Box Office: ‘Megalopolis’ Crumbles With $4 Million, ‘The Wild Robot’ Lands at No. 1 With $35 Million

As someone who has seen my fair share of blockbusters and indie films, I must say that this week’s box office results have been quite intriguing. On one hand, we have “The Wild Robot,” an animated film that seems to be striking all the right chords with both critics and audiences, much like a well-tuned robot finding its rhythm. With its impressive opening weekend and promising international performance, it’s clear that this movie is not just another cog in the machine but a robot with a heart of gold.

In the first week of release, “The Wild Robot,” a collaboration between Universal and DreamWorks Animation, soared to number one on the box office charts, surpassing predictions with a gross of $35 million across 3,962 screens. On the other hand, Francis Ford Coppola’s science fiction film “Megalopolis” struggled in its opening weekend, earning just $4 million from 7,854 theaters across North America.

As a dedicated movie enthusiast, I was disappointed to learn that the box office earnings for “Megalopolis” fell short of the anticipated $5 million to $7 million range. Given its hefty $120 million production cost, this would’ve been financially detrimental. On the other hand, Kevin Costner’s personal investment of $100 million in “Horizon: An American Saga – Part One” managed to gather an impressive $11 million over the summer, eventually totaling $36 million globally. Consequently, the release of “Part Two” has been put on hold indefinitely.

Despite receiving a poor audience response (with a “D+” rating on CinemaScore), the film “Megalopolis” debuted in sixth position, trailing behind three ongoing titles and the Indian Telugu-language action movie “Devara: Part 1.” Critics have had varying opinions about the movie, with The New York Times describing it as “remarkably outlandish,” while the Associated Press found it to be “almost incomprehensible” and hard to grasp after a single, confusing watch.

According to David A. Gross, a film consultant at Franchise Entertainment Research, the movie in question embodies a bold and personal concept. Occasionally, films with similar qualities defy expectations and become financial successes. However, in this case, it seems the movie is not performing well. Consequently, it appears that the outcome will be a significant tax loss.

Lionsgate launched the film “Megalopolis” in the United States, but they’re not responsible for covering distribution or marketing costs. Instead, it’s Francis Ford Coppola, the Academy Award-winning director behind “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now,” who financed the production and will bear the expenses. In an attempt to stir controversy as part of their promotional strategy, Lionsgate released a trailer that incorporated comments from famous film critics who had initially dismissed Coppola’s movies, only for these quotes to be later revealed as either fabricated or generated by AI. Consequently, Lionsgate withdrew the advertisement. The movie is set in a future America and focuses on an architect (Adam Driver) who confronts a corrupt mayor (Giancarlo Esposito) as they debate how to rebuild the city of New Rome following a disaster.

Since ‘The Wild Robot’ cost $78 million, it aspires to sustain success like post-pandemic animated family films such as Pixar’s “Elemental” and Illumination’s “Migration.” These movies converted favorable responses into box office earnings in the months following their releases. The positive reception of ‘The Wild Robot’ is promising, with a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an ‘A’ grade from CinemaScore, which should help its performance in cinemas.

According to Gross, this opening for the new animated film is fantastic. Animation films tend to perform well following their debut, and when met with such enthusiasm, like this one, they often enjoy a successful domestic run.

As a movie enthusiast, I’ve got to share that “The Wild Robot” is currently gracing the international silver screen, raking in an impressive $18 million thus far! Lupita Nyong’o takes the helm as the voice behind our protagonist, a robot named Roz, who finds herself stranded on an island devoid of life. However, her solitude doesn’t last long as she forms a heartwarming connection with a lost gosling. The animal cast, voiced by Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor, Bill Nighy, Mark Hamill, and Catherine O’Hara, join Roz in friendship throughout the movie’s journey.

In “The Wild Robot” taking the top spot, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”, a three-time champion, slipped down to second place. The Tim Burton-directed spooky sequel had another robust weekend, earning $16 million from 3,804 theaters in its fourth week of release. So far, it has amassed $250 million domestically and $342 million worldwide.

In the third position now is “Transformers One,” an animated production by Paramount, featuring Chris Hemsworth and Brian Tyree Henry voicing the young Optimus Prime and Megatron respectively. The film grossed $9.1 million at 3,970 cinemas, indicating a significant drop of 63% compared to its opening weekend earnings.

In the fourth spot at the box office, the Indian Telugu-language action movie titled “Devara: Part 1” made a gross of approximately $6.7 million across only 1,040 cinemas.

In its third week, the remake of the 2022 Danish horror thriller ‘Speak No Evil,’ produced by Universal and Blumhouse, earned $4.3 million from 2,661 cinemas, a dip of 27% compared to the previous weekend. This is impressive for any film in its third week on release. The dark comedy-of-manners, featuring James McAvoy and Mackenzie Davis, has so far made $28 million in North America and $46 million globally.

More to come…

2024-09-29 18:17

Box Office: ‘Megalopolis’ Crumbles With $4 Million, ‘The Wild Robot’ Lands at No. 1 With $35 Million

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