OPENINGS: ABIGAIL (Universal) launched at the low end of expectations with $10.2M, lower than the $11.8M for Night Swim and virtually the same as the $9.9M for Imaginary. Those films are respectively at $32.5M and $28M in the US, which is the likely range for Abigail. However, the new film reportedly cost $28M before […]
OPENINGS: CIVIL WAR (A24) marked its studio’s biggest swing to date, with costs that will approach $100M for production and worldwide marketing. (A24 limited its risk by pre-selling some overseas territories to subdistributors.) The early results were promising, with a studio-record $25.7M weekend, alhough tepid audience surveys and the fact that the audience was […]
OPENINGS: MONKEY MAN (Universal) walked an odd path to theaters, originally being targeted for a Netflix release. While the result earned strong reviews (87% on Rotten Tomatoes), there was no storybook ending at the box office, as Dev Patel’s film was below expectations at $10.1M. Nor did Monkey Man stir much excitement overseas, with […]
OPENINGS: GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE (Columbia/Sony) played as a family movie, with a Saturday afternoon bump, and that enabled it to match projections at $45.2M, slightly higher than the $44M start for 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife. However, Frozen Empire cost $25M more than Afterlife, so a 3% increase at the box office may not cover the […]
OPENINGS: ARTHUR THE KING (Lionsgate) was clearly hoping to emulate the sleeper success of 2022’s Dog, which ran a $14.9M opening into $61.8M in the US. However, the Mark Wahlberg vehicle came up very short with a $7.5M start. Production/marketing costs are reportedly $60M, which will make for a tough road to profit. Arthur […]
OPENINGS: KUNG FU PANDA 4 (DreamWorks Animation/Universal), the first new all-ages animated release since the holiday season, arrived at the high end of projections with $58.3M, impressively above the $41.3M start for 2016’s Panda 3. (And at a reported production budget 40% lower than its predecessor.) It faces no direct competition for months, and […]