With a slate of weak newcomers, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice stayed on top at the box office for a third weekend. Transformers One and Never Let Go disappointed, while The Substance had a solid start in less than 2,000 theaters.
The Top 10 earned a combined $75.3 million this weekend. That's up a massive 77.9% from last year, when The Nun II seized a poor September to stay on top for 3 weekends.
This weekend, we were supposed to see the theatrical release of Apple TV+'s Wolfs, starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt. The film was scheduled to be released in theaters by Sony, but a few months ago, Apple decided to just skip this progress, instead going for a very limited release (it's reportedly playing in just 50 theaters). No box office numbers available. Deadline reports that Apple didn't want the lackluster box office headlines for the movie after stumbling with Argyle and Fly Me to the Moon. The film will hit Apple TV+ this Friday. Oh well, we'll see how Apple's next theatrical film, F1, fares next summer.
Warner Bros.'s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was still the #1 movie this weekend. It dipped 49% and added $25.9 million. That takes its domestic total to a marvelous $226.7 million domestically, passing the original's adjusted gross. It has passed Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and will soon pass Batman to become his second highest grossing film in the market.
Originally projected to lead the box office, Paramount's Transformers One debuted with just $24.6 million in 3,978 theaters. That's way off from the live-action films. It was above Bumblebee ($21.6 million), but that was released on the weekend before Christmas and the holidays allowed it to leg out.
The film cost $75 million, so the debut isn't terrible. But it feels like the film could've done a lot better than this. After all, it was the first animated title in over two months. And even with the inconsistent quality, audiences watched the Transformers films. That's all despite a big marketing push by Paramount.
Looks like audiences simply preferred the live-action films to the animated ones. That's not the first time it happens to Paramount; last year, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem was a success, but its box office numbers were below the live-action films. It's also tough to get people excited over prequels (or in this case, origin story), given that we know how it will end up.
According to Paramount, 64% of the audience was male and its biggest demo was men under 25 (37%). Critics really enjoyed the film, and in some good news, the audience agreed, giving it a strong "A" on CinemaScore. We'd like to say it will hold well… but there's a problem, and that problem is The Wild Robot opening this weekend. That can steal its family demo. Perhaps both can co-exist, but we'll see. For now, we don't see $100 million.
Man, these have been some tough years for Chris Hemsworth. Outside the MCU, every single film with him as leading man has bombed or disappointed. These were Red Dawn, Rush, Blackhat, In the Heart of the Sea, The Huntsman: Winter's War, Ghostbusters, 12 Strong, Bad Times at the El Royale, Men in Black: International, Furiosa, and now this. He hasn't had a box office success since Snow White and the Huntsman and that was 12 years ago. That's just way too many bombs.
Universal's Speak No Evil earned $5.7 million this weekend. That's a 49% drop, which is pretty good for a horror title. Through ten days, the film has amassed $21.3 million.
Oh, Lionsgate. Don't you feel embarrassed by yourself?
Alexandre Aja's new film Never Let Go bombed with just $4.4 million this weekend. That's the second worst wide debut for Aja, just above High Tension ($1.8 million). For reference, four of his films managed to open in the $10 million range.
It looks Speak No Evil was the main horror attraction of the month, while Never Let Go simply didn't attain any interest. While Halle Berry is well known, her name has not been associated with box office success in so many years. So perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise that the film didn't find an audience.
According to Lionsgate, most of the audience was male, with close to half the audience being over 35. They gave it a weak "C+" on CinemaScore, which fits nicely with its middling reviews. With this low debut, and competition from Terrifier 3 and Smile 2 on the way, this will leave theaters quickly. Another Lionsgate L.
In fifth place, Deadpool & Wolverine eased just 27% and added $3.8 million this weekend. That takes its domestic total to $627 million domestically.
Mubi went wide with The Substance, opening it in 1,949 theaters. It debuted with $3.2 million, making it their biggest debut (yeah, not a high bar, we know).
At the end of the day, it's a fine start, especially considering how weird the film is. Demi Moore was a bankable name back in the 90s (to the point that she was paid a record $12.5 million for Striptease), but we're not in the 90s anymore and the star power has been taking a dive. And Moore herself has opted to stay out of the spotlight, at least in big productions; she hasn't had a lead role in a theatrical release in a long time. Even with the acclaim, there's a ceiling for movies like this.
According to Mubi, 59% of the audience was male and 36% was 35 and over. Even with how unconventional and weird the film is, the audience gave it a "B" on CinemaScore. That's a good score, considering everything surrounding it. Perhaps it can hold well, we'll keep an eye on this one.
Daily Wire's Am I Racist? dipped 46%, adding $2.6 million this weekend. Through ten days, the film has earned $8.9 million domestically.
Reagan dipped 43% and added $1.6 million. The film has earned $26.5 million so far.
In ninth place, the documentary Jung Kook: I Am Still wound up with $1.6 million. The film had limited screenings, including another one in Wednesday, taking its domestic total to $2.5 million.
Rounding up the Top Ten was Alien: Romulus. The film dipped 45%, grossing $1.3 million this weekend. The film has earned $103.6 million so far.
The Forge eased just 39% this weekend, adding $1.2 million and taking its domestic total to $26.3 million.
It Ends with Us dropped 51%, earning $1 million. Its domestic total stands at $146.8 million.
Sony Classics re-released Damien Chazelle's Whiplash in 695 theaters for its 10th anniversary. But the film made just $535,700, which translates to a low $771 per-theater average. That takes its lifetime total to $13.6 million.
OVERSEAS
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was once again the winner overseas. It added $17.2 million this weekend, taking its worldwide total to $331.1 million. The best markets are the UK ($23.8M), Mexico ($15.1M), France ($7.6M), Spain ($6.7M) and Australia ($6.3M).
Transformers One debuted in 40% of its markets, and it came below projections with just $14 million. That means that the film had a weak $38.6 million worldwide start. It had a fine debut in Mexico ($2.2M), but only opening at No. 4. It also disappointed in Australia ($1.5M), Japan ($820K), Panama ($625K), Spain ($445K), Philippines ($430K), Ukraine ($135K) and Turkey ($120K). It still has major markets coming up, but this is still a very weak start.
Speak No Evil added $7.3 million overseas, taking its worldwide total to $42.5 million. The best markets are the UK ($3.7M), Mexico ($2.2M), Spain ($1.7M), Italy ($1.1M) and Australia ($969K).
Ahead of its debut this week, DreamWorks' The Wild Robot debuted with $6.9 million in 8 markets. It earned $4 million in China, while receiving incredibly high audience scores. It also earned $2 million in Australia. Now we'll see how much it does this week.
FILMS THAT ENDED THEIR RUN THIS WEEK
| Movie | Release Date | Studio | Domestic Opening | Domestic Total | Worldwide Total | Budget |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Longlegs | Jul/12 | Neon | $22,400,119 | $74,045,655 | $108,507,787 | N/A |
- Neon's Longlegs closed with a fantastic $108 million worldwide. It broke out in a massive way with $22 million, which is over four times Neon's previous weekend record. The crazy thing is that it lived up to its long legs, earning $74 million domestically, becoming Neon's biggest film in the market. A massive win for smaller studios. The sleeper hit of the summer? It's in contention. Here's to more Neon surprises.
THIS WEEKEND
We're getting two newcomers. One is a potential sleeper hit, while the other is perhaps the year's most guaranteed flop.
DreamWorks Animation's new film The Wild Robot should easily top the box office. It stars the voices of Lupita Nyong'o, Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Hsu, Mark Hamill, Catherine O'Hara, Matt Berry, and Ving Rhames. It follows a robot named Roz, who gets shipwrecked on a deserted island and must learn to adapt to its new surroundings. Building relationships with the native animals, Roz soon develops a parental bond with an orphaned gosling. Reviews are incredibly high as of now, and it's proclaimed as one of the best films in the company's history. Without animated competition till Moana 2, the film could hold very well.
The other is Francis Ford Coppola's new film in over a decade, Megalopolis, a project that has been in development all the way back since filming Apocalypse Now. With a big cast like Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, Kathryn Hunter, Grace VanderWaal, Chloe Fineman, James Remar, D. B. Sweeney, and Dustin Hoffman. And it's a guaranteed flop. With a $120 million budget, alongside a further $20 million in marketing (all by Coppola himself). Which means that the film must make $260 million just to save face, and it's not gonna come close to that. It doesn't help that Lionsgate only plans to release it in over 1,500 theaters, which is not exactly a huge release. While Coppola is undoubtedly one of cinema's greatest filmmakers, his track record has been underwhelming for the past three decades and nearly all of his films have been flopping for the past four decades. And while it carries a huge cast, none are box office draws. And finally, the film already premiered in Cannes and the reviews are very polarizing. Not to mention the amount of controversies that emerged from set, as well as its marketing using fake quotes. It's giving One from the Heart 2.0 vibes. Can't recall the last time a big studio released so many bombs in a row.
by SanderSo47