“Conjuring” and “Cruella” prove that same-day doorstep availability isn’t the end of the world for theaters.
âThe Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It,â which opened in theaters with HBO Max, broke the second weekend of the theatrical exclusive âA Quiet Place Part IIâ. There are positive signs in the results for both films as well as for title # 3, âCruella,â but the signs are mixed overall.
Theaters in the US / Canada (the latter still closed for the most part) raised around $ 69 million this weekend, a sum that is 42% of the gross for the first weekend of June 2019. Likewise , Memorial Day weekend 2021 was 45% of the same. period in 2019. Cinemas have every reason to expect further improvement, and no one expects parity in the near term, but viability will require growth in hockey sticks.
This “Conjuring” is the eighth film in an eight-year franchise that includes three titles “Annabelle”, “The Nun” and “The Curse of La Llorona”. It opened with parallel streaming and faced off against another major title in a similar genre. His debut at $ 24 million is impressive – the third best since theaters reopened, along with âQuiet Place IIâ and âGodzilla vs. Kongâ. How much has his HBO Max uptime been reduced from his total? Maybe enough to keep it from a total of $ 30 million as a theatrical release only.
When Warners’ streaming plan ends at the end of 2021, almost all studios will give theaters at least three weeks in advance; only Disney is always ready to be the exception. Still, total gross is well below sustainable levels and while it looks like theaters and streamers can coexist, can this be good for theaters? This week’s Top Ten has six films with current domestic platforms.
âA Quiet Place Part IIâ fell 59% in its second week, which isn’t entirely surprising; it follows a vacation weekend and horror movies normally drop 50 percent or more. On the other hand, “Quiet Place II” had a Cinemascore of A- and the first title only dropped by 34%. In fact, the original had 10 weeks of less than 50 percent drops and ended up with a sensational 3.75-fold gross. The sequel seems to be heading for 2.5 times, or roughly $ 120 million.
With a 48% drop, âCruellaâ had a much better grip even with its simultaneous PVOD option of $ 29.99. This is further proof that the day and date game has a lot less impact than expected. Family titles have shown better takes overall, so this “101 Dalmatians” prequel could see a total of $ 75 million in theaters.
There was another studio release this week, but DreamWorks Animation’s theatrical-only “Spirit Untamed” grossed $ 6.2 million for fourth place.
Several other new indie films opened with little effect. The top performing player was âWitnesses,â about early Mormon rulers, made about $ 160,000 in 84 theaters for No. 13 in total. âUnder the Stadium Lights,â a high school football story in Texas, grossed around $ 30,000 in ’43 (also on VOD). Christian Petzold, whose German-language “Barbara” grossed $ 4 million nationally in 2012, only managed $ 30,500 in 56 theaters for “Undine” despite good reviews. âAll Light Everywhere,â a documentary aired at this year’s Sundance, grossed $ 5,213 at two locations. Rialto’s reissue of Ealing’s classic British comedy “The Ladykillers” grossed $ 5,000 in limited seats at the New York Film Forum.
The Top 10
1. The conjuration: the devil made me do it (Warner Bros.) NEW Cinemascore: B +; Metacritic: 53; Is. budget: $ 39 million; also on HBO Max
$ 24,010,000 in 3,102 theaters; PTA (average per cinema): $ 7,740; Cumulative: $ 24,010,000
2. A Quiet Place, Part II (Paramount) Week 2; Last weekend # 1
$ 19,500,000 (-59%) in 3,744 theaters (+48); ATP: $ 5,208; Cumulative: $ 88,611,000
3. Cruel (Disney) Week 2; Last weekend # 2; also on Disney + Premium VOD
$ 11,243,000 (-48%) in 3,922 theaters (+30); ATP: $ 2,867; Cumulative: $ 43,684,000
4. Untamed Spirit (Universal) NEW Cinemascore: A; Metacritic: 48; Is. budget: $ 30 million
$ 6,200,000 in 3,211 theaters; ATP: $ 1,931; Cumulative: $ 6,200,000
5. Raya and the last dragon (Disney) Week 14; Last weekend # 3; also in Premium VOD
$ 1,306,000 (-44%) in 1,504 theaters (-511); ATP: $ 868; Cumulative: $ 53,528,000
6. Anger of man (United artists) Week 5; Last weekend # 5; also in Premium VOD
$ 1,275,000 (-41%) in 2,007 theaters (-600); ATP: $ 635; Cumulative: $ 24,679,000
7. Spiral (Lionsgate) Week 4; Last weekend # 4; also in Premium VOD
$ 890,000 (-60%) in 1,983 theaters (-657); ATP: $ 449; Cumulative: $ 21,798,000
8. Godzilla vs. Kong (Warner Bros.) Week 10; Last weekend # 6; also in Premium VOD
$ 463,000 (-48%) in 1,390 theaters (-425); ATP: $ 333; Cumulative: $ 99,119,000
9. Demon Slayer: Mugen Train (Fumimation) Week 7; Last weekend # 7 1145
$ (est.) 425,000 (-49%) in 554 theaters (-591); ATP: $ 767; Cumulative: $ (est.) 47,125,000
10. Dream horse (rue Bleecker) Week 3; Last weekend # 8
$ 230,053 (-64%) in 648 theaters (-606); ATP: $ 355; Cumulative: $ 2,327,000
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