Weekend estimates: Spider-Man rewrites pandemic rulebook with $253-million opening

December 19th, 2021

After two dismal years for the theatrical business, Spider-Man has returned to change the rules of the game. Again. Back in 2002, the first Spider-Man movie set an all-time record by opening with $114.8 million—becoming the first film to top $100 million at the box office in a single weekend. That was arguably the beginning of the modern era at the box office.

This weekend, Spider-Man: No Way Home may be kicking off the post-pandemic era with a gargantuan $253-million opening. That’s not just the best result of the pandemic. It’s the best by a huge margin, more than doubling the opening of Venom: Let There Be Carnage, which itself significantly outperformed expectations. Even more impressively, it’s the third-best weekend of all time, behind only Avengers: Endgame ($357 million) and Avengers: Infinity War ($258 million). In fact, a good Sunday number would take it into second place on that list.

Oh, and it’s already the highest-grossing film of 2021. More...

Weekend estimates: Encanto leads modest Thanksgiving weekend

November 28th, 2021

The first Thanksgiving with a full slate of new releases during the pandemic was full of uncertainty for theater owners. Family audiences have been returning to theaters but remain at about half their usual level, while the older crowd is mostly on the sidelines and at around 30% of its pre-pandemic size. A holiday weekend dominated by family fair like Encanto and Ghostbusters: Afterlife, with a side dish of the older-skewing House of Gucci is a welcome sight, but the big question was who would show. As it turns out, we’re looking at a modest weekend, with audiences hovering around their long term trend rather than rushing back to theaters. More...

Weekend estimates: Ghostbusters comes to life with $44-million weekend

November 21st, 2021

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is tearing into theaters this weekend with a strong $44-million opening, according to Sony’s Sunday-morning projection. That’s well ahead of our model’s pre-release prediction of $25 million, and comfortably exceeds the model’s prediction based on Thursday previews of $36.2 million. It’s also the studio’s second legitimate hit of the year after Venom: Let There Be Carnage and evidence that their theatrical-only strategy is paying off (even if the total dollars involved are modest compared to the pre-pandemic market). More...

Weekend estimates: Eternals’ good hold keeps it on top

November 14th, 2021

Eternals will, as expected, come out on top at the box office this weekend, but it’ll do so by a healthier margin than expected thanks to a decent hold, and a very slight under-performance by Clifford the Big Red Dog through the weekend. Eternals is set to earn $27.5 million, according to Disney’s Sunday-morning projection, which will take it to $118.8 million domestically. That makes it one of the top 10 films of 2021 already, with quite a way to run. More...

Weekend predictions: Eternals favorite to win weekend, Clifford could be close behind

November 12th, 2021

Eternals should stay top at the box office this weekend, based on our model’s Friday-morning run. But Clifford the Big Red Dog has been putting in very respectable numbers so far and could be surprisingly close to the Marvel if it holds on well through the weekend. Here’s how things stack up this morning… More...

Weekend estimates: Eternals out the gate with a strong $71 million

November 7th, 2021

The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s 26th outing is opening this weekend very much in line with similar releases in the franchise. Eternals will land with $71 million domestically, according to Disney’s Sunday-morning estimate. That’s about $4 million less than Shang-Chi earned in September, which was in turn about $5 million less than Black Widow’s $80-million opening in July. But it’s also very much in line with what Doctor Strange opened with before the pandemic. In short, the MCU looks to be doing fine. More...

Weekend predictions: Eternals’ $9.5 million in previews points to weekend in the mid-70s

November 5th, 2021

Disney’s Eternals, the latest outing for the MCU, got off to a strong start on Thursday evening, with $9.5 million in preview earnings, according to the studio. That’s a bit more than Shang-Chi’s $8.8 million, but somewhat less than the $13.2 million earned by Black Widow. That points to an opening weekend in the mid-$70 millions. More...

Weekend estimates: top three stay the same as bevy of new releases fight over the scraps

October 31st, 2021

There was something for everyone in movie theaters this weekend, but the combination of Halloween falling on the weekend and too much competition made going tough for the six films either opening, expanding, or being re-issued in wide release. The competition hit Dune a touch harder than our model expected, but it will easily remain the top film at the box office, with $15.53 million taking it to $69.4 million in total after 10 days. With another $21.4 million from international markets, it now has $292.1 million worldwide so far. More...

Eternals trailer

May 27th, 2021

MCU super hero movie, directed by Chloé Zhao opens in theaters on November 5. Full movie details…

Ancient aliens who have been living on Earth in secret for thousands of years. Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, an unexpected tragedy forces them out of the shadows to reunite against mankind’s most ancient enemy, the Deviants. More...