Weekend estimates: Mortal Kombat and Demon Slayer knock it out the park

April 25th, 2021

After a few pleasant surprises in recent months, this looks like the weekend that the theatrical business has been looking for. Not only is Mortal Kombat beating expectations with a weekend projected to hit $22.5 million, per Warner Bros.’ Sunday morning numbers, but Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train is headed for the second-best opening for an anime movie ever, behind 1999’s Pokemon: The First Movie, with a projected $19.5 million. What’s more, both films are R-rated, meaning that they firmly fall outside the family-film space that has been the brightest spot in the market recently. More...

Weekend predictions: Mortal Kombat and Demon Slayer go head to head

April 23rd, 2021

This weekend is shaping up to be a real David and Goliath battle, with indie distributor FUNimation going up against the might of Warner Bros., and looking likely to come out with their heads held high, even if a weekend win looks out of reach. More...

Weekend predictions: Godzilla vs. Kong looking for another weekend over $10 million

April 16th, 2021

With no new wide releases and an already formidable lead at the box office, Godzilla vs. Kong is about as certain a winner in theaters this weekend as it’s possible to be. The main question is how much it will decline this weekend after dropping 57% in its second outing. Our model thinks the benchmark figure for the film will be around $10 million this weekend. More...

Weekend estimates: Godzilla vs. Kong still number one as Voyagers disappoints

April 11th, 2021

After last weekend’s relatively excellent opening for Godzilla vs. Kong, the theatrical market is treading water this time around, based on the studios’ Sunday morning estimates. GvK itself is performing a little worse than expected, although not terribly considering its coming off the biggest weekend of the pandemic. Voyagers will earn a disappointing $1.35 million opening, and the returning films are something of a mixed bag. More...

Weekend predictions: Voyagers won’t trouble Godzilla vs. Kong

April 9th, 2021

There will be no prizes for predicting the winner at the box office this weekend, but the race for second place looks as though it’ll be close, with three returning films—Nobody, Raya and the Last Dragon, The Unholy—and debutant Voyagers all looking like they have a shot. Here’s what our model thinks going into the weekend… More...

Weekend estimates: Godzilla vs. Kong delivers monster* $32.2-million weekend

April 4th, 2021

Godzilla vs. Kong will earn $32.2 million over the Friday–Sunday weekend, and deliver a $48.5-million 5-day opening, according to Warner Bros.’ Sunday morning projection. The film will earn an additional $3 million in Canada from its PVOD release there, which the studio offered to allow Canadian audiences to see the film while around 80% of the Canadian market remains closed. It’s also showing on HBO Max in the US, but the studio hasn’t offered any numbers on its performance there. More...

Weekend predictions: Godzilla vs. Kong could top $30 million this weekend

April 2nd, 2021

Godzilla vs. Kong has stormed out the gate over the past two days, at least by pandemic standards. Its $9.6-million opening day was the best single day by a film in the past year, and it didn’t drop by all that much yesterday, posting $6.7 million. That puts it on track for easily the biggest weekend box office for a film since theaters started reopening. Predicting how much it will make is complicated by its unusual release pattern—opening on Wednesday in 2,409 theaters and expanding to 3,064 theaters today—and by the fact that, well, there’s still a pandemic on. More...