Weekend Wrap-Up
March 20, 2018
As predicted, Black Panther remained in first place on the weekend chart. Tomb Raider had an okay opening in second place, while I Can Only Imagine was the biggest positive surprise of the weekend. Love, Simon had a solid opening, especially compared to its production budget. The less said about 7 Days in Entebbe, the better. Overall, the weekend box office was down 4.8% from last weekend to just $132 million. This is 49% lower than this weekend last year. A 49% decline usually only happens when there is a misalignment in holidays, but in this case it’s due to Beauty and the Beast’s debut. 2018 is still ahead of 2017, albeit by a fraction of last week’s lead at just $66 million or 2.8%. In fact, with a margin of just $2.46 billion to $2.39 billion, it is very likely 2018 will lose its lead before the next weekend begins.
Black Panther earned another $26.65 million over the weekend, for a total of $605.03 million after a month of release. It earned first place for the fifth weekend in a row, making it just the second film to achieve this feat this millennium. (Avatar was the first.) It is the second film in the MCU to earn this much and the seventh film all-time. The film will have no trouble getting to $650 million domestically, while it could still be in theaters when Avengers: Infinity War opens at the end of April.
Tomb Raider managed second place with $23.63 million. This isn’t a bad start for this time of year, but the film cost between $90 million and $106 million to make. (Reports vary on its production cost. It could be a simple confusion between net and gross costs, as in it cost $106 million to make, but the studio paid $90 million due to tax breaks.) Either way, it will take really long legs or a very potent international run to break even. Unfortunately, with mixed reviews and a B from CinemaScore, it likely won’t have good legs. On the other hand, its international numbers are a lot better, but more about that on Wednesday.
I Can Only Imagine was the biggest surprise of the weekend earning third place with $17.10 million. The film cost just $7 million to make, so the studio has already covered that in just three days. Even with its advertising budget, the movie likely cost less than $20 million to get into theaters. Although after this opening, I bet the studio will spend more on ads in the next few weeks. As for the film’s legs, the reviews are 67% positive and it earned an A plus from CinemaScore. Niche market films like this tend to have short legs, but if a film can earn some crossover appeal, then its box office chances improve.
A Wrinkle in Time fell to fourth place with $16.26 million over the weekend for a two-week total of $60.75 million. The film is on pace for over $90 million domestically, but it will need to do well internationally to break even any time soon.
Love, Simon rounded out the top five with $11.76 million over the weekend, not bad for a film that cost just $17 million to make. It has the best reviews of the weekend and earned an A plus from CinemaScore, so it should have long legs. It will need just over $30 million to cover its production budget domestically, but even if it can’t quite get there, it should do well on the home market.
7 Days in Entebbe bombed with just $1.59 million in 838 theaters for an average of $1,901. The film earned terrible reviews and theater owners will be looking to drop it as soon as possible.
The sophomore class struggled. The Strangers: Prey at Night fell 55% to eighth place with just $4.70 million over the weekend for a total of $18.50 million after two. Its theater average is below $2,000, so it won’t be able to keep its theaters for long. The Hurricane Heist plummeted 66% to $1.03 million over the weekend for a ten-day total of $5.37 million. Its theater average is just $453, so it will lose a ton of theaters on Friday. Finally there’s Gringo, which completely collapsed to just $666,000 over the weekend for a two-week total of $4.52 million. Its theater average is just $283. If it is in more than a few dozen theaters by the time April starts, then I will be surprised.
One last note, it is was busy week for milestones. As we mentioned above, Black Panther hit $600 million over the weekend, but it was not alone. Peter Rabbit fell out of the top five, but that didn’t stop it from getting to $100 million. Meanwhile, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle finally completely its march to $400 million. It has a shot at topping Spider-Man as Sony’s biggest non-inflation adjusted hit of all time. On the other hand, it will take another week for Fifty Shades Freed to get to $100 million.
- Tomb Raider Comparisons
- Love, Simon Comparisons
- I Can Only Imagine Comparisons
Filed under: Weekend Wrap-up, Black Panther, Fifty Shades Freed, Tomb Raider, A Wrinkle in Time, Peter Rabbit, 7 Days in Entebbe, Gringo, I Can Only Imagine, Love, Simon, The Strangers: Prey at Night, The Hurricane Heist, Marvel Cinematic Universe