Weekend Wrap-Up: Joker’s Hold is No Laughing Matter
October 15, 2019
Joker dominated the weekend box office, crushing expectations and setting records in the process. The Addams Family also beat expectations and this really helped 2019. Granted, the box office was still down 7.8% from last weekend to $138 million; however, this was 3.8% higher than the same weekend last year.
I was more optimistic than most when it came to Joker’s chances this weekend, but practically no one saw this coming. The film fell just 42% to $55.86 million over the weekend for a ten-day total of $193.59 million. It will have no trouble getting to $300 million domestically at this pace and will finish the year as one of 2019’s biggest hits.
The Addams Family opened with $30.30 million over the weekend, which is amazing for a film that cost just $24 million. On the other hand, its reviews and its B plus from CinemaScore are far from amazing and they could hurt the film’s legs. I think Halloween and the lack of animated competition will give the film decent legs and it might even have a shot at $100 million domestically.
Gemini Man wasn’t as lucky, earning $20.55 million during its opening weekend. Its reviews are terrible, while it earned a B plus from CinemaScore, which is merely okay for an action film like this, which means its word-of-mouth won’t really help the film going forward. Furthermore, its theater average is low enough that if the film does suffer a 55% drop-off next weekend, theater owners will get nervous enough to start dropping the film by the end of the month.
Abominable was on the low end of expectations with $6.07 million over the weekend for a three-week total of $47.87 million. Its direct competition did better than expected, which explains the sharp decline. The film should still get to $60 million domestically and if it can top this by any real margin internationally, then it will break even, eventually.
Downton Abbey rounded out the top five with $4.88 million over the weekend for a total of $82.67 million after four weeks of release. It has a shot at $100 million, assuming it isn’t dropped by a significant number of theater owners this coming weekend.
Jexi barely managed a spot in the top ten, opening in ninth place with $3.11 million during its debut. Its reviews are terrible, it earned the worst Cinema Score at a B minus, and it opened below the Mendoza Line, so theater owners will be looking to drop it ASAP. This adds up to incredibly short legs.
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Filed under: Weekend Estimates, Gemini Man, Abominable, The Addams Family, Joker, Downton Abbey, Jexi