Moviefone Editorial

Tag: weekend-box-office

  • Box Office: ‘Transformers’ Crashes With Franchise’s Lowest Opening Ever

    By Seth Kelley

    LOS ANGELES, June 25 (Variety.com) — It seems the “Transformers” franchise is rusty.

    As of Sunday morning “Transformers: The Last Knight,” the fifth installment directed by Michael Bay, looks to bring in $69.1 million from 4,069 domestic locations during its five-day opening weekend. That’s a franchise low for the sequel from Paramount and Hasbro, behind the first in the modern series, which earned $70.5 million in 2007. “The Last Knight” carries an estimated $217 million production budget.

    This makes “Transformers: The Last Knight” the latest summer blockbuster to bank on overseas ticket sales to have a shot at turning a profit. In China, the big-budget action sequel made $41 million in its opening day alone. The projected international cume through Sunday is $196.2 million, powered by $123.4 million in China.

    “The Last Knight” comes at a time when Paramount could have used an all-around hit, following recent misses “Baywatch” and “Ghost in the Shell.” While the latest “Transformers” movie has been advertised as “the final chapter” and Bay’s last go-around, the franchise will continue — Paramount has at least two more movies slated, including a spinoff that could star Hailee Steinfeld. The franchise has historically been massively profitable and seen solid multiples for the studio. Together, the first four earned over $1.3 billion domestically and well over $3.5 billion worldwide.

    The latest take on the series centers on an alliance between Bumblebee, Cade Yeager — who Mark Wahlberg also played in 2014’s “Age of Extinction” — and roles played by franchise newcomers Anthony Hopkins and Laura Haddock. Together, the team works together to save the world. Audiences have earned the film a B+ CinemaScore, while critics have mostly dismissed it — it currently holds a 15% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

    “The Last Knight” was uncontested at the box office this weekend, but a few indie releases showed traction. Sofia Coppola’s “The Beguiled” remake from Focus Features played at four theaters this weekend, and should gross $240,545 with a strong per screen average before it expands to over 500 locations next weekend.

    “We’re thrilled by this opening,” said Lisa Bunnell, Focus Features’ distribution president. “This is Focus’ third collaboration with Sofia and she’s created an entertaining, atmospheric thriller featuring strong female representation in front of and behind the camera.”

    And Kumail Nanjiani’s critically adored romantic comedy “The Big Sick” should earn $435,000 during its opening weekend in five locations — that would give the Lionsgate and Amazon Studios release the highest per screen average of any film that has opened this year so far.

    “Kumail and Emily’s true story provided audiences of all ages a much-needed alternative to the summer blockbusters,” said Bob Berney, Amazon Studios’ distribution chief.

    Otherwise, “Wonder Woman” continues to post impressive numbers, and holds onto second place during its fourth weekend in theaters. This weekend, it should earn an additional $25.2 million, bringing its domestic total to $318.4 million. Earlier this week, the film became the highest-grossing live-action movie to be directed by a woman — a major distinction for Patty Jenkins.

    Disney and Pixar’s “Cars 3” also looks to earn $25.2 million domestically during its second weekend. Some estimates have the film slightly lower, just below $25 million. The family film, which won last weekend’s box office, is expected to pass the $100 million mark in North America by Monday.

    “Transformers: The Last Knight’s” performance is a tough break for the summer box office’s bottom line domestically. For the past two years, this weekend has seen monster grosses for “Jurassic World” and “Finding Dory.” Now, attention is turned toward a trio of releases next weekend, as the box office hopes for a shot in the arm from “Despicable Me 3,” “Baby Driver,” and “The House.”

  • Box Office: ‘Cars 3’ Races Past ‘Wonder Woman’ to No. 1

    Cars 3 box officeBy Seth Kelley

    LOS ANGELES, June 18 (Variety.com) – This weekend featured a heated race between four new films that opened in wide release. As of Sunday morning, it appears some have fared better than others.

    The big winner is Disney and Pixar’s “Cars 3,” which is speeding to $53.5 million from 4,256 locations, putting it in first place. That’s a lower opening than “Cars” ($60.1 million) and “Cars 2” ($66.1 million), but still enough to win the weekend. The first two “Cars” movies combined have made more than $435 million in the U.S. and $1 billion globally. The “Cars” films are far from Disney and Pixar’s highest earners, but “Cars 3” is another example that even a decent opening for the duo is a victory in the big picture.

    The movie comes from director Brian Fee, who was a storyboard artist on the first two “Cars” films, as well as “Ratatouille” and “Wall-E.” The ensemble voice cast of “Cars 3” includes Owen Wilson, Cristela Alonzo, Armie Hammer, Larry the Cable Guy, Bonnie Hunt, Nathan Fillion, Kerry Washington, and Lea DeLaria.

    “Cars 3” bumps “Wonder Woman” out of first place, but the super hero movie continues to show strong. With an estimated $40.7 million from 4,018 locations, the Warner Bros. and DC Comics film is seeing another extremely low drop of 32% from last weekend.

    Otherwise, Tupac biopic “All Eyez on Me” from Lionsgate and Summit is beating out expectations with an estimated $27.1 million from 2,471 locations. Demetrius Shipp Jr. plays the mythologized rapper. Benny Bloom — who has two feature films and a long list of music videos on his resume — directed the film that explores Shakur’s origins, rise, and imprisonment. The release date aligns with what would have been Shakur’s 46th birthday.

    “47 Meters Down” is opening to $11.5 million from 2,270 locations. It’s the first major release from Entertainment Studios, which acquired the project from its original distributor, Dimension Films. Mandy Moore and Claire Holt star as sisters who decide to go cage diving, and end up at risk of being attacked by sharks.

    Finally, “Rough Night,” a raunchy, fem-centric R-rated comedy from Sony, is on track to earn only $8.1 million from 3,162 locations. The project combines the talents of director and co-writer Lucia Aniello, co-writer and actor Paul W. Downs, and star Ilana Glazer — the three are frequent collaborators on Comedy Central’s “Broad City” and “Time Traveling Bong.” Scarlett Johansson, Kate McKinnon, Jillian Bell, Zoe Kravitz, and Glazer make up a rowdy girl gang who reunite for a bachelorette weekend that goes horribly wrong.

    “It is genuinely a funny movie that was made at the right price, and there is a place for ‘Rough Night’ as summer counter-programming in the coming weeks,” said Sony’s distribution chief Adrian Smith.

    “Rough Night” will land in seventh for the weekend behind its fellow newcomers, “Wonder Woman,” the second weekend of “The Mummy” ($13.9 million) and “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” ($8.5 million).

  • Box Office: ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ Drowns ‘Baywatch’ Over Memorial Day Weekend

    By Seth Kelley

    LOS ANGELES, May 29 (Variety.com) – This Memorial Day weekend signals a sluggish end to a dreary summer box office start. This four-day weekend’s total domestic earnings ($172.3 million) are the lowest recorded since 1999 ($142.5 million) when “Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace” opened in first place.

    The lone bright spot of this summer so far is Disney and Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” which is holding onto second place over the holiday weekend, earning an additional $25 million from 3,871 locations. Its total domestic cume stands at over $338 million, and worldwide it’s made over $788 million, passing the original “Guardians” movie ($773 million worldwide).

    Disney also took the top slot this weekend with “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,” the fifth installation in the franchise starring Johnny Depp. The swashbuckling adventure picked up $77 million over the four-day weekend from 4,276 locations. However, most of the film’s sales are coming from overseas markets — the title will easily pass $300 million worldwide by the weekend’s end.

    Paramount’s “Baywatch,” however, is another story. The splashy summer comedy starring Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron, which carries a production budget well above $60 million, got only a sprinkling of audiences to buy tickets. By the end of the weekend it will have earned $23 million domestically from 3,647, far below earlier expectations.

    Fox’s “Alien: Covenant,” which opened to a disappointing $36 million last weekend, is sliding to fourth place with $13.15 million from 3,772 locations. Rounding out the top five, the YA adaptation “Everything, Everything” looks to have been a wise, albeit low budget, investment. The movie is in fifth place during its second weekend, and is adding $7.4 million to its total from 2,801 theaters.

    “It’s crunch time for the industry after a lackluster May and a dismal Memorial weekend,” said Paul Dergarabedian, Senior Media Analyst at ComScore. “The good news is that June looks to deliver the goods and no movie is better suited to lead the cavalry charge than ‘Wonder Woman’ later this week. The pressure is certainly on for the final three quarters of the season to get us out of this downturn.”

  • Box Office: ‘Guardians 2’ Repeats No. 1, ‘King Arthur’ Is Summer’s First Big Flop

    box officeBy Seth Kelley

    LOS ANGELES, May 14 (Variety.com) – “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” continued its box office reign this weekend, while “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” is the summer season’s first major flop.

    Disney and Marvel’s super hero sequel followed up its $145 million opening weekend domestically with an additional $66 million from 4,347 locations. That’s a 55% drop, which is in line with expectations. The film’s domestic total is now just shy of $250 million.

    “King Arthur,” meanwhile, may just want to put that sword back where he found it and pretend this never happened. The release from Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow made only $14.7 million from 3,702 locations — a paltry sum considering its $175 million production budget.

    The mythical epic starring Charlie Hunnam in the titular role was critically drubbed (it currently has a 27% on Rotten Tomatoes), but has a relatively high B+ CinemaScore. Director Guy Ritchie had success with a similar re-imagining of longstanding franchise with 2009’s “Sherlock Holmes” and its sequel “A Game of Shadows” which both grossed over $500 million worldwide. More recently, though, his spin on “Man From U.N.C.L.E.” saw a disappointing take ($110 million globally) despite achieving a bit of a cult and critical following.

    This weekend’s over major release is neither a box office heavyweight like “Guardians” nor a bust like “Arthur.” Fox’s “Snatched,” starring Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn as a mother and daughter grabbed $17.5 million from 3,501 theaters, landing it in second overall. The Mother’s Day release has been less than adored by critics (from whom it has collectively earned a 36% on Rotten Tomatoes), but audiences have earned it a more positive B CinemaScore. The mid-budget, R-rated comedy was produced by Chernin Entertainment and Feigco Entertainment.

    Universal’s “The Fate of the Furious” and Fox’s “Boss Baby” round out the top five. The former tacked on an additional $5.3 million from 3,067 locations this weekend, raising its domestic total to $215 million. The latter earned $4.6 million from 2,911 locations for grand total of $162.7 million after seven frames.

    One limited release managed to break into the top ten as Blumhouse’s Tilt label put out “Lowrider” in 295 locations. The film, toplined by Demian Bichir, Gabriel Chavarria, and Theo Rossi, over-performed with $2.4 million, putting it in the eighth slot overall.

  • Box Office: ‘Fate of the Furious’ Tops ‘Latin Lover’ and ‘The Circle’

    By Seth Kelley

    LOS ANGELES, April 30 (Variety.com) – It has become a familiar story — “The Fate of the Furious” is, once again, the box office champ.

    The massively popular eighth episode in the Fast and Furious franchise earned $19.4 million this weekend from 4,077 locations, placing it securely in first place during a sputtering weekend, anticipating the summer season. After winning the domestic box office for three straight weeks, the Universal movie’s U.S. total stands at $192.7 million. Not only that, “Fate’s” global total officially crossed the $1 billion mark, making it the 21st highest grossing movie of all time behind 2006’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.” Its total global sum stands at $1.06 billion.

    But while “Fate’s” victory seemed inevitable, the rest of the weekend’s top five reaped intrigue. Pantelion’s “How to be a Latin Lover” slid into second over Tom Hanks and Emma Watson’s not-so-distant future tech-thriller “The Circle.” Led by Mexican star Eugenio Derbez, “Latin Lover” attracted $12 million from only 1,118 targeted locations. The opening weekend’s audience domestically was 89% Hispanic.

    In “Latin Lover” Derbez plays a man named Maximo who made a career seducing older women. When his now 80-year-old wife kicks him out for a younger man, Maximo goes to live with his sister (Salma Hayek) and attempts to remaster his art of seduction. Rob Lowe and Kristen Bell also star in comedic actor Ken Marino’s directorial debut. Derbez has won over the domestic box office in the past. In 2013 “Instructions Not Included,” which he directed in addition to starring in, earned $7.8 million in its opening weekend from only 348 theaters.

    Despite screening in only 420 locations, the South Indian epic “Baahubali 2: The Conclusion” landed in third for the weekend with a hefty sum of $10.5 million. The movie, from Great India Films, is the sequel to “Baahubali: The Beginning” which made $3.6 million when it opened in 236 theaters in 2015. S.S. Rajamouli returned to direct the movie starring Prabhas, Rana Daggubati and Anushka Shetty.

    “Baahubali 2” earned $1.8 million of its domestic total from 45 IMAX screens alone. Five domestic IMAX locations set new three-day weekend records, and the film also set records in India, making it the biggest domestic IMAX opening for a foreign language film.

    Not every story from the weekend box office was quite so rosy. Slapped with a rare D+ CinemaScore and a 17% on Rotten Tomatoes, “The Circle” landed $9.3 million from 3,163 theaters, falling short of its double-digit projections. The $18 million movie was acquired by EuropaCorp for an estimated $8 million.

    The film hoped to draw audiences by tapping into modern-day anxieties surrounding technology and privacy. In the movie, Hanks plays the CEO of a Silicon Valley social media company. His young employee, played by Watson, finds herself wrapped up in an experiment that tests ethical limits. James Ponsoldt directed the movie and co-wrote the script with Dave Eggers, who wrote the novel on which the movie was based.

    Blumhouse’s BH Tilt label released “Sleight” in 565 theaters, and saw a weekend gross of $1.7 million. The film tells the story of a young street magician in Los Angeles (Jacob Latimore) who uses magic and his mind to save his kidnapped sister. Seychelle Gabriel, Dule Hill, Storm Reid and Sasheer Zamata also star. The label’s marketing and release strategy targeted a young, urban audience — 72% of audiences fell in the 18-34 demo and 45% were African-American.

    In its fifth weekend, Fox’s “Boss Baby” held onto the fifth position. The animated film earned an additional $9.1 million from 3,739 locations, raising its domestic total to just shy of $150 million.

    Next weekend marks the first summer frame, and should see “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” post huge numbers. The sequel earned over $101 million at the foreign box office in its opened weekend — one ahead of the U.S. When the now-beloved first “Guardians” movie launched as a relatively unknown property in August of 2014, it made $94 million in its opening weekend.

  • Box Office: ‘Boss Baby’ Beats Up on ‘Smurfs: The Lost Village’

    box officeBy Brent Lang

    LOS ANGELES, April 9 (Variety.com) – The Smurfs may be feeling kind of blue.

    The cuddly creatures’ once-promising film franchise is looking awfully creaky after “Smurfs: The Lost Village” stumbled at the domestic box office this weekend. The Sony release opened to a negligible $14.1 million. The film was an attempt to reinvigorate the series after 2013’s “The Smurfs 2” racked up a disappointing $347.5 million on a hefty $105 million budget. It’s a fall from quite a height. The first film, 2011’s “The Smurfs,” had showed such promise, grossing $563.7 million globally, but interest in the big screen adventures of the creatures has waned with each sequel.

    With the Smurfs failing to generate much excitement, DreamWorks Animation and Fox’s “The Boss Baby” captured first place at the North American box office for the second consecutive weekend, earning $26.3 million to push its domestic haul to $89.4 million. Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” came in second, pulling in $25 million to push its stateside grosses to a lordly $432.3 million.

    Box office analysts blame the glut of family titles for hobbling the Smurfs. “They should have waited a few weeks to open it,” said Jeff Bock, an analyst with Exhibitor Relations.

    Bock was ready to write the obituary for the franchise, saying, “A major studio does not open an animated film at $14 million and expect to have a sequel.”

    This weekend is something of a throat clearing for the industry. “The Fate of the Furious,” the latest chapter in Universal’s long-running chronicle of vehicular carnage, is slated to roar into theaters next Friday. It should dominate ticket sales, racking up an $100 million debut and keeping Vin Diesel in designer tank tops for the foreseeable future.

    “It’s looming large on the horizon,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at ComScore. “It’s going to be a monstrous debut.”

    New Line and Village Roadshow’s “Going in Style” took fourth place with $12.5 million. The comedy about three retirees who rob a bank stars Morgan Freeman, Alan Arkin, and Michael Caine. It’s a low-budget remake of a 1979 comedy of the same name and cost $24 million to produce. The film resonated with older crowds, with 72% of the audience clocking in over the age of 50.

    “The chemistry of the three guys really works together,” said Jeff Goldstein, domestic distribution chief at Warner Bros., New Line’s studio parent company. “They have fun together and it shows. It was a core part of the film’s appeal.”

    Paramount’s “Ghost in the Shell” rounded out the top five, grossing $7.3 million to bring its domestic gross to a disastrous $31.6 million. The Japanese manga adaptation is shaping up to be one of the year’s biggest bombs. Dogged by “whitewashing” controversy after Scarlett Johansson nabbed a part intended for an Asian actress, “Ghost in the Shell” won’t stand a chance of recouping its $110 million production budget.

    Sony isn’t ready to wave the white flag on the Smurfs. The studio notes that the previous two films earned more than 70% of their gross from foreign markets. The studio is also pleased with the film’s A CinemaScore, a sign that audiences are responding to the picture.

    “We delivered a film that I think is the best yet,” said Rory Bruer, Sony’s domestic distribution chief. “Word-of-mouth should be strong.”

    Sony also reined in costs. “Smurfs: The Lost Village” has a $60 million production budget, a fraction of the previous two entries’ price tag. However, the weak result extends a punishing period for Sony. The studio has been dogged by bombs such as “Life” and “Inferno,” while highly anticipated releases such as “Passengers,” a science-fiction romance with Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence, struggled to turn a profit.

    In limited release, “Their Finest” opened on four screens in New York and Los Angeles to $77,000 for a per-screen average of $19,250. The comedy is set in World War II-era London and follows a troop of propaganda filmmakers. EuropaCorp bought the picture out of the Toronto Film Festival — STX is distributing “Their Finest” on its behalf.

    Neon, a new label from Alamo Drafthouse founder Tim League and indie veteran Tom Quinn, debuted “Colossal” to $125,809 from four theaters. The off-beat monster movie stars Anne Hathaway and enjoyed a solid $31,452 per-screen average.

    Overall ticket sales were up more than 15% on the prior-year period. Last year at this time Melissa McCarthy’s “The Boss” topped charts with a $23.6 million bow. Thanks to hits such as “Beauty and the Beast” and “Logan,” 2017 continues to outpace 2016, with revenues up 5%.

  • Box Office: ‘Boss Baby’ Fires ‘Beauty and the Beast’

    By Brent Lang

    LOS ANGELES, March 26 (Variety.com) – “Boss Baby” is enjoying the view from the top.

    The animated comedy bottled up a leading $49 million from 3,773 locations, edging out Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” a box office juggernaut that’s dominated the multiplexes since debuting three weeks ago. “Beauty and the Beast” added another $48 million to its mammoth $395.5 million domestic haul. The weekend’s other new release, Paramount’s “Ghost in the Shell,” bombed, taking in a demoralizing $19 million.

    Critics were cool toward “Boss Baby,” which centers on a cuteness standoff between babies and puppies. Alec Baldwin, in vulpine “Glengarry Glen Ross” mode, voices a power suit-wearing infant, leading a vocal cast that includes Tobey Maguire, Steve Buscemi, Jimmy Kimmel, and Lisa Kudrow. DreamWorks Animation produced the film for over $100 million, with Fox distributing the picture. Heading into the weekend, “Boss Baby” had been projected to debut to $30 million.

    “The picture works because it’s a great concept and having Alec Baldwin, who is such a well known voice, voicing a baby is near genius,” said Chris Aronson, Fox’s head of domestic distribution.

    Aronson said he was surprised that the reviews for the film weren’t stronger.

    “I was shocked and still am,” said Aronson. “It’s nice when you have critics and audiences aligned, but it’s painful when you don’t get it. You wonder why do audiences like it so much and the reviewers don’t?”

    “Ghost in the Shell,” an adaptation of a popular Japanese manga about a cyber-enhanced warrior (a be-spandexed Scarlett Johansson) who must take down a cabal of terrorist hackers, was produced in conjunction with DreamWorks Pictures and Reliance Entertainment. If it wants to fight its way into the black, it will need to get a big lift from foreign crowds. To that end, the science-fiction story pulled in $40.1 million abroad from 50 foreign territories.

    Paramount has gone through a punishing run at the box office, enduring costly flops such as “Allied” and “Ben-Hur,” while going through a series of executive shakeups that resulted in the ousters of chairman Brad Grey and vice-chairman Rob Moore. It has a newly named studio chief in Jim Gianopulos, the former head of Fox’s film division, whose task it will be to bring more creative stability to the company.

    “Ghost in the Shell’s” rollout was nearly subsumed by controversy over its casting and accusations that by tapping Johansson the film had engaged in “whitewashing.” It was cited as exhibit A in a larger, industry-wide debate about studios’ habits of employing white actors in Asian roles. The furor surrounding the casting found its way into many of the negative notices that the picture received, and was the subject of several critical thinkpieces.

    “It was a small, but vocal group,” said Megan Colligan, Paramount’s marketing and distribution head. “It had some impact, but it was more of the impact overall on reviews. I think people are becoming more vocal on these types of issues. I haven’t worked on many large-scale action movies that have a female lead, so I wish it had been embraced more.”

    Lionsgate’s “Power Rangers” and Warner Bros. and Legendary’s “Kong: Skull Island” rounded out the top five, earning $14.5 million and $8.8 million, respectively. The Power Rangers reboot has grossed $65.1 million in two weeks of release, while the latest King Kong remake has made $147.8 million after four weeks in theaters.

    Year-to-date, the domestic box office is up more than 5% and ticket sales this weekend were up more than 30%. The weekend caps a hot run at the box office with such hits as “Logan” and “Beauty and the Beast” powering domestic revenues in March to over the $1 billion mark for the first time in history.

    In limited release, Focus Features’ “The Zookeeper’s Wife” opened to a strong $3.3 million in 541 locations this weekend. Jessica Chastain stars in the film as a woman in World War II-era Warsaw who tries to save Jews during the Holocaust. Focus will expand the movie to between 800 to 1,000 theaters.

    “It just struck a chord with audiences,” said Lisa Bunnell, Focus’ distribution president. “To have a female character who goes out there and puts herself on the front line just resonates. People in this country are looking for heroes.”

  • Box Office: ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Dazzles Again, ‘Power Rangers’ Off to Solid Start

    box officeBy Dave McNary

    LOS ANGELES, March 26 (Variety.com) – Disney’s second weekend of blockbuster “Beauty and the Beast” is dominating moviegoing in North America with $88.3 million at 4,210 locations — capping the best March ever.

    Lionsgate’s rebooted “Power Rangers” is launching with a solid $40.5 million this weekend while Sony’s space-thriller “Life” showed only moderate traction with $12.6 million. Warner Bros.’ action-comedy “Chips” opened with a disappointing $7.6 million at 2,464 sites.

    The “Beauty and the Beast” weekend is one for the record books as the fourth-largest second weekend of all time, trailing only “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” at $149 million, “Jurassic World” at $106 million, and “Marvel’s The Avengers” at $103 million.

    “Beauty and the Beast,” starring Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as the Beast, declined just 49% from its opening weekend, which was the seventh-best ever. And after just 10 days in North American theaters, “Beauty and the Beast” is already 55th on the all-time domestic list at $317 million. It’s the fourth-largest 10-day domestic total ever.

    “Beauty and the Beast,” along with Fox’s “Logan,” Warner’s “Kong: Skull Island,” and Universal’s “Get Out,” have led a charge over the past month that has given the domestic box office a major boost. According to comScore, March box office has already hit $1 billion for the first time — with five days left in the month.

    “March has become a rockstar of a month and in particular 2017 enjoyed a perfect storm of new hits and strong February releases that showed amazing staying power like ‘Get Out’ and ‘The Lego Batman Movie,’ ” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with comScore. “The cumulative allure of an impressive slate of films conjured up a flat out great month in theaters, generating impressive momentum as the industry charges into what promises to be a furious April and a smashing summer movie season that kicks off in May with ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 2.’ “

    Last year’s March set a record with $948.8 million domestically, led by Disney’s “Zootopia” ($255.9 million for the month) and Warner Bros.’ “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” ($209.1 million).

    “Power Rangers,” a re-imagining of the 1990’s television show about five teenage superheroes, outperformed expectations of about $30 million at 3,693 locations. The film earned an A CinemaScore from customers and A+ from the 30% of moviegoers under 18. The audience was 60% male.

    The cast features Becky G as the Yellow Ranger, Ludi Lin as the Black Ranger, Naomi Scott as the Pink Ranger, Dacre Montgomery as the Red Ranger, and R.J. Cyler as the Blue Ranger. Elizabeth Banks plays the evil alien witch Rita Repulsa.

    The movie centers on the origins of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, a group of high schoolers given extraterrestrial powers who unite to save the world. Lionsgate and Haim Saban announced plans in 2014 for a live-action movie based on Saban’s “Power Rangers” property as the first film in a franchise; Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer has asserted that it may do as many as seven films. “Power Rangers” carries a $100 million price tag.

    David Spitz, Lionsgate’s domestic theatrical distribution president, noted that the movie showed strong traction amid all demographics — even with “Beauty and the Beast” remaining a potent draw. “We always thought the two films could be complementary to each other,” he added.

    Spitz also noted that “Power Rangers” debuted in the same late March slot as the studio’s “Hunger Games” and “Divergent,” enabling it to take advantage of the spring break for moviegoers. The third weekend of Warner-Legendary’s “Kong: Skull Island” was headed for third place with $14.4 million at 3,666 locations, which gives the giant ape a domestic total of $133.5 million in its first 17 days.

    Sony-Skydance’s “Life” stars Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds, and Jake Gyllenhaal as International Space Station astronauts threatened by an extraterrestrial life form. It’s performing at the lower end of expectations in third place, despite generating mostly positive reviews with a 67% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

    David Ellison’s Skydance financed 75% of “Life,” which has a $58 million budget. Its audience was 55% male and 57% over 25.

    The fourth weekend of Fox’s “Logan” followed in fourth with $10.1 million at 3,687 sites. “Logan” is 2017’s second highest grosser with $201.5 million in Hugh Jackman’s farewell to the Wolverine character.

    Universal-Blumhouse’s fifth weekend of surprise hit “Get Out” finished fifth with $8.7 million at 2,474 locations. The horror-comedy, Jordan Peele’s directorial debut, has become enormously profitable, given its $4.5 million budget.

    Warner Bros. rolled out action-comedy “Chips,” starring Dax Shepard and Michael Pena, amid muted expectations. The R-rated reboot of the TV series, which starred Erik Estrada and Larry Wilcox, has not gained much critical traction with a 20% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but the budget is a relatively modest $25 million.

  • Box Office: ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Smashes Records With $170 Million Debut

    Beauty and the Beast Disney Box officeBy Brent Lang

    LOS ANGELES, March 19 (Variety.com) – This is what makes Disney such a powerhouse.

    “Beauty and the Beast,” the studio’s latest live action update of a cartoon classic, waltzed its way to a towering $170 million debut this weekend, setting a new record for a March opening and solidifying the Mouse House’s status as the dominant player in the film business. No other company can match the streak that Disney is currently enjoying, thanks to a series of multi-billion acquisitions that put the likes of Pixar, Marvel, and LucasFilm in its Magic Kingdom.

    “Beauty and the Beast” represents another part of Disney’s branded strategy. It’s the latest fairy tale adaptation to hit screens. Others in the lucrative group include “Alice in Wonderland,” which picked up $1 billion worldwide, “Cinderella” with its $543.5 million global haul, and last year’s “The Jungle Book,” which racked up a mighty $966.6 million after finishing its run. Remakes of “Dumbo” and “Mulan” are already in the works, as Disney commits to putting a live action spin on the bulk of its animated properties (Fans of “Treasure Planet” may be out of luck).

    The latest fairy tale follows Belle, a bookish girl in France played by Harry Potter film veteran Emma Watson, who helps a tortured Beast (Dan Stevens of “Downton Abbey” fame) break out of his shell. In the process she lifts a curse that’s left the Beast’s kingdom populated by talking household items. “Beauty and the Beast” didn’t muck about with the elements that made the 1991 film so beloved. Director Bill Condon kept the basic plot intact, while fleshing out a bit more of Belle’s backstory, and retaining a soundtrack that includes “Be Our Guest” and “Belle.” All those elaborate musical numbers and chatty cutlery don’t come cheap. “Beauty and the Beast” carries a hefty $160 million budget. It should make that money back manyfold after ticket sales are tallied and new lines of princess wear are whipped up to satisfy new generations of Belle lovers.

    Most major studios steered clear of “Beauty and the Beast.” The only other new release of note, “The Belko Experiment,” debuted to $4.1 million, which its backers say is success given its model. The film boasts a unique distribution strategy. “The Belko Experiment” opened in 1,341 locations, roughly a third of the theater count for a major studio offerings. The theaters are chosen because they are more popular with horror fans. Orion, an MGM label, backed the film and is distributing it with BH Tilt. That label is overseen by “The Purge” and “Insidious” producer Blumhouse. It’s trying to find more cost-efficient ways to bring smaller films to the masses. “The Belko Experiment” follows a group of American corporate types, who are locked in a high-rise office in Bogota, Colombia. They are ordered by a voice on the intercom to kill one another in a gray flannel-version of Social Darwinism.

    With “Beauty and the Beast” dominating ticket sales, last weekend’s champ, “Kong: Skull Island,” fell 53% to $28.8 million. That pushes the monster movie’s domestic haul to $110.1 million. Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment teamed up to produce the remake of King Kong.

    Fox’s “Logan” took third place, pulling in $17.5 million and bringing the R-rated superhero tale’s stateside total to $184 million. Universal and Blumhouse’s “Get Out,” a thriller about a black man whose girlfriend’s white family holds a sinister secret, nabbed fourth position. It made $13.2 million, bringing its gross to $133.1 million. With a budget of $4.5 million, the film is one of the year’s most profitable. Lionsgate’s “The Shack” rounded out the top five generating $6.1 million and pushing the faith-based drama’s earnings to over $42.6 million.

    In limited release, “T2 Trainspotting,” a sequel to the 1996 cult comedy about a group of heroin addicts, opened in five locations, earning $180,000. Ewan McGregor reprises his role as a drug-addict Scot. The actor also has a supporting turn playing Lumiere, a candlestick, in “Beauty and the Beast.” Sony is releasing “T2,” which is heavily geared towards European audiences. The drama has already made $34 million overseas.

  • Box Office: ‘Kong: Skull Island’ Rules With a Mighty Opening Weekend

    By Brent Lang

    LOS ANGELES, March 12 (Variety.com) – “Kong: Skull Island” emerged victorious after a battle of the beasts that pitted the giant ape movie against Wolverine’s last stand. Cresting a wave of good reviews, “Kong” topped the domestic box office, racking up a mighty $61 million. That handily beat estimates, which had “Kong: Skull Island” debuting to between $45 million to $50 million.

    King Kong’s roar didn’t totally drown out Wolverine’s berserker rage. In its second weekend, Fox’s “Logan” dropped 58% to $37.8 million, pushing its stateside total to $152.6 million. The R-rated comic book adventure is Hugh Jackman’s swan song as Wolverine after nearly two decades playing the X-Men team member.

    “Skull Island” gets bragging rights for topping expectations, but the film isn’t out of the woods yet. It cost a hefty $185 million to produce, which means that it will need to be a hit overseas if Legendary and Warner Bros., the studios behind the film, want to make a profit.
    On the domestic front, “Kong: Skull Island” is also staring down Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” a live action fairy tale that is expected to premiere to as much as $120 million next weekend. That will likely suck up most of the oxygen in the multiplexes, making it difficult for other films to keep drawing in big crowds.

    Legendary and Warner Bros. have grand ambitions for King Kong. The film is the second installment in a planned monster franchise. The first chapter, 2014’s “Godzilla,” opened to $93.2 million in the states before topping out at $529.1 million globally. The plan is for King Kong and Godzilla to meet in an epic showdown of primordial creatures in 2020.

    “The movie is pure fun and that’s translating into the box office,” said Jeff Goldstein, domestic distribution chief at Warner Bros. He went on to predict that the film would benefit from rolling spring breaks that will see more than 20 percent of the nation’s schoolchildren on vacation and looking for something to occupy their time. The opening weekend crowd for the film was 56% male and 35% under the age of 25. Imax showings accounted for $7.5 million worth of ticket sales.

    Because of its massive production and marketing costs, “Kong: Skull Island” will need to do roughly $500 million worldwide to be considered a success. To that end, the film debuted to $81.6 million in 65 foreign markets. A lot is riding on how the film performs in China, the world’s second-largest film market. “Kong: Skull Island” opens in the Middle Kingdom in two weeks.
    Set in the waning days of the Vietnam War, “Skull Island” exchanges embassy helicopter rescues for oversized primates looming large against a fog-encrusted jungle setting. Jordan Vogt-Roberts, who made a splash with the Sundance favorite “Kings of Summer,” directs, with Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, and Brie Larson heading up the ensemble cast. Critics embraced the decision to give an “Apocalypse Now” sheen to the oft-filmed story of King Kong, with Variety’s Owen Gleiberman hailing it as “a rousing and smartly crafted primordial-beastie spectacular.”

    With Wolvie and Kong duking it out for the top slot, Blumhouse and Universal’s “Get Out” snagged third place. The low-budget thriller about a black man whose visit to his white girlfriend’s hometown takes a sinister turn, picked up $21.1 million. It has earned $111 million in three weeks of release — a fantastic return on its $4.5 million budget.

    The top five was rounded out by Lionsgate’s “The Shack” and Warner Bros.’ “The LEGO Batman Movie,” which earned $10.1 million and $7.8 million, respectively. “The Shack,” a faith-based drama, has grossed $32.3 million in two weeks of release. The latest LEGO movie has earned $159 million after five weeks in theaters.

    Among limited releases, CBS Films’ “The Sense of an Ending,” an adaptation of Julian Barnes’s prize-winning novel, opened to $42,000 from four locations, while Focus World’s “Raw,” a horror film about a vegetarian student who turns to cannibalism, debuted to $25,230 from two theaters.

    Ticket sales were up nearly 25% from the same weekend in 2016 — a period that overlapped with the second weekend of “Zootopia” and the debut of “10 Cloverfield Lane.” Revenues are up roughly 2% year-to-date, as the combination of “Logan,” “Get Out” and now “Kong: Skull Island” are translating into a busy time at the box office. Next weekend brings the release of “Beast,” which should expand 2017’s lead.

    “This could be the biggest March on record,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at ComScore. “You don’t have to wait until May to release blockbusters any more.”