March 21st, 2024
It was another battle at the domestic box office this week with Kung Fu Panda 4, and Dune: Part Two once again going head-to-head for the number one and number two spot, with the former taking the weekend, while the latter topped the weekday dailies chart. To date, the two films have combined for over $328 million in domestic revenue, with Dune grabbing $213 million, while Kung Fu Panda 4 holds $114 million. This week will see both take a backseat to the latest in the Ghostbusters franchise as Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire charges into theaters.
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November 18th, 2021
After an array of release date changes, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is finally here. The latest in the Ghostbusters franchise is set to launch in 4,315 theaters, only trailing No Time to Die’s 4,407 venues as the largest opening this year, and overtaking both Jungle Cruise (4,310) and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (4,300). The supernatural comedy is directed by Jason Reitman and stars a plethora of Hollywood talent, including the familiar faces of Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, and archival footage of the late Harold Ramis as the serious Dr. Egon Spengler. Also new in wide release this week is the latest from Warner Bros. in King Richard. The biographical drama follows the life of Richard Williams, the father of tennis icons Venus and Serena Williams. The film opens in 3,302 locations while simultaneously being available for viewing on HBO Max.
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May 3rd, 2018
Last weekend, Infinity War destroyed the weekend record. This weekend, there are three new releases that are just hoping to not get embarrassed. Overboard is the biggest film in terms of buzz, but the buzz isn’t good, to be kind. Tully is the smallest film in terms of theater count, but its reviews are stellar and it has a shot at the top five. Bad Samaritan’s early reviews, are good, but its buzz is so quiet that it will likely bomb in theaters. This weekend last year, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 opened with $146.51 million. There’s almost no chance 2018 will match last year’s performance. Thanks to Infinity War’s record-breaking opening, 2018 should be relatively close.
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May 1st, 2018
April was all about Avengers: Infinity War, which earned about as much during its opening weekend as the next two biggest films, A Quiet Place and Rampage, will earn in total. However, moving Infinity War to April has left a big gap for the first two weeks of May. It isn’t until Deadpool 2 debuts that we have a potential $100 million movie, while the week after Solo: A Star Wars Story closes the month on a strong note. Fortunately, both of those films are expected to earn more than $100 million during their opening weekends alone and combined could earn over $700 million domestically. Last May, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 helped the month get off to a fast start, but it was the only monster hit of the month. Infinity War opening a week early will mean the month will start slower, in terms of new releases, but Infinity War’s record-breaking debut should help 2018 come out ahead in the end.
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January 1st, 2014
It's the first month of the new year, but the biggest hit might be a film released in December. Last month ended on a slow note with all five Christmas day releases failing to become hits, some more than others. (It's a little too soon to tell if The Wolf of Wall Street or The Secret Life of Walter Mitty will do well enough to break even any time soon, but neither is a serious hit.) There are still some December releases that will likely remain on the charts through the opening weekends of January, while there are some films that opened in limited release last month with a scheduled wide release this month. Of the purely January releases, I would guess Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit will be the biggest hit. Even then, it won't live up to the previous films in the franchise, even if you don't take inflation into account. Most of the rest of the new releases will be happy if they can become midlevel hits. Last January was led by Mama, which earned more than $70 million. I think Shadow Recruit will top that figure at the box office, while there are a similar number of likely box office bombs opening this year as there were last year. 2014 could start out ahead of 2013's pace, but it likely won't be a huge difference either way.
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