Will Clint Eastwood fans choose theaters or HBO Max?

One of the big questions ahead of the fall box office is whether this will lead to an increase in attendance for older moviegoers who have mostly skipped theaters due to COVID concerns and a lack of of interest in summer blockbusters. Under normal circumstances, Clint Eastwood’s latest film, “Cry Macho,” would be a sure-fire choice to attract this demographic, but the film’s simultaneous release on HBO Max complicates matters.

Eastwood’s latest film, “The Mule,” opened for $ 17.5 million two years ago and has done remarkably well for a domestic theatrical release of $ 103.8 million. Those legs were in large part thanks to audiences over 50, as “The Mule” became the movie of choice for seniors who for the most part avoided end-of-year 2019 blockbusters like “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker ”and“ Jumanji: The Next Level. ”

But with “Cry Macho”, Warner Bros. expects a lower opening weekend, with projections between $ 5 million and $ 10 million. Reviews have been mixed, with 52% on Rotten Tomatoes. But for loyal Eastwood fans, Critical Pans shouldn’t do much to lessen interest in seeing another film starring the 91-year-old movie legend (who also directs). The question is whether those older devotees who have seen the Eastwood movies for decades will choose to stream “Cry Macho” instead of seeing it in theaters (although later in the race as they do) did with “The Mule”).

“This is yet another test of the hybrid model with its own twist,” Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian said. “While the theatrical model is generally better for bigger blockbusters, ‘Cry Macho’ could receive a serious boost from HBO Max as the audiences it targets are still reluctant to show up in theaters.”

Warner Bros. said that so far this year, the theatrical performance of his films has been in tandem with the performance on HBO Max. If a movie does a good box office, it also attracts good streaming audience figures. This would mean that an opening closer to $ 10million, although smaller than “The Mule”, could lead to strong word of mouth that could lead to older audiences to check out the film, even if they choose. to watch it at home.

But even in the 50+ demo there are nuances when it comes to Eastwood. Whether he starred in his films or just directed them, Eastwood’s films over-indexed themselves into conservative-leaning red states. Eastwood’s popularity in Republican circles was a factor that led “American Sniper” to become the highest-grossing film of 2014, with eight of the top 10 markets for the film’s opening weekend coming from the South. and the Midwest.