroes had eclipsed old-fashioned star power at the box office once and for all, Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum’s rom-com adventure The Lost City proved that there is still room for tried-and-true Hollywood A-listers at the multiplex (there’s even a Brad Pitt cameo). The Paramount crowd-pleaser—which appealed to many as a fizzy, modern-day riff on 1984’s Michael Douglas-Kathleen Turner classic, Romancing the Stone—racked up a better-than-predicted $31 million in its debut frame during Oscars weekend, finally toppling The Batman from the top spot after the Caped Crusader’s three-week reign.

While industry Nostradamuses had pegged the screwball jungle comedy, about a bestselling female author, a dopey, muscle-head of a cover model, and a fabled city containing a legendary treasure, as opening in the low-to-mid 20s, The Lost City turned out to be an even more pleasant surprise. Not just for critics, who gave the PG-13-rated film a 76% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but also for ticket-buyers who handed the movie a ‘B+’ CinemaScore grade. Interestingly, The Lost City also managed to tap into a couple of demographics that have largely steered clear of theaters during the pandemic: adults and women (56% of the film’s audience was female and 47% were 35 and over). Modestly budgeted at $68 million, The Lost City bowed to a $7,288 per-screen average in 4,253 theaters. Overseas, where the film will not get a full roll-out until April 15, it took in an additional $3.7 million, bringing its first-week cumulative global box to $34.7 million. For Bullock, The Lost City represents the actress’ first theatrical appearance since 2018’s Ocean's Eight; Tatum however has been riding high for weeks thanks to the feel-good Dog, which has taken in $57.9 million domestically in its first six weeks and finished in seventh place this weekend. The Lost City is Paramount’s third No. 1 debut of 2022, following on the heels of Scream and Jackass Forever.

Down but hardly out in second place was The Batman with $20.5 million. In its fourth week of release, Warner Bros.’ latest Dark Knight chapter dropped off -44.2% from the prior frame, earning a $5,167 per-screen average at 3,967 locations. The PG-13-rated superhero spectacular, which features Robert Pattinson beneath the cape and cowl, has managed to rack up just under $332 million in North America to date, making it only the second film to zip past the $300-million milestone since the pandemic began after Spider-Man: No Way Home. A month into its run, The Batman continued to clean up abroad as well, pulling in $340.9 million internationally so far. The film’s four-week global cume now stands at $672.9 million.

In third place was an unexpected entry: Sarigama Cinemas’ Indian war epic RRR. The three-hour-plus film, which is set in the 1920s and whose title stands for ‘Roudram Ranam Rudhiram’, took in a surprisingly strong $9.5 million in its opening session. Unspooling in 1,200 theaters, the movie earned a robust $7,916 per-screen average. Its boffo bow represents one of the widest roll-outs ever for an Indian movie. RRR has not opened overseas yet.

In fourth place was Sony’s videogame adaptation Uncharted with $5 million. The PG-13-rated action-adventure starring Tom Holland slipped just -36.1% in its sixth weekend, earning a $1,463 per-screen average in 3,416 theaters. To date, Uncharted has racked up $133.6 million at the domestic box office and an even-mightier $223.9 million internationally. Its combined worldwide gross now sits at $357.5 million. (In other Tom Holland news, eighth-place finisher, Spider-man: No Way Home, officially became the third movie ever to break the $800 million domestic box office barrier this week following in the footsteps of Avengers: Endgame’s $858.4 million and Star Wars: Episode VII —The Force Awakens’ $936.7 million). In other words, the kid’s having a pretty nice year.

Rounding out the top five was last weekend’s shocker: FUNimation/Crunchyroll’s anime adventure Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie. The PG-13-rated title about a cursed spirit and a high school for sorcery earned $4.6 million in its sophomore frame, which translates to a $1,894 per-screen average in 2,418 theaters and a massive -69.1% drop-off from the previous session. Jujutsu has pulled in $27.7 million domestically so far and am eye-opening $116.9 million internationally, putting the sleeper’s combined global haul at $144.6 million.

There were also some highlights (and lowlights) outside of the top five this weekend. Bleecker Street’s Naomi Watts-toplined hiking adventure Infinite Storm debuted disappointingly in tenth place with $751,296 in 1,525 theaters; the R-rated film was tagged with a 58% green splat from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Meanwhile, A24’s sci-fi mindbender Everything Everywhere All At Once starring Michelle Yeoh bowed in just 10 theaters in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco and made $509,659. That may sound like small potatoes, but that figure roughs out to a muscular $50,965 per-screen average—the highest per-screen average of any 2022 film so far. The R-rated indie, which has wowed reviewers with a 97% fresh rating, will roll out nationwide on April 8….

Until then, Happy Oscars everyone!

 

[Marty McFourth]

Box Office: ‘Morbius’ Opens to No. 1 With Decent $39 Million

Jared Leto's "Morbius" opened in first place with $39 million, one of the lower starts for a modern comic book movie.

variety.com

“Morbius,” the latest comic book adventure from Sony’s Universe of Marvel Characters, opened in first place at the domestic box office, though ticket sales were considerably softer than recent superhero blockbusters.

Dinged by comically terrible reviews, “Morbius” sunk its teeth into $39.1 million from 4,268 North American theaters in its first weekend of release. That initial tally is at once a sign that audiences truly love comic book movies (in pandemic times, a non-superhero film with a 17% on Rotten Tomatoes wouldn’t stand a chance at the box office) and an indication that not every superhuman character will be greeted equally on the big screen. (Sony’s 2018 antihero origin story “Venom” was similarly panned but still managed to score at the domestic box office with $80 million to start and $213 million in total).

“Morbius” took in $44.9 million at the international box office, boosting its global total to $84 million. Like many Hollywood movies, it’s unclear if “Morbius” will land a release date in China.

Sony spent $75 million to produce the vampire-infused “Morbius,” which is less than studios typically shell out for superhero blockbusters. Marketing and other promotional costs added many millions more to expenses. Since Morbius the Living Vampire is not nearly as well known as Spider-Man, Batman or even Venom — who was introduced to general audiences in Tobey Maguire’s “Spider-Man 3” and later played by Tom Hardy in the standalone movies — film industry analysts were not expecting “Morbius” to break box office records.

Still, Sony has a lot riding on “Morbius,” which stars Jared Leto as Michael Morbius, a renowned biochemist who becomes a lethal vampire after attempting to cure himself of a rare blood disease. The studio majorly scored with “Spider-Man: No Way Home” ($1.88 billion at the worldwide box office) and successfully spun “Venom” into cinematic gold (the first movie earned $856 million globally and the 2021 sequel “Let There Be Carnage” earned $501 million at the worldwide box office). But Sony has grander plans to fashion a viable rival to Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe, and a so-so turnout for “Morbius” signals that in order to get audiences to go to theaters, these movies actually have to be watchable. After “Morbius,” Sony’s Universe of Marvel Characters is chugging along with standalone stories on “Kraven the Hunter,” starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and “Madame Web,” featuring Dakota Johnson.

Daniel Espinosa directed “Morbius,” with a cast that includes Adria Arjona, Matt Smith, Jared Harris and Michael Keaton, reprising his role from previous “Spider-Man” films.

Given the muted reception from critics and moviegoers (it landed a “C+ CinemaScore), box office experts do not expect “Morbius” will have a fruitful life on the big screen. It’ll face steep competition from younger male ticket buyers as “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” (April 8) and “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” (April 15) open in theaters.

“This is a weak opening by Marvel’s exceptional standard for launching a new superhero series,” said David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. He added, “Marvel movies are generally very well reviewed; here reviews are uncharacteristically poor.”

In a distant second place, Paramount’s action-adventure “The Lost City” collected a strong $14.8 million from 4,283 venues in its second weekend of release. So far, the screwball romantic comedy, starring Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum, has grossed $54.5 million at the domestic box office. Since the film cost $68 million, “The Lost City” is not yet a commercial winner. However, it’s a promising sign that meet-cutes haven’t entirely fallen out of favor with moviegoers.

Another comic book tentpole, “The Batman” with Robert Pattinson, landed in third place with $10.8 million from 3,732 theaters. After five weeks on the big screen, the Warner Bros. film has pulled in a mighty $349 million at the domestic box office. “The Batman” has continued to be a force across the globe, crossing $700 million over the weekend. With $710.5 million worldwide, it’s currently the highest grossing movie of the year at the domestic and global box office.

For the second weekend in a row, Tom Holland’s video game adaptation “Uncharted” and Crunchyroll’s manga adaptation “Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie” took spots four and five, respectively, on box office charts.

“Uncharted” brought in $3.6 million from 3,064 cinemas, buoying its North American tally to $138.9 million. Overseas, the $120 million-budgeted tentpole added $5.5 million from 55 markets. That takes “Uncharted’s” tally to $234 million internationally and $373 million globally.

The anime film “Jujutsu Kaisen 0,” an unexpected box office champion, earned $1.9 million from 2,070 screens in its third weekend in theaters. To date, the movie has grossed $31 million.

In limited release, Focus Features opened Goran Stolevski’s “You Won’t Be Alone” in 147 theaters, where the well-reviewed violent horror film earned $125,000 — translating to $850 per venue. On the heels of its debut, Focus has acquired Stolevski’s next film, “Of An Age.” Set in the summer of 1999, “Of An Age” centers on a 17-year old Serbian born, Australian amateur ballroom dancer who experiences an unexpected and intense 24-hour romance with a friend’s older brother.

“We are thrilled with how critics and audiences are responding to the brilliance of Goran’s artistry and storytelling,” said Focus Features’ president of distribution Lisa Bunnell. “His refreshingly unique voice is one we hope keeps entertaining audiences.”

 

[Marty McFourth]

‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’ Breaks Box Office Record For Video Game Adaptations With $71 Million Debut

Elsewhere, 'Morbius' registered a catastrophic second-weekend drop.

collider.com

Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2 surpassed its own predecessor to register the biggest-ever opening weekend for a video game adaptation. With $71 million across three days, the family-friendly sequel marks yet another win for Paramount at the box office this year. Elsewhere, Universal’s attempt at counter-programming fell flat with Ambulance, an original action film directed by the once-formidable Michael Bay.

The first Sonic the Hedgehog movie made $58 million in its opening weekend back in 2020, for an extended President’s Day weekend debut of $70 million. That film tapped out with $319 million worldwide, with its theatrical run being impacted by the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The sequel, also directed by Jeff Fowler, brought in Idris Elba as fan-favorite character Knuckles the Echidna, with Ben Schwartz, James Marsden, and Jim Carrey reprising their roles from the first film.

The sequel marks the fourth theatrical hit for Paramount this year, following Scream, Jackass Forever, and The Lost City. The studio had offloaded most of its high-profile content to streamers during the pandemic, but wisely chose to hold on to established IP. And with an excellent A CinemaScore from opening day audiences, you can expect this one to have the legs.

In second place, Jared Leto’s poorly-reviewed antihero film Morbius registered a historic drop, falling 74% from its debut weekend. The film’s running domestic total, with $10.2 million this weekend, stands at $57 million.

The Lost City took the third spot with $9.1 million in its third weekend, taking its running domestic total to just under $69 million. Starring Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe and Brad Pitt in a much-publicized cameo, The Lost City gave a much-needed shot in the arm to the romantic comedy genre, which was believed to have fallen out of favor with theater-going audiences in recent years.

Ambulance could only muster a fourth-place debut with $8.7 million. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, the chase-thriller continues Bay’s poor run of form, after the lackluster fourth and fifth Transformers movies, the adult-skewing 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi and his failed attempt at starting a Netflix franchise, 6 Underground. The film will have to rely on overseas performance to become profitable.

Just slightly edging out the buzzy A24 title Everything Everywhere All at Once for the number five spot was Warner Bros.’ The Batman, which made $6.5 million in its sixth weekend, for a running domestic total of just under $360 million. Internationally, the film has made over $735 million worldwide, and remains the year’s highest-grossing film.

The next weekend is expected to go to Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, the third film in the Harry Potter spinoff series, which debuted early with $58 million in a handful of international markets this weekend.

 

[Marty McFourth]

‘The Bad Guys,’ ‘Sonic 2’ Bury ‘Fantastic Beasts’ at Weekend Box Office

'Bad Guys' wasn't the only new wide release. 'The Northman' and Nicolas Cage's 'The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent' are also opening this weekend.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

In more good news for the family box office, DreamWorks Animation and Universal’s The Bad Guys easily won the weekend with an estimated $24 million, more than enough to topple Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, according to Comscore.

Bad Guys, an action-comedy about a wickedly smart group of crooked animals, has already earned $63 million overseas for an early worldwide haul of $87 million (it opened in select markets ahead of its domestic bow). The pic received an A CinemaScore.

Directed by Pierre Perifel, Bad Guys‘ voice cast includes Sam Rockwell, Craig Robinson, Marc Maron, Awkwafina, Anthony Ramos, Zazie Beetz and Lilly Singh.

Fellow PG release Sonic the Hedgehog 2 — now in its third weekend — even beat Dumbledore with an estimated $15.2 million from 3,809 locations for a domestic total of $145.8 million.

The one-two-punch of Bad Guys and Sonic 2 give exhibitors and Hollywood studio executives hope that kids and parents are returning to theaters in greater numbers after staying away for much of the pandemic.

Fantastic Beasts 3 fell off sharply in its second weekend in more bad news for the future of the Wizarding World franchise. Warner Bros.’ big-budget event pic grossed $14 million domestically from 4,245 theaters, a 67 percent decline. It is faring somewhat better overseas, where it has earned $213.2 million for a global total of $280.3 million.

The Bad Guys wasn’t the only new offering this weekend as Hollywood studios begin releasing a more varied range of movies as the box office emerges from the pandemic.

Focus Features and New Regency’s The Northman opened on the higher end of expectations with $12 million from 3,234 locations. However, with a budget of least $70 million before marketing, the Robert Eggers-directed movie could be in a tough spot financially.

Northman received a B CinemaScore. The high-profile ensemble cast includes Nicole Kidman, Alexander Skarsgård Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke, Björk, and Willem Dafoe. Overseas, Northman has earned $11 million for a global cume of $23.5 million.

Rounding out the top five was Lionsgate’s high-concept film The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent — in which Nicolas Cage plays a fictionalized version of himself. The movie opened to $7.2 million from 3,036 cinemas, and received a B+ CinemaScore. While Massive Talent performed in line with modest expectations, its inability to breakout is a reminder that films about Hollywood can fail to travel beyond the town.

A24’s specialty film Everything Everywhere All at Once continued its remarkable run, placing sixth with $5.4 million from 2,137 locations for a domestic cume of $26.9 million.​