By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
The Weekend Report
It was close as the debut of Tomb Raider bowed with an estimated $23.5 million. Black Panther led the frame with $26.8 million. Two additional films had national openings including the musically inspirational I Can Only Imagine that opened with an unexpectedly strong $17 million and the gay teen comedy Love, Simon with $11.5 million.
In limited wide release the opening of 7 Days in Entebbe disappointed with $1.6 million. New releases from India included a good $422,000 start for the Hindi Raid and a soft bow of $183,000 for Telugu Kirrak Party. Among exclusive launches the best of the bunch were two dysfunctional family sagas, Flower , which grossed $56,200 from three screens and Keep the Change with $12,200 from a single engagement.
Revenues generated about $133 million and slipped back a modest 4% from the prior weekend. There was a 50% slump from 2017 when the launch of Beauty and the Beast grossed $174.7 million and Kong: Skull Island took second spot with $27.8 million.
The revival of the “Lara Croft” videogame comes 15 years since Angelina Jolie limbed the role in two films. Anticipation for the rebooted Tomb Raider remained modest with high end expectations of roughly $25 million. Studio exit polling identified her crowd as 56% female with 68% aged 25 and older.
Tomb Raider bowed internationally in nine Asian markets last weekend and grossed an impressive $14 million. It added 56 territories and grossed an estimated $84 million including a $41 million opening in China. Other top debuts included $4.4 million in Russia, the UK grossing $4.2 million and France with $3.2 million.
The weekend surprise was I Can Only Imagine, inspired by the contemporary Christian rock song and its band MercyMe. Tracking had it line with recent faith-targeted movies in the range of $6 million to $8 million. Its audience skewed 67% female with 80% of viewers aged 35 and older.
Teen gay coming-of-age story Love, Simon was predicted to open in the $10 million to $12 million range. Its audience was largely female at 58% but younger with 59% of its crowd aged 35-years and younger.
| Weekend (estimates) March 16 – 18, 2018 | |||||
| Title | Distributor | Gross (avg) | % chng | Thtrs | Cume |
| Black Panther | BV | 26.8 (6,990) | -34% | 3834 | 605.2 |
| Tomb Raider | WB | 23.5 (6,090) | NEW | 3854 | 23.5 |
| I Can Only Imagine | Roadside/Lionsgate | 17.0 (10,450) | NEW | 1629 | 17 |
| A Wrinkle in Time | BV | 16.7 (4,190) | -50% | 3980 | 61.2 |
| Love, Simon | Fox | 11.5 (4,780) | NEW | 2402 | 11.5 |
| Game Night | WB | 5.6 (2,080) | -29% | 2686 | 54.2 |
| Peter Rabbit | Sony | 5.2 (1,920) | -23% | 2725 | 102.5 |
| The Strangers: Prey at Night | Aviron/Elevation | 4.7 (1,920) | -55% | 2464 | 18.5 |
| Red Sparrow | Fox | 4.4 (1,710) | -48% | 2583 | 39.5 |
| Death Wish | MGM/eOne | 3.4 (1,260) | -49% | 2676 | 30 |
| Annihilation | Par | 1.7 (1,550) | -49% | 1087 | 29.6 |
| Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle | Sony | 1.6 (1,050) | -40% | 1556 | 400.2 |
| 7 Days in Entebbe | Focus | 1.6 (1,930) | NEW | 838 | 1.6 |
| The Greatest Showman | Fox | 1.2 (1,600) | -38% | 737 | 169.8 |
| The Hurricane Heist | Entertainment/D Films | 1.0 (440) | -67% | 2283 | 5.3 |
| The Shape of Water | Fox Searchlight | .78 (1,030) | -67% | 758 | 62.7 |
| Gringo | STX/VVS | .63 (270) | -77% | 2314 | 4.5 |
| Fifty Shades Freed | Uni | .61 (700) | -55% | 873 | 99.6 |
| The Death of Stalin | IFC/Elevation | .58 (17,120) | 215% | 34 | 0.85 |
| Thoroughbreds | Focus | .47 (830) | -62% | 564 | 2.3 |
| Raid | Eros | .42 (5,410) | NEW | 78 | 0.42 |
| Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri | Fox Searchlight | .26 (910) | -63% | 282 | 53.9 |
| Coco | BV | .19 (1.090) | -25% | 177 | 209.2 |
| A Fantastic Woman | Sony Classics | .19 (1,020) | 68% | 190 | 1.5 |
| Kirrak Party | Trendy | .18 (1,370) | NEW | 134 | 0.3 |
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $128.50 | ||||
| % Change (Last Year) | -50% | ||||
| % Change (Last Week) | -4% | ||||
| Also debuting/expanding | |||||
| The Leisure Seeker | Sony Classics | .14 (2,920) | 25% | 49 | 0.32 |
| I, Tonya | Neon | .13 (830) | -50% | 160 | 29.8 |
| Call Me By Your Name | Sony Classics | .12 (1,030) | -59% | 118 | 17.7 |
| Phantom Thread | Focus | 94,300 (1,030) | -60% | 92 | 20.9 |
| Operation Red Sea | Well Go | 78,400 (2,800) | -52% | 28 | 1.4 |
| The Party | Roadside Attractions | 71,700 (900) | -29% | 80 | 0.61 |
| Flower | Orchard | 56,200 (18,730) | 3 | 0.06 | |
| Foxtrot | Sony Classics | 51,500 (4,290) | 88% | 12 | 0.17 |
| Loveless | Sony Classics | 45,300 (1,050) | -16% | 43 | 0.37 |
| Demon House | Entertainment | 26,800 (2,440) | 11 | 0.03 | |
| Journey’s End | Good Deed | 12,500 (6,250) | 2 | 0.01 | |
| Keep the Change | Kino | 12,200 (12,200) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| Ramen Heads | FilmBuff | 6,800 (3,200) | 2 | 0.01 | |
| Gone Are the Days | Lionsgate | 5,600 (2,800) | 2 | 0.01 | |
| Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day | Janus | 4,200 (4,200) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| Domestic Market Share (January 2 – March 13, 2918) | |||||
| Distributor (releases) | Box Office (millions) | Market Share | |||
| Buena Vista (5) | 751.1 | 32.20% | |||
| Sony (8) | 349.5 | 15.00% | |||
| 20th Century Fox (7) | 315.6 | 13.50% | |||
| Universal (5) | 199.6 | 8.60% | |||
| Warner Bros. (12) | 181.4 | 7.80% | |||
| Fox Searchlight (2) | 74.3 | 3.20% | |||
| STX (4) | 65.6 | 2.80% | |||
| Focus (3) | 58.5 | 2.50% | |||
| Lionsgate (6) | 55.1 | 2.30% | |||
| Paramount (3) | 35.8 | 1.50% | |||
| Entertainment (1) | 32.8 | 1.40% | |||
| MGM (2) | 30.3 | 1.30% | |||
| Neon (1) | 24.9 | 1.10% | |||
| CBS (1) | 23.2 | 1.00% | |||
| A24 (3) | 18.8 | 0.80% | |||
| Roadside Attractions (3) | 16.9 | 0.70% | |||
| Other * (85) | 100 | 4.30% | |||
| 2333.4 | 100% | ||||
| * none greater than 0.5% | |||||
| Domestic Box Office Leaders (January 2 – March 15, 2018) | |||||
| Title | Distributor | Box Office (millions) | |||
| Black Panther | BV | 578,376,528 | |||
| Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle * | Sony | 213,398,652 | |||
| The Greatest Showman * | Fox | 114,147,085 | |||
| Fifty Shades Freed | Uni | 99,016,300 | |||
| Peter Rabbit | Sony | 97,240,268 | |||
| Star Wars: The Last Jedi * | BV | 88,104,788 | |||
| The Post * | Fox | 79,346,670 | |||
| Insidious: The Last Key | Uni/Sony | 67,514,963 | |||
| Maze Runner: The Death Cure | Fox | 57,535,995 | |||
| Game Night | WB | 48,604,184 | |||
| 12 Strong | WB | 45,330,975 | |||
| The Shape of Water * | Fox Searchlight | 45,025,177 | |||
| Den of Thieves | STX/VVS | 44,900,095 | |||
| A Wrinkle in Time | BV | 44,494,654 | |||
| Paddington 2 * | WB | 40,442,052 | |||
| Pitch Perfect 3 * | Uni | 36,794,756 | |||
| Coco * | BV | 36,613,920 | |||
| Darkest Hour * | Focus | 36,548,393 | |||
| The Commuter | Lionsgate/VVS | 36,343,858 | |||
| The 15:17 to Paris | WB | 35,882,890 | |||
| * does not include 2017 box office | |||||
