The Box Office thread

[Positivatee 327]

I'm sure TG:M is getting a lot of new viewings based on its excellent word of mouth promotion. I want to see it, but I won't set foot in a theater again for a long time. 

[Edmilson 7,439]

Yeah, until like a month ago I was sure Maverick wasn't a movie that interested me (haven't even seen the first Top Gun), but now the word of mouth have been so great that I'm considering doing so this week.

[Edmilson 7,439]

Lightyear, which premiered with $51m, came in second place on the American box office this weekend, behind Jurassic World Dominion's $58m second weekend.

 

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/2022W24/?ref_=bo_hm_rw

 

Fun fact: this is almost an exact replica of what happened back in June 2015, when the opening weekend of a new Pixar movie (Inside Out) came in behind the second weekend of a  Colin Trevorrow-directed Jurassic World movie (the first one).

 

However, back then the conditions were much more favorable for both: Inside Out's opening weekend was $90m (the biggest for an original movie back then) while JW's second weekend was $106m (breaking the Avengers' record for biggest second weekend ever).

 

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/2015W25/?ref_=bo_rl_table_2

[Disco Stu 15,495]

And only a 15% (15!!) drop for Top Gun.

 

Crazy box office weekend all around.

[Edmilson 7,439]

 

‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Catapults Past $1B At Worldwide Box Office

 

Paramount's third (or fourth, if you count Titanic) billionaire movie at the box office, after Transformers 3 and 4.

[JNHFan2000 2,961]

After the first 3 weeks of release I don't think there was any doubt that the film would get to a billion.

It'll be interesting to see if Cruise can repeat this with the next 2 Mission: Impossible films

[Edmilson 7,439]

It was also the first weekend where four movies gross more than $20m: Maverick, Elvis, Jurassic World Dominion and The Black Phone. The last time it happened was in Thanksgiving 2018:

 

https://www.the-numbers.com/box-office-chart/weekend/2022/06/24

 

https://www.the-numbers.com/box-office-chart/weekend/2018/11/23

 

However, it could've been the first weekend since 2016 where five movies gross more than $20m if Lightyear hadn't dropped so much. It's Pixar's biggest second weekend drop EVER.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

The new Minions came this close to beating Lightyear's entire opening weekend with just its Friday take.

[Edmilson 7,439]

Floptyear

[Edmilson 7,439]

Minions made more in three days than what Floptyear made in three weeks at the domestic box office.

 

https://www.the-numbers.com/box-office-chart/weekend/2022/07/01

 

Biggest opening for a kid flick since Frozen II, IIRC. 

[JNHFan2000 2,961]

Not surprised. Minions and Despicable Me 1,  & 3 all have been big winners at the box office.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,524]

28 minutes ago, JNHFan2000 said:

Not surprised. Minions and Despicable Me 1,  & 3 all have been big winners at the box office.

What about 

?

[Jay 37,355]

Top Gun: Maverick Just Passed Titanic As Paramount's Top-Grossing Film

[bruce marshall 1,315]

My cousin, who owned Paramount , is turning in his grave!😅

 

But, did it spend thirteen straight weeks at number one?

 

 

 

Fyi TITANIC is generally considered a Fox film as they originated the project .

 

Inflated ticket prices have made these comparisons irrelevant.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I don't think they're irrelevant, you just need to keep the context in mind to understand what the comparisons tell you. 

[Edmilson 7,439]

1 hour ago, Jay said:

Top Gun: Maverick Just Passed Titanic As Paramount's Top-Grossing Film

Actually, Titanic's final box office counting the reissues is $659m, so TGM is still behind it. The news that Maverick have surpassed the James Cameron movie are mostly incorrect or incomplete.

 

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/chart/top_lifetime_gross/?ref_=bo_cso_ac

 

26 minutes ago, bruce marshall said:

Fyi TITANIC is generally considered a Fox film as they originated the project .

 

It was distributed by Paramount in the US and Canada, and by Fox outside of North America.

[bruce marshall 1,315]

😉

27 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

Actually, Titanic's final box office counting the reissues is $659m, so TGM is still behind it. The news that Maverick have surpassed the James Cameron movie are mostly incorrect or incomplete.

 

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/chart/top_lifetime_gross/?ref_=bo_cso_ac

 

It was distributed by Paramount in the US and Canada, and by Fox outside of North America.

 

[Edmilson 7,439]

Top Gun Maverick topped The Last Jedi at the American box office on Tuesday, July 19, and will top The Avengers today:

 

https://www.the-numbers.com/box-office-records/domestic/all-movies/cumulative/all-time

[Edmilson 7,439]

Universal Crosses $3B At 2022 Global Box Office; First Studio To Milestone Since 2019

[Edmilson 7,439]

Maverick has topped yet another Marvel blockbuster, Black Panther, and its now the fifth highest grossing movie ever at the domestic box office:

 

https://www.the-numbers.com/box-office-records/domestic/all-movies/cumulative/all-time

 

For a movie that made so much money, there was surprisingly little discussion over it here at JWFan. Has anyone watched it? 

[Mr. Who 919]

4 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

Maverick has topped yet another Marvel blockbuster, Black Panther, and its now the fifth highest grossing movie ever at the domestic box office:

 

https://www.the-numbers.com/box-office-records/domestic/all-movies/cumulative/all-time

 

For a movie that made so much money, there was surprisingly little discussion over it here at JWFan. Has anyone watched it? 

Can it over-take another movie after Black Panther as well or is this as high as it's gonna go?

[Edmilson 7,439]

20 minutes ago, Mr. Who said:

Can it over-take another movie after Black Panther as well or is this as high as it's gonna go?

The next movie on the all time ranking is Avatar, which is only $60 million away from Maverick. However, the same Avatar will be re-released later this month, so it will have the chance to distance itself from Maverick, despite the Tom Cruise movie not slowing down even after over three months.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

For some reason, all the major studios left August and September a complete wasteland of new releases, even moreso than usual for the season.  Top Gun's been doing extraordinarily well for getting to its 15th week (and after it came out on VOD), but in general the story of the last month is very very low overall box office.

[Edmilson 7,439]

Exactly, the lack of big event movies over these two months has been terrible for movie theaters, but great to veterans like Maverick or even the new Spider-Man, which was re-released this week.

 

I blame this on the pandemic, which delayed the production of major movies like Black Adam and Spider-Verse 2.

[Mr. Who 919]

13 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

The next movie on the all time ranking is Avatar, which is only $60 million away from Maverick. However, the same Avatar will be re-released later this month, so it will have the chance to distance itself from Maverick, despite the Tom Cruise movie not slowing down even after over three months.

Where I live, Maverick is in the second spot on the top 10 movies playing so it's clearly doing really well.

[HunterTech 994]

I went to see Maverick a second time Saturday (along with Nope and Jaws for the $3 ticket specials), and I actually had a much fuller audience compared to the first screening I went to. Only like one regular seat was free in the whole auditorium.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,524]

According to Wikipedia, TOP GUN: MAVERICK has reclaimed the top spot at the American box office, with a weekend take of $6,000,000. All this in the 15th week of release.

[Bayesian 1,363]

On 5/9/2022 at 12:44 PM, Edmilson said:

For a movie that made so much money, there was surprisingly little discussion over it here at JWFan. Has anyone watched it? 

I saw it with a couple friends when it opened, and I liked it a lot. Aerial photography was excellent and the story is told very straightforwardly. Not a lot of complexity to the characters, but this isn't that kind of movie. (Also included were several very obvious callbacks to the first Top Gun.) Some of the visuals were pretty engrossing, I thought (e.g., the establishing shot of the Mach-10 test jet racing across the Southwest U.S.). The scene with Maverick in the diner in the middle of nowhere was pretty great, I'll admit.

 

Was it a movie that I'd ever imagine would reach the rarefied heights of the all-time box office earners? No way. Not because it's in any way a poor film (it's not), but because it doesn't deliver what most blockbusters have been offering for years. Specifically, there's no worldbuilding, no larger-than-life characters, no distracting CGI, no silly-looking costumes, no overwrought carnage or destruction of property, no obvious pandering to special interests or causes... instead, it's refreshingly normal. It's an adventure film (of sorts) that you could imagine actually occurring in today's world, with today's tech. It's the kind of sequel we might have gotten ten years after Top Gun instead of 36 years later. And maybe that 90's-era feel is why people have been craving it, relishing it.

 

Just my thoughts.

[Sweeping Strings 2,358]

I think there's a lot of truth in what you say ... those in 'middle America' who feel alienated by Hollywood's (for want of a better phrase) 'woke/liberal' values would've found a lot to like in Maverick. It's an old-fashioned flick in a lot of ways.   

[Disco Stu 15,495]

63% domestic drop off for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever…. Pretty bad.  Especially considering the first one had only a 41% drop for its second weekend.

 

Personally, I think Marvel will regret giving the Panther mantle to someone who just isn’t movie star material IMO.  Don’t get me wrong, Wright is very talented… I’ll just say she was perfectly cast in the first one as a supporting actor, mostly comic. 

[JNHFan2000 2,961]

A drop between 60-70% has been kind of the new 'normal' for the last 2 years.

 

I think we can really start to judge when it's theatrical run is over. If the film can't surpase Thor 4 it's definitely troubling, but I think it will. It should either just make it under a billion (just like Doctor Strange 2) or juat above it (like Jurassic World 3).

 

There is nothing major coming out in theatres until Avatar 2 (I don't think Disney's Strange World will hurt it) so it almoat has a month to get to a billion

[Edmilson 7,439]

Exactly, a drop like that has become the norm for Marvel over the past few years. And the first BP is not exactly a good comparison, that movie's performance was utterly abnormal. 

 

Also, Spiderman had a huge drop on its second weekend last year (mostly due to Christmas), but it still managed to be very leggy after that because of the lack of competition. The same thing may happen to BPWF, who will not have a huge competitor until Avatar.

[Edmilson 7,439]

Speaking of Disney...

 

Bob Iger Returns as Disney CEO, Chairman Issues Statement

[JNHFan2000 2,961]

2 hours ago, Edmilson said:

Speaking of Disney...

 

Bob Iger Returns as Disney CEO, Chairman Issues Statement

That is good news. Chapeck is not good

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,433]

Nice. Even though Iger has done some bad things, it's nothing compare to what we've got under Chapeck

[Disco Stu 15,495]

GOOD NEWS

 

Amazon Plans to Invest $1 Billion a Year in Movies for Theaters

The company aims to release at least 12 films annually in cinemas.

 

It never made a lot of sense to me that the tech/streaming companies just for some reason decided that it was their job to “disrupt”/destroy the cinema experience.  It can be very profitable and at worst makes their movies seem more “legit” and therefore can be written down as marketing expense.

 

Glad Amazon finally is realizing this and hopefully Netflix and Apple follow suit.  Although now I think about it, Amazon has from the start been more willing to work with exhibitors for fairly wide theatrical releases.  I guess this news just means they’ll be releasing more than just their Oscarbait into cinemas.

[Edmilson 7,439]

Disney will lead the Thanksgiving holiday with two movies... But one of them is a hit and the other is an utter disaster.

 

Quote

It’s theatrical forever for Disney/Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever which is coming in ahead of yesterday afternoon’s estimates with $10M, but not so much for the studio’s animated movie Strange World which did $4.2M. This will translate per industry estimates into a 3-day and 5 day of $43M and $55M-$60M for Wakanda Forever, and a disastrous 3 and 5 day of $15.8M and $20M-$23M for Strange World which cost a reported $135M. That’s not the worst for a Disney animated, particularly over Thanksgiving, but it’s close: Their $140M original animation movie Treasure Planet was in freefall back in 2003 with a 3-day of $12M and $16.5M. One former Disney exec once told me, “They’re very good at making the best worst case decision” and in the scenario of Strange World, that’s sending it to Disney+ by the holidays. Even though the pic is tanking in theaters, that type of big screen release will at least give it some mojo in ancillaries. Everybody remember as theatrical tries to finds its footing, especially among adult titles.

 

https://deadline.com/2022/11/box-office-wakanda-forever-strange-world-bones-and-all-timothee-chalamet-thanksgiving-1235180803/

[Disco Stu 15,495]

As expected by everybody, The Fabelmans is unfortunately a huge box office bomb.  For comparison, Rian Johnson's Glass Onion was in about the same number of theaters for the holiday weekend and nearly quadrupled the per screen average of The Fabelmans.

 

I loved the movie and I want Spielberg to continue following his muse.  Maybe it would be a good challenge for him if the only way he could get a studio to want to release his films in theaters is if they have, like, Blumhouse level budgets.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,524]

It's interesting how a film that has been lauded, left, right, and centre, by critics, can fail, so emphatically, to connect with audiences.

[Edmilson 7,439]

I think Hollywood may love them, but the public is not exactly fond of movies from subgenres like "the power of cinema" or even "a director's own childhood memories". 

 

Glass Onion simply looked much more "fun" and escapist, the ideal entertainment for adults this Thanksgiving.

 

Also, the new Disney animation Strange World is a box office bomb of EPIC proportions. Apparently it'll be Treasure Planet-levels of disaster. But maybe the children who watch it today will remember it fondly in 10/15/20 years from now, just like TR and Atlantis?

[Disco Stu 15,495]

TBF that Disney movie looked like shit in the marketing

[Edmilson 7,439]

I imagine some people on YouTube and Twitter will be ecstatic with Strange World's flop because one of its central characters is gay. They already celebrated the disaster of Lightyear earlier this year and now this will be a Christmas gift to clickbait-y YouTubers.

[publicist 4,643]

9 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

It's interesting how a film that has been lauded, left, right, and centre, by critics, can fail, so emphatically, to connect with audiences.

 

 

I can't speak for general audiences, but to me the simple fact that this particular director has paraded his pet themes in remarkably open fashion through his whole filmography makes such a naked biographical spell-it-out an afterthought at best, at worst an inflated ego trip. But then, it's the same director who found 'The Post' a thoughtful comment on Donald Trump's America.

[JNHFan2000 2,961]

I think Disney Animation & Pixar should really take a hard look at what they're doing. Simce the pandemic none of they're films have been big hits at the box office.

 

3 (Soul, Luca & Turning Red) films of went straight to Disney+, where the first and the last have been big hits. And Onward & Lightyear both did not do well at the box office.

 

Disney's Raya was an incredible film I felt but was also day&date on Disney+. Encanto was kind of a flop in theatres but became a sensation on Disney+ & the internet. Hell, Encanto is still in the Top 10 streaming movies on Nielsen a year later.

Strange World is already a flop in theatres and I think will only do well on Disney+ (where it's probably going in about a month, just like Encanto).

 

I think both studios should look at what they're doing and start making the films again that became popular in the 90's and between 2010 & 2019. If nothing will change, then I think it will stay like this for quite a long time.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Netflix should've put Glass Onion in at least double the amount of theaters they did (assuming there were enough theaters/chains willing to work with them).  Apparently the split is pretty generous to the theaters to entice them (60% to theaters, 40% to Netflix).

 

I'm really hoping we're working towards a scenario where Netflix/Amazon/Apple are basically just studios, releasing more and more of their movies in theaters and then their services later.  Fingers crossed.

 

I also hope we see the streamers releasing either season openers or finales of their series in theaters as special events.  Imagine how many people would go see a Stranger Things season finale in the cinema!

[Edmilson 7,439]

Yeah, it's a partnership that can be mutually beneficial for both Netflix and the exhibitors. I hope Glass Onion is just the beginning, and not an exception.

[Edmilson 7,439]

The fact that Black Adam will gross less than fucking Sonic the Hedgehog both worldwide and domestically despite costing $200m to make (Sonic costed less than the half of that) is not only extremely funny but completely humiliating for Warner Bros. 

 

 

https://www.the-numbers.com/box-office-records/domestic/all-movies/cumulative/released-in-2022

 

https://www.the-numbers.com/box-office-records/worldwide/all-movies/cumulative/released-in-2022

 

The fact that some moron executive authorized a $200m budget for Black Adam is one of the reasons Zaslav is obsessed with cutting their costs.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Looking likely after its 2nd wide weekend that The Fabelmans will be Spielberg's first theatrical movie to gross under $10 million in the US since.... his first one, The Sugarland Express.  And under 10 in 2022 is a lot different than under 10 in 1974.  I guess it probably will eventually cross 10, especially if they put it back in some theaters post Oscar noms.  But it'll be close I bet.

 

An encouraging sign is to see (Fox) Searchlight's The Menu doing pretty good business after 3 weekends.  It's about to cross $50 million worldwide, a very nice success story for a mid-to-low budget dark and disturbing satire.

[Edmilson 7,439]

I guess movies of the subgenre "famous director recounts his cinema-obsessed teenage years" aren't that popular with Millenials and Gen Z moviegoers.

 

You know a movie that COULD be doing well at the specialty box office right now? Glass Onion. If Netflix had expanded the number of theaters, not only they'd have a significant hit on their hands (both on the BO and on streaming) but also theaters wouldn't have had another mediocre pre-Avatar weekend.

 

They're leaving a lot of money on the table.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

On 4/12/2022 at 7:07 PM, Disco Stu said:

Looking likely after its 2nd wide weekend that The Fabelmans will be Spielberg's first theatrical movie to gross under $10 million

My prediction was wrong.  It managed to cross 10 this past weekend.

 

https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Fabelmans-The-(2022)#tab=box-office