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
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Leonard Klady's Friday Estimates
Friday Screens % Chg Cume
Title Gross Thtr % Chgn Cume
Venom 33 4250 NEW 33
A Star is Born 15.7 3686 NEW 15.7
Smallfoot 3.5 4131 -46% 31.3
Night School 3.5 3019 -63% 37.9
The House Wirh a Clock in its Walls 1.8 3463 -43% 49.5
A Simple Favor 1 2408 -50% 46.6
The Nun 0.75 2264 -52% 111.5
Hell Fest 0.6 2297 -70% 7.4
Crazy Rich Asians 0.6 1466 -51% 167.6
The Predator 0.25 1643 -77% 49.3
Also Debuting
The Hate U Give 0.17 36
Shine 85,600 609
Exes Baggage 75,900 62
NOTA 71,300 138
96 61,600 62
Andhadhun 55,000 54
Afsar 45,400 33
Project Gutenberg 36,000 17
Love Yatri 22,300 41
Hello, Mrs. Money 22,200 37
Studio 54 5,300 1
Loving Pablo 4,200 15
3-Day Estimates Weekend % Chg Cume
No Good Dead 24.4 (11,230) NEW 24.4
Dolphin Tale 2 16.6 (4,540) NEW 16.6
Guardians of the Galaxy 7.9 (2,550) -23% 305.8
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4.8 (1,630) -26% 181.1
The Drop 4.4 (5,480) NEW 4.4
Let's Be Cops 4.3 (1,570) -22% 73
If I Stay 4.0 (1,320) -28% 44.9
The November Man 2.8 (1,030) -36% 22.5
The Giver 2.5 (1,120) -26% 41.2
The Hundred-Foot Journey 2.5 (1,270) -21% 49.4