CIVIL WAR broke through with A24’s biggest opening weekend in the 12-year history of the distributor. It earned $25.7M in its first three days, higher than most pre-release projections. This controversial movie portrays a dystopian America in the not-too-distant future which is riven with internal conflict.
The total weekend box office came in at $74.3M, compared to the same weekend last year that earned $148.5M led by $92.3M from the second weekend of Universal and Illumination’s animated hit THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE.
A24 has developed a reputation for backing quirky films and building interest through a gradually expanding rollout to theatres nationwide. Positive vibes emanating from critics’ reviews and word of mouth among moviegoers fuel interest.
The following chart illustrates this effect with A24’s top three domestic releases. In the case of EVERYTHING EVERWHERE ALL AT ONCE, a wave of growing interest culminated with a Best Picture Oscar win at the 95th Academy Awards.
A24’s TOP-GROSSING DOMESTIC RELEASES
- EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE (3/25/22) – Opening Gross $501K (10 locations), Total $77.2M
- UNCUT GEMS (12/13/19) – Opening Gross $537K (5 locations), Total $50.0M
- LADY BIRD (11/3/17) – Opening Gross $364K (4 locations), Total $49.0M
- TALK TO ME (7/28/23) – Opening Gross $10.4M (2,340 locations), Total $48.3M
- HEREDITARY (6/8/18) – Opening Gross $13.6M (2,964 locations), Total $44.1M
- CIVIL WAR (4/12/24) – Opening Gross $25.7M (3,838 locations), Total TBD
The specialty distributor decided to swing for the fences with CIVIL WAR, starting with its widest release ever at 3,838 North American locations. Its April 12th release date is exactly 163 years to the day from the start of the first U.S. Civil War, which began on April 12, 1861, with a volley of cannons firing on Charleston’s Fort Sumter.
A significant part of the movie’s appeal is its timely story, as this year’s U.S. presidential election heats up in a sharply divided country. The movie’s plot follows a team of journalists who travel across the country as tensions escalate towards a new Civil War. This map shows the country’s fragmentation, which separates into four competing zones.
CIVIL WAR’s Map of the U.S.
The war thriller was directed by Alex Garland (EX MACHINA) and stars Kristen Dunst (SPIDER-MAN trilogy), Cailee Spaeny (PRISCILLA), and Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation) as the President serving in his unconstitutional third term. The film premiered last month at South by Southwest to mostly positive reviews.
It is carrying an 83% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, with Moviegoers giving it a comparable 77% audience score. The film was produced on a budget of $50M and the box office still has a way to go before the movie reaches profitability.
One advantage A24 has going for it is a well-deserved reputation for backing interesting, offbeat films and a loyal following of fans that turn out to all their movies. The full story of this movie’s success will play out over the next few weeks but it has already started with a bang!
GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE took second place will a weekend total of $15.5M, a decline of 50% from last weekend. After 17 days, the Warner Bros. title has earned $157.9M domestic, putting it within striking distance of the top-grossing monster movie of all time, GODZILLA from 2014. Here is a picture of how those two movies stack up against each other.
Battle for Godzilla Supremacy
- GODZILLA (5/16/14) – Opening Weekend/7-Day Total $93.2M/$117.3M, 2nd Weekend/14-Day Total $31.0M/$162.4M, 3rd Weekend/21-Day Total $12.0M/$174.4M, Total $200.7M
- GODZILLA X KONG (3/29/24) – Opening Weekend/Week $80.0M/$103.3M, 2nd Weekend/14-Day Total $32.2M/$142.8M, 3rd Weekend/21-Day Total $15.5M/$157.9M, Total TBD
While the opening weekend for GODZILLA was higher than that for GODZILLA X KONG, the current movie has outperformed its 2014 predecessor in both the second and third weekends. After 17 days, the box office of GODZILLA X KONG sits at 91% of GODZILLA’s total at this same point.
Of course, inflation over the past ten years should also be factored into any comparison of results from the two movies, but it is nice to see this high-profile franchise still performing well after 68 years and 31 movies.
GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE finished in third place with a weekend total of $5.8M, a drop of 36%. Its 24-day total is $97.0M domestic, which puts it on track to pass the $100M mark. However, its final box office will almost certainly be lower than the $112.5M earned by GHOSTBUSTERS II and make it the lowest of all five movies in the GHOSTBUSTERS franchise.
In fourth place was KUNG FU PANDA 4, with $5.5M this weekend and a drop of 29%. Universal and DreamWorks’ animated sequel has produced a 38-day total of $173.7M, passing KUNG FU PANDA 2 as the second highest-grossing movie of the four movies in the Panda franchise. It appears that PANDA 4 will not reach the $215.8M earned by the original KUNG FU PANDA in 2008.
DUNE PART TWO continues its terrific run by finishing in fifth place this weekend with $4.3M, a drop of 42%. Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi sequel is now in its seventh week and after 45 days it has amassed $272.1M in domestic box office and an even more impressive $687.5M worldwide. The film has now set the target that all other movies can aspire to if they are to become the highest-grossing movie of the year.
It’s worth repeating that this movie was originally scheduled to release on 11/3/2023 and if that date had held very little of its box office would have spilled over into 2024. The current year would be grim indeed were it not for DUNE: PART TWO, which is a perversely positive result from last year’s strikes.
WHERE ARE WE AS OF 4/11
The 2024 year-to-date box office stands at 83% compared to the first 14 weeks of 2023 and 69% of totals from 2019.