By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
The Weekend Report
The harbor town of Dunkerque provided filmmaker Christopher Nolan with a heady landing base as his Dunkirk topped weekend viewing with an estimated $50.6 million launch. Also bowing powerfully was the bawdy Girls Trip with $30.4 million. But it was just OK results for the third national newcomer,Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, which ranked fifth in the lineup with $17.1 million.
Exclusive bows were led by Magnolia’s comedy Landline with a solid start of $51,400 from four dial-ups. Among international day-and-date entries, two new Indian releases opened strong. Telugu Fidaa grossed $1.04 million while Tamil Vikram Vedha bowed with $234,000. Lavish 19th century historical drama The Black Prince on the last king of Punjab had a disappointing $134,000 box office.
Much was made of Nolan tackling historic material for the first time with the June 1940 evacuation of British troops trapped in the Northern France harbor of Dunkirk that is an emotional touchstone in Great Britain. He also got a spotlight for largely his opus in the large-scale IMAX format. Still, only two weeks ago the commercial prospects in North America were tepid with tracking suggesting no more than a $35 million debut.
The studio put in place a full-bore publicity and marketing assault that turned matters around. Interest spiked and estimates rose to $50 million-plus. It also helped that Nolan (like his favorite director Alfred Hitchcock) is one of the few filmmakers whose name matters at the box office. Largely positive reviews followed but it remains to be seen whether such an arcane (for Americans, if not Canadians) chapter of World War II can sustain its initial assault.
On the international front, Dunkirk landed with an estimated $55 million from 46 territories. Not surprisingly the UK led with $12.4 million, but right behind was South Korea at $10 million and France providing $5 million to the effort.
Studio exit demos identified the North American audience as 60% male with 76% aged 25-years and older. The 402 IMAX engagements (15% of the total) accounted for 23% of the box office although the exact breakdown of film (37 locations) and digital versions was unavailable. The top theater performer was Manhattan’s Lincoln Square.
Girls Trip proved to be an ideal counterprogrammer, which had tracked in the neighborhood of $25 million. Its improved reception slightly assuaged concerns about the recent commercial decline of comedies, with no $30 million plus debuts since Daddy’s Home at Christmas 2015. The construct of a raucous female bonding picture gained momentum last year with Bad Moms, but fizzled with the recent Rough Night. Girls Trip drew an audience that was 79% female with 50% of viewers aged 30 and older.
Valerian’s audience breakdown was 63% male with 60% aged 25-years and older; comparable to the Dunkirk numbers. While tracking suggested a high teens weekend gross, Besson’s picture likely would have fared better on a different opening date.
Revenues for the session topped $180 million, expanding 10% from last weekend, It was a 9% decline from 2016 when the boldly-going Star Trek Beyond debuted with $59.3 million with newcomers Lights Out and Ice Age: Collision Course duked it out with the former opening with $21.7 million and the latter grossing $21.4 million.
Weekend (estimates) July 21 – 23, 2017 | |||||
Title | Distributor | Gross (avg) | % chng | Thtrs | Cume |
Dunkirk | WB | 50.6 (13,610) | NEW | 3720 | 50.6 |
Girls Trip | Uni | 30.4 (11,710) | NEW | 2591 | 30.4 |
Spider-Man: Homecoming | Sony | 22.1 (5,340) | -50% | 4130 | 251.8 |
War for the Planet of the Apes | Fox | 20.5 (4,990) | -64% | 4100 | 97.8 |
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets | STX/eOne | 17.1 (4,810) | NEW | 3553 | 17.1 |
Despicable Me 3 | Uni | 12.7 (3,600) | -34% | 3525 | 213.3 |
Baby Driver | Sony | 5.9 (2,370) | -32% | 2503 | 84.2 |
The Big Sick | Lionsgate/Elevation | 5.0 (1,920) | -34% | 2597 | 24.5 |
Wonder Woman | WB | 4.6 (2,320) | -33% | 1971 | 389 |
Wish Upon | Broad Green | 2.4 (1,130) | -55% | 2154 | 10.5 |
Cars 3 | BV | 1.9 (1,450) | -40% | 1294 | 144 |
Transformers: The Last Knight | Par | 1,1 (1,080) | -61% | 1025 | 127.6 |
Fidaa | Blue Sky | 1.0 (7,490) | NEW | 139 | 1 |
De Pere en Flic 2 | Seville | .55 (6,220) | -33% | 88 | 2.1 |
47 Meters Down | Entertainment/VVS | .43 (960) | -62% | 449 | 42.3 |
The House | WB | .43 (940) | -75% | 453 | 24.5 |
Maudie | Sony Classics | .38 (1,620) | 53% | 233 | 3.7 |
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 | BV | .35 (1,330) | -31% | 268 | 387.2 |
Captain Underpants | Fox | .33 (1,130) | -1% | 291 | 71.7 |
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead | BV | .25 (1,100) | -49% | 229 | 170.6 |
The Beguiled | Focus | .25 (750) | -73% | 331 | 10.2 |
Vikram Vedha | ATMUS | .23 (4,870) | NEW | 48 | 0.23 |
The Mummy | Uni | .20 (910) | -47% | 214 | 79.4 |
The Little Hours | Gunpowder & Sky | .16 (1,390) | -46% | 114 | 0.97 |
A Ghost Story | A24 | .14 (3.230) | 3% | 43 | 0.48 |
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $175.85 | ||||
% Change (Last Year) | -9% | ||||
% Change (Last Week) | 10% | ||||
Also debuting/expanding | |||||
The Hero | Orchard | .13 (700) | -59% | 191 | 3.7 |
The Black Prince | Seven Colors | .13 (2,010) | 67 | 0.13 | |
Lady Macbeth | Roadside Attractions | .12 (3,050) | 89% | 40 | 0.22 |
Beatriz at Dinner | Roadside Attractions | .12 (1,020) | -47% | 116 | 6.7 |
Bon Cop Bad Cop 2 | Seville | 68,400 (1,850) | -43% | 37 | 5.2 |
Munna Michael | Eros | 62,700 (870) | 72 | 0.06 | |
Paris Can Wait | Sony Classics | 52,600 (800) | -65% | 66 | 5.4 |
Landline | Magnolia | 51,400 (12,850) | 4 | 0.05 | |
The Midwife | Music Box | 19,700 (6,570) | 3 | 0.02 | |
Bloody Crayons | ABS | 13,900 (770) | 18 | 0.01 | |
First Kill | Lionsgate | 6,200 (520) | 12 | 0.01 | |
Meow | Emperor | 6,100 (470) | 13 | 0.01 | |
The Fencer | CFI | 5,100 (2,550) | 2 | 0.01 | |
The Untamed | Strand | 2,500 (2,500) | 1 | 0.01 | |
Domestic Market Share (January 2 – July 20, 2017) | |||||
Distributor (releases) | Box Office | Market Share | |||
Buena Vista (8) | 1366.2 | 21.40% | |||
Universal (12) | 1150.1 | 18.10% | |||
Warner Bros. (17) | 965.6 | 15.20% | |||
20th Century Fox (18) | 913.9 | 14.30% | |||
Sony (11) | 504.3 | 7.90% | |||
Lionsgate (14) | 464.6 | 7.30% | |||
Paramount (12) | 379.7 | 6.00% | |||
Weinstein Co. (4) | 63.1 | 1.00% | |||
Focus (11) | 58.3 | 0.90% | |||
STX (6) | 52.3 | 0.80% | |||
Entertainment (2) | 44.9 | 0.70% | |||
Fox Searchlight (6) | 42.5 | 0.65% | |||
Open Road (5) | 41.4 | 0.65% | |||
A24 (7) | 35.9 | 0.55% | |||
CBS (3) | 32.9 | 0.50% | |||
Roadside Attractions (6) | 27.5 | 0.45% | |||
Other * (191) | 228.8 | 3.60% | |||
6372 | 100% | ||||
* none greater than 0.4% | |||||
Top Limited Releases (January 2 – July 20, 2017) | |||||
Title | Distributor | Box Office | |||
Baahubali 2: The Conclusion | Great India | 21,086,279 | |||
The Beguiled | Focus | 9,903,434 | |||
The Lost City of Z | Bleecker/Elevation | 8,580,409 | |||
I Am Not Your Negro | Magnolia/Mongrel | 7,123,919 | |||
Silence * | Par | 6,826,130 | |||
Beatriz at Dinner | Roadside/Elevation | 6,591,843 | |||
Lowriders | High Top | 6,268,060 | |||
20th Century Women * | A24/Elevation | 5,486,188 | |||
Paris Can Wait | Sony Classics | 5,394,786 | |||
Bon Cop Bad Cop 2 | Seville | 5,179,214 | |||
Your Name | FunImation | 5,014,670 | |||
The Book of Henry | Focus | 4,359,098 | |||
Sleight | High Top | 3,930,990 | |||
A United Kingdom | Fox Searchlight | 3,902,185 | |||
Norman: Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer | Sony Classics | 3,812,355 | |||
Raees | Zee Studios | 3,618,447 | |||
Table 19 | Fox Searchlight | 3,614,896 | |||
Their Finest | STX/Elevation | 3,603,484 | |||
The Hero | Orchard | 3,559,801 | |||
Maudie | Mongrel/IFC | 3,275,075 | |||
* does not include 2016 box office |