The Weekend Report

I Never Drink … Whine

It was scary stuff kids (not really) as the debut of Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation hit the beach and the top of the charts with an estimated $43.9 million. The session’s other freshman national release was the burning inferno yarn Skyscraper that slotted third with $25.5 million.

In the niches a wave of new Indian imports appeared to undercut a handful of releases from reaching their full potential. On a pound for pound basis the Punjabi Vadhayiyaan Ji Vadhayiyaan fared best with a $165,000 box office from 37 engagements. New exclusive entries had a couple of standouts including the unconventional biopic He Won’t Get Far on Foot that opened to $84,500 from four venues and the coming-of-ager  Eighth Grade that graduated with honors of $250,000 from an alternate quartet of screens.

A number of alternative titles also managed to secure significant expansions. The urban comedy Sorry to Bother You added 789 playdates and posted a potent $3.8 million box office. New engagements also maintained momentum for Three Individual Strangers and Leave No Trace.

Revenues for the frame hovered around $167 million and dipped 12% from the prior weekend. It was a modest 3% improvement from 2017 when War for the Planet of the Apes debuted to $56.3 million and Spider-Man Homecoming’s second weekend grossed $44.2 million.

Switching from the fall to the summer proved to be a commercial asset for Hotel Transylvania 3 with pundits predicting a debut of more than $40 million that was on target. Exit polls identified its audience as 52% female with 68% aged 25-years and younger. A breakdown for families was unavailable but likely very, very significant.

The film had opened two weeks ago internationally in Australia and a couple of secondary markets were it grossed about $7 million going into the weekend. This weekend included 44 overseas territories and a studio animated record-setting $46 million. Top new markets included Mexico that grossed $86 million Russia with $5.8 million and Brazil contributing $3.8 million to the pot.

The unstoppable Dwayne Johnson hit a speed bump domestically where low end estimates pegged Skyscraper at $30 million and, based on recent performance, climbed upwards to the 35^th million level. It may have simply been a case of over-exposure but more likely the film was hampered by an ad campaign that was high on concept and low on novelty.

The film’s audience was 55% male with 52% aged 25-years and older.

On the international front Skyscraper debuted in 57 territories to a considerably more upbeat $40 million plus. Its top three grossing markets were Korea’s $4.6 million, a $3.8 million start in Mexico and Russia Trumping in with a $2.6 million Finnish.

Be Sociable, Share!

• 
•