However, simply putting random films in theaters without any major P&A spend does the box office or exhibitors any favors. This weekend will rank as the lowest-grossing weekend of the summer so far, with an estimated $54 million across all titles (some even lower). If it makes anyone feel better, it’s not the worst weekend of the year. That belongs to Jan. 28-30, when all titles earned $34.9 million, per Box Office Mojo. On some level, I get it: It’s late August. The majority of kids are back in school (Comscore says 32% of K-12s were out yesterday, with 38% colleges on break) and Sony has traditionally had a horror movie during this late summer period . Don’t Breathe was a smash hit for them in late August 2016, opening to $26.4 million and ending its run at $89.2 million. But let’s be honest, the more you spend, the more you get. It’s true that the diagnostics here for this period vampire thriller with a 29% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 53% audience rating don’t justify a studio spending a lot of money to open it up. But we’ve seen Sony do better with less: Their August 2018 film Slender Man, which had a D- rating, an 8% review rating, and a 17% RT audience, opened to $11.3 million and had a 2.7 multiple for a $30.6 million domestic endgame. Social media chatter at The Invitation wasn’t terribly mixed, according to RelishMix, with “fans lining up and calling out Vanilla Sky, Ready or Not, Twilight, Meghan Markle and Jordan Peele. The chatter is wondering how these ingredients look suitable for a wild night out with vampires.’ Let’s get away from the pandemic excuse that people don’t want to come back. it’s just about the product. Disney proved this last year by opening a Marvel movie over Labor Day weekend with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, to a record holiday gross of $94.6 million. Great movies will get people outside any time of the year. Yes, theaters need it, that’s a product. But let’s put some Umpf behind it if we’re serious about the theatrical window and longevity of this part of the business. What’s sad as exhibitors run out of Covid bailout money is that they’re desperate for anything and powerless when it comes to a major studio dictating that the first big franchise title of the summer, Halloween Ends, hits theaters on the day and day. Let’s not be fooled, this maneuver will turn off the gross. Enough with this broad shared mess between streaming and theatrical. Peacock is starving for paid subscribers. Not unlike the PG-13-rated The Invitation , it’s an old movie with a slant: Aimed squarely at the 18-34 crowd watching movies right now, that demo represents 57% of the pic’s ticket buyers to date. Like the groundbreaking PG-13 horror title, The Invitation scored more women at 57%. Those under 35 faced 70% of the crowd with diversity displays showing 44% Caucasian, 23% Latino and Hispanic, 18% Black, and 15% Asian/other. The Jessica M. Thompson-directed film was better received on the coasts and in the South. Seven of the top ten series were in Los Angeles, which skewed toward Latino and Hispanic moviegoers. And not to pick on Sony, but lately, yes, you, Lionsgate, are to blame for the P&A change on the YA Fall film, which opened to $2.5M and is up to $5.9M, and with diagnostics 74% RT critics and 78% audience rating, along with a B CinemaScore. With results like that, there seems to be money left on the table there. This photo could have earned more. In short, let’s stop with the cute financial transparency rule games at the box office, and how we win less BS, and let’s actually commit to theater. Can we do this, studio? Obviously, if it’s a bad movie, ship it domestically, like they used to do with movies like The Last Seduction II. Shipping terrible movies domestically isn’t a brand new business model. Everett Given the lack of product this weekend, MGM/UAR extended a bigger-than-expected opening to George Miller’s Cannes Film Festival premiere 3,000 Years of Longing , which, against a 67% Rotten Tomatoes and B CinemaScore, opens to $2.9 million in 2,436 rooms. Kids really showed up for this Idris Elba-Tilda Swinton genie romance, with 51% between 17-34 and 48% over 35. The diversity demo was 55% Caucasian, 16% Latino and Hispanic, 13% Black, and 16% Asians/others . Pic’s ticket sales come from the big coastal cities, with AMC and Alamo owning the top ten rows. MGM Why in God’s name is the movie directly on the service? The latest Stallone film Rambo: Last Blood opened to $18.8 million. This is a diamond mine by pandemic fund standards. I agree with Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav on this one: Why throw off the patina (and future dependencies) of a theatrical film by sending it straight to homes? Did you think that maybe more toilet paper could be sold from a theatrically showcased title than just throwing it into the service? I mean, you’ve got the billion-dollar cost of Lord of the Rings: The Power of the Rings next weekend (the rights alone were snapped up by the streamer for $250 million). That alone should spark an early Christmas season for the market location. On Rotten Tomatoes, audiences love Samaritan at 82%. RelishMix has observed online chatter about the film and believes Samaritan could be a box office contender, with fans expressing “absolute adoration for Stallone, everything he stands for in the film industry and the heroic characters he’s played.” to them. who “are also interested in the fact that this aging superhero project isn’t a Marvel or DC production, and that in itself has fans interested in a unique way.” The goal is to get people to leave their homes, not stay at home. Top ten movies of the weekend: 1.) The Invitation (Sony) 3,114 locations, $2.6m Friday, $6m-$7m 3-day/week 1 2.) Bullet Train (Sony) 3,513 (-268) theaters, Fri $1.54M (-31%), 3 Days $5.5M (-31%)/Total $78.1M/Week 4 3.) Top Gun: Maverick (Par) 2,962 (-7) Theaters, Fri $1.35M (-13%), 3 Days $4.9M (-17%), Total $691.3M/Week 14 They need to get it to $700 million. Come on! 4.) Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero (Cru) 2,941 Theaters (-77), Fri $1.3M (-88%) 3 Days $4.83M (-77%)/Total $31M/ Week 2 5.) Beast (Uni) 3,754 (+11) theaters Fri $1.3M (-70%) 3 Days $4.3M (-63%)/Total: $19.5M/Week 2 5.) DC League of Super-Pets (WB) 3,284 (-253) theaters, Fri $1.065M (-25%), 3d $4.3M (-24%)/Total $74.1M wk. 5 7. ) 3,000 Years of Longing (UAR) 2,436 theaters, Fri $1.16M, 3 days $2.9M/Week 1 8.) Minions: Rise of Gru (Uni) 2,494 Theaters (-160), Fri $670,000 (-29%), 3 Days $2.73M (-27%), Total: $354.77M/Week 9 9.) Thor: Love and Thunder (Disney) 2,450 (-305) theaters, Fri $694,000 (-35%), $2.65M 3-Day (-35%)/Total $336.5M/Week 8 10.) No (Uni) 1,909 (-472) theaters, Fri $630,000 (-40%), 3 Days $2.19M (-39%), Total $117.6M/Week 6 11.) Where the Crawdads Sings (Sony) 2,216 theaters (-392), Fri $650,000 (-28%), 3 days $2.15M (-31%)/Total $81.7M/Week 7
