A24’s CIVIL WAR defended its position against three new movies to come out at the top of the box office for the second consecutive weekend. The apocalyptic thriller earned $11.1M this weekend, a decline of 56% from its opening total last weekend.
All films taken together earned $65.4M this weekend, compared to $124.9M for the same weekend last year when Universal’s THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE grossed an amazing $59.9M in its third weekend. Last year, Warner Bros.’ horror sequel EVIL DEAD RISE in its opening finished second to MARIO with $24.5M.
Many had expected Universal’s ABIGAIL to lead all films but it fell short. There are some signs that Hollywood may be overdoing it with horror, with 26 movies of the genre scheduled for wide release this year. That’s a stunning pace of one new movie every two weeks. ABIGAIL is the sixth wide-release horror movie to open this year, and here is a quick look at the results.
2024 Horror Movies
- NIGHT SWIM (1/5) – Universal, Opening $11.8M, Total $32.5M
- ABIGAIL (4/19) – Universal, Opening $10.2M, Total TBD
- IMAGINARY (3/8) – Lionsgate, Opening $9.9M, Total $27.8M
- THE FIRST OMEN (4/5) – 20th Century, Opening $8.4M, Total $17.8M
- IMMACULATE (3/22) – NEON, Opening $5.3M, Total $15.4M
- LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL (3/22) – IFC Films, Opening $2.8M, Total $9.5M
It’s worth remembering that Universal’s M3GAN started last year on a strong note with $30.4M in its first three days (1/6-1/8) and a total run of $95.2M. That one movie generated almost as much in ticket sales as the first five wide-release horror movies this year.
The 55 horror movies that were released in 2023 generated approximately 10% of the total domestic box office, a feat that had only been achieved once in the past twenty years. This year, horror movies have accounted for only 4% of the domestic box office.
As with superhero movies, even fans of the genre may be tired of the constant flow of new titles, of varying quality. The good news is that most horror movies are relatively low-budget affairs compared with special effects and star-filled action movies.
The lower cost makes it easier for studios to recoup their investment and earn a profit from the box office. The larger question is whether the flood of horror titles can attract a large enough total audience to make an impact on the bottom line of major studios and exhibitors.
After its $11.1M this weekend, the ten-day total for CIVIL WAR is now at $44.9M domestic and will soon move ahead of UNCUT GEMS ($50.0M) to become A24’s second highest-grossing film in its 12-year history. At that point, it will trail only EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE which earned $77.2M in 2022.
CIVIL WAR’s modest 56% drop this weekend is encouraging, pointing to a relatively long run over the weeks ahead. There is an outside chance that the timely movie can reach the magical $100M total in the domestic box office that has eluded A24 thus far. However, CIVIL WAR is unlikely to pass EVERYTHING in worldwide gross, because of this movie’s focus on a uniquely American topic compared with EVERYTHING’s more universal theme.
EVERYTHING had a nearly 50/50 split between domestic and international markets, earning a total worldwide of $143.4M. In its first week, only 12% of CIVIL WAR’s ticket sales came from markets outside North America.
Universal’s ABIGAIL finished in second place with an opening weekend of $10.2M. This film is a modern reinterpretation of the main character from Universal’s 1936 classic DRACULA’S DAUGHTER. Universal has elevated the protagonists of some of its best-known classic horror flicks to a pantheon known as Universal Studios Monsters.
The studio has embarked on a path to release modern movies that reprise these stories and characters, with recent examples of this being THE INVISIBLE MAN (2020) and RENFIELD (2023). ABIGAIL focuses on a group of kidnappers who snatch the daughter of a powerful underworld figure to exact a $50 million ransom. However, they wind up getting more than they bargained for when they realize that Abigail is no ordinary girl but rather a vampire child who hunts them down one by one.
The film stars Daniel Jonathan Stevens (Downton Abbey PBS), Kathryn Love Newton (Big Little Lies HBO), and Aleisha Weir in the title role of 14-year-old Abigail. Critics generally liked the film, giving it 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, while audiences weighed in with 88%. With a production budget of $28M, we estimate it can reach profitability by earning $70M worldwide at the box office. After a domestic opening of $10.2M, it seems unlikely to reach that target.
GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE took third place by earning $9.5M, a decline of only 39% from last weekend. After 24 days, the Warner Bros. monster movie earned $171.6M domestic and still has a shot at becoming the top-grossing Godzilla movie of all time. Here is how the current leader GODZILLA (2014) stacks up against GODZILLA X KONG.
Battle for Godzilla Supremacy
- GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE (3/29/24) – Opening $80.0M, Wknd #2 $32.2M, Wknd #3 $15.5M, Wknd #4 $9.5M, 24-Day Total $171.6M
- GODZILLA (5/16/14) – Opening $93.2M, Wknd #2 $31.0M, Wknd #3 $12.0M, Wknd #4 $6.1M, 24-Day Total $186.0M, Total Run $200.7M
While GODZILLA opened better than GODZILLA X KONG, this year’s film has outperformed the earlier titles in all subsequent weekends. Currently, the box office for GODZILLA X KONG sits at 92% compared with GODZILLA.
Lionsgate’s THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE finished fourth with an opening weekend of $9.0M. This is Guy Ritchie’s nineteenth movie over his prolific 29-year career. He is one of the best established, A-list filmmakers in the industry, with his films having earned $2.7B in worldwide box office. However, his last two outings have underwhelmed, with OPERATION FORTUNE: RUSE DE GUERRE (3/3/2023) and GUY RITCHIE’s THE COVENANT (4/21/2023) earning $48.9M and $21.6M worldwide respectively. Both films wound up losing money for their studios.
Ritchie hopes to put an end to the losing streak with this new film, which tells the story of the first special forces organization which was formed during WWII by Great Britain’s Prime Minister Winston Churchill and a small group of military officials including Ian Fleming, the creator of the James Bond spy series. The top-secret combat unit of rogues and mavericks goes on a daring mission to fight the Nazis. Their use of an unconventional, “ungentlemanly” approach helps turn the tide of the war and lays the foundation for the post-war British Secret Service and modern “black ops” warfare.
The movie’s all-star cast is led by Henry Cavill (SUPERMAN), Eiza Gonzales (ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL), Alan Ritchson (REACHER), Henry Golding (CRAZY RICH ASIANS) and Freddie Fox (THE THREE MUSKETEERS) as Ian Fleming. The movie earned a middling response from critics with a 73% score on Rotten Tomatoes but audiences cheered its exploits with a resounding 94% score. After spending $60M on production, ticket sales will have to hold up well for weeks to earn back that investment, both in the domestic and international markets where Ritche’s films have done well in the past.
Sony and Crunchyroll’s anime feature SPY X FAMILY CODE: WHITE finished in fifth place with an opening of $4.9M. The film is based on the manga series SPY X FAMILY which began in 2019 and since then has sold more than 34 million copies, becoming one of the bestselling manga comic book series in history. The comic led to a hit Japanese TV series SPY X FAMILY in 2022. This feature debuted four months ago in the Japanese market, where it has enjoyed a very successful run of $48.0M.
The story centers on a family of spies. After learning that he is to be replaced on an upcoming spy mission, the father Loid develops a plan to win back favor and avert his replacement by teaming up with his daughter Anya to win a cooking competition which may result in notoriety that will change their fortunes. The Forgers travel to the origin region of the special meal they have decided to prepare, which sets off a chain of actions with the potential to put peace in the world at risk.
To maximize its potential in the U.S. Market, Sony has produced the film in in original Japanese version with English subtitles and an alternate version dubbed into English. After this disappointing opening, Sony may be looking back wistfully at the success of their 8/19/22 release of DRAGON BALL SUPER: SUPER HERO which earned $21.1M in its opening on the way to a domestic total of $38.1M, the high water mark to-date for any Crunchyroll release in the domestic market.
Where Are We as of 4/18
After 15 weeks, the 2024 year-to-date box office stands at 80% compared to the same weeks in 2023 and 68% of the totals from 2019.