The mighty Planet of the Apes franchise ruled again at the box office, with the movie earning a mighty $56.5 million domestically (according to ComScore), which puts it right in line with the previous openings of Rise of the Planet of the Apes ($54.8 million) and War for the Planet of the Apes ($56.2 million). Dawn of the Planet of the Apes made a lot more at $72 million, but times have changed, and now a $50 million-plus opening is cause for celebration at the House of Mouse, with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes the first solid box office win for Disney (who are releasing through 20th Century Films) in a while. This is much more than the $40 million we predicted earlier this week. 

However, there is one potential cloud on the horizon for the film. According to Deadline, the CinemaScore for the film has only garnered a B rating, which is low for a tentpole blockbuster and might hurt the film’s word of mouth. THe Caesar trilogy (Rise, Dawn and War) all earned an A- rating. Next weekend sees the release of John Krasinski’s family film, IF, which is considered a bit of a gamble, in that it could vastly under (or over) perform. 

Meanwhile, Universal’s The Fall Guy lost around 50% of its audience for a $13.7 million weekend. The movie seems unlikely to gross more than $80-90 million at the domestic box office, which is a drag, as the film will likely go down as one of the year’s biggest money-losers. It’s so strange that this movie hasn’t performed, with reviews and audiences all seemingly loving the film, but clearly, something somewhere didn’t connect, and audiences didn’t see this as a must-see.

The Zendaya-led tennis film Challengers continued to do well, with a $4.684 million weekend and a total just over $38 million. Could the film pass $50 million domestically? We’ll have to see, but even still it’s destined for a quick turnaround to Prime Video, which makes this a solid win for Amazon/MGM. The Sony horror flick Tarot made $3.45 million for an $11.7 million total. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire added another $2.525 million to its coffers, with it well on its way to making $200 million domestically. 

The faith-based Unsung Hero made $2.25 million, and with a $16 million total, it seems like this one isn’t going to become a huge breakthrough hit for the Christian market. Kung Fu Panda 4 continued its strong box office showing, thanks mainly to a lack of competition out there for families, making $2 million for a $190 million-plus total. Could it pass the $200 million mark?

A24’s Civil War started to wind down a bit this week, with it making just under $2 million for a strong $65 million plus total, which makes it A24’s second-biggest movie ever domestically. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace continued its 25th-anniversary celebration this year, with it making another $1.5 million (even if the movie’s new look has been controversial). Finally, Abigail, which just made its PVOD debut, made just over $1 million for tenth place and a total of just under $25 million. 

Next weekend sees the release of IF, as well as The Strangers: Chapter I, so it’ll be interesting to see if those damn dirty apes can hold on to a chunk of their audience. With many more films in the franchise planned, its second weekend will no doubt be the ultimate judge of whether or not this saga continues on the big screen.

The post Weekend Box Office: Apes Rule with a mighty opening (but so-so CinemaScore) appeared first on JoBlo.

While the big-screen adaptation of The Fall Guy was never expected to open to mega-blockbuster numbers, no one thought the well-reviewed Ryan Gosling movie would stumble out of the gate to this extent. Indeed, Hollywood insiders assumed this had a shot at a $40 million plus opening (we expected about $35 million). Now it looks like David Leitch’s film will only make $28.5 million over what’s widely considered the first weekend of the summer movie season. Last year, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 made $110 million in the same frame.

The Fall Guy was never expected to open anywhere near that number. Indeed, it was originally planned as a March release, only to be moved thanks to how empty the release calendar is due to the SAG/WGA strikes from last year (take a look at our Summer movie preview, and see how low wattage a summer this is likely to be). Still, given how well it was reviewed (we loved it) and the fact that stars Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt are coming off of Barbenheimer, box office pundits expected this to overperform. Alas, it was not to be, with the huge-budget movie (at least $130 million before publicity) posting a number that suggests it won’t even get close to $100 million domestically unless it has incredible word-of-mouth.

So what happened here?

Yesterday, I put the blame on the changing habits of cinema-goers, and it should also be noted that movies are REALLY expensive to see nowadays. So, people won’t go through the expense of going to a theater unless they view them as a special event. Given how small theatrical to digital windows have gotten, I imagine a big chunk of the audience is waiting for the imminent digital release, which should be within six weeks.

So, what’s the way forward for movies? It’s hard to say, but one thing worth recognizing is the rise of limited-run engagements. In a shocking turn of events, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace has actually beaten Challengers to take second place this weekend, with an estimated $8.1 million finish, compared to the Zendaya movie’s $7.6 million haul. The Phantom Menace is celebrating its 25th anniversary, and fans seemingly turned out in droves for the re-release. Before you say this is embarrassing for Challengers, note that the movie posted a modest 49 percent decline, now standing at a $29.4 million total. It should finish in the $45-50 million range, which is very decent for a movie that’s due to hit streaming (on Prime Video) before too long, given that it’s an Amazon-MGM production. 

Meanwhile, the poorly reviewed horror flick Tarot (which our critic Tyler Nichols despised) made $6.5 million, which was good enough for fourth place. Given that Sony barely publicized the movie and the fact that it has a budget in the $8 million-ish range, it should turn a profit for the studio, even if I wouldn’t expect a Tarot 2 to hit theatres anytime soon. Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire showed amazing staying power in fifth place, with a $4.5 million weekend and a $188 million domestic total (so far). It should easily cross the $200 million mark.

A24’s Civil War continued to perform well, making $3.55 million for a $62 million total. It’s bound to wind up the studio’s second highest-grossing movie ever (after Everything Everywhere All At Once). Surprisingly, the well-liked Christian flick Unsung Hero posted a 61% decline for a $3 million weekend, suggesting it won’t be a grassroots hit in the vein of Jesus Revolution. Kung Fu Panda 4 managed to reach eighth place in the top 10, with family audiences giving this a $2.4 million weekend for a $188 million total. It looks like it will finish just shy of $200 million domestically. Radio Silence’s Abigail started to wrap up its run with a $2.3 million finish for a $22.7 million total. It seems like this fun horror flick just never found an audience. In better news, Sony’s Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire showed a lot of staying power, with it finishing ahead of Dune: Part Two in 10th place with $1.8 million for the weekend and a $109.9 million total. It hits digital retailers on Tuesday.

Next weekend will (hopefully) give the summer box office the shot in the arm it so desperately needs, with 20th Century Studios opening Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Will it crack $50 million? Let us know in the comments!

The post Weekend Box Office: The Fall Guy stumbles with a low-key opening appeared first on JoBlo.

As expected, Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers scored an easy win this weekend, with a $15 million weekend, just a touch softer than we predicted earlier this week. The tennis-cantered love triangle was no doubt boosted by Zendaya’s star power, with her hotter than ever in the wake of Dune: Part Two’s blockbuster showing this winter. IMAX screens were dominated by Zendaya in one form or another, with both Challengers and Dune 2 playing in the format this weekend thanks to the latter’s re-release. 

Notably, the film posted Guadagnino’s best box office opening to date, with the weekend total more than doubling the total take of his previous biggest opener, Bones and All. It’ll be interesting to see if Challengers can hold up in the coming weeks, with The Fall Guy opening next weekend and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes opening the weekend after. With the summer movie season kicking off, one wonders whether the Euphoria star’s fans will come out to see Challengers on the big screen, with it an Amazon-MGM production that will eventually run on Prime Video. Some folks may opt to wait out its streaming release, where it will no doubt become much-memed in the way their last really racy movie, Saltburn, did when it hit the streaming service over the Christmas holidays.

In second place, the Christian music biopic Unsung Hero had a mild $7.7 million opening. But, the film also posted an A+ CinemaScore, so it’s possible the targeted Christian audience may turn this into a word-of-mouth hit, similar to the recent Jesus Revolution. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire also held up quite well in its fifth week of release, making $7.2 million, declining a mere 25% from last weekend. With a running North American total of $181 million, this will easily crack the $200 million mark (maybe more). A24’s Civil War dropped to fourth place with just over $7 million, losing its IMAX screens to Challengers. It now has a North American total of $56 million, making it A24’s second-biggest grosser of all time behind Everything Everywhere All At Once. It seems unlikely that this film will beat that total of $77.2 million, but nevertheless, this is a great showing for Alex Garland’s speculative war flick.

Radio Silence’s Abigail came in fifth with a $5.2 million weekend. The good news is that it only dropped 49% from last weekend, but the bad news is that the opening was widely considered a huge disappointment. With a total of $18 million, it seems unlikely this will end with much over $25 million domestically, making it a film that will likely find more of an audience when it hits Peacock several weeks from now.

Guy Ritchie’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare also had a hard time holding on to its audience this weekend, making a modest $3.8 million for a total of just over $15 million. As I noted last week, this movie has an oddball release, with it not playing theatrically in Canada or the UK, where Prime Video has the rights (the film hasn’t been dated yet), thus limiting its chance at making a dent at the box office. 

Seventh, eighth, and ninth place went to holdovers, with Kung Fu Panda 4 and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire battling it out for the family audience and posting weekends in the $3 million-plus range. Against all odds, Frozen Empire held up better than anyone expected at the box office. However, it will undoubtedly finish quite a bit shy of Ghostbusters: Afterlife’s $129 million domestic result. Dune: Part Two got a bit of a boost this weekend thanks to an IMAX re-release, although it also hit digital recently, so the $1.9 million total is a touch soft. It’s a bit shy of grossing $280 million at the box office. While it will fall short of a $300 million finish, the movie is still considered a pretty major blockbuster. 

However, the outlook was much less rosy for Boy Kills World, which imploded at the box office. ComScore has this movie opening in 10th place with a $1.6 million opening. However, Deadline has the film in 11th place, with them stating that the re-release of Ridley Scott’s Alien (celebrating its 45th anniversary) actually outgrossed it with a $1.8 million weekend. Whatever this case, this is a bad result for the would-be franchise starter, which will undoubtedly make a bigger dent on streaming. Notably, the film went through some post-production drama following its TIFF Midnight Madness debut in the fall, so it’ll be interesting to see if any alternate cuts ever see the light of day in the wake of its poor box office showing.

Did you see anything in theaters this weekend? Let us know in the comments!

The post Weekend Box Office: Challengers scores an easy win; Boy Kills World slaughtered by Alien re-release appeared first on JoBlo.

The battle of the box office has been won by A24 and Alex Garland’s Civil War, which defied expectations (ours included) to take first place at the box office. Comscore is estimating an $11.1 million weekend for the controversial film, which posted a modest 56% decline at the box office, which is way better than anyone was expecting. Indeed, the film has a $44 million running total at the North American box office, which is great for a movie like this, especially considering how divisive it’s been.

However, Civil War’s good fortune means this week’s big new horror release, Abigail, seriously underperformed. Radio Silence’s well-reviewed vampire flick made a disappointing $10.2 million, which is a shame as it’s a nifty little movie. Potentially, word-of-mouth could give it a boost, but let’s face it – that doesn’t happen with horror movies. They’re always front-loaded, so the chances of Abigail really doing well next weekend are limited. Just look at what happened to The First Omen. It opened soft (despite good reviews), and this weekend, it sunk like a stone to 10th place, ending any chance of a franchise.

Meanwhile, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire continued to do well, making just under $10 million this weekend for a $171 million total, well on its way to a strong finish north of $200 million. But, the news wasn’t as rosy for Guy Ritchie’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, which opened to a low $9 million. The movie would have no doubt opened better were it not designated as a Prime Video Original in every other territory, including Canada. 

CrunchyRoll’s anime release Spy x Family Code: White made $4.87, which is pretty great considering how niche of a title it is. Kung Fu Panda 4 continued to pull in family audiences (despite already being available digitally) with a $4.6 million weekend. While it will no doubt finish south of $200 million, it’ll still be the second highest-grossing film in the franchise, which is great for a fourth entry.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire made $4.4 million with $102 million total. That’s an OK number but it remains to be seen whether or not that’s enough to sustain a franchise. Dune Part Two hit digital last week, but still managed to make $2.9 million, for a $276 million total. That’s great, but I question the wisdom of such an early digital release, as the movie could have probably made its way to $300 million had it not been released at home so early. Finally, Dev Patel’s Monkey Man made $2.2 million for a total north of $21 million, while The First Omen is cratering at 10th place with an underwhelming $17 million total.

Next weekend sees the release of Challengers, which stars Zendaya and is getting incredible buzz. Will it topple Civil War? We’ll have to wait and see. 

The post Weekend Box Office: Civil War manages to beat Abigail by a slim margin appeared first on JoBlo.

Alex Garland’s Civil War performed close to our expectations this weekend, grossing an estimated $25.7 million (via ComScore’s early numbers) to post what’s easily A24’s biggest opening weekend ever. In fact, it isn’t even close, with Alex Garland’s speculative film almost doubling the previous record holder, Hereditary, which opened with $13.6 million. This is quite a coup for what’s being billed as the studio’s biggest-budget movie ever, which is a still modest $50 million. Given the rave reviews and the fact that it will likely become a water-cooler film, one can expect the film to hold up relatively well over the next few weeks, with it is unlikely anything next weekend is going to over-index unless horror flick Abigail winds up becoming a smash.

Meanwhile, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire dropped a relatively modest 50% in week two to post a $15.4 million weekend, for a $157.9 million total. It will easily top $200 million at the domestic box office, making this a huge hit for Legendary’s MonsterVerse (check out our rankings here). However, the picture was less rosy for last weekend’s two holdovers, Monkey Man and The First Omen, which were overtaken by Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, Kung Fu Panda 4 and Dune: Part Two. Monkey Man fell 59% to a $4.1 million weekend, which landed it in sixth place for a $17.7 million total. While it won’t be a huge money maker for Universal, it likely will eke out a profit, as it was acquired for a modest $10 million. Disney/ 20th Century Studios’ The First Omen lost 55% of its audience following its underwhelming opening for a $3.78 million weekend, with its total only $14 million so far. Getting to $20 million might be tough for this well-reviewed prequel.

In happier news, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire has come back from the dead a bit at the box office, with it moving up to an unexpected third-place finish with a $5.8 million weekend. It’s pretty close to crossing the $100 million domestic mark, although whether or not that’s enough for Sony to greenlight another movie in the franchise remains to be seen. Despite already being on home media, Kung Fu Panda 4 continued to draw in family audiences, making $5.5 million for a $173 million total. Dune: Part Two’s blockbuster run continued, moving to fifth place with a $4.3 million weekend and a $272 million domestic haul. 

Meanwhile, the Dennis Quaid-led Christian sports film, The Long Game, opened with $1.39 million, with it almost being overtaken by a re-release of the Dreamworks classic, Shrek 2, which made $1.35 million. Finally, the top 10 was rounded out by South Korean rapper SUGA’s concert film, which made $999k for a total of $2.2 million (it opened on Wednesday).

Next weekend sees the release of two new genre entries, Guy Ritchie’s The League of Ungentlemanly Warfare, and Radio Silence’s horror flick, Abigail. Which one do you think will top the box office? Let us know in the comments!

The post Weekend Box Office: Civil War sets a record for A24 with $25 million plus opening appeared first on JoBlo.

Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire easily took the top spot this weekend at the box office, posting a much stronger-than-expected $31.7 million second weekend. We predicted about $25 million, so this is a significantly more extensive haul than expected for the MonsterVerse sequel, with it falling about 60% in week 2. That’s decent for a tentpole blockbuster like this. Everyone assumed the movie would be front-loaded, but that doesn’t seem to be the case, with it now on its way to at least a $200 million domestic haul – maybe more. 

However, Godzilla and Kong’s good fortune at the multiplex spelled doom for two new genre titles – Monkey Man and The First Omen, both of which were gunning for some of that movie’s audience. Of the two, Monkey Man’s $10.1 million haul isn’t half bad if you consider that Universal picked it up for only about $10 million after Netflix opted to dump it. The film ended up getting a theatrical makeover courtesy of new exec producer Jordan Peele, and I’ve got to say, I liked Dev Patel’s debut as an action auteur and star. This flick should make a nice profit for Universal, and it will likely play very well on streaming and home video, where it could become a cult fave.

But, The First Omen really underperformed, with the Disney/ 20th Century Studios would-be restart for the Omen franchise whiffing with an $8.36 million opening. It was open on 300 more screens than Monkey Man and had the full might of Disney’s marketing muscle behind it. What happened? Despite good reviews (including ours) it could be that horror audiences found the movie looked too similar to the recently released Immaculate, or are maybe burned-out by unnecessary prequels. Whatever the case, I think it’s well worth watching.

Notably, it was beaten this weekend at the box office by Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, which, in its third week, is starting to show signs of life at the box office. While it can’t be denied that the film has underperformed for Sony and may have doomed the franchise, at least now, it will likely finish over $100 million domestically. Whether or not that’s enough for Sony to kick the can again with another entry remains to be seen, but if the franchise continues, it will likely be on streaming.

Kung Fu Panda 4 and Dune: Part Two also continued to hold up well in fifth and sixth place, respectively, with both earning over $7 million. Panda’s domestic total is at $166 million now (it’s already the second-highest-grossing film in the franchise), while Dune 2 is at an impressive $264 million, on its way to potentially $300 million.

In seventh place is a specialty title, Someone Like You, a faith-based film by Fathom. It managed to make $3 million despite not having any recognizable stars. In contrast, the arthouse comedy Wicked Little Letters, with Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley, made about $1.56 million in a semi-wide release (just over 1000 screens). 

Rounding out the chart is Mark Wahlberg’s family movie, Arthur the King, which has struggled to find an audience and is on the verge of ending its run with $1.54 million for the weekend and a $22 million total. Finally, Neon’s horror flick Immaculate made $1.4 million for $14.1 million. It’s actually Neon’s fourth highest-grossing movie ever and has become a modest arthouse hit, even if it never entirely capitalized on star Sydney Sweeney’s mainstream appeal.

Next weekend sees the release of Alex Garland’s controversial (but excellent) Civil War, which is booting Godzilla x Kong from its IMAX run. Do you think it will be able to take first place? Let us know in the comments!

The post Weekend Box Office: Dev Patel and the Antichrist are no match for Godzilla x Kong appeared first on JoBlo.

Easter Weekend proved to be absolutely gigantic for WB and Legendary’s MonsterVerse, with the fifth film in the franchise (which we ranked here), Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, grossing a massive $80 million domestically. While it was no doubt propelled by the holiday weekend (tomorrow’s grosses should be huge), it can’t be denied that the movie opened way beyond even the most optimistic expectations. Industry estimates (ours included) expected the film to open in the $50 million-ish range, but despite mixed reviews, the movie grossed about $30 million more than anyone expected. 

While this is only the second largest MonsterVerse opening weekend (Godzilla made $93 million in 2014), this is considered a massive win for Warner Bros. To compare things, the last MonsterVerse movie, Godzilla Vs Kong, only opened to $30 million. Granted, that was at the height of the pandemic, and the movie was on the day and date on HBO Max, but no one expected this to do these kinds of numbers. Its opening is in the Dune: Part Two range. Wow.

So far, the CinemaScore rating is a solid A-minus, so it should have decent legs at the box office. It will likely be easy for it to hold on to first place next weekend unless The First Omen and Monkey Man massively overperform. Meanwhile, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire saw its business completely collapse, with it falling a massive 65% following its underwhelming opening. With a $15.7 million weekend, it seems like this entry into the franchise may be its last on the big screen for a while. 

However, one movie that rallied unexpectedly this weekend was Dune: Part Two, which pulled in ahead of Kung Fu Panda 4 to make $11.1 million compared to Panda’s $10.2 million. This was a surprise; many thought family audiences would boost the animated four-quel. Dune 2 has now made over $252 million domestically, with a $300 million finish not out of the question. 

The horror title Immaculate also showed signs of life this weekend. While its opening last weekend was Neon’s biggest, many assumed it would collapse at the box office this weekend. Yet, Neon’s marketing team has been working overtime to play up some of the more controversial aspects of the flick, and it seemed to have worked. The movie only fell 39% this weekend to post a $3.265 weekend, which is good for horror titles (they nearly always fall over 50%). 

Mark Wahlberg’s family title, Arthur the King, has struggled to find an audience, with ComScore revealing it lost 478 screens this weekend, only grossing $2.4 million in 6th place. Perhaps this should have joined other Wahlberg movies like The Family Plan on streaming. Late Night With the Devil, which is IFC/Shudder’s biggest movie ever, continued to perform well, grossing over $2.2 million, with a very small 22% week-to-week decline. The movie hits Shudder in three weeks and might break $10 million domestically, which is quite a coup for a microbudget horror indie. 

Eighth and ninth place belonged to two Indian movies, with the Telugu language rom-com Tillu Square opening to $1.8 million, posting the second-highest per-screen average of the weekend (after Kong). Next up was the female-led Bollywood flick Crew, with a $1.49 million opening. These Indian films are really starting to clean up at the North American box office, with Indian audiences flocking to them. Watching these movies with an audience is a lot of fun, as the screenings tend to be quite raucous. 

Finally, in tenth place is the Blumhose horror flick Imaginary, which is starting to wrap up its theatrical run with $1.4 million for a $26 million gross. 

Next weekend sees the release of the well-received prequel, The First Omen, and Dev Patel’s awesome-looking action flick, Monkey Man. Do you think either has a chance to take out Godzilla x Kong in first place? Let us know in the comments!

The post Weekend Box Office: Godzilla X Kong stomp their way to a Kaiju-sized opening appeared first on JoBlo.

After posting Friday numbers that had the industry thinking that Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire would fall short of Afterlife’s $44 million opening, the sequel rallied to a so-so $45.2 million 3-day opening. While that’s certainly good news as far as bragging rights go (and above the $40 million we had it pegged at), for a movie that cost upwards of $100 million to make (and God knows how much more to market), this opening can’t be considered more than a middling success. When you consider inflation and the fact that Afterlife opened during the pandemic, it can’t be denied that the Frozen Empire audience has shrunk. The B CinemaScore cited by Deadline is problematic, as it doesn’t bode well for the film having much in the way of legs, especially with Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire opening next (Easter) weekend. Hopefully, the holiday will help it grow its audience a bit, or I’m afraid this could be the Ghostbusters last big-screen adventure for a while.

Meanwhile, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two managed to eclipse Kung Fu Panda 4 for an impressive $17.6 million finish, only 38% off from last weekend. The movie currently has a total of $233 million domestic ($574 million global), with a $300 million domestic finish still being a strong possibility. Kung Fu Panda 4 comes in third with $16.8 million and a $130 million domestic total, making a finish north of $200 million unlikely unless it has tremendous legs at the box office over the next few weeks.

In fourth place is Neon’s Sydney Sweeney-led horror flick, Immaculate, with $5.3 million. While that sounds bad, it’s actually Neon’s biggest opening to date and not a bad finish for a very divisive movie. Mark Wahlberg’s Arthur the King finished fifth with $4.36 million. It seems like this family movie might have been better off going direct-to-streaming, an area Wahlberg has excelled at in recent years with movies like Spencer Underground and The Family Plan.

Probably the weekend’s biggest (and most unlikely) success story is Late Night With the Devil. This well-reviewed horror flick cleaned-up with $2.83 million, which is the distributor, IFC Films, biggest opening ever. Look for our interview with star David Dastmalchian tomorrow! Holdovers dominated the rest of the top ten, with Blumhouse’s Imaginary making $2.8 million for a $23 million domestic total. That’s not terrible for a movie that was widely disliked by the horror community. 

A24’s Love Lies Bleeding seems to be having trouble connecting with a mainstream, non-arthouse audience, making only $1.58 million this weekend. It looks likely to finish with a sub-$10 million domestic finish. Angel Studios’s Cabrini made $1.37 million for a ninth-place finish. Its domestic total stands at $16.1 million, but I’m expecting the movie to get a nice bump next weekend, as it’s Easter, and the faith-based audience may make it their holiday movie of choice. Bob Marley: One Love rounded out the top 10, finishing just over $1.1 million. Its current domestic total is just a few million short of $100 million, so it’ll be interesting to see if the upcoming holiday weekend propels it past the century mark.

What do you think of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’s opening? Do you think the Ghostbusters franchise has had its day as far as the big screen is concerned? Let us know in the comments! 

The post Weekend Box Office: Ghostbusters Frozen Empire rallies to a $45 million opening appeared first on JoBlo.

The early weekend box office numbers are in, and it looks like Dune: Part Two wasn’t quite able to take the number one spot from Kung Fu Panda 4 after all. It was very close, with the animated sequel grossing $30 million to Dune’s $29.1 million. It’s so close that I’m not quite willing to admit my prediction that Dune 2 would top Panda was wrong, as Denis Villeneuve’s sequel has been overperforming at Sunday matinees the last few weeks. That said, even if it doesn’t top Panda, it still had a great weekend, with it only dropping a modest 37% in its third week. It also passed the double-century mark, with its final gross at $205 million. Will it cross $300 million? It’s possible, although it will face heavy competition over the next two weeks with Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire and Godzilla x Kong.

Meanwhile, Kung Fu Panda 4 had a strong second weekend, dipping a modest 48%. Family audiences are turning out in droves for this fourquel, which should do better domestically than the last two films in the series. However, it will be interesting to see if Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire takes a bite out of their box office, with that movie also aiming for a family audience. 

Mark Wahlberg’s feel-good family film, Arthur the King, had a surprisingly soft opening, considering his co-star was an adorable dog. It only managed $7.5 million, with many critics noting it seemed like a film that would have been better off on streaming than in theaters (our critic Tyler Nichols was one of them). Blumhouse’s Imaginary collapsed (as expected) in its second weekend, earning $5.6 million. While it only fell a modest 44%, its opening was widely considered poor for a Blumhouse film, with some wondering if the studio is in a rut. 

The faith-based Cabrini from Angel Studios also collapsed at the box office this weekend, falling 63% to a poor $2.8 million weekend in fifth place. Clearly, this fact-based historical epic doesn’t have the same mainstream appeal as director Alejandro Monteverde’s last movie, Sound of Freedom. Even still, it did a lot better than other new movies this weekend. Rose Glass’s LGTBQ-themed Love Lies Bleeding had a difficult time hooking a mainstream audience in its wide break, only managing $2.485 million, which is a shame as it’s a bit of a gem. However, it still did way better than The American Society of Magical Negroes, which only managed a $1.25 weekend despite playing on over 1000 screens. The reviews for this one suggested it was a toothless satire, and certainly, the provocative title might have helped turn off some viewers. That one only managed to open in ninth place. It was beaten by the fact-based WW2 story One Life, starring Anthony Hopkins, which made $1.7 million in 8th place. Elsewhere on the chart, Bob Marley: One Love inched closer to a potential $100 million finish with a $1.7 million weekend and a domestic total of just over $93 million. Ordinary Angels rounded out the top 10 with $1 million and a $18 million domestic tally. 

Next weekend should give the box office a much-needed cash influx, with Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire opening, although no one really knows if it will be a major hit or not. The reviews (including ours) drop Wednesday at noon ET, so stay tuned!

The post Weekend Box Office: Kung Fu Panda 4 narrowly tops Dune 2 appeared first on JoBlo.

Hollywood has two reasons to celebrate today, with one of them being the fact that it’s Oscar Sunday. However, the more important reason is no doubt the fact that after a sluggish start to the year, the box office is finally picking up, with the top two movies this weekend overperforming significantly. Even the most optimistic box office forecasters didn’t see Kung Fu Panda 4 opening north of $50 million (we had it pegged at $48 million), but the movie ended up rallying to a massive $58 million weekend. While that’s not much compared to the last Jack Black animated film (The Super Mario Bros. Movie), it’s worth noting that the Kung Fu Panda franchise was widely thought to have run out of gas some time ago. The last two Kung Fu Panda movies only made $47 and $41 million on their opening weekends, thus giving the franchise its biggest start since the first movie in 2008, which opened with $60.2 million. 

However, this weekend’s big news is Dune: Part Two’s amazing hold, with it posting the smallest second-weekend decline since this summer’s Barbenheimer phenomenon. Yesterday, the trades figured the film would make about $44 million this weekend, but in the end, just like last week, the movie had a stronger-than-expected Saturday. It now stands at $46 million for the second weekend, posting a 44% week-to-week decline, which is amazing for a tentpole blockbuster. Typically, if a movie like this is well-reviewed or liked, it would drop in the 50’s, while a 60-ish decline is the norm. That “A” CinemaScore rating is working wonders, with word-of-mouth on this one making a $300 million domestic finish possible. 

Meanwhile, Blumhouse’s Imaginary exceeded expectations, making $10 million for the weekend. That’s not a bad finish, given the poor reviews, although it will likely sink like a stone next weekend. In fourth place is Angel Studios’ Cabrini, which had a much better weekend than expected, with a north of $7.5 million opening. While that’s a far cry from director Alejandro Monteverde’s last film, Sound of Freedom, Cabrini didn’t have the same mainstream hook that movie did. Given that this is a period piece about the first American citizen canonized as a Saint by the Catholic Church, this is a pretty solid opening. It should play well over the upcoming Easter holiday. 

Bob Marley: One Love, which dominated the box office throughout February, made just over $4 million this weekend, with an $89 million domestic total. A $100 million finish looks like it might be in the cards for this well-liked biopic. On the other hand, the faith-based Ordinary Angels struggled to find an audience, only making $2 million for the weekend, with a $16 million domestic total. That’s low for a Christian movie with two solid stars, Hilary Swank and Alan Ritchson. 

However, of all the movies on the list, the biggest cautionary tale continues to be Sony’s Marvel flick, Madame Web, which only made $1.125 million this weekend and only has a $42 million domestic total so far. There’s no way this one manages a finish of over $45 million. This movie is so bad that even its star, Dakota Johnson, says so.

Illumination’s Migration is on the lower end of the chart, which is wrapping up its run with a $1.1 million weekend for a $125 million domestic total, which is low for this animated studio. The 9th and 10th spots were taken by specialty releases. The Chinese comedy YOLO opened in 9th place with $840,000, while the MET Opera special run of La Forza del Destino made $768,000 in the 10th spot.

Next weekend seems like it’ll be a quiet one, with the only major releases being the Kristen Stewart pulp thriller Love Lies Bleeding and the Mark Wahlberg movie Arthur the King, which has gotten a pretty mild advertising campaign despite the fact it not only stars Wahlberg but also Simu Liu and a lovable dog. Go figure. It looks possible that Dune: Part Two could even retake the top spot if Kung Fu Panda 4 has a modest hold.

Did you go see anything this weekend? Let us know in the comments!

The post Weekend Box Office: Dune 2 has the best 2nd weekend hold since Barbenheimer appeared first on JoBlo.