October 9th, 2018
It’s not a bad week on the home market. The two biggest releases, Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation and Skyscraper, are both worth checking out, but not close to being Pick of the Week contenders. As for the best of the best, Eighth Grade is really the only choice, while Thelma Todd & Zasu Pitts: The Hal Roach Collection was the runner up. Killing Eve: Season One and Recovery of an MMO Junkie: The Complete Series could have been contenders, if they had significant extras.
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October 7th, 2018
Skyscraper didn’t live up to expectations at the box office. It didn’t really bomb and might still break even eventually, but it wasn’t a $100 million hit like a lot of people thought it would become. Were audiences smart to stay away? Is it worth checking out? Are there enough extras to lift it to the purchase level?
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August 1st, 2018
Hello Mr. Billionaire, a Chinese remake of Brewster’s Millions, opened in first place in China and the international market with $132.26 million. That’s more than 800 million in the local currency, while it took just one more day to live up to its name and reach 1 billion Yen in revenue.
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July 24th, 2018
Skyscraper roared to first place on the international chart, thanks mostly to its debut in China. Overall, it earned $77.8 million in 68 markets for totals of $135.7 million internationally and $182.8 million worldwide. It opened in first place in China with $48.11 million over the weekend for a total opening of $48.51 million. The second biggest new market was Colombia, where it earned $1.38 million on 195 screens. Its best holdover was in Mexico where it was down 50% to $1.68 million on 815 screens for a two-week total of $7.46 million.
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July 23rd, 2018
The Equalizer 2 was the surprise winner at the weekend box office chart with $36.01 million over the weekend, which put it just ahead of the $34.95 million earned by Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! The overall box office topped expectations with $171 million, up 2.7% from last week. This is 5.1% lower than the same weekend last year, but this is better than expected. Also, 2018 is still ahead of 2017 by a sizable margin of $560 million / 8.8% at $6.98 billion to $6.42 billion. Again, if 2018 just maintains the raw dollar margin for the rest of the year, it will be a reason to celebrate.
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July 20th, 2018
Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! pulled in $3.4 million during its previews on Thursday, which is a figure that is nearly impossible to judge. There simply are not enough live-action musicals released to compare to. The vast majority if those that do come out come out at Christmas time, so it is a poor comparison. Rock of Ages is the closest both in terms of style (Both films are Jukebox Musicals.) and release dates, but that film came out before midnight shows became standard. I’ve seen some compare it to Pitch Perfect 2, but that was a sequel and that messes with the comparisons. That said, $3.4 million is still a good amount. The reviews suggest good legs and a $35 million opening is likely, which is a little better than predicted, by a little bit.
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July 19th, 2018
At the beginning of the month, I didn’t have relatively high hopes for this weekend; I thought it could put up a fight in the year-over-year comparison, but would ultimately lose. That has changed and not for the better. Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! is still widely expected to earn first place over the weekend, but it might not do well enough to finish with $100 million domestically. The Equalizer 2 won’t match its predecessor, not with the amount of action films struggling in theaters. Finally, Unfriended: Dark Web is opening in barely more than 1,500 theaters and it is going nowhere. Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation should have a good hold, but I’m not sure about any of the rest. This weekend last year, Dunkirk opened with just over $50 million and five other films earned $10 million or more over the weekend. There’s no way 2018 will match that. I don’t even think it will be close.
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July 18th, 2018
Dying to Survive remained in first place, both in its native China and on the international chart. It earned $69.29 million over the weekend for a total of $367.40 million after two full weeks of release.
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July 17th, 2018
The weekend wasn’t nearly as close as expected. Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation ran away at the box office, while fellow new release, Skyscraper, only managed third place. This did allow Ant-Man and the Wasp to earn second place during its second weekend of release. Overall, the box office fell 12% compared to last weekend, but it was 1.6% higher than the same weekend last year. Granted, this is not a high enough margin of victory to compensate for ticket price inflation, but 2018 has such a large lead that even a small victory like this is more than enough to feel good about the overall box office. Speaking of large leads, 2018’s lead over 2017 remains impressive at $550 million or 8.9% at $6.72 billion to $6.17 billion.
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July 15th, 2018
It was not a close race at the box office this weekend, as Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation topped expectations and Skyscraper did not. Transylvania 3 will open with a projected $44.1 million over the weekend for a total opening of $45.4 million, including June 30th’s special showings. This is average for the franchise, as is its reviews and A minus CinemaScore. The film will have no trouble earning enough to cover its $65 million production budget domestically. Meanwhile, the film opened with $46.4 million on 12,600 screens in 442 markets internationally, representing just under half of the total international marketplace. Its biggest market was Mexico, where it earned $8.6 million, while it was also impressive in Russia with $5.8 million. Its only holdover is Australia, where it added $2.4 million to its running tally, which sits at $10.2 million after three weeks of release.
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July 14th, 2018
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation easily won the box office race on Friday with $16.65 million during its opening day. This is a bit better than expected and puts it on pace for an opening weekend of $44 million, including special previews that took place June 30th. Its reviews are just below the overall positive level, while it managed an A minus from CinemaScore. That’s as low as a family film can go before it would hurt its legs. It should get to $100 million domestically without difficulty, but it won’t match the previous films in the franchise. It will break even and could even justify a fourth film.
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July 13th, 2018
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation opened with $2.6 million in previews on Thursday. It’s hard to compare this number, as many family films don’t bother with previews, so there’s not a lot of numbers we can use in comparison. Hotel Transylvania 2 didn’t have previews, so that’s not helpful. Incredibles 2 earned $18.5 million during its previews, but it’s a Pixar film and those films tend to have a lot of adult fans as well. While there are not a lot of numbers that we can use as comparisons, this is still better than expected and it means the film could top $45 million over the weekend. We will have a better understanding of the film’s box office chances tomorrow.
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July 12th, 2018
There should be a close race at the top of the box office this weekend, as both Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation and Skyscraper have a real shot at $40 million over the weekend. In fact, there’s a good chance both films will earn first place at least one day over the weekend. Meanwhile, Ant-Man and the Wasp will be pushed into third place, but will still be a solid box office performer. It’s this depth that is key, because the top two films from this weekend last year, War for the Planet of the Apes and Spider-Man: Homecoming, both earned more than either of the two new releases this year are expected to earn. 2018 is weak at the top, but the depth gives the weekend a great shot at coming out ahead in the year-over-year comparison.
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July 1st, 2018
June was amazing, with two absolute monster hits and a solid $100 million hit. By the end of the month, 2018’s lead over 2017 will be well over $500 million, or close to 10%. Even if 2018 only managed to maintain this lead in terms of raw numbers for the rest of the year, it will be a massive jump at the box office. As for July, there are a couple of potential monster hits, Ant-Man and the Wasp and Mission: Impossible—Fallout, plus four potential $100 million hits. Last July, there was only one monster hit, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and three $100 million hits. I don’t think 2018 will match 2017 at the top, but 2018 appears to have more depth and that should put it a little ahead over the full month.
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May 23rd, 2018
Action movie starring Dwayne Johnson opens July 13 ... Full Movie Details.
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