Several new movies infiltrated US theatres this weekend, from a lighthearted trip to Italy with Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, Diane Keaton and Mary Steenburgen to a Ben Affleck-fronted detective thriller. The two top spots were once again claimed by Marvel and Mario, however.
In its second weekend, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3 added US$60.5 million (S$81 million) from North American theatres, according to studio estimates on Sunday (May 14). That’s a slim 49 per cent drop from its opening, which is rare for big superhero films that tend to be front-loaded and have big second weekend drops of 60 per cent or more. As the smallest Marvel drop since the beginning of the pandemic, it also answers the “superhero fatigue” question that some floated last weekend. Including US$91.9 million from international showings, Vol 3 has already grossed over $528.8 million worldwide.
Second place went to The Super Mario Bros Movie with US$13 million in its sixth weekend, bringing its domestic grosses just shy of US$536 million. Families with younger children have had almost no other options at the theatres since Mario entered the picture, resulting in repeat viewings and its continued dominance at the box office, where it is still playing in 3,800 locations domestically. Globally, it’s at US$1.2 billion.
With Chris Pratt in the leading positions of chart-topping movies, as Star Lord in Guardians and the voice of Mario, debates have ensued about how much of the draw is star power versus brand power.
It was an especially crowded weekend for new movies, opening both wide and limited in all genres and of all qualities.
“The second weekend in May is very notable, traditionally speaking, because it bridges the gap between a big summer kickoff movie (Guardians 3) and the next big blockbuster (Fast X),” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. “Everyone in the business knew Guardians would dominate the weekend but it provided an opportunity for a lot of movies to get out there that hit that sweet spot between two behemoths.”
Book Club: The Next Chapter fared the best on the charts with US$6.5 million from 3,508 locations. The sequel, released by Focus Features on Mother’s Day weekend, reunites the cast with director Bill Holderman and his co-writer Erin Simms. Audiences were heavily female (77 per cent), Caucasian (59 per cent) and over 45 (66 per cent) and the hope is that there will be a Mother’s Day boost and decent holdover for the US$20 million production. Older audiences typically don’t rush out on opening weekend. The first film opened to US$13.5 million in 2018 and went on to gross over US$104 million.
Robert Rodriguez’s Hypnotic, meanwhile, is bombing. The mystery starring Affleck as a detective whose daughter is missing cost a reported US$65 million to make. It went into the weekend with poor reviews (32 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes) and limited marketing from distributor Ketchup Entertainment, and earned just US$2.4 million from 2,118 locations.
Other mid-level releases failed to make a big splash, including Charlie Day’s Hollywood satire Fool’s Paradise, which earned US$443,140 from 784 locations, and the anime-inspired Knights Of The Zodiac, which made only US$535,000 from 586 theatres.
BlackBerry, Matt Johnson’s well-reviewed portrait about the rise and fall of the beloved smartphone starring Glenn Howerton and Jay Baruchel, got off to a bumpy start with US$473,000 from 450 theaters.
Sony Pictures Classics also launched its Yogi Berra documentary It Ain’t Over in 99 theatres, making US$106,000.
Dergarabedian noted that several independent films thrived this weekend with solid per theatre averages, including IFC’s Monica (US$26,500 from two theatres) and Bleecker Street’s The Starling Girl (US$27,736 from four theatres).
“If you’re a moviegoer, you have a lot to choose from right now,” Dergarabedian said.
There was also quite a bit of competition on home screens, from a Michael J Fox documentary on Apple TV+ to the Jennifer Lopez action pic The Mother on Netflix. Air, which is still in the top 10 after six weekends in theatres, also made its debut on Prime Video.
Things are going to pick up considerably next weekend when Fast X enters the summer box office race, followed by the live-action The Little Mermaid on May 26.
