Theater Averages: Parasite Sinks Its Teeth into the Competition

October 18th, 2019

Parasite was the only new release in the $10,000 club, but it not only led the way over the weekend, its average of $128,072 in three theaters is the best average this year. In fact, this is not only the best average of the year, its the best average since La La Land’s debut in 2016. While Parasite was the only new release in the $10,000 club, it wasn’t the only member. Joker was in a distant second place, a very, very distant second place with an average of $12,771. Meanwhile, Célébration was very close behind with $12,678 in its lone theater. Pain and Glory remained in the $10,0000 club with an average of $11,819 and it managed this feat despite expanding its theater count to 23 theaters. More...

International Box Office: Joker Takes on All of the Top Five and Wins

October 17th, 2019

Like last weekend, this weekend’s international box office was toped by Joker, while the nearest competition was a Chinese film. Unlike last weekend, Joker dominated the chart earning more than the rest of the top five combined. It managed a weekend haul of $125.3 million on 24,555 screens in 79 markets for totals of $354.7 million internationally and $548.3 million worldwide. The film hit half a billion dollars worldwide in just 12 days and given its legs so far, it is on pace to reach $1 billion. Joker had very similar openings in France and Germany with $10.6 million on 630 screens and $9.8 million on 1,003 screens respectively. It goes without saying that the film was the best Warner Bros. opening of 2019 in both markets. However, the film flopped in those markets when you compare how well it is doing in the U.K. In that market, Joker was down just 22% earning $12.0 million on 1,472 screens during its sophomore stint for a running tally of $36.9 million. It has earned more in the U.K. than it has domestically, relatively speaking, and I don’t think anyone was expecting that. On the downside, the film is done with openings and it will be coasting on holdovers from now on. That’s not much of a downside. More...

Theater Averages: All Gain for Pain

October 10th, 2019

Pain and Glory dominated the theater average earning an average of $40,022 in four theaters. Joker was next with an average of $21,994 in over 4,000 theaters. The final film in the $10,000 Club this weekend was My Country, My People with an average of $13,069 in 67 theaters. That is very impressive and could be a portent of things to come as Chinese films gain a foothold in the domestic market. More...

International Box Office: Joker Wins Weekend, But China Has the Last Laugh

October 10th, 2019

Joker earned top spot on the international chart, but China was the big story this weekend. The DC Comics film opened in first place with $152.2 million on 25,090 screens in 73 markets for a worldwide opening of $248.2 million. Both the film’s international debut and its worldwide debut are records for an October release. Likewise, it set the October opening weekend record in a number of major markets, including Australia, Brazil, Mexico, South Korea, and Spain. South Korea was also the film’s biggest total opening with $16.18 million on 1,418 screens, including $9.58 million over the weekend. The film’s U.K. debut was better, if you just look at the three-day weekend, as it earned $15.45 million on 666 screens. It managed $13.48 million in Mexico, $7.4 million in Brazil, $6.59 million in Australia, and $4.8 million in Spain. More...