By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
The Weekend Report
Ant-Man swarmed to the top of session moviegoing with an estimated $57.8 million. And a a better-than-anticipated bow for Trainwreck of $30.2 million landed the comedy third on the chart. And in limited wide release the latest spin on the redoubtable Sherlock, Mr. Holmes, was off to a better-than-elementary start of $2.4 million.
Exclusive newcomers included an excellent $38,200 gross for The Stanford Prison Experiment from two exercise yards and near-capacity biz of $182,000 for Woody Allen’s Irrational Man at five campuses.
In the niches, Bollywood was back with a potent $2.5 million start for Bajrangi Bhaijaan while Tamil Maari sputtered with $84,600 at 44 venues. On an historic note, the rarely screened Pakistani cinema opened Bin Roye to record numbers of $116,000. Also off to a fast start was South Korean Northern Limit Line with $94,700 from 12 engagements.
Revenues for the frame were close to $200 million for a decline of 9% from the immediate prior weekend and a 32% boost from 2014. A year back the second weekend of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes led with $36.2 million and newcomer The Purge: Anarchy bowed with $29.8 million.
Tracking had indicated that Ant-Man would arrive with about $60 million and it came close to prognostications. The latest in the Marvel movie superhero lineup promised something a bit more satiric and antic and that may have created some confusion for the fan base. Scientists were more puzzled by gender issues. Regardless spinoffs and sequels are likely to hew to a more traditional view of the tiny dynamo.
The film opened day-and-date in 37 overseas territories including major ports in the U.K., France and Russia to studio estimates of $56 million.
Domestically Ant-Man attracted a 58% male crowd with 55% of opening viewers aged 25-years and older. Efforts to market it as a family friendly outing were fitfully successful with studio exit demos pegging that sector at 28% of the audience.
Fans of cable comic Amy Schumer were anxious that Trainwreck would damp down on her small screen persona. And while that is arguably true, she wasn’t reinvented or unrecognizable and the film bested top-end estimates of $25 million. The audience was unsurprisingly 66% female with 63% of viewers aged 30-years and older. It’s going out gingerly internationally with initial playdates next weekend in smaller territories including Greece and Israel.
On the alternative side Amy continues to expand effectively and this weekend’s launch of Mr. Holmes was a refresher for audiences that didn’t embrace Love & Mercy and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.
| Weekend (estimates) July 17 – 19, 2015 | |||||
| Title | Distributor | Gross (avg) | % chng | Thtrs | Cume |
| Ant-Man | BV | 57.8 (14,980) | NEW | 3856 | 57.8 |
| Minions | Uni | 50.2 (11,640) | -57% | 4311 | 216.7 |
| Trainwreck | Uni | 30.2 (9,560) | NEW | 3158 | 30.2 |
| Inside Out | BV | 11.6 (3,550) | -34% | 3263 | 306.3 |
| Jurassic World | Uni | 11.3 (3,640) | -38% | 3117 | 611.1 |
| Terminator Genysis | Par | 5.4 (1,910) | -61% | 2814 | 80.6 |
| Magic Mike XXL | WB | 4.5 (1,730) | -53% | 2577 | 58.6 |
| The Gallows | WB | 4.0 (1,480) | -59% | 2720 | 18 |
| Ted 2 | Uni | 2.7 (1,230) | -53% | 2171 | 77.4 |
| Bajrangi Bhaijaan | Eros | 2.5 (9,610) | NEW | 256 | 2.5 |
| Mr. Holmes | Roadside Attractions | 2.4 (6,580) | NEW | 363 | 2.4 |
| Self/Less | Focus | 2.3 (960) | -58% | 2353 | 10.3 |
| Max | WB | 1.9 (1,280) | -46% | 2088 | 37.9 |
| Spy | Fox | 1.5 (1,610) | -50% | 939 | 106.6 |
| Baahubali | Blue Sky | 1.1 (5,310) | -69% | 209 | 7.1 |
| Amy | A24/Mongrel | 1.1 (2,480) | -40% | 435 | 4.2 |
| San Andreas | WB | .57 (1,420) | -54% | 402 | 151.2 |
| Avengers: Age of Ultron | BV | .48 (1,640) | 5% | 292 | 456 |
| Mad Max: Fury Road | WB | .38 (1,420) | -38% | 268 | 151 |
| Dope | Open Road/Sony | .29 (1,330) | -53% | 220 | 16.1 |
| Me and Earl and the Dying Girl | Fox Searchlight | .23 (990) | -65% | 235 | 6.2 |
| Pitch Perfect 2 | Uni | .22 (850) | -18% | 262 | 183.5 |
| Love and Mercy | Roadside Attract/eOne | .20 (1,010) | -54% | 197 | 11.7 |
| Home | Fox | .19 (910) | -12% | 212 | 176.2 |
| I’ll See You in My Dreams | Bleecker Street | .19 (1,150) | -47% | 163 | 6.8 |
| Irrational Man | Sony Classics | .18 (36,460) | NEW | 5 | 0.18 |
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $191.55 | ||||
| % Change (Last Year) | 32% | ||||
| % Change (Last Week) | -9% | ||||
| Also debuting/expanding | |||||
| Testament of Youth | Sony Classics | .12 (1,180) | -31% | 104 | 1.4 |
| Bin Roye | B4U | .12 (4,840) | 24 | 0.12 | |
| Infinitely Polar Bear | Sony Classics | .11 (1,400) | -33% | 80 | 0.8 |
| Northern Limit Line | Well Go | 94,700 (7,890) | 12 | 0.09 | |
| Maari | ATMUS | 84,600 (1,920) | 44 | 0.08 | |
| Tangerine | Magnolia | 65,800 (4,110) | 8% | 16 | 0.15 |
| Jimmy’s Hall | Sony Classics | 57,900 (1,350) | 48% | 43 | 0.15 |
| The Wolfpack | Magnolia | 54,100 (1,230) | -44% | 44 | 1.1 |
| The Stanford Prison Experiment | IFC | 38,200 (19,100) | 2 | 0.04 | |
| Lila & Eve | IDP | 20,900 (1,040) | 20 | 0.02 | |
| Ardor | Participant | 13,700 (980) | 14 | 0.01 | |
| The Look of Silence | Drafthouse | 6,300 (6,300) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| Twinsters | Ignite | 6,100 (6,100) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| Gloria | Picturehouse | 5,400 (1,800) | 3 | 0.01 | |
| Court | Zeitgeist | 4,300 (4,300) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| I Am Potential | American Family | 3,500 (1,750) | 2 | 0.01 | |
| Domestic Market Share (January 1 – July 16, 2015) | |||||
| Distributor (releases) | Box Office | Market Share | |||
| Universal (15) | 1694.2 | 27.20% | |||
| Buena Vista (12) | 1205.9 | 19.40% | |||
| Warner Bros. (20) | 1122.2 | 18.00% | |||
| 20th Century Fox (14) | 659.4 | 10.60% | |||
| Paramount (8) | 352.5 | 5.70% | |||
| Sony (8) | 220.4 | 3.50% | |||
| Lionsgate (8) | 213.3 | 3.40% | |||
| Weinstein Co. (12) | 193.2 | 3.10% | |||
| Fox Searchlight (6) | 92.1 | 1.50% | |||
| Focus (8) | 75.3 | 1.20% | |||
| Relativity (6) | 71.7 | 1.20% | |||
| Sony Classics (14) | 44.6 | 0.70% | |||
| A24 (5) | 39.3 | 0.65% | |||
| Open Road (5) | 38.5 | 0.60% | |||
| CBS (1) | 34.1 | 0.55% | |||
| Other * (209) | 170.9 | 2.70% | |||
| 6227.6 | 100% | ||||
| * none greater than 0.4% | |||||
