THB #157: Sunday Box Office Quickie

I’m glad to see that some other writers have picked up on the $100m a weekend floor for box office. It’s important.

But the reason I am writing this brief missive is that this weekend, for all that is wrong with it, is actually showing a little sunshine amidst the clouds.

The Doctor Strange drop is okay after that kind of opening…. best non-Avengers summer kick-off ever. The film opened above its class, in great part because of Spider-Man: No Way Home setting it and the Dr. Strange multiverse up. And it delivered a more mid-range movie than was expected by most people… a horror hybrid by Sam Raimi that didn’t really do anything to advance the Dr. Strange story or really, the multiverse. It’s not a bad movie. It’s just a much more niche movie than most from Marvel, especially after the first Dr. Strange really expanded the idea of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

But what makes me feel good is the rest of this Top 10. #9 and #10 shouldn’t be in the Top 10, but distributors unwilling to put out movies are responsible for that. But look at the 27.9% and 24.4% and 6.4% drops in the Top 5 in Weekends 4, 6, & 8. That’s people wanting to go to the movies combined with movies that have nice word of mouth.

Universal and Paramount have been pretty good about not promoting their 2 family hits coming to Par+ and Peacock in 9 days and 16 days from now. A hungry audience is showing up at movie theaters.

A24 has arty adults going mad for Everything Everywhere All At Once. By this time next weekend, there is a very good chance that the film will be A24’s biggest grosser ever (they are almost completely a domestic company, per theatrical), passing Lady Bird and Uncut Gems. And if not then, by the next weekend.

But even the second half of the Top 10, all but 1 new title at least 4 weeks old, losing theaters, but dropping only 33% - 43%. More new titles crowding them out would be great. But in the moment, if you look at their grosses, all but DumbleBeasts seems like about where they should be box-office-wise.

Things will be shite again next weekend. Not a lot is expected from Downton Due. With this drop, Strange is pretty much guarenteed the #1 slot again.

But there is an audience, besides the Marvel movie, that wants to go to the movies. And if you can’t see it, you may have a bad case of Kilar blindness.

Until tomorrow…