The Weekend Report

The debut of Pacific Rim Uprising led weekend viewing with an estimated $28 million. The session was rife with new releases but short on commercial dynamism. Animated Sherlock Gnomes charted fourth with $10.6 million while faith-targeted Paul, the Apostle failed to catch the I Can Only Imagine wave with a $5 million launch. At the back of the pack were YA romance Midnight Sun, which grossed $4.1 million and the low-budget thriller Unsane with $3.7 million.

Exclusive premieres were dominated by the stop-motion Isle of Dogs, which grossed $1.6 million from 27 locations. A swath of new Indian titles saw Hindi Hichki and Punjabi Sajjan Singh Rangroot with respective openings of $321,000 and $332,000, Also good was Filipino romcom My Perfect You, with $189,000 from 48 venues.

Revenues for the frame nudged past $130 million and slipped back 2% from last weekend. Once again it was a steeper 35% decline from 2017 when the second weekend of Beauty and the Beast led with $90.4 million and the opening of Power Rangers followed with $40.3 million.

Pacific Rim opened in 2013 (directed by Guillermo del Toro) and squeezed past $100 million domestically but trebled that figure overseas. Industry tracking had the follow-up opening on the high end at $25 million and, again, it’s shaping up to be propelled by international. Pacific Rim Uprising opened day-and-date in 61 international markets to an estimated $122 million with China dominant with $65 million. Other leading territories included South Korea with $6.9 million, Russia $6.8 million and Mexico bowing with $4.9 million. Studio exit polling identified the North American audience as 62% male with 53% of viewers 25 and older.

Sherlock Gnomes got into the domestic marketplace ahead of Gnome Alone and while expectations were modest it failed to reach predictions of $14-$16 million. Adding to the disappointment was the lack of a significant family animated competitor. The film had debuted in a handful of foreign markets a week earlier (notably Russia) to an OK $2.1 million. The current weekend saw the addition of 14 overseas territories and a carbon copy $2.1 million result.

Paul, Apostle of Christ continued the waning popularity of religious-themed pictures aimed at heartland audiences (I Can Only Imagine being the exception). Its audience skewed 54% female with plus 25-year-olds accounting for 77% of the flock.

Based on a 2006 Japanese film, Midnight Sun marked the first release of Global Road, which acquired Open Road (and foreign sales agent IM Global) in 2017. Although it was tracking to do no more than $6 million it reached its target audience with polling reflecting ticket buyers as 80% female with 66% 25 and younger.

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