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At the start of the weekend, ticket sales expectations were at best. With reported COVID cases higher than they have been at any time in the past six months, box office tipsters have skewed their predictions. Do any of the three new titles in the session …free guy, the Aretha franklin The Respect biopic, and the horror sequel Don’t Breathe 2 – prove tough enough to topple The Suicide Squad? Or would people avoid masking each other and avoiding multiplexes all together? In the end, it turned out they showed up for the most part, but not for the movies the pundits thought.
Originally slated to hit theaters in July 2020 before the pandemic forced him to return to studio shelves to pick up dust, free guy was the biggest question mark in the frame. After all, the title was an unusual unicorn at the box office in an era of pre-existing sequels, prequels, and franchise expansions. Not to mention that video game films have always been a hard sell. Early estimates for the film had it finished between $ 15 million and $ 19 million. But when it’s all said and done, free guy beat all of those low ball predictions, racking up an impressive $ 29.4 million in North America.
The PG-13 rated film, which co-stars Kill Eve‘s Jodie comer and tells the story of a background character in a video game race to save his virtual universe before its real-life developers shut it down, won a healthy average of $ 6,818 per screen in 4,165 theaters and added an additional $ 22.5 million overseas, bringing its first week global total to $ 50.9 million. Good reviews from critics and a direct “A” rating from audiences via CinemaScore certainly helped. But, without a doubt, the fact that free guy could only be seen on the big screen for its first 45 days, unlike so many other recent blockbusters, which followed a hybrid release where titles are rolled out simultaneously in theaters and at home via streaming platforms. In fact, it was the studio’s first large theatrical exclusive in 2021. And Disney was so happy with the film’s first issues that they are already talking about putting a sequel in the works.
In second place was the late-night horror sequel to Screen Gems, Don’t breathe 2. The R-rated follow-up to the 2016 launch thriller Home Invasion (which then, like today, stars Stephen lang) raised $ 10.6 million in its opening frame. While horror films continued to do well at the box office during the pandemic, Don’t breathe 2The numbers must be seen as particularly strong in light of the fact that the film’s budget was only $ 15 million and critics gave the film a fresh 51% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Still, it didn’t hit the Chapter One arc of $ 26.4 million five years ago. This film reached $ 89.2 million nationally and $ 157.8 million worldwide. Don’t breathe 2 scared an average of $ 3,527 per screen in 3,005 locations and added an additional $ 3.4 million overseas, bringing one-week global revenue to $ 14 million.
In third, Disney’s Jungle Cruise, which added $ 9 million in its third weekend. Whitewater adventure classified PG-13 with Dwayne johnson and Emily blunt slipped -43.1% from the previous weekend, handling an average of $ 2,307 per screen in 3,900 locations. Those week three numbers now bring the film’s domestic box office total to $ 82.1 million, while its $ 72.2 million in international revenue brings its world total to $ 154.3 million. Jungle cruise is also available to Disney Plus subscribers for an additional $ 30.
In fourth position was the third and last major signing of the weekend, Respect. MGM’s biopic rated PG-13 on Aretha franklin, what stars Jennifer hudson as the queen of soul, bowed to $ 8.8 million in national theaters. The film was shown in 3,207 theaters, which translated into an average of $ 2,745 per screen. RespectMGM’s numbers must be a little disappointing considering the film’s $ 55 million budget. But, while reviews were mixed, the film earned an “A” rating from CinemaScore. There were also some interesting demographic nuggets when the film participated in the first week: 48% of its audience was black, and two-thirds of its ticket buyers were over 35.
Rounding out the top five, in what must be considered a disappointment by any metric, was last weekend’s box office heavyweight, The suicide squad. Warner Bros. ‘ The budding R-rated blockbuster about a motley team of colorful anti-heroes suffered a -70.4% free fall from the previous session, grossing just under $ 7.6 million in his second weekend. While the film is also available on HBO Max, which certainly contributes to the film’s poor performance in Week 2 in theaters, it was only able to get an average of $ 1,928 per screen in 4,019. locations. Nowadays, The suicide squad racked up $ 42.9 domestically and $ 75.2 internationally, bringing its worldwide box office total to $ 118.1. The film’s announced budget was $ 185 million.
Finally, a dilemma that will be worth watching out for in the days and weeks to come is how the studios will respond to the new wave of infections from the Delta variant of the pandemic. Will they keep their titles slated for late summer and early fall in place, or will they start reshuffling their release dates like they did in the first wave of the pandemic? Some early musical chair games are already underway as Sony just bounced its Venom: Let There Be Carnage from September 4 to October 15 and Paramount has pulled the September 7 release of its Clifford The Big Red Dog off the schedule.
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