As a cinephile who has spent countless hours in darkened theaters since the dawn of cinema, I must say that watching the box office success of “Deadpool & Wolverine” is nothing short of exhilarating. This R-rated superhero sequel has proven yet again that audiences are yearning for a good story, well-crafted characters, and a touch of irreverence – a formula that Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman have perfected.
The duo of Deadpool and Wolverine achieved a significant milestone at the box office, exceeding $600 million in domestic earnings. This puts them among only 16 movies throughout cinematic history that have managed to reach this impressive figure.
Over the Labor Day weekend, which was relatively quiet at the box office, “Deadpool & Wolverine” – a Marvel superhero sequel rated R – dominated with its sixth release. Starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, it amassed $15.2 million over the weekend and an estimated $19.5 million through Monday’s holiday from 3,630 theaters. The film has held the top spot for five of the past six weekends and currently ranks as the second highest-grossing movie of the year in North America with a total of $603.8 million, and globally with $1.25 billion.
Despite Labor Day not being traditionally associated with a surge in movie attendance, this past weekend was one of the slowest of the year. The conclusion of summer saw domestic box office earnings drop by 14.3% compared to 2023 and a significant 26.6% lower than the pre-COVID year of 2019, as reported by Comscore.
According to senior Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian, the Labor Day weekend was relatively calm, signaling a peaceful conclusion to what proved to be an impressive resurgence of summer seasons. June and July provided an extraordinary series of blockbusters.
Despite numerous movies launching nationwide – including “Reagan,” starring Dennis Quaid, the AI-themed horror tale “Afraid” by Sony and Blumhouse, the R-rated crime thriller “1992” from Lionsgate, and “City of Dreams,” a drama about human trafficking from Roadside Attractions – it was only one of these new releases that broke into the top five.
“The movie titled ‘Reagan’ debuted in fourth position during the weekend, earning approximately $7.4 million, with additional estimated earnings of $9.2 million from 2,754 theaters by Monday. Despite unfavorable reviews from critics (only 18% on Rotten Tomatoes), audiences seemed to appreciate it more (‘A’ grade on CinemaScore). This positive response from the audience suggests that ‘Reagan’ may persist in cinemas.”
Sean McNamara (“Soul Surfer”) helms a movie based on Paul Kengor’s 2006 book “The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism.” The narrative unfolds as a dialogue between ex-KGB agent Viktor Petrovich (Jon Voight) and rising Russian politician Andrei Novikov (Alexey Sparrow), offering insights into Ronald Reagan’s life from his youth to his tenure as the U.S. President. Indie distributor ShowBiz Direct is set to distribute this film.
“Kevin Mitchell, president of the recently established Showbiz Direct, expressed his excitement as our debut movie is currently ranked among the top 5 in a tough market over this holiday weekend. He believes that the movie’s popularity will escalate significantly, particularly in the Southern and Midwestern regions, in the coming weeks.”
In a science fiction horror movie titled “Afraid,” an overly conscious artificial intelligence for smart homes takes center stage and causes discomfort, earning $3.7 million during its opening weekend at the box office, with an additional estimated $4.4 million from 3,003 theaters by Monday’s end. The film received poor reviews both from critics (26% on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences (C+ on CinemaScore), which indicates that word of mouth won’t be favorable. However, with a modest production budget of $12 million, any losses during its theatrical run are expected to be manageable. Chris Weitz directed “Afraid,” featuring John Cho and Katherine Waterston in prominent roles.
The movie titled “1992” debuted at position 14, earning $1.3 million over the weekend and approximately $1.65 million by Monday from a total of 875 cinemas. In this film, Tyrese Gibson and Scott Eastwood portray characters, one being a shopkeeper who embarks on a mission to rescue his son from an enraged mob during the violent protests in Los Angeles that followed the Rodney King verdict.
Simultaneously, “City of Dreams” was introduced and managed to secure the 19th spot, earning $760,000 over the weekend. By Monday, it was projected that the film had made an additional $990,000 across its 770 screens. The movie, penned and directed by Mohit Ramchandani, follows the tale of a young Mexican farmer who ventures to L.A., under the pretense of soccer camp training, but soon discovers he’s been tricked into working in a sweatshop instead.
The number of individuals who watched “City of Dreams” can be inferred as more than what traditional box office sales suggest, due to an unconventional approach. Film producers, along with John Devaney from United Capital and Manor House Films, distributed one million free tickets. These complimentary passes were provided to various entities such as anti-trafficking organizations, survivors, schools, churches, municipalities, and economically disadvantaged individuals who might not have been able to watch the film otherwise, as stated in a press release.
Elsewhere, Bleecker Street’s sci-fi thriller “Slingshot” grossed $485,282 in its opening weekend and an estimated $572,763 from 845 screens for the four days. Casey Affleck stars as an astronaut struggling to maintain his grip on reality aboard a possibly fatally compromised mission to Saturn’s moon, Titan.
The science fiction thriller “Alien: Romulus,” the romantic drama “It Ends With Us,” and the disaster movie “Twisters” were among the top five films that remained popular, wrapping up the list.
In the second position, “Alien: Romulus” made approximately $9.3 million over the weekend and is projected to earn around $11.5 million from 3,120 screens in its third week. To date, this new installment in Disney and 20th Century’s sci-fi horror series has grossed $91 million within the U.S. and a total of $283.5 million globally.
“Over the weekend, ‘It Ends With Us’ held strong at third place, earning $7.4 million, and an additional estimated $9.5 million through Monday due to Labor Day holiday screenings, from a total of 3,551 locations. Four weeks since its release, the film based on Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel has grossed an impressive $135.8 million in North America and over $240 million worldwide.”
“Twisters” ended up in fifth position during the weekend, earning approximately $7.1 million. By Monday, it’s estimated that they had made an additional $8.7 million across 3,005 cinemas. After being shown for seven weeks, Universal’s sequel featuring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell and Anthony Ramos has accumulated a domestic total of $259.6 million and a worldwide total of $351 million.
More to come…
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2024-09-01 18:17