By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
Weekend Report
What’s Buzzin’
Ant-Man and the Wasp infested the multiplex with an estimated $76.1 million to handily take command of weekend movie-going. The session other wide national opener The First Purge was fourth in the pecking order with $17.1 million.
In limited wide release the tuneful doc Whitney (Houston) arrived with $1.2 million to mild applause. A clutch of new Indian imports all pancaked and special screenings of the anime Fireworks managed to gross an impressive $510,000 with fluctuating playdates from its Wednesday launch.
Exclusive debuts included an impressive solo for another musical great _ Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto _ of $14,300 with Coda. But the big noise was unquestionably for the audacious urban Sorry to Bother You that bowed with $716,000 from 16 locations. It will add about 600 screens next weekend.
Revenues for the session generated around $190 million and climbed 6% from last weekend. It was a 10% decline from 2017 when the premiere of Spider-Man: Homecoming led with $117 million and Despicable Me 3 followed with $33.6 million.
Sweltering heat nationally rather than World Cup eliminations were credited with softer business than anticipated. Another factor was the mid-week July 4th holiday that created unusual travel patterns.
It was clear that the follow up to 2015’s Ant-Man would be more popular than its inspiration partially because of the addition of a distaff superhero. Among the quirkier Marvel defenders with a sardonic streak and a more comic bent the original played more easily to a hipper, older crowd. The sequel strives for a more nuanced balance that incorporates more conventional genre tropes without abandoning the character’s more aberrant behavior.
Pundits predicted a debut in the range of $80 million to $85 million that wilted somewhat in the end. Its domestic audience was 55% male with 58% aged 25-years and older. However, 28% of respondents identified as families.
Ant-Man and the Wasp also launched overseas in 41 territories to an impressive box office estimated at $85 million. Among the top markets were Korea with $21 million, Mexico grossing $6.7 million and Indonesia adding $5.6 million. Upcoming markets include China, Japan, France, Germany and the UK.
The fifth edition of The Purge that began in 2013 was also expected to open slightly stronger than its actual box office. The on-going premise of a corridor where a blind eye is cast on all things illegal has proven to be malleable and inventive and is about to become a limited-run cable series. It had a 54% male audience with 51% of viewers aged 25-years and younger. A percentage for families was unavailable.
The film also opened in 26 foreign climes to an estimated $11 million. Potential World Cup finalists the UK and France had the top respective openings of $2,2 million and $2,1 million.
| Title | Distributor | Gross (average) | % change * | Theaters | Cume |
| Ant-Man and the Wasp | BV | 76.1 (18,090) | NEW | 4206 | 76.1 |
| Incredibles 2 | BV | 28.8 (6,990) | -38% | 4113 | 504.1 |
| Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom | Uni | 28.6 (6,570) | -53% | 4349 | 333.3 |
| The First Purge | Uni | 17.1 (5,650) | NEW | 3031 | 31 |
| Sicario: Day of the Soldado | Sony | 7.4 (2,430) | -61% | 3055 | 35.4 |
| Uncle Drew | Lionsgate | 6.6 (2,400) | -57% | 2742 | 29.9 |
| Ocean’s 8 | WB | 5.2 (2,000) | -37% | 2604 | 126.7 |
| Tag | WB | 3.1 (1,430) | -48% | 2157 | 48.3 |
| Won’t You Be My Neighbor? | Focus | 2.6 (2,890) | 7% | 893 | 12.4 |
| Deadpool 2 | Fox | 1.7 (1,310) | -54% | 1267 | 314.5 |
| Whitney | Roadside Attractions | 1.2 (2,740) | NEW | 454 | 1.2 |
| Sanju | Fox Intl | 1.2 (3,420) | -55% | 359 | 5.9 |
| Solo: A Star Wars Story | BV | 1.0 (1,290) | -63% | 778 | 210.9 |
| Hereditary | A24/Elevation | .10 (1,320) | -57% | 744 | 41.8 |
| Avengers: Infinity War | BV | .88 (1,730) | -43% | 506 | 674.8 |
| Sorry to Bother You | Annapurna | .72 (44,770) | NEW | 16 | 0.72 |
| Three Identical Strangers | Neon | .69 (13,570) | 302% | 51 | 1 |
| Superfly | Sony | .61 (1,140) | -56% | 535 | 19.8 |
| Leave No Trace | Bleecker Street | .42 (11,410) | 93% | 37 | 0.8 |
| Book Club | Par | .41 (1,100) | -38% | 374 | 67.2 |
| Rampage | WB | .34 (2,800) | -44% | 120 | 99 |
| RBG | Magnolia | .31 (2,240) | -25% | 139 | 12.2 |
| Adrift | STX/VVS | .29 (890) | -47% | 323 | 30.8 |
| Hearts Beat Loud | Gunpowder & Sky | .25 (1,630) | -35% | 154 | 1.9 |
| Boundaries | Sony Classics | .23 (1,020) | 387% | 224 | 0.36 |
| La Chute de l’empire American | Seville | .20 (2,700) | -45% | 73 | 0.85 |
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $184.50 | ||||
| % Change (Last Year) | -10% | ||||
| % Change (Last Week) | 6% | ||||
| Also debuting/expanding | |||||
| American Animals | Orchard | .15 (1,120) | -59% | 135 | 2.5 |
| Fireworks | Gkids | .14 (310) | 471 | 0.51 | |
| The Catch Was a Spy | IFC | .10 (1,950) | -13% | 52 | 0.49 |
| Tej I Love You | Magnus | 79,700 (950) | 84 | 0.08 | |
| First Reformed | A24 | 69,500 (900) | -53% | 77 | 3.3 |
| 2001: A Space Odyssey (reissue) | WB | 60,600 (8,660) | 52% | 7 | 1.2 |
| Pantham | Supreme | 32,200 (370) | 87 | 0.07 | |
| Nankana | Seven Colors | 28,600 (750) | 38 | 0.03 | |
| Brother of the Year | Media Asia | 16,300 (1,250) | 13 | 0.02 | |
| Na Band Na Baraati | HUM | 15,700 (510) | 31 | 0.02 | |
| Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda | MUBI | 14,300 (14,300) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| Under the Tree | Magnolia | 12,800 (4,270) | 3 | 0.01 | |
| Domestic Market Share (January 2 – July 5, 2018) | |||||
| Distributor (releases) | Box Office (millions) | Market Share | |||
| Buena Vista (9) | 2300.5 | 36.10% | |||
| Universal (11) | 726.6 | 11.40% | |||
| Warner Bros. (19) | 716.8 | 11.20% | |||
| 20th Century Fox (10) | 694.4 | 10.90% | |||
| Sony (12) | 439.6 | 6.90% | |||
| Paramount (7) | 343.6 | 5.40% | |||
| Lionsgate (10) | 181.4 | 2.80% | |||
| Fox Searchlight (4) | 139.6 | 2.20% | |||
| STX (6) | 138.1 | 2.20% | |||
| Roadside Attractions (5) | 99.1 | 1.50% | |||
| Focus (8) | 96.3 | 1.50% | |||
| A24 (7) | 61.1 | 1.00% | |||
| Entertainment (3) | 51.7 | 0.80% | |||
| MGM (2) | 37.1 | 0.60% | |||
| Global Road (4) | 31.2 | 0.50% | |||
| Other * (216) | 315.9 | 5.00% | |||
| 6373 | 100% | ||||
| * none greater than 0.4% | |||||
I miss Dave, but not as much as I thought. This is a well-done post. I love the analysis. You’re thorough. You give great insight about what may be driving the numbers and how they compare historically. It’s your own voice, but in the site’s tradition. Well done (and it’s a nice, clean chart instead of a screenshot!).