By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com

The Weekend Report

Aimless: Nul Points

Despite a sharp sophomore drop Solo: A Star Wars Story held the lead in weekend movie going with an estimated $29.5 million. A trio of new national releases failed to create more than a ripple with Adrift at least providing a respectable start with $11.5 million in third position. The paranoid thriller Upgrade actually exceeded expectations with a $4.4 million start while the stunt hijinx of Action Point pancaked with a grim $2.3 million debut.

In the niches several Indian imports generated potent openings including the Hindi Veere di Wedding that bowed to $1.28 million from 121 venues and the Punjabi franchise Carry on Jatta 2 grossing $443,000 on 60 screens. The Dominican comedy Sanky Panky 3 also had reason to smile with a $169,000 box office. Exclusive debuts were dominated by the true life crime saga American Animals with a $133,000 tally from four sites.

Revenues for the session generated about $108 million and dipped 43% from the three-day portion of the Memorial weekend holiday. It was a scintilla deeper at 44% from 2017 when debuts of Wonder Woman and Captain Underpants opened respectively to $103.2 million and $23.8 million.

Despite largely positive reviews Adrift arrived on the low end of pundit predictions with some tracking pegging it at $14 million on the high end. The fact-based yarn of a couple that sailed into Hurricane Raymond back in 1983 and “survived crippling odds” had a familiar quality. On the one hand strong word-of-mouth was an asset and on the down side its appeal was largely muted by the feeling one had seen this story before … several times.

Upgrade also got the critical thumbs up but lacked the marketing support that might have elevated it to breakout success. Tracking suggested a debut in the range of $2.6 million to $2.8 million and though it significantly over-performed, the film failed to reach a level that would secure screens as the likes of Ocean’s 8 and Incredibles and Mission: Impossible sequels arrive at the multiplex.

Lastly it was a total blowout for the Jackass flavored Action Point that did the limbo of albeit low predictions in the area of $6 million or $7 million. Exit demos revealed that the film reached its target audience with an audience that was 67% male and 50% aged 25-years and older. However, that section of the audience majorly opted for other forms of entertainment to quench their weekend appetite.

Weekend (estimates) June 1 – 3, 2018
Title Distributor Gross (avg) % chng Thtrs Cume
Solo: A Star Wars Story BV 29.5 (6,730) -65% 4381 149.1
Deadpool 2 Fox 23.5 (5,640) -46% 4161 254.8
Adrift STX/VVS 11.5 (3,810) NEW 3015 11.5
Avengers: Infinity War BV 10.4 (2,920) -40% 3570 642.9
Book Club Par 6.7 (2,120) -33% 3169 47.2
Upgrade Focus 4.4 (3,040) NEW 1457 4.4
Life of the Party WB 3.4 (1,370) -36% 2511 46.3
Breaking In Uni 2.8 (1,660) -35% 1682 41.3
Action Point Par 2.3 (1,120) NEW 2032 2.3
Overboard Lionsgate 2.0 (1,620) -37% 1228 45.5
A Quiet Place Par 1.7 (1,500) -29% 1156 183.5
Show Dogs Global Road/eOne 1.5 (650) -54% 2327 14.6
Veere di Wedding Zee Studios 1.3 (10,580) NEW 121 1.3
RBG Magnolia 1.0 (2,380) -20% 432 7.8
Rampage WB .6 (1,210) -28% 502 95.1
First Reformed A24 .44 (4,860) 51% 91 1
Carry on Jatta 2 White Hill .44 (7,380) NEW 60 0.44
Super Troopers 2 Fox Searchlight .31 (2,270) -49% 138 30.4
I Feel Pretty STX/eOne .30 (940) -43% 315 48.3
Ready Player One WB .25 (930) 17% 271 136.1
Black Panther BV .24 (860) -49% 284 699.1
The Rider Sony Classics .24 (1,060) 27% 224 1.7
Disobedience Bleecker Street .21 (1,320) -50% 158 3.1
Kasal ABS .19 (4,370) -36% 43 0.66
Sanky Panky 3 Caribbean .17 (6,040) NEW 28 0.17
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) $102.60
% Change (Last Year) -44%
% Change (Last Week) -43%
Also debuting/expanding
How Long Will I Love U Well Go .16 (5,120) -20% 32 0.5
Pope Francis – A Man of His Word Focus .15 (540) -52% 273 1.6
On Chesil Beach Bleecker Street .14 (1,620) 52% 89 0.35
American Animals Orchard .13 (33,300) 4 0.13
The Seagull Sony Classics .12 (2,380) 11% 52 0.52
Beast Roadside Attractions 92,700 (1,010) -50% 92 0.63
The Gospel According to Andre Magnolia 83,400 (3,970) 74% 21 0.17
Let the Sunshine In IFC 78,900 (1,160) -28% 68 0.7
2001: A Space Odyssey (reissue) WB 66,800 (13,360) -26% 5 0.56
Bhavesh Joshi Superhero Eros 43,100 (980) 44 0.04
La chute de Sparte Filmoption 41,300 (1,210) 34 0.04
Officer CineGalaxy 34,500 (580) 59 0.03
How to Talk to Girls at Parties A24 32,700 (320) 158% 103 0.05
Tout le monde debout A-Z Films 25,700 (1,120) 23 0.03
Rajugadu Aditya 25,500 (470) 54 0.03
In Emma’s Footsteps Candlelight 19,800 (1,980) 10 0.02
Hibiscus & Ruthless M2S 11,900 (11,900) 1 0.01
Yo Soy Pepito Plus Enertainment 11,200 (1,600) 7 0.01
A Kid Like Jake IFC 1 0.01
Domestic Market Share (January 2 – May 31, 2018)
Distributor (releases) Box Office (millions) Market Share
Buena Vista (7) 1678.4 34.30%
20th Century Fox (9) 607.8 12.40%
Warner Bros. (17) 533.5 10.90%
Universal (9) 398.9 8.20%
Sony (10) 392.3 8.00%
Paramount (6) 305.7 6.30%
Lionsgate (9) 151.6 3.10%
Fox Searchlight (4) 138.4 2.80%
STX (5) 109.1 2.20%
Roadside Attractions (5) 98.5 2.00%
Focus (6) 74.1 1.50%
Entertainment (3) 51.6 1.10%
MGM (2) 37.1 0.75%
Neon (4) 25.8 0.55%
CBS (1) 23.5 0.45%
Aviron (1) 22.9 0.45%
Other * (183) 243.8 5.00%
4893 100%
* none greater than 0.4%
Top Limited Releases (January 2 – May 31, 2018)
Title Distributor Box Office
Padmaavat Viva 12,159,664
The Death of Stalin IFC/Elevation 8,532,417
RBG Magnolia 6,775,859
Rangasthalam Creative 3,632,267
2018 Oscar Nominated Shorts Magnolia 3,508,777
The Leisure Seeker Sony Classics/eOne 3,176,346
Disobedience Bleecker Street 2,841,242
La Boda de Valentina Lionsgate 2,816,208
Mahanati Nirvana 2,661,938
Raazi Zee Studios 2,599,545
Agnyaathavaasi – Prince in Exile Blue Sky 2,586,699
You Were Never Really Here Amazon/Elevation 2,501,161
Mary and the Witch’s Flower Gkids 2,418,404
La Bolduc Seville 2,263,821
A Fantastic Woman Sony Classics 2,020,988
Detective Chinatown 2 WB 1,983,984
Pandas Imax/WB 1,710,899
Pad Man Sony 1,670,192
Operation Red Sea Well Go 1,543,547
The Rider Sony Classics 1,499,939
* does not include 2017 box office
Be Sociable, Share!

Comments are closed.

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