The Weekend Report

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation remained at the top of weekend moviegoing charts with an estimated $29.4 million much to the surprise of tracking that favored the incoming Fantastic Four. But the reboot of the Marvel franchise sputtered in second spot with $26.2 million.

Other wide releases included the spooky The Gift, maiden release of distrib STX, in third position with $12.2 million and a disappointing start for discordant drama Ricki and the Flash of $6.7 million. Also underperforming was highly-praised animated Shaun the Sheep with $4 million while the Japanese anime Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F conducted an effective stealth release that netted $2.1 million.

In the niches, Indian imports continued a strong streak with this frame’s entry, the Telugu Srimanthudu, which grossed $1.7 million. In Québec, local hero Le Mirage was also off to a potent start of $423,000 and South Korean thriller Assassination scored with $262,000 from 32 playdates. Gillian Flynn-penned chiller Dark Places threw little shade, grossing $85,700 at 151 locations.

Exclusive bows saw encouraging starts for period piece The Diary of a Teenage Girl of $52,400 from four venues and the Salma Hayek-produced animation, Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, with $25,800 at two screens.

Revenues for the session posted just better than $135 million and took an 8% hit from last weekend. It was a more precipitous 28% dip from 2014 when the bow of the rebooted Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles grossed $65.6 million with Guardians of the Galaxy right behind with $42.1 million. But thanks to a strong string of early summer openers, domestic box office crossed $7 billion Friday and a month faster than in 2014. The current year’s pace is 6% ahead of last year.

Anticipation for Fantastic Four was dampened leading up to its release with pundits predicting a disappointing launch of $40 million to $45 million. It was not be with previews and Friday matinees quickly bringing down estimations. It also didn’t help that its director was tweeting his virtual dismal of the release cut and reviewers generally chiming in with thumbs down. Studio exit demos identified the audience as 60% male with 51% aged 25-years and younger.

The international launch of Fantastic Four was more upbeat with a $34 million estimate from 43 territories. Top earners include Mexico with $5.1 million and the UK grossing $4.2 million.

Upstart STX’s The Gift wasn’t on most people’s radar with modest initial predictions of $6-$8 million that expanded slightly with midweek tracking. But it surpassed expectations as audiences opted for something “predictable” with positive critical and social media buzz. Women composed 53% of weekend viewers with 73% of the crowd aged 25-years and older.

Ricki and the Flash was the maiden effort of Tom Rothman’s resurrected TriStar shingle, envisioned as home to a mix of low-budget genre and prestige pictures. Its pedigree promised an initial start of $12-$15 million that began to slip with word of indifferent previews and a marketing campaign characterized as less than informative. The film’s print count was then pared back to maintain Pixels playdates. The audience was 70% female with 78% aged 25-years and older.

Reviews couldn’t have been better for Shaun the Sheep based on the beloved Brit TV series that had minimal U.S. exposure. It bowed in Britain six months ago and has sheared $82 million overseas including $9 million from China, $12 million in Germany and $21 million in Blighty. America was considerably less hospitable with its Wednesday debut bringing $1.5 million into the weekend. Initial tracking suggested a $10 million opening. Exit demos weren’t available at deadline but anecdotal information showed the film playing better to adults and family viewing on the low end.

Be Sociable, Share!

• 
•