As predicted, the weekend was won by Old coming in at $16.5M, with Snake Eyes coming in second at $13.4. Neither title had a streaming outlet so exhibition had an exclusive window at the opening. To be able to finish first with less than $17M is an indication of the softness on the market. To do so in July, historically one of the best months of the year, can only be considered a missed opportunity to re-invigorate movie going.
Unfortunately, for the second consecutive weekend, the number one title from the prior weekend dropped precipitously. Space Jam followed in the footsteps of Black Widow’s 67% drop from its first week with a 69% drop of its own. The inability of titles to sustain grosses beyond their opening is becoming quite problematic.
With only six weeks remaining in summer, next week’s opening of Disney’s Jungle Cruise becomes even more important than it seemed it would be just a few weeks ago. This film is expected to appeal to a wide audience. It will also stream on Disney+, giving theatre owners the feeling as if they are running in a marathon with ten pound leg weights on.
It is interesting to note that F9 has become the highest grossing picture of the year at 163.4M surpassing A Quiet Place Part II at 157.5M. Despite falling an additional 55% this past weekend, within the next week or so Black Widow should stumble past F9 to take over the lead.