Memorial Day Three-Day Estimates

Pirates are not all Dead Men with $76.8 million on 4,276, while Guardians Vol. 2 steams to $26.3 million on 3,871 for a $339.6 million cume. A quiet third, Baywatch proves not so biggle with its jiggle, $22.9 million on 3,647.

The DVD Wrapup: World Cinema Project 2, Obsession, Pelle the Conqueror, Jacques Rivette, Dark Angel and more

It would be difficult for most of us to sustain the level of affection and enthusiasm Martin Scorsese displays in his introductions to the half-dozen films collected in World Cinema Project: No. 2. They are his godchildren. Scorsese has always been a key player in the film preservation movement and this is the second batch of movies the World Cinema Project has rescued for future generations to enjoy. Established in 2007 under the auspices of the Film Foundation, which, in 1990, Scorsese founded and now chairs, the project has thus far restored 30 marginalized, infrequently screened films from 21 regions generally unequipped to preserve their own cinema history. They have been made available for exhibition on various platforms. For its part, the foundation has helped restore more than 750 films, accessible to the public through programming at festivals, museums and educational i.nstitutions around the world. It easily qualifies as God’s work and Scorsese has a right to be expect a few plenary indulgences.

The Weekend Report

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales easily led the Memorial holiday with an estimated $61.9 million debut during the three-day portion of the weekend. (All figures reflect 3-day box office; chart will be updated on Monday). The session’s other national opener — and alternative ocean-splasher — Baywatch had a less auspicious beach experience at $18.1 million.

On Friday, Disney also became the first distributor to cross the $1 billion threshold domestically — it was also first to the mark in 2016 but 19 days earlier — with Beauty and the Beast passing $500 million on Sunday. Internationally, The Fate of the Furious became 2017’s first $1 billion box office behemoth.

Friday Box Office Estimates

56, 43, 35, 23. See a pattern here?

Those are the opening days of the first four Pirates movies. The first film had a Wednesday open and a $14m first Friday.

Domestically, Pirates is over at this scale, what with a $40 million star in the lead. Internationally, Disney is hoping not to care what happened domestically.

Paramount had an ugly Baywatch launch.

The Weekend Report

Alien: Covenant edged ahead of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 with an estimated $36.1 million to make off with a wobbling weekend box office crown. Teen romantic drama Everything, Everything won a distant third with $11.8 million and the latest episode of the Wimpy Kid franchise, the appropriately-entitled The Long Haul, bowed with a limpy $7.1 million.

Friday Box Office Estimates

Alien: Covenant comes out of the gates a little slower than Prometheus… probably because of the reception for Prometheus. This more conventional Alien movie is paying the price. But what Fox needs is for audiences to like it and for the numbers to accelerate, suggesting that there may be a reason to make more prequels. International tell the story here. Everything, Everything has a nice open for the rare WB cheapie title. Fox’s franchise hits the wall with a cast change. Or maybe it’s just a victim of Fox opening three movies in eight days?

The DVD Wrapup: Space Between Us, xXx, Starlight, Operation Mekong, Serial Mom, Brain Damage and more

There are exteriors in the largely Mars-based The Space Between Us that look as if they might have been ported over from The Martian. Its lack of success commercially and critically, however, probably can be traced to issues unrelated to space fatigue. Absent any of the bells and whistles that helped launch other recent sci-fi extravaganzas — 3D, IMAX, 3D IMAX — even The Martian faced an uphill climb. Neither were its chances enhanced by three release-date changes and a marketing campaign hobbled by mixed messages.

The Weekend Report

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 remained dominant in the marketplace with an estimated second weekend of $63.3 million. In the distance were the session’s two incoming national releases. Mother’s Day comedy adventure Snatched bowed to $17.4 million while King Arthur: Legend of the Sword put the morte in the fabled monarch with a $14.8 million debut.

Friday Box Office Estimates

The Guardians of The Galaxy are heroes… but this week they are beating up on the weak. Solid second weekend, but hardly heroic. With Arthur, WB must have been hoping to pull off another Tarzan$39m opening, in spite of media lining up to kill it in the crib)… but alas, no. As for Snatched, well… it’s no Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates. In an exclusive run (four screens), Paris Can Wait will be over $10k per screen.

The DVD Wrapup: Fifty Shades Darker, Things to Come, Chef’s Wife, Alena, Kiju Yoshida, Streets of Fire, Beaches and more

In less time than it takes for most folks to decide between fake butter and plain popcorn, they reconnect and he’s agreed to Anastasia’s list of demands. In another blink of the eye, she’s peeling off her britches in elevators and restaurants, and submitting to the tortuous pleasure of inserting beads into her hoohah for a night out on the town.

The Weekend Report

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, the only national opener, commanded roughly 74% of domestic moviegoing with an estimated $144.4 million haul. Guardians of the Galaxy’s set off a week earlier internationally and grossed $106 million from 37 territories. Its second international weekend added 18 markets and an additional $124 million box office. The foreign charge was led by a $48 million bow in China, with South Korea and Russia adding $13.3 million and $11.6 million, respectively. The only $10k-per-screen tallies aside from Guardians was A24’s The Lovers, which did $16,000 on four and the restoration of Stalker at Lincoln Center, grossing over $18,000 on a single journey.

Friday Box Office Estimates

Today is a half-full/half-empty day in box office analysis. Guardians 2‘s opening day is $18 million higher that the original (in August 2014). It will be the weakest Marvel-made MCU opening of the summer since The Avengers, which was the first of four summer openers in the last five years. But it’s better than the fifth summer opener in the last five years, Sony’s Amazing Spider-Man 2, which opened softly enough ($91m) to get Sony to change its relationship with Marvel on the franchise. Then again, it may open softer than Spider-Man 3 did a decade ago. It is a win, any way you slice it… but context is sticky.

The DVD Wrapup: Salesman, Gold, Red Turtle, Rings, Tunnel, Age of Shadows, Saving Banksy, Saturday Night Fever and more

It can be argued, I suppose, that Donald Trump’s decision to ban citizens of Iran and six other predominately Muslim countries gave Asghar Farhadi’s The Salesman an edge in the voting for this year’s Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.