There are many ways to describe how bad the situation is for theaters. Here’s one: A year ago, the No. 2 film “The Little Mermaid” grossed $41.4 million; this weekend, the top four films together grossed $44.4 million.
“The Garfield Movie” (Sony) took the top spot with $14 million and a 10-day total about $2 million better than last week’s No. 1, “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga “. (Warner Bros.). George Miller’s $160 million prequel fell 59 percent after a disappointing start and finds itself in a tight battle for second place with “IF” (Paramount). Family Fantasy Starring Ryan Reynolds Tentatively $50,000 Up Front; It must be recognized that the World Bank was not aggressive in its estimates. (Tomorrow will tell us the real result).
The good news is that we have hit rock bottom for the summer and things will improve from here on out. Both “Garfield” and “IF” had strong positions: “Garfield” fell 41 percent in its second weekend after a holiday Sunday, and “IF” fell 33 percent and now sits at 80 million dollars. It still has a chance to perform respectably against its $110 million budget. Globally, the “IF” stands at $138 million.
That’s encouraging because upcoming titles “Inside Out 2” (Disney) and “Despicable Me 4” (Universal), also aimed at family, are expected to reach a domestic total of $300 million. Family films seem to be the only titles that meet or exceed expectations.
“Furiosa”, now valued at $114 million worldwide, is confirmed as a major disappointment. “Fury Road” grossed nearly $400 million in 2015. It’s the end of a strong run for WB with “Wonka,” “Dune: Part 2” and “Godzilla x Kong.”
The worst news is that the weekend gross was less than $65 million. That’s horrible, even before comparing that to last year ($205 million, a high for a summer weekend but third best for May-August 2023). The box office is now 24% behind 2023. If that stays the same (unlikely, but not impossible), 2024 would bring in less than $7 billion.
Last year’s No. 1 movie was the debut of “Across the Spider-Verse”; this year, the biggest new openings are “Haikyuu!! The Dumpster Battle” (Sony, from Crunchyroll) at $3.5 million for #7, low-budget horror entry “In a Violent Nature” (IFC) at $2.1 million for #7 8, “Ezra” (Bleecker Street) No. 9 with $1.2 million. These niche films benefit from access to screens and additional revenue, but for theaters, the results are meager compared to what is necessary.
For the second consecutive weekend since its release on PVOD, “The Fall Guy” (Universal) had the best holding in the Top 10, dropping 30% to $4.2 million for fifth place. It reached $80 million domestically. At No. 4, “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” (Disney) fell 34%; now at $140 million, it’s the best of the summer titles so far.
The good news should start Friday with “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” (Sony), which is hoping for a $50 million or more debut, followed by “Inside Out 2” the following week. However, these and other films won’t save the summer. At this point, it seems unlikely that total revenue won’t fall more than 25 percent below last year’s $4 billion. But we’re seeing a series of films getting closer to normal, which will allay the worst worries.
Angel Studios claims number 10 for “Sight”, but it is very close to “Summer Camp” (Roadside Attractions). The Diane Keaton-led senior comedy grossed just over $1 million from 1,787 theaters.
Two new exclusively New York titles lead the specialist openings. The Academy Award-nominated film “Robot Dreams” (Neon) for best animated film grossed $32,000 in two locations, while the documentary “Flipside” (Oscilloscope) grossed nearly $13,000 in one. . Both begin their nationwide expansion Friday.
For unknown reasons, Disney has blocked the publication of the recipes for “The Young Woman and the Sea”. One theory is that it is a “qualifying race”; it would be strange for June, and even stranger to be in around 300 theaters. It plays in high-quality theaters across the country in major markets; it is speculated that it may have brought in $450,000 or more. The Jerry Bruckheimer-produced true story of a woman who set the record for an English Channel swim, stars Daisy Ridley.
The Top 10 (Friday Sunday)
1. The Garfield Movie (Sony) Week 2; Last weekend #2
$14,000,000 (-42%) in 4,108 (+73) theaters; PTA (average per theater): $3,408; Cumulative: $51,572,000
2. IF (Paramount) Week 3; Last weekend #3
$10,800,000 (-33%) in 3,783 (-285) theaters; PTA: $2,855; Cumulative: $80,429,000
3. Furiosa: a Mad Max saga (WB) Week 2; Last weekend #1
$10,750,000 (-59%) in 3,864 (+60) theaters; PTA: $2,782; Cumulative: $49,668,000
4. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (Disney) Week 4; Last weekend #4
$8,800,000 (-34%) in 3,450 (-100) theaters; PTA: $2,551; Cumulative: $139,996,000
5. The Fall Guy (Universal) Week 5; Last Weekend #5; also on PVOD
$4,200,000 (-30%) in 2,826 (-129) theaters; PTA: $1,486; Cumulative: $80,280,000
6. The Strangers: Chapter 1 (Lionsgate) Week 3; Last weekend #6
$3,600,000 (-35%) in 2,527 (-329) theaters; PTA: $1,425; Cumulative: $28,366,000
7. Haikyuu!! The battle of the dumpsters (Sony) NEW
$3,500,000 in 1,119 theaters; PTA: $3,128; Cumulative: $3,500,000
8. In a violent nature (IFC) NEW – Metacritic: 69
$2,119,000 in 1,426 theaters; PTA: $1,486; Cumulative: $2,119,000
9. Ezra (Bleecker Street) NEW – Metacritic: 57
$1,184,000 in 1,320 theaters; PTA: $896; Cumulative: $1,184,000
10. View (Angel) Week 2; Last week #7
$1,085,000 (-61%) in 2,118 (+18) theaters; PTA: $512; Cumulative: $5,888,000
Other specialty/independent titles
Movies (limited, limited expansions) are listed by week of release, starting with those released that week; after the first three weeks, only films grossing more than $5,000 are listed. Metacritic scores and first recorded film festivals.
Dreams of robots (Neon) NEW – Metacritic: 86; Festivals include: Cannes, Toronto 2023
$32,536 in 2 theaters; PTA: $16,268
Summer camp (Roadside Attractions) NEW – Metacritic: 40
$1,063,000 in 1,787 theaters; PTA: $595; Cumulative: $1,063,000
Opposite side (Oscilloscope) NEW – Festivals include: Toronto 2023
$12,879 in 1 cinema; PTA: $12,879
Dealing with the undead (Neon) NEW – Metacritic: 71; Festivals include: Sundance 2024
$8,031 in 1 cinema; PTA: $8,031
Dead people don’t hurt (Scream) NEW – Metacritic: 67; Festivals include: Toronto 2023
$354,455 in 735 theaters; PTA: $482
Girls (Neon) Week 3
$910,000 in 1,118 (+523) theaters; Cumulative: $2,760,000
Back to black (Focus) Week 4
$250,000 in 672 (-1,341) theaters; Cumulative: $6,003,000
I saw the TV glow (A24) Week 5
$358,828 in 292 (-166) theaters; Cumulative: $3,576,000
Wild cat (Oscilloscope) Week 5
$64,895 in 47 (-47) theaters; Cumulative: $500,113
Evil does not exist (Sideshow/Janus) Week 5
$47,200 in 85 (-53) theaters; Cumulative: $634,892
Civil war (A24) Week 8; also on PVOD
$173,364 in 235 (-216) theaters; Cumulative: $68,433,000
Bad little letters (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 9
$17,109 in 28 (-18) theaters; Cumulative: $4,930,000