Weekend Wrap-Up: Bad Boys Still Feeling Good, New Releases are Bad and Worse

February 4, 2020

The Super Bowl turned out to be a good game, at least according to the score sheet. This perhaps hurt the box office over the weekend, as Bad Boys for Life fell a little faster than expected. That said, it still dominated the box office with a huge lead over the second place film, 1917. Meanwhile, the two new releases, Gretel and Hansel and The Rhythm Section, both bombed to varying degrees. The overall box office fell 33% from last weekend, hitting $81 million; however, an extreme decline like this is to be expected on Super Bowl weekend. More importantly, this is 11% higher than the same weekend last year and that helped 2020 extend its lead over 2019 to 8.9% / $77 million at $945 million to $868 million. A few more weeks like this and I’ll actually become optimistic about the year’s box office chances.

Bad Boys for Life fell 48% during its third weekend of release, earning $17.68 million for a running tally $148.06 million. This is a fantastic hold for an action film going up against the Super Bowl. It has earned more so far than either of the previous two films in the franchise earned in total. The film has already made enough to justify a fourth film. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a spin-off as well.

1917 held on a little better than expected with $9.50 million over the weekend for a total of $119.08 million after six weeks of release. It should hit $150 million domestically, if it can do well on Oscar night next weekend.

Dolittle landed right in the middle of expectations with $7.59 million over the weekend for a three-week total of $55.11 million. It might come within $100 million of its production budget domestically, but that’s not enough to even save face. It will need help internationally and on the home market to do that.

Gretel and Hansel managed fourth place with $6.15 million over the weekend, which meant it barely avoided the Mendoza Line. Horror movies tend to have short legs and this film’s mixed reviews and its C minus from CinemaScore strongly suggest it won’t be any different. On the positive side, it didn’t cost a lot to make.

Jumanji: The Next Level was a surprise entry in the top five, earning $6.00 million over the weekend for a total of $291.22 million after eight weeks of release. It is rare for a film to spend this long in the top five. Furthermore, the film is now on pace to crack $300 million domestically. Granted, this is a huge drop-off from its predecessor, but it is still more than enough to be a monster hit.

The Rhythm Section will be anything but a monster hit. In fact, its tenth place debut of $2.72 million in 3,049 theaters is the worst opening ever for a saturation level release. (Saturation level is 3,000 or more theaters.) Its reviews and its C plus from CinemaScore strongly suggest poor word-of-mouth, but its sub-$1,000 theater average means theater owners will be ditching the film before its word-of-mouth even has a measurable effect. Even if they can’t drop the film entirely, they will move it to the smallest theater and show it the fewest times the contract allows.

Looking in on the sophomore class, we find The Gentlemen in sixth place with $5.61 million over the weekend for a total of $20.04 million after two weeks of release. It only fell 47%, which isn’t bad for an action film going up against the Super Bowl. On the other hand, The Turning fell 57% to just $3.01 million over the weekend giving it $11.67 million after two. Its going to see its theater count slashed this weekend.

- Weekend Box Office Chart
- Friday Box Office Chart
- Thursday Box Office Chart

- Weekend Estimates Bad Boys Enjoy Life at the Top
- Friday Estimates: Bad Boys Beat Up Newcomers
- Thursday Previews: Gretel Gets off to a Faster Startthan Rhythm
- Weekend Predictions: Box Office Looks Far From Super
- Theater Counts: 1917 Becomes the Widest Release After Dolittle Drops

- 2019 Domestic Chart
- 2020 Domestic Chart

C.S.Strowbridge

Filed under: Weekend Wrap-up, Bad Boys For Life, Dolittle, The Rhythm Section, Jumanji: The Next Level, The Turning, The Gentlemen, 1917, Gretel & Hansel, Bad Boys