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% |