Traditionally, Super Bowl weekend produces one of the lowest box office totals of the year and this year was no exception.
Warner Bros.’ MAGIC MIKE’S LAST DANCE grabbed the top spot with $8.2M in its opening weekend. The gross for this steamy sequel starring Channing Tatum and Salma Hayek came in somewhat lower than the real potential for the movie, since it opened in only 1,500 theatres rather than the 3,000+ that would be typical for wide release in North America. Perhaps more runs will be forthcoming next week since its per-theatre average was an impressive $5,467.
After one week in third place, James Cameron’s AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER moved back up into second with a gross of $6.9M, down 39% from last weekend’s results. While it has been a remarkable run, next weekend it will be hard-pressed to hold up against the opening of ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA.
Amazingly, another Cameron title followed in third place with his TITANIC: 25th ANNIVERSARY RE-RELEASE earning $6.4M at nearly 2,500 theatres. The original blockbuster became the highest-grossing movie of all time in its run in 1997 and 1998 and was celebrated by winning a record 11 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director.
If two Cameron pictures can generate a large portion of the weekend box office, why not consider a full James Cameron retrospective by adding TRUE LIES, ALIENS, and THE TERMINATOR? Wouldn’t it be fun to see five different movies from the same filmmaker dominate the box office in a single week?
80 FOR BRADY finished in fourth place with $6M, a steep drop of 53% from last weekend’s opening. Last week, we pointed out that BRADY needed to hold up well this weekend to have a chance at profitability, especially because its football focus will be past its expiration date after this weekend’s actual Super Bowl. With a ten-day box office of $25M and exhibitors entitled to keep nearly half of that, it seems unlikely that Paramount will be profitable with BRADY after spending $28M to make the film.
Last week’s #1 film KNOCK AT THE CABIN dropped all the way down to a tie for fifth place, with a weekend gross of $5.5M, a damaging drop of 63% from last week’s opening. M. Night Shyamalan’s box office brand may be in trouble, with KNOCK’s ten-day total of $23.5M placing it as his lowest-grossing movie ever.
PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH tied KNOCK for fifth place, also earning $5.5M which was a modest drop of 30% from last weekend. The total Domestic run for PUSS is a very solid $159M, and we imagine that DreamWorks is already polishing the script on a new sequel for its swashbuckling cat.
The total weekend box office came in at $51.3M, which compares with $54.3M for the same weekend last year when Disney’s DEATH ON THE NILE starring Dwayne Johnson opened to $12.7M and Universal’s pre-Valentine’s rom-com MARRY ME starring Jennifer Lopez opened with $7.8M. It is the first weekend in 2023 to come in lower than last year’s result.
WHERE ARE WE AS OF 2/9
2023 continues to post solid results in comparison to 2022, having earned 165% after the first five weeks compared with last year’s total at this time. On the other hand, the 2023 tally is only 74% compared with the first five weeks of 2019.