Tag Archives: Box Office

Box Office Report: In only 37 theaters, ‘Lady Bird’ flies into the top 10

While there are nine films that earned more than it, Lady Bird is, undoubtedly, the story of the week. In only 37 theaters — 826 less than any other in the top 10 — writer-director Greta Gerwig’s film, starring Saoirse Ronan, averaged $33,766 for a total of $1.249 million. After a 2017 record per-theater-average the weekend prior, Gerwig’s picture now stands at $1.781 million and will only continue to make money. Audiences know Gerwig from brilliant films such as 20th Century WomenJackieFrances Ha and Mistress America; combine that with wonderful marketing by A24, and it looks like they’ve got the perfect storm. It already has the critical acclaim, still at 100% on RottenTomatoes after 115 reviews, and now the financial success that could push it to not only contend, but possibly win big during the awards season.

In first place, expectedly, was Thor: Ragnarok. Marvel’s third Thor film took home an estimated $56.6 million to put it at $211.5 million domestically and $650 million worldwide — already past Thor and Thor: The Dark World in only its second weekend. The film will take a hit this upcoming weekend with the release of Justice League, but it should easily cross $800 million.

The comedy sequel Daddy’s Home 2 made an estimated $30 million for the second spot. The opening is $8 million less than the original, but still a solid start that should set the film on a path toward profitability. It seems as though Mel Gibson is all but forgiven in Hollywood.

Behind that was Kenneth Branagh’s Murder on the Orient Express with an estimated $28.2 million. The Agatha Christie adaptation was produced for $55 million and, with $57+ million so far overseas for a total of $85.4 million, the film will look to make its money back in due time.

In other limited release news, Oscar contender Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri earned a per-theater-average of $80,000 in four theaters, close to Lady Bird last. As the Oscar players continue to release, we should be seeing similar performances — but next weekend will be dominated by Justice League.

*All weekend numbers are domestic, meaning that they’re from theaters in the US and Canada, and are also estimates, reported by Box Office Mojo, with actuals coming out in the next few days.*

 

Featured image via A24.

Box Office Report: ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ hammers home fourth largest debut of 2017

After a few slow weekends, the box office has been reinvigorated by the God of Thunder. The Taika Waititi-directed, Chris Hemsworth-starring Thor: Ragnarok took home an estimated $122.744 million in its opening weekend, which is the 4th largest debut of 2017 and the 7th largest of the MCU. The film has already made over $430 million worldwide, which means, on a budget of $180 million, the film is already and will continue to be a massive financial success. The first two Thor films ended, respectively, at $181 and $206 million domestically — numbers that Ragnarok will far surpass.

In second, and over $100 million less than first place, was A Bad Moms Christmas, with an estimated $17.03 million. The film actually opened on Wednesday, and it’s total since opening is $21.55 million. On a budget of $28 million and riding the success of the first Bad Moms film, this second in the series — strangely released over a month before Christmas — will still likely make its money back despite the rather poor critical standing of 31% on RottenTomatoes.

Spots three through nine remain in the same order as the previous weekend — JigsawBoo 2!GeostormHappy Death DayBlade Runner 2049Thank You for Your Service and Only the Brave.

While most other box office stories don’t say much that already hasn’t been said, Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird soared onto the scene with a 2017 box office record. While Lady Bird only opened in four theaters across the country, the film made a per-theater-average of $93k, which is 2017’s best, beating The Big Sick‘s 5 theater-$84k PTA. As the film continues to expand — it goes wide over the Thanksgiving holiday — it’s likely that it will find similar financial success as Kumail Nanjiani’s romantic comedy, which could then fuel the momentum behind the film as a serious awards contender.

*All weekend numbers are domestic, meaning that they’re from theaters in the US and Canada, and are also estimates, reported by Box Office Mojo, with actuals coming out in the next few days.*

 

Featured image via Marvel.

Box Office Report: ‘Jigsaw’ saws its way to the top in slow weekend

In an expectedly slow weekend before the release of Thor: RagnarokJigsaw took the top spot at the box office with an estimated $16.25 million. As seen by Happy Death Day in the weeks prior, horror films, especially around Halloween, tend to do well — although Lionsgate likely hoped that for a better result with this being the last weekend of October. Regardless, the film, which sits at $25.75 million worldwide, has already crossed even on a budget of $10 million.

In second place was last weekend’s winner, Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween. With an additional $10 million, the 7th Madea film climbed past a domestic total of $35.5 million. International numbers are currently low, but the film should still cross even within the next week.

Geostorm earned an estimated $5.675 million for the third spot, a 58.6% fall from its opening weekend. These numbers are abysmal, and even though the film is over $136 million worldwide, it’s one of the bigger flops of the year considering its $120 million price tag.

Happy Death Day and Blade Runner 2049 also stayed in order, shifting down just one spot to 4th and 5th. The Groundhog Day-esque horror film added over 200 theaters, and made $5.099 million. The sci-fi sequel made only $3.965 million, and left 782 screens. The film will not cross $100 million domestically, and needs a huge run in China — of over $60-$70 million — to cross even, which is doable.

The second new release in the top 10 was Thank You For Your Service, which took home an estimated $3.702 million for 6th place. The film follows soldiers as they return home from war and deal with the effects of PTSD, and is the directorial debut of American Sniper screenwriter Jason Hall. Right now, the film sits at 78% on RottenTomatoes after 72 reviews, and is one of the few favorably received new releases.

The third new release in the top 10 was the Matt Damon starring Suburbicon, which essentially bombed with only $2.8 million. The film has been panned by critics as well as fans, currently standing at 26% on RottenTomatoes and receiving a D- on CinemaScore.

Next weekend should blow up massively with the third Thor film and many critically acclaimed pictures, such as The Killing of a Sacred Deer and Lady Bird, either releasing, releasing limited or expanding.

*All weekend numbers are domestic, meaning that they’re from theaters in the US and Canada, and are also estimates, reported by Box Office Mojo, with actuals coming out in the next few days.*

 

Featured image via Brooke Palmer/Lionsgate.

Box Office Report: ‘Boo 2! A Madea Halloween’ scares away competition

This past weekend saw the release of three critically panned films: GeostormTyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween and The Snowman.

With Happy Death Day in its second weekend and Blade Runner 2049 in its third, one of those three critical failures was poised to take the top spot. And with the strangely wide appeal of the franchise, Tyler Perry’s 7th Madea film won the weekend with an estimated $21.65 million. While that is the second worst opening for a Madea film, it’s still a financially impressive weekend as its production budget is only $25 million — which likely means that more Madea films will come.

Coming in second was Geostorm with an estimated $13.3 million. On a production budget of $120 million, it’s a foregone conclusion, and not a surprise at all, that the film will be a box office bomb.

Happy Death Day fell more than expected, however, only pulling in an estimated $9.375 million — a 64% drop from its opening weekend. Regardless, the horror film’s budget is only $4.8 million, meaning that it’s already extremely profitable.

In 4th, and still struggling to make money despite outstanding critical reviews, was Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049, taking home an estimated $7.155. Standing at $194.1 million worldwide on a $150 million budget, the film will also lose money — unless markets it’s yet to be released in, like China, can get it to the approximately $300 million it needs to cross even.

The only critically acclaimed new release of this past weekend, Only the Brave, earned $6.01 million for the 5th spot. The film recounts the true story of the brave team of firefighters who fought the massive Yarnell Hill Fire in June 2013. It currently sits at a 90% on RottenTomatoes.

Jumping past The Foreigner, which made $5.45 million, and It, which made $3.5 million, new release The Snowman, starring Michael Fassbender, only made an estimated $3.442 million. The director has come out to say that the production ran out of time and they weren’t able to shoot 10-15% of the script — as some sort of excuse for its low critic scores. Regardless, the film is shaping up to be a financial failure as well.

*All weekend numbers are domestic, meaning that they’re from theaters in the US and Canada, and are also estimates, reported by Box Office Mojo, with actuals coming out in the next few days.*

 

Featured image via Chip Bergman/Lionsgate.

Box Office Report: As summer closes, box office reaches historic low with top earner merely making $10 million

Box Office Report for the weekend of August 25 to August 27:

As the summer closes with its last weekend, the box office has reached the year’s lowest point and, as reported by Box Office Mojo, the worst weekend in about 16 years.

The Ryan Reynolds/Samuel L. Jackson-starring The Hitman’s Bodyguard took home the top spot with an estimated $10.05 million, bringing up its domestic total to approximately $39.61 million. The film’s reported budget is $30 million, meaning that, despite it’s mostly negative reception as it sits at 39% on RottenTomatoes after 143 reviews, it will almost certainly make its money back, and then some. The weekend gross of The Hitman’s Bodyguard, however, is the lowest earning top spot of the year. One would have to go all the way back to the weekend of February 3-5, when M. Night Shyamalan’s Split made $14.42 million, to come close to a worse #1 earner. Some say that the film’s finalized weekend number — its ‘actuals’ — will dip, meaning that it could even sink below $10 million.

Annabelle: Creation placed second with an estimated $7.35 million. Taking place within the Conjuring franchise, which itself has crossed $1 billion, the film should cross $100 million domestically within the coming weeks (it currently sits at $77.88 million). With a budget of $15 million, the horror prequel will be, relatively, one of the year’s most profitable films.

New releases, though, proved incredibly unappealing, with the animated film Leap! being one of only two to break the top ten. The Weinstein Company acquisition, which premiered internationally last year, made only $5.01 million domestically.

Wind River, which performed well during a limited release, expanded to over 2,000 theaters, and took home an estimated $4.41 million at the domestic box office. The indie, coming from Sicario and Hell or High Water screenwriter Taylor Sheridan, features what many critics are calling Jeremy Renner’s best performance.

Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk stuck around in the top ten after its 6th weekend in theaters, raking in another $3.95 million to claim the 6th spot. At this point, the World War II epic has yet to fall more than 47% from weekend to weekend, and never more than 41% after its second weekend, showing that it has strong legs. With a domestic total currently sitting at $172 million, the film will soon beat The Boss BabyGet Out and The LEGO Batman Movie to become the highest domestic grossing film that is not a sequel or a franchise vehicle — an accomplishment that Nolan is incredibly familiar with.

After Spider-Man: HomecomingThe Emoji Movie and new release Birth of the DragonGirls Trip, like Dunkirk, finds itself in the top ten after its 6th weekend, making an estimated $2.26 million domestically. The all-Black, all-female comedy recently crossed $100 million domestically.

Finally, in a bid for the 5th spot on the “highest domestic grossing superhero films” list, which is currently held by Iron Man 3 at $409.01 million, Wonder Woman added 1,407 theaters, expanding to a total of 2,210. The DC Extended Universe picture took home $1.68 million, bringing its domestic total to $406.2 million. It should claim that 5th spot in due time, putting it behind only The Dark Knight RisesAvengers: Age of UltronThe Dark Knight and Marvel’s The Avengers respectively.

The following weekend may be even more abysmal, with very few new releases that could make any notable dent. Unless Tulip Fever somehow strikes a chord with audiences, next weekend’s top earner may be well under $10 million.

The one after that, however, will see the release of It, which Variety reports could make about $50 million domestically its opening weekend, according to early box office tracking. With Jennifer Lawrence’s mother!, Kingsman: The Golden CircleThe LEGO Ninjago Movie and Tom Cruise’s American Made coming in the weeks following, the fall season will hopefully reinvigorate the box office.

*All weekend numbers are domestic, meaning that they’re from theaters in the U.S. and Canada, and are also estimates, reported by Box Office Mojo, with actuals coming out in the next few days.*