OPENINGS: FINDING DORY (Pixar/Disney) had a 17% Saturday drop, which is on the high side for an animated blockbuster (Inside Out fell 10% on its 2d day, Monsters University was down 6%, and Minions 16%). That suggest that the overall multiple from opening weekend may not reach the heady heights that Pixar is used […]
OPENINGS: CRAWL (Paramount) may be an example of a studio outsmarting itself. Paramount held no critics screenings, presumably because disdain was expected, and thus was unable to create any advance buzz around a response that turned out to be remarkably enthusiastic (88% on Rotten Tomatoes). The result was a tepid $12M opening, and since […]
OPENINGS: DUNE (Legendary/Warners, also on HBO Max) launched in US theaters at $40.1M, the highest start for a film also premiering on HBO Max. (And while Warners had previously preserved Thursday night for theatrical-only, the studio allowed Dune to hit HBO Max nationwide simultaneous with its first East Coast screenings.) The film should also […]
OPENINGS: THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS (Reliance/Universal) was built for weekend matinees, and a 47% Saturday bump carried it to a $26.9M weekend. Among recent fall supernatural family movies, that puts it $3.2M above Goosebumps, and $2.2M below Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children, suggesting a US landing place around $85M. […]
>Despite a downgraded estimated domestic total, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 expanded its international gross to date to come very close to the billion dollar mark. Transformers: Dark of the Moon is starting to top out in its overseas gross — the worldwide gross will probably end up around $950 million. Captain […]
OPENINGS: READY PLAYER ONE (Village Roadshow/Warners) had a fair if unthrilling start, with $41.2M over the 3-day Good Friday/Easter weekend plus $12M on its Thursday opening day for a $53.2M 4-day total, considerably less than the $61M Kong: Skull Island earned in its first 3 days. That points toward a $125M US ultimate, and […]
OPENINGS: After a painful post-Hobbit winter, Warners was in dire need of a hit, and Jackie Robinson became its great American hero, as 24 (Warners) had a very strong $9.1M opening day. Word of mouth should be on the movie’s side–the challenge for the studio was to get people into the theaters in the […]
OPENINGS: TOM & JERRY (Warners, also on HBO Max) had a solid opening for this moment in time with $13.7M, an especially impressive number since the movie is available at no extra cost to anyone with an HBO Max subscription. If Tom & Jerry can have the kind of sustained run that other family […]