5th UPDATE Monday, 2:49 PM: As expected, Sunday’s NFL championship games prior to the big Super Bowl negatively impacted box office, as did the continuing woes on the East Coast, where theaters reopened among several inches (and in some cases feet) of snow. The many hopeful estimates the studios made yesterday just didn’t come to pass. Box office was off 8%-12% across the board, observers noted. The winter doldrums at the box office will be lifted in a big way next weekend with the return of the beloved franchise in Kung Fu Panda 3, with the third installment of the DreamWorks Animation family film playing in 3D. The way things look right now, it could have an opening of about $45M.
Also in wide release will be spoof comedy Fifty Shades Of Black, written by and starring Marlon Wayans and released by Open Road, as well as Disney’s The Finest Hours. The maritime drama, which contains visuals along the lines of A Perfect Storm, will be bolstered by its presentation on Imax screens and in RealD 3D. In moderate release will be the long-in-coming Jane Got A Gun from The Weinstein Company, the movie that had been pushed after being embroiled in the Relativity mess and then finally wriggled out to see the light of day. It stars Ewan McGregor and Natalie Portman.
Until then, here is how the Top 20 ended up this weekend:
1). The Revenant (FOX), 3,711 theaters (+152) / 3-day cume: $16M / Per screen average: $4,314 / Total cume: $119.2M / Wk 5
2). Star Wars: The Force Awakens (DIS), 3,822 theaters (-312) / 3-day cume: $14M / Per screen: $4,184 / Total cume: $879.1M / Wk 6
3). Ride Along 2 (UNI), 3,192 theaters (+17) / 3-day cume: $12.4M (-65%) / Per screen: $3,902 / Total cume: $58.6M / Wk 2
4). Dirty Grandpa (LGF), 2,912 theaters / 3-day cume: $11.1M (includes $660K previews) / Per screen: $3,816 / Wk 1
5). The Boy (STX), 2,671 theaters / 3-day cume: $10.7M / Per screen: $4,035 / Wk 1
6). The 5th Wave (SONY), 2,908 theaters / 3-day cume: $10.3M (includes $475K previews) / Per screen: $3,551 / Wk 1
7). 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (PAR), 2,917 theaters (+528) / 3-day cume: $9M (-44%) / Per screen: $3,096 / Total cume: $32.7M / Wk 2
8). Daddy’s Home (PAR), 2,789 theaters (-533) / 3-day cume: $4.9M / Per screen: $1,772 / Total cume: $138.4M / Wk 5
9). Norm of the North (LGF) 2,411 theaters (0) / 3-day cume: $3.8M (-44%) / Per screen: $1,588 / Total cume: $14M / Wk 2
10). The Big Short (PAR), 1,351 theaters (-414) / 3-day cume: $3.1M / Per screen: $2,351 / Total cume: $56.3M / Wk 7
11). Sisters (UNI), 1,602 theaters (-711) / 3-day cume: $1.77M / Per screen: $1,105 / Total cume: $84.4M / Wk 6
12). Brooklyn (FSL), 962 theaters (+275) / 3-day cume: $1.72M / Per screen: $1,789 / Total cume: $27.5M / Wk 12
13). The Forest (FOC), 2,010 theaters (-499) / 3-day cume: $1.6M / Per screen: $834 / Total cume: $24.9M / Wk 3
14). The Hateful Eight (TWC), 1,277 theaters (-1,108) / 3-day cume: $1.36M / Per screen: $1,069 / Total cume: $50.9M / Wk 5
15). Room (A24), 884 theaters (+591) / 3-day cume: $1.33M / Per screen: $1,549 / Total cume: $7.8M / Wk 15
16). Spotlight (OPRD), 1,030 theaters (+45) / 3-day cume: $1.2M / Per screen: $1,237 / Total cume: $32.9M / Wk 12
17). Joy (FOX), 966 theaters (-830) / 3-day cume: $1.13M / Per screen: $1,177 / Total cume: $54.1M / Wk 5
18). Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip (FOX), 1,204 theaters (-1,017) / 3-day cume: $1.1M / Per screen: $918 / Total cume: $82.5M / Wk 6
19). Airlift (B4U), 122 theaters / 3-day cume: $878K / Per screen: $7,202 / Wk 1
20). Ip Man 3 (WellGoUSA), 103 theaters / 3-day cume: $784K / Per screen: $ 7,620/ Wk 1
Sunday Update, 7:30 AM and write-thru at 8:10 AM: The monster winter storm of 2016 known as Jonas created untenable conditions across a third of the U.S. and blew away box office revenues as moviegoing was either halted altogether from theater closings after getting hit by snow and ice or it was severely impacted by flooding and high winds. Looking at the the day after, on average it’s estimated that the storm shaved off anywhere from 8% to as high as 10% of overall receipts. As one distrib noted this AM: “There were theaters closed, there were theaters open where no one attended and then there were theaters with partial schedules, so no one knows the degree to how much gross was affected.” It’s one thing for a smaller market like D.C. to shut down, but once big markets like Manhattan closed theaters, the impact began to be felt. From last weekend, grosses are down 32%.
One movie which got particularly jammed up was Universal’s Ride Along 2 in its second weekend because its strongest theaters were in the Southeast and that’s where the storm really overstayed its welcome, so it lost an estimated 15% to 17% in receipts it otherwise would have had. Meanwhile, The Revenant, which plays strongly in the West, could end the three-day weekend anywhere around $16M. The 12-time Oscar nominated film is, as of today, at a worldwide gross of $220M+.
In the theaters where the movies were playing, Saturday percentage increases were actually decent and in some cases quite high. Most theaters are reopening today, but now comes a storm of a different kind — the Sunday Football Championship games — so some pictures are going to be hit a bit harder today than others. Those that have strong male demo make-ups like raunchy comedy Dirty Grandpa, for instance, should see a harder decline for Lionsgate while other newbies The Boy and The 5th Wave, which play younger and female, should weather it better.
“Because our core audience was young (75% was under 25 years old), it played well to teens and was strongly female (62%) — we think with the football games, we should be affected the least, if at all. I think today is going to be a very good day for us,” said Kevin Grayson, president of domestic distribution STX Entertainment. He added, “If your family is locked in together from the storm and the kids want to get out, this is the movie they are going to want to see.” STX is estimating higher than anyone else in town on this picture’s ending three-day gross. Where the average comes out to $10.6M to $10.9M, it is thinking it will end up with $11.26M. With theaters re-opening on the East Coast, it could get a bump.
Despite the hit from the weather this weekend, The Boy should have a bit of play ahead of it. “We positioned our picture on this weekend so we could have a nice spread between genre pictures.” The next horror flick is Pride, Prejudice and Zombies from Sony which drops on Feb. 5th. “I think we have a good opportunity for strong playability over the next two weeks,” he noted.
The demo make-up for Sony’s sci-fi picture The 5th Wave based on the YA novel ended up about 55% female and 62% of the audience was under 25 years old, so Sony’s president of worldwide distribution Rory Bruer also believes their movie should fare better through football Sunday. “We did well despite the circumstances (of the storm),” he added. “It was a wild weekend, but we feel very good about the gross that we got, and if it you look internationally, we’re killing it.” The 5th Wave opened last weekend in 18 markets and 27% of its imprint and rolled out to many more markets this weekend, including in Latin America where YA-based material seems to find its audience. For more on that, read Nancy Tartaglione’s box office report here.
With Dirty Grandpa you have two East Coast teams playing in two separate games so that picture is gonna get hit. “I think it’s overall playing pretty well for us. We may lose some folks to playoff football, but I’m banking on getting some folks in from the East Coast,” said Richie Fay, co-president of domestic film for the comedy’s distributor Lionsgate. “You have to hope that a little cabin fever set in and people will want to get out and get going again. They’ve been shut in for a day and a half and had the threat of the storm hanging over them. Hopefully, they’ve gone through their entire library of DVD’s and they are ready for something new to watch.” (uh-oh, what happens when your head of distribution is funnier than the film?).
New Yorkers do tend to deal with the snow better than other areas. “Based on the way it’s performed across the country,” says Fay, “irrespective of the storm in the East, we are very pleased with the gross so far.” Dirty Grandpa, whose audience demos were 66% (two-thirds) 25 years of age and older, played well in Florida (where the movie storyline was set), in Phoenix, in the Midwest, and West Coast. Will it have any playability? Yet to be seen as the negative word-of-mouth it’s getting may kill it. They probably should have had Fay do a re-write.
For box office results on such specialty fare as Oscar nominee’s Charlotte Rampling’s 45 Years, Paramount’s Oscar nominated Anomalisa and Sony’s Lady in the Van, see Brian Brooks box office report here.
Here’s the Top Ten chart:
1). The Revenant (FOX), 3,711 theaters (+152) / $4.6M Fri. / $7.9M. Sat. (+68%) / $4.3M Sun. (-45%) / 3-day cume: $16M / Total cume: $120M / Wk 5
2). Star Wars: The Force Awakens (DIS), 3,822 theaters (-312) / $3.5M Fri. / $6.9M Sat. (+95%) / $3.84M Sun. (-45%) / 3-day cume: $14.2M / Total cume: $879M+ / Wk 6
3). Ride Along 2 (UNI), 3,192 theaters (+17) / $3.7M Fri. / $6M (+64%) / $3M (-50%) / 3-day cume: $12.5M to $13M (-64%) / Total cume: $58.9M / Wk 2
4). Dirty Grandpa (LGF), 2,912 theaters / $4.2M Fri. (includes $660K previews) / $4.5M (+5%) / $2.5M Sun. (-45%) / 3-day cume: $11M / Wk 1
5). The Boy (STX), 2,671 theaters / $3.8M Fri. / $4.58M Sat. (+19%) / $2.29M Sun. (-50%) / $2.3M (-45%) / 3-day cume: $10.6M to $10.9M / Wk 1
6). The 5th Wave (SONY), 2,908 theaters / $3.48MFri. (includes $475K previews) / $4.38M Sat. (+26%) / $2.4M Sun. (-45%) / 3-day cume: $10.1M to $10.4M / Wk 1
7). 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (PAR), 2,917 theaters (+528) / $2.7M Fri. / $4.2M Sat. (+56%) / 3-day cume: $8.7M to $9M (-45%) / Total cume: $32.78M / Wk 2
8). Daddy’s Home (PAR), 2,789 theaters (-533) / $1.3M Fri. / $2.4M (+85%) / $1.3M Sun. (-45%) / 3-day cume: $4.7M to $5M / Total cume: $138.5M / Wk 5
9). Norm of the North (LGF) 2,411 theaters (0) / $820K Fri. / $1.88M (+128%) / $1.1M Sun. (-43%) / 3-day cume: $3.8M to $4M (-43%) / Total cume: $14.1M / Wk 2
10). The Big Short (PAR), 1,351 theaters (-414) / $975K Fri. / $1.55M Sat. (+57%) / $765K Sun. (-50%) / 3-day cume: $3.1M to 3.35M / Total cume: $56.4M / Wk 7
Saturday Update, 11:38 PM: Tough luck for all new films and the holdovers this weekend as theaters in major markets — New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, D.C., Virginia, and Baltimore — were paralyzed by winter superstorm Jonas. The snowy monster is still pummeling New York and there has been coastal flooding in New Jersey. Every picture’s gross was shaved off from it … here’s the Top Five tonight: No. 1 is Fox’s The Revenant which brought in an estimated $8M and change for a Saturday increase of about 68%. It should easily push past $16M and maybe hit $17M for the three-day in its fifth weekend of release
Disney’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, still in 3,365 theaters in its sixth weekend of play, continues its climb with roughly $7.1M tonight and could bring in another $13.8M to $14M+ for the three-day. The film which has broken pretty much every record you can think of will have a cume of $879M after this weekend. In the third spot is Ride Along 2 from Universal, which is in its second weekend and will do better than initially predicted this AM as it rose about 68% tonight and should bring in over $13M. Still dropping about 65% in its sophomore frame which was more than anyone expected.
Lionsgate/Bill Block Media’s Dirty Grandpa‘s box office receipts rose roughly 8.5% tonight to pull in about $4.4M to $4.6M for a new three-day tally of about $11M. The raunchy comedy that stars Robert De Niro and Zac Efron sits at No. 4. STX/Lakeshore’s horror film The Boy rounds out the Top Five with around $4.7M tonight for a weekend tally of a $10.7M to $10.9M three-day weekend. The other new offering was Sony’s sci-fi film The 5th Wave and it ended up with the highest increase from yesterday among the three newbies (about 30%) to bring in about $4.4M tonight. The film is looking at a possible three-day cume of around $10.35M. While New York will be digging out and New Jersey will be trying to get the Atlantic Ocean out of their streets, tomorrow is a big football day so … just a tough weekend all around. More in the AM.
Saturday 7:34 AM Write-thru after Friday 11:03 PM report: With a third of the country experiencing severe weather and many theaters closing down throughout the Eastern U.S., every movie’s box office gross is being affected. All told, we are hearing that a total of 300+ theaters were closed Friday night with 60 million Americans affected from Georgia up to Massachusetts. Ten states had declared states of emergency. New York and Boston are expected to be hit with 30 inches of snow today which will really put a damper on things as theaters started shutting down this morning. Sunday is the NFL Conference Championship games so even if the weather improves, moviegoing will be impacted yet again. It’s just bad news all around, especially for this weekend’s three new releases, although no one expected much from them anyway. This weekend Oscar nom leader The Revenant will take the top spot, continuing the same pecking order that we saw throughout this past week. The Leonardo DiCaprio starrer has been playing best in the Western U.S. so it at least has that.
Ride Along 2 is a surprising disappointment in its second weekend; it slips down about 67%. Last weekend, the picture performed well in the Southeast and that’s where the storm is trouncing through, but even still, it dropped off much, much more than expected. Tracking was way off on this one as observers thought it would mirror the first installment and only drop about 47% in its sophomore frame to take between $18M and $19M. But the second movie in the Universal franchise will sputter in with a three-day weekend of only about $12M to end the weekend with about $57M. In comparison, Ride Along had amassed $75.5M by its sophomore weekend in 2014.
Of the newcomers, Lionsgate and Bill Block Media’s R-rated comedy Dirty Grandpa is in line for the No. 4 spot although it’s being hammered by the critics, including by our own Pete Hammond who called it “stupefyingly awful.” Audiences found it funnier than most critics by giving it a B CinemaScore. Could have something to do with the fact that the average reading level of adults in the U.S. is 7th or 8th grade.
STX/Lakeshore’s PG-13 horror film The Boy won’t mature much this weekend either, coming in around $10M and change after a front-loaded Friday (they held no previews Thursday night). Again, the East Coast numbers are light and lackluster. The core horror genre audience wasn’t too keen on it either as it only garnered a B- CinemaScore.
The 5th Wave, which opened first overseas last weekend in about 27% of its markets to garner about $9.6M, debuted tonight stateside and will not even break $10M either. The Sony/LStar Capital film is based on the YA novel of the same name and stars Chloe Grace Moretz. It’s core audience, most of which are teenage girls, gave it a B- CinemaScore.
Also in their second weekends are Paramount’s 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi which will drop only about 46% (it got an A CinemaScore last weekend) and Lionsgate’s animated Norm of the North, which held well (-43%), albeit on a lackluster opening last weekend. Here’s the chart (positions and numbers may change in the AM):
1). The Revenant (FOX), 3,711 theaters (+152) / $4.6M Fri. / 3-day cume: $15M to $15.9M / Total cume: $119M / Wk 5
2). Star Wars: The Force Awakens (DIS), 3,822 theaters (-312) / $3.5M Fri. / 3-day cume: $13.3M to $14M / Total cume: $878.3M / Wk 6
3). Ride Along 2 (UNI), 3,192 theaters (+17) / $3.7M Fri. / 3-day cume: $11.7M to $12M (-67%) / Total cume: $57.9M / Wk 2
4). Dirty Grandpa (LGF), 2,912 theaters / $4.2M Fri. (includes $660K previews) / 3-day cume: $11.1M to $11.4M / Wk 1
5). The Boy (STX), 2,671 theaters / $3.8M Fri. / 3-day cume: $9.6M to $10M+ / Wk 1
6/7). The 5th Wave (SONY), 2,908 theaters / $3.48MFri. (includes $475K previews) / 3-day cume: $8.8M to $9.6M / Wk 1
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (PAR), 2,917 theaters (+528) / $2.7M Fri. / 3-day cume: $8.7M to $9.4M (-46%) / Total cume: $32.4M / Wk 2
8). Daddy’s Home (PAR), 2,789 theaters (-533) / $1.3M Fri. / 3-day cume: $4.6M / Total cume: $138M / Wk 5
9). Norm of the North (LGF) 2,411 theaters (0) / $820K Fri. / 3-day cume: $3.9M (-43%) / Total cume: $14M / Wk 2
10). The Big Short (PAR), 1,351 theaters (-414) / $975K Fri. / 3-day cume: $3M+ / Total cume: $56.3M / Wk 7
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