Weekend Wrap-Up: Get Out has Out of Control Opening with $33.38 million
February 28, 2017
Get Out beat expectations on the weekend box office chart earning first place with $33.38 million. Not only did it beat expectations, but it also had better than expected legs over the weekend and that bodes well for its long term success. Neither of the other two wide releases, Collide and Rock Dog, earned a spot in the top ten. Both will disappear from theaters A.S.A.P. Overall, the box office fell 17% from last weekend to $123 million. It is, however, 9.9% higher than the same weekend last year. Meanwhile, 2017 remains $100 million behind last year’s pace at $1.69 billion to $1.79 billion. 2017 made gains over the weekend, but The Lego Batman Movie was the number one movie during the midweek and having a kids movie on top hurts the weekday box office numbers.
Get Out dominated the box office with $33.38 million during its opening weekend. This is likely more than it cost to make and advertise, at least initially. There’s a good chance the studio has increased its advertising budget as a result of the film’s opening. Normally, a $33.38 million opening would not be enough for a horror to reach $100 million domestically, because historically, horror films don’t have long legs. However, horror films historically don’t earn 99% positive reviews and an A minus from CinemaScore. They also don’t see their box office grow from Friday to Saturday. Because of the film’s incredible 3.08 internal multiplier getting to $100 million seems very likely at this point. We will have a better picture of its box office potential this time next week.
The Lego Batman Movie matched expectations perfectly with $19.21 million over the weekend for a total of $133.21 million after three weeks of release. By this time next week, the film will be at $150 million domestically, which will be enough to pay for its entire production budget. It will just need to match that figure internationally to break even before the home market.
John Wick: Chapter Two rose to third place with $9.36 million over the weekend for a total of $74.77 million after three weeks of release. This result made $100 million domestically a little more likely, but the film still has a less than a 50/50 chance of getting there, unless the studio gives it a push in the end.
The Great Wall held on rather well down 51% to $9.13 million over the weekend for a total of $34.83 million after two weeks of release. It should get to $50 million domestically, while it already has $300 million worldwide. It will need closer to $400 million to break even any time soon.
Fifty Shades Darker fell to fifth place with $7.79 million over the weekend for a total of $103.73 million after three weeks of release. The film has earned enough money domestically to cover its entire production budget, but it has more than double that internationally.
Rock Dog opened in 11th place with just $3.70 million in 2,077 theaters for an average of $1,784. The film earned mixed reviews, which will neither hurt nor help its legs here. However, it missed the Mendoza Line, so the film will be dropped by theater owners as soon as they are contractually able to.
Collide was a complete disaster earning just $1.51 million over the weekend. Its theater average was just $740, putting it in the bottom ten since 2000 and the worst of the year so far. I would talk about its reviews, but with this opening, its legs will be determined not by critical acclaim, but by how fast theater owners drop the film.
Fist Fight was down 46% to $6.57 million over the weekend for a total of $23.45 million after two. This is better than most films do during their sophomore stint, but not enough to really save its box office numbers and it isn’t a major bomb either. On the other hand, A Cure for Wellness is a bomb by any definition of the word. It plummeted 68% to just $1.40 million over the weekend for a ten-day total of $7.50 million. I would be shocked if the film didn’t lose at least half of its theaters on Friday.
- Get Out Comparisons
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- Collide Comparisons
- Rock Dog Comparisons
Filed under: Weekend Wrap-up, A Cure for Wellness, The Lego Batman Movie, Collide, The Great Wall, Fifty Shades Darker, John Wick: Chapter Two, Fist Fight, Get Out, Rock Dog