Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Box Office

  • ‘Dune’ Spicing Up the Domestic Box Office With Potential $30M+ Opening

    ‘Dune’ Spicing Up the Domestic Box Office With Potential $30M+ Opening

    We’ve been waiting for Dune‘s arrival in domestic cinemas for quite some time. It already had a great start internationally with around $36.8M in its opening weekend across 24 markets in September. Now, we finally got a clearer picture for its domestic debut, as it garnered around $5.1M in its Thursday previews. Denis Villeneuve‘s latest film was also made available through HBO Max, which might give it a good audience boost. The numbers are looking good, as it drove 30% of Thursday’s box office, especially in Imax cinemas. It makes sense, as it was one of the big selling points of the film and ended up making up $1.5M of its total preview income.

    As of now, the box office seems likely for a $30M+ opening, but Warner Bros. is keeping their prediction at around $30M to be safe. Its Imax performance is certainly a showcase of the film’s marketing and selling the “cinematic experience,” but the question remains if it can keep the momentum going into the weekend. HBO Max availability has hurt films Saturday’s at times, but only time will tell for now.

    Villeneuve’s films haven’t always garnered box office attention but were still very popular with critics and audiences. As The Hollywood Reporter highlights, the biggest challenge lies in the franchise’s older draw. Even No Time to Die suffered a bit over the weekend due to the original novels’ older audience. It’s going to be exciting to follow its development.

    Source: Deadline, Forbes, Hollywood Reporter

  • ‘Halloween Kills’ Makes a Killer $50M Domestically

    ‘Halloween Kills’ Makes a Killer $50M Domestically

    The numbers are in and Halloween Kills has taken the top spot at the domestic box office. It managed to make around $50.4M, which makes it the biggest opening for a horror film during the pandemic. That is on top of releasing simultaneously on a streaming service. It was made available on Peacock, which continues the trend since Wonder Woman 1984 on HBO Max. The continued trend of performances supports the current focus on shortening the release window between theatres and digital.

    Not everything was rosy this weekend, as Ridley Scott‘s 14th-century epic, The Last Duel, ended up with $4.8M. It only ended up opening at fifth place, as No Time to Die holds on to second place with $24.3M. It currently stands at $99.5M after 10-days but has been keeping steady with a strong international performance. Still, their shared older audience may have been the cause for Scott’s latest film to squander at the box office as they cut into each other’s share. Of course, the genre’s generally has been an upward fight at the box office.

    No Time to Die’s drop is pretty in line with previous entries of the franchise, but still a tough drop in these uncertain times, especially given how much money was invested to advertise the “endgame” of Daniel Craig‘s James Bond run. Venom: Let There Be Carnage still clung to third place with $16.5M, which puts it at around $169.1M as of now. So, the numbers are looking good for Dune to also perform quite well once it releases.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter, Variety

  • ‘Eternals’ Pre-Sales Hinting at Potential $110M Opening Weekend

    ‘Eternals’ Pre-Sales Hinting at Potential $110M Opening Weekend

    It looks like the numbers are finally coming in, as currently, Marvel Studios’ next project Eternals is beating US pre-sales records. As of now, according to Insider Charlie Jatinder, the film managed to garner the best sales numbers within 24 hours since 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. As such, it’s early predictions would hint at a potential opening weekend between $90 to $110 million. As such, it beat out other Marvel Studios films Black Widow and Shang-Chi.

    Keep in mind, pre-sales don’t always determine its overall box office but rather offer our first look into its potential. No Time To Die was outselling Venom: Let There Be Carnage‘s pre-sales but the latter ended up taking the top spot for best domestic opening with around $90M while the latest James Bond film was below expectation. Of course, the target audience plays a key role in how their weekend’s playoff with Eternals eyeing the usual Marvel viewership to build upon. So, it likely will have similar momentum to

    It’s always interesting to get some insight into how the box office develops. We are in a post-COVID era technically, as developments have calmed down and cinemas are continuing to recover. Eternals is a cinema-only release, which has proven to draw in more audiences. Shang-Chi beat expectations and kept the top spot for four weeks without much competition. As we close in on November, we’ll get a clearer picture of how the film will potentially perform.

    Source: Twitter, CNBC

  • ‘No Time to Die’ Trailing Behind ‘Spectre’s Friday Domestic Opening

    ‘No Time to Die’ Trailing Behind ‘Spectre’s Friday Domestic Opening

    Here’s a surprising development. It seems that No Time to Die is slowing down faster than initially expected. While the earliest predictions believed it could be our first 2021 release to reach beyond $100M, recent numbers have gone down a bit with it resting around a potential $84M. After kicking off early previews with $6.4M ahead of Spectre, but it looks like it couldn’t keep up the momentum over the weekend. It managed to garner a total of $23.3M over Friday, which puts it behind Spectre’s opening of $27.4M. To give a comparison, the latter opened with $5.25M in previews.

    It’s not a bad opening for the film, as it’s still close to the previous James Bond film, and is also ahead of other spy-inspired projects like Jason Bourne and Mission Impossible: Fallout. The first kicked off its Friday with $22.6M and garnered $59M, while the latter was only slightly higher. As of now, the weekend is generally lower than expectations especially due to the project’s target audiences skewing older.

    Still, the film is the lowest opening for a James Bond film since Casino Royale, which made a debut with $14M. The highest earner was Skyfall in the franchise, which managed around $33M. It’s still surprising given how hard the ad campaign was pushing this as their equivalent to Avengers: Endgame. The challenge will be to see where the film ends up. Right now, it’s potentially eyeing at a lower weekend than expected, but it’s the highest non-superhero grosser since F9.

    Source: Forbes

  • ‘No Time To Die’ Premieres With $6.8M, Now Eyeing $84M Domestic Weekend

    ‘No Time To Die’ Premieres With $6.8M, Now Eyeing $84M Domestic Weekend

    There have been some surprise numbers coming out of the box office in the last few months. There has been quite a bit of uncertainty due to the Delta Variant spreading across the world, but the domestic box office has slowly recovered through theater-only releases beating expectations. Venom: Let There Be Carnage even managed to take the top spot in the box office beating out both Black Widow and Shang-Chi. Now, it seems the last Daniel-Craig-led James Bond film is on track to outperform its previous franchise entries.

    Thursday preview numbers are in and the film that once was going to release in April 2020 has garnered around $6.3M. Yes, it’s behind the Venom sequel’s $11.6M and Shang-Chi‘s $8.8M, but it’s a new best for the franchise. This is primarily due to the target audience of the franchise skewing older. It beat out the last entry, Spectre, which opened to around $5.25M and ended up earning $70M in its domestic launch. So, there’s a good chance the film will end up at around $84M once the weekend is over.

    Now, these numbers are quite different from the previous report. CNBC predicted that the film would become 2021’s first $100M domestic opening. While it’s looking good that the film will pass $150M worldwide, it’s still an impressive start for the franchise. F9 had a strong showing in its Thursday previews but ended with $70M when it was released. So, it’ll be interesting to see where exactly this latest entry ends up.

    Source: Forbes

  • ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ Now Eyeing $90M+ Domestic Box Office Opening

    ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ Now Eyeing $90M+ Domestic Box Office Opening

    Even as early predictions had the sequel to the 2018 surprise hit, Venom, eyeing around $60M+ at the domestic Box Office. It’s once again looking like it might beat expectations. It entered its Thursday previews with $11.6M, which put it at the second-best preview opening for any film of 2021. It’s only trailing behind Black Widow currently. Now, it seems that Venom: Let There Be Carnage is doing even better than initially expected. On Twitter @meJat32, who has built up a reputation for his box office analysis and insight, shared that the film is locking in at $85M, but could potentially even surpass $90M at its current momentum. No matter where it lands, it’s poised to surpass the original’s $80M after making approximately $37M on Friday.

    It’s a good sign that cinema is recovering, as each new cinematic release is doing better than the previous one. Still, these are purely based on the numbers it gained on Friday. We’ve seen films dip quite hard once Saturday rolled around. Shang-Chi had tremendous legs when it was released and currently even surpassed Black Widow with the first $200M+ domestic cume.

    Of course, the second weekend will show if Venom: Let There Be Carnage has any legs to compete with other entries in the box office. Either way, it adds hope that Eternals, and the much-anticipated release of Spider-Man: No Way Home could also become big earners once they release. Right now, it’s looking good for the overall box office making a quick recovery and we’ll return to some normalcy in 2022.

    Source: Twitter, The Numbers

  • ‘SHANG-CHI’ Continues to Beat Out the Competition in its Third Weekend

    ‘SHANG-CHI’ Continues to Beat Out the Competition in its Third Weekend

    Another weekend has passed and it seems Shang-Chi is still holding on to the top spot. It’s currently eyeing to end the Sunday with a total domestic of $176.1M after an incredible hold of 61%. It’s the second-best third weekend in September with $21M only beaten by the horror film It with $29.75M. The film is showing healthy legs and also benefits from a lack of competition. It went up against the new release of Clint Eastwood‘s Cry Macho, which is only eyeing around $4.7M over the three-day weekend. Unlike the Marvel Studios production, it’s also currently available via HBO Max and could see a strong drop on Sunday.

    Marvel: Das verspricht der erste Trailer zu "Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings" | GQ Germany

    Currently, it looks like Ryan Reynold‘s Free Guy will take the second spot as it may pass the $5M mark this weekend. Other releases aren#t doing much better, as Cop Shop featuring Gerard Butler might miss hitting the $3M this weekend even with glowing reviews by critics. Its reception by viewers is telling a different story. It’s likely to end up on the sixth spot with horror films Candyman and Malignant ahead.

    Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings seem to indicate that the core audience is back in theatres, but not everything is quite where it used to be. Venom: Let There Be Carnage moved back to its October 1st release and with Dune on the horizon, the films might add some much-needed energy. The lack of a Chinese release is hurting some films, as it’s been the saving grace for F9: The Fast Saga and Godzilla vs. Kong. The latter pulled in almost around $200M from that market alone putting it ahead of the current domestic leaders.

    Source: Deadline, The Numbers

  • Nia DaCosta’s ‘CANDYMAN’ Takes Top Spot with $22M Domestic Opening

    Nia DaCosta’s ‘CANDYMAN’ Takes Top Spot with $22M Domestic Opening

    The Box Office has been a big question mark throughout the pandemic. While 2021 saw a resurgence throughout the second quarter, once we entered the summer numbers reflected the concerns over the Delta Variant. Free Guy surprised with a stronger performance and this week’s release of Candyman also added some hope that we’re seeing an upward trend again. Nia DaCosta‘s horror film written by Jordan Peele passed industry expectations with $22.37M in the first three days of its release.

    Candyman' 2021 Movie Review: Nia DaCosta, Jordan Peele

    What makes their success stand out from previous entries is that they are theater-exclusive. So, there’s no concern over the digital release and piracy affecting the film’s performance. It’s also a positive push towards the upcoming release of Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings. It’s the first Disney film since the pandemic started to get an exclusive cinema release. After the controversy surrounding Black Widow and growing uncertainty, these recent developments might support it’s potential to pass early expectations.

    Candyman did see a slower start in its international release, but the legacy franchise does have a stronger cult following in the States. Still, the film cost around $25M, which it’ll easily make back in its domestic release alone. Free Guy also continues to surprise in its Box Office run alongside the children film PAW Patrol. Sadly, overall 2021 is still 50% behind from 2019 which is a given as the world is still adjusting. Disney’s Jungle Cruise also officially dropped the $100M mark this weekend while still being available on Disney+ Premier Access.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘FREE GUY’s Surprise $28.4M Domestic Box Office Adds Fuel for ‘SHANG-CHI’s Upcoming Release

    ‘FREE GUY’s Surprise $28.4M Domestic Box Office Adds Fuel for ‘SHANG-CHI’s Upcoming Release

    Another week comes to a close and we have some more data to give us an insight into how the overall Box Office is developing. There’s been some negative light on recent statements by Disney CEO Bob Chapek on calling the upcoming 45-day release window of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings an “experiment” in unlikely times. While the sentiment with the Delta Variant spreading across the role was understandable, the wording for such a culturally relevant depiction for an Asian-American-led project wasn’t. The film’s star Simu Liu shared this sentiment in a tweet:

    All eyes were on Free Guy, a 20th Century release without a Disney+ Premier Access offering, to offer a glimpse of how other theatre-only releases might perform. Well, it may have given some hope as it surprised with a really impressive $28.4M domestic release. To put that in perspective, early predictions set it as a low-end $15M to $20M. For a pandemic release with a $100M budget, it’s a great showcase of its strength in cinemas. It generally garnered $51M worldwide putting git at a good start. It even saw the largest increase from Friday to Saturday with a 24% spike in ticket sales.

    Free Guy | film.at

    In addition, without a digital offering, its drop in the second weekend might prove some optimism for future releases. As Variety points out, Free Guy is the only real original theatre-only release so far and makes it a big testing ground in comparison to Snake Eyes and A Quiet Place Part II. As Shawn Robbins, the chief analyst of Box Office Pro highlights, it’s giving some hope that Shang-Chi surpasses the predictions ceiling of $55M.

    Audiences love sequels — when they’re good — but sometimes you want something unique. Considering its an original movie, Disney is probably feeling more confident going into ‘Shang Chi’.

    Not everything was all rosy over the weekend, as The Suicide Squad dropped by 70% in its second weekend. Its strength lied in its HBO Max showings, but its availability might show the challenge of these same-day releases. According to Forbes, it’s the biggest drop for a high-profile superhero film with only Shaquille O’Neal‘s Steel standing at the top spot with 78%. We’ll see if we get an additional insight into how it performs on the streaming service in its second week Black Widow has surpassed Christopher Nolan‘s Tenet, which has become the benchmark for blockbuster releases moving forward. Here’s hoping it might mean that Shang-Chi proves that it’s deserving of more attention.

    Source: Twitter, Variety, Forbes, CNBC

  • ‘Black Widow’ Passes ‘F9’ to Become Highest Grossing Domestic Film

    ‘Black Widow’ Passes ‘F9’ to Become Highest Grossing Domestic Film

    It looks like Black Widow has finally done it, as it officially passed F9 to become the pandemic’s highest-grossing film in the domestic Box Office. It currently pulled in $170.4M over the course of four weeks. It officially passed the film with its Wednesday Box Office. To put that into comparison, the latest Fast and Furious installment required six weeks to hit the $169.8M mark. So, even among all the legal issues, it still managed to top the Box Office.

    Ever since the opening weekend, Disney has been coy on sharing any insight into how the film has performed on the streaming service since its initial launch. It supposedly made $60M in its opening weekend alone, but it’s uncertain if that number has grown at all since the initial launch. An analysis by Samba TV hinted that they managed to double their US viewership. So, it might turn out quite profitable for Disney.

     

    2021 - Wie die letzte Actionsequenz von Black Widow gedreht wurde | Bildschirm-Rant - Gettotext.com

     

    The big question remains if it would’ve made more money without a digital release. Even The Suicide Squad’s release is influenced by Warner Bros.’ HBO Max strategy. Even Disney’s latest release, Jungle Cruise, nabbed $34M, which seems on par with Dwayne Johnson’s film Rampage. It would imply that the Delta fear isn’t affecting viewers too much in their initial watch.

    Yet, the second weekend has shown a general drop of around 70%+. Old and Snake Eyes dropped by 70% and 79% respectively. All eyes are on Jungle Cruise if it will continue that tradition.  The Suicide Squad is currently eyeing a $30M+ opening weekend, and it still looks like the overall Box Office still needs time to return to the numbers we saw in 2019.

    Source: Deadline