By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com

The Weekend Report

Black Panther’s 46% decline can be viewed as a moderate downturn, but its estimated $108.2 million weekend box office is formidable. The modest opposition saw three new national release, with the best of the bunch, the antic comedy Game Night, slotted second with $16.7 million while head-trip adventure Annihilation opened to $10.8 million. The resurrected Orion Pictures label provided the young adult fantasy romance Every Day with a low spark of $2.9 million.

Best of the exclusive bows was Raoul Peck’s follow-up to I Am Not Your Negro, fictional biopic The Young Karl Marx, which grossed $27,200 on three battlements.

A pair of Hindi films bowed to OK results of $244,000 for Sonu Ke Titi Ki Sweety and disappointment for Welcome to New York with $133,000. China entries featured a potent $474,000 start for Operation Red Sea and a modest $58,200 for spy spoof Agent Mr. Chan. In Québec, animated Nelly et Simon: Mission Yeti misfired with a $54,300 tally while local drama Pour vivre ici was moderately better with a $35,600 box office from 12 venues.

Revenues for the session topped $185 million and slipped 35% from the prior weekend. It was conversely a 59% boost from 2017 when the debut of Get Out opened to $33.4 million and The Lego Batman movie took the silver with $19.2 million.

Jason Bateman has backed into the role of comedy’s hard-pressed everyman and in Game Night mines the tricky balance of fun and mayhem. Tracking suggested a $15 million to $17 million debut with a result tilting to the high side. Its audience was 56% female with 86% 25 and older.

The intensity of Annihilation contributed to its 58% skew toward male viewers. It had high-end expectations of $10 million that it exceeded, but its ferocity is likely to translate into sharp declines even as March releases aren’t expected to prompt significant sales. 67% of viewers were aged 25 and older.

Barring a miracle, 2018 looks like the year Oscar nominees failed to generate significant momentum for potential honorees. No film has emerged as the inevitable best picture winner and, contrary to reason, the absence of a perceived winner has historically worked against viewership levels. Commentators are unified in best acting statuettes for Gary Oldman in Darkest Hour and Francis McDormand in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, but their films have had sustained rather than expanding commercial returns. And with one exception all contender pictures are well into their respective international campaigns. The only potential beneficiary of major overseas boosts is Lady Bird, which began its international exposure last weekend in 12 markets that included the U.K., Australia, Mexico and Brazil with a $2.4 million gross.

Weekend (estimates) February 16 – 18, 2018
Title Distributor Gross (avg) % chng Thtrs Cume
Black Panther BV 108.2 (26,920) -46% 4020 400.2
Game Night WB 16.7 (4,780) NEW 3488 16.7
Peter Rabbit Sony 12.5 (3,370) -29% 3707 71.2
Annihilation Par 10.8 (5,380) NEW 2012 10.8
Fifty Shades Freed Uni 6.9 (2,110) -60% 3265 89.5
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle Sony 5.6 (2,230) -30% 2519 387.2
The 15:17 to Paris WB 3.6 (1,300) -53% 2752 32.2
The Greatest Showman Fox 3.4 (2,110) -33% 1601 160.8
Every Day Orion 2.9 (1,760) NEW 1667 2.9
Early Man Lionsgate 1.7 (670) -48% 2494 6.8
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Fox Searchlight 1.2 (1,790) -18% 691 50.1
The Post Fox 1.2 (1,480) -40% 795 78.8
The Shape of Water Fox Searchlight 1.1 (1,550) -32% 721 55.3
Winchester CBS/VVS 1.0 (1,150) -56% 852 23.8
Maze Runner: The Death Cure WB .96 (1,010) -63% 952 56.3
Samson Pure Flix .87 (760) -55% 1140 3.6
Darkest Hour Focus .77 (970) -16% 795 53.5
Lady Bird A24/Elevation .62 (1,040) 0% 601 47.2
Phantom Thread Focus .58 (900) -19% 651 18.7
I, Tonya Neon .57 (1,340) -37% 423 28.1
Call Me By Your Name Sony Classics .53 (790) 5% 675 15.8
Coco BV .48 (1,810) -30% 266 208
Operation Red Sea Well Go .47 (10,300) NEW 46 0.47
Detective Chinatown 2 WB .40 (3,580) -44% 111 1.6
Den of Thieves STX/VVS .38 (1,060) -60% 357 44.3
2018 Oscar Shorts Magnolia .36 (1,950) -47% 186 2.5
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) $181.70
% Change (Last Year) 52%
% Change (Last Week) -35%
Also debuting/expanding
Sonu Ke Tutu Ki Sweety Viva .24 (3,690) 66 0.24
A Fantastic Woman Sony Classics .16 (2,010) 66% 78 0.58
Welcome to New York Grand Showbiz .13 (1,600) 83 0.13
The Party Roadside Attractions .11 (3,630) 191% 30 0.17
Monster Hunt 2 Lionsgate .10 (1,960) -70% 52 0.61
The Insult Cohen Media 75,800 (1,510) -10% 50 0.76
Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool Sony Classics 74,700 (730) -47% 102 0.7
Loveless Sony Classics 62,300 (5,190) 63% 12 0.13
Agent Mr. Chan China Lion 58,200 (6,470) 9 0.06
Nelly et Simon: Mission Yeti Seville 54,200 (1,260) 43 0.05
Pour vivre ici Seville 35,500 (2,960) 12 0.04
Sin Island ABS 32,400 (880) 37 0.03
The Young Karl Marx Orchard 27,200 (9,070) 3 0.03
Les Gardiens MK2 19,100 (2,390) 8 0.02
Are We Not Cats Cleopatra 6,900 (1,720) 4 0.01
The Cured IFC 4,700 (1,570) 3 0.01
Domestic Market Share (January 2 – February 22, 2018)
Distributor (releases) Box Office (millions) Market Share
Buena Vista (4) 417.2 24.80%
Sony (8) 293.7 17.50%
20th Century Fox (5) 261.6 15.50%
Universal (5) 182.4 10.90%
Warner Bros. (11) 121.5 7.20%
Fox Searchlight (2) 61.9 3.70%
STX (3) 60.7 3.60%
Focus (2) 51.6 3.10%
Lionsgate (6) 50.5 3.00%
Entertainment (1) 27.7 1.60%
Neon (1) 23.1 1.40%
CBS (1) 21.1 1.30%
A24 (3) 16.7 1.00%
Roadside Attractions (1) 14.8 0.90%
Paramount (3) 8.7 0.50%
Other * (64) 67.8 4.00%
1681 100%
* none greater than 0.4%
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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