By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
The Weekend Report
It was another dawn of the Deadpool as the curmudgeonly remained top choice with an estimated $55.3 million. A trio of national releases proved not much of a threat including the faith-based Risen that ranked third with $11.7 million. Also bowing was seventeeth-century horror chiller The Witch with a sturdy $8.5 million while Race, a biopic of sprinter Jesse Owens ran off the track with $7.3 million.
Exclusive newcomers included Oscar foreign-language short-lister Embrace of the Serpent with an impressive $59,400 from six journeys. The big splash came from Stephen Chow’s Chinese The Mermaid with a bit more than $1 million from only 35 screens. It was the second biggest opener in the international marketplace last weekend and has grossed more than $300 million in its initial five-territory launch.
In the niches, Indian imports had strong starts. Hindi Neerja bowed to $598,000 while Punjabi Channo Kamil Yaar Di grossed $148,000 from 25. Mexican comedy Busco Novio para mi Mujer raised a few titters with $908,000; Korea’s A Violent Prosecutor was solid with $119,000 and the Filipino Walang Forever had a disappointing $99,000 tally. In Quebec, French animated kidpic Belle & Sebastien – l’aventure continue was soft with $88,300.
Revenues for the frame edged close to $140 million and a 42% dip from seven days prior. It was nonetheless a 19% improvement from 2015 when Fifty Shades of Grey’s second weekend led with $22.3 million and the top title McFarland USA grossed $11 million.
Risen proved prophetic in some unexpected respects. The saga of the resurrection viewed from the perspective of a Roman soldier was directed by Kevin Reynolds, who’s made only one film in the past decade. That helped elevate both the dramatic and technical aspects of the production. Studio exit polling identified the audience as 53% female with 70% aged 25-years and older.
Reaching back to the era of Salem, The Witch was scooped up at the Sundance Film Festival for a reported $1 million. Things worked out for all parties and opening weekend brought in a 56% male viewership with 72% of viewers aged between 18 and 34-years old.
The tale of Jesse Owens’ triumph at the 1936 Berlin Olympics may be the stuff of legend but tracking suggested a soft imprint of $8 million to $10 million for Race.
With seven days to the big shoooow, Oscar contenders are keeping their collective heads above water with a couple of pictures benefiting disproportionately better than the crowd in a season with very few sure bets. Among the favored few is Brooklyn that’s received a big boost in Canada with a box office of more than $5 million. But the biggest surprise is The Lady in the Van that was snubbed by the Academy but with all the ballyhooing this campaign season it’s not unreasonable to assume its audience assumes that Maggie Smith is a best actress nominee.
Weekend (estimates) February 19 – 21, 2016 | |||||
Title | Distributor | Gross (average) | % chng | Thtrs | Cume |
Deadpool | Fox | 55.3 (14,870) | -58% | 3722 | 235.7 |
Kung Fu Panda 3 | Fox | 12.1 (3,500) | -39% | 3448 | 116.7 |
Risen | Sony | 11.7 (4,010) | NEW | 2915 | 11.7 |
The Witch | A24 | 8.5 (4,140) | NEW | 2046 | 8.5 |
How to Be Single | WB | 8.2 (2,430) | -54% | 3357 | 31.7 |
Race | Focus | 7.3 (3,070) | NEW | 2369 | 7.3 |
Zoolander No. 2 | Par | 5.5 (1,600) | -60% | 3418 | 23.7 |
Star Wars: The Force Awakens | BV | 3.8 (2,340) | -38% | 1618 | 921.6 |
The Revenant | Fox | 3.8 (1,940) | -42% | 1939 | 165.1 |
Hail, Caesar! | Uni | 2.6 (1,520) | -59% | 1726 | 26.1 |
Ride Along 2 | Uni | 2.2 (1,800) | -51% | 1210 | 86.5 |
The Choice | Lionsgate | 1.8 (1,010) | -65% | 1817 | 16.4 |
The Lady in the Van | Sony Classics | 1.5 (2,720) | 165% | 540 | 3.8 |
The Boy | STX/eOne | 1.4 (1,470) | -54% | 977 | 33.4 |
The 5th Wave | Sony | 1.2 (1,460) | -54% | 850 | 31.9 |
The Mermaid | Sony | 1. 0 (29,110) | NEW | 35 | 1 |
The Finest Hours | BV | 1.0 (1,070) | -62% | 946 | 25.5 |
Busco Novio para mi Mujer | Lionsgate | .91 (2,610) | NEW | 348 | 0.91 |
The Big Short | Par | .86 (1,990) | -36% | 432 | 67.1 |
Brooklyn | FoxSearc/Mongrel | .72 (1,620) | -31% | 443 | 35.3 |
Dirty Grandpa | Lionsgate/VVS | .71 (900) | -68% | 789 | 34.5 |
Where to Invade Next | Drafthouse | .62 (2,250) | -31% | 275 | 2.1 |
Neerja | Fox Intl | .60 (8,160) | NEW | 73 | 0.6 |
13 Hours: Secret Soldiers of Benghazi | Par | .59 (980) | -61% | 601 | 51.7 |
Daddy’s Home | Par | .55 (1,350) | -47% | 408 | 147.7 |
Spotlight | Open Road/eOne | .49 (1,220) | -30% | 401 | 38.1 |
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $134.95 | ||||
% Change (Last Year) | 19% | ||||
% Change (Last Week) | -42% | ||||
Also debuting/expanding | |||||
45 Years | IFC/Mongrel | .32 (1,280) | -53% | 248 | 3.6 |
Room | 424/Elevation | .40 (1,130) | -26% | 352 | 12.6 |
2016 Oscar Shorts | Magnolia | .22 (1,110) | -56% | 202 | 2.3 |
Channo Kamli Yaar Di | Punjabi | .15 (5,920) | 25 | 0.15 | |
A Violent Prosecutor | Dreamwest | .12 (4,580) | 26 | 0.12 | |
Le Petit prince | Seville | .11 (2,220) | -22% | 51 | 0.28 |
Carol | Weinstein Co. | .10 (1,000) | -49% | 101 | 12.3 |
Walang Forever | ABS | .10 (1,470) | 67 | 0.1 | |
Belle & Sebastien – L’aventure continue | Seville | 88,300 (1,700) | 52 | 0.08 | |
Son of Saul | Sony Classics | 81,600 (1,090) | -5% | 75 | 1.1 |
Embrace of the Serpent | Oscilloscope | 59,400 (9,900) | 6 | 0.06 | |
Sethupathi | Zeus | 55,600 (1,680) | 33 | 0.06 | |
Mustang | Cohen/Mongrel | 41,500 (1,660) | -26% | 25 | 0.87 |
Forsaken | Momentum | 24,200 (590) | 41 | 0.02 | |
Miruthan | ATMUS | 21,300 (580) | 37 | 0.02 | |
Crazy About Tiffany’s | Gravitas | 9,900 (1,240) | 8 | 0.01 | |
Ange et Gabrielle | A-Z Films | 8,800 (1,000) | 8 | 0.01 | |
City of Women (reissue) | Cohen Media | 6,700 (6,700) | 1 | 0.01 | |
Domestic Market Share (January 1 – February 18, 2016) | |||||
Distributor (releases) | Box Office | Market Share | |||
20th Century Fox (8) | 506.8 | 32.90% | |||
Buena Vista (4) | 302.8 | 19.60% | |||
Paramount (5) | 196.3 | 12.70% | |||
Universal (5) | 146.9 | 9.50% | |||
Lionsgate (6) | 73.4 | 4.80% | |||
Sony (7) | 62.1 | 4.00% | |||
Weinstein Co. (6) | 50.3 | 3.30% | |||
Warner Bros. (6) | 49.2 | 3.20% | |||
Focus (2) | 32.6 | 2.10% | |||
STX (2) | 30.2 | 2.00% | |||
Open Road (2) | 21.4 | 1.40% | |||
Fox Searchlight (2) | 12.3 | 0.80% | |||
Other * (63) | 57.7 | 3.70% | |||
1542 | 100% | ||||
* none greater than 0.45% |