If Tom Cruise were a screenwriter, this would have his fingerprints all over it: Two days before “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part 1” (Paramount) opens, theaters are in desperate need of a hero. Again.
Sony opened “Insidious: The Red Door” on a week that more-anticipated titles avoided in fear of being squashed between the openings of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” and “Mission.” It was a smart move: The fifth iteration of a horror franchise that’s more than a decade old grossed with nearly $33 million. Its before-marketing cost was $16 million.
“Sound of Freedom” (Angel) was another strong surprise performer. Angel estimates $18 million for the weekend, good for #3. This is in addition to $19 million or more from daily totals that began July 4. The distributor reported a total over $40 million.
And then there’s “Indiana,” the franchise’s most expensive film with a reported budget and marketing cost over $400 million. After a disappointing $60 million opening, it dropped 56 percent.
That ends the faint hope that older audiences, or any other, would sustain it with good word of mouth. After two weekends, its gross stands at $121 million domestic, $248 million worldwide — a total that likely represents 70 percent of its ultimate haul. Disney collects about 50% of ticket sales, which means it’s very possible that film’s the global theatrical gross will cover less than half of its extraordinary cost.
There’s another painful point to consider this weekend: It represents a 45 percent drop from last year, when “Thor: Love and Thunder” opened to $144 million. That weekend’s total was $238 million; this weekend will be around $130 million. As a result, summer 2023 now lags behind summer 2022 by four percent. Year to date is up 14 percent, but momentum is lost.
There’s still hope. Starting with “Mission,” followed by the anticipated interest in “Barbie” (Warner Bros. Discovery) and “Oppenheimer” (Universal), the tide could turn. It had better — a 14 percent uptick for the whole year would only mean a $8.4 billion total, when $9 billion has been the minimal goal for the year.
Co-produced by Jason Blum, “Insidious” benefited from the current lack of IP horror entries and an appeal to underserved younger and minority audiences that may be unimpressed by franchise projects. As usual, Sony withheld its Cinemascore; they’re usually mediocre or worse for horror titles. Weekend holds suggest audiences like what they saw.
“Freedom” made good on the promise of its $11.6 millio opening-day gross. Credit to Angel for its grassroots marketing and promotion, including encouraging patrons at theaters to purchase tickets for others. Understandably, innovations like this may create murky tracking; most sources add first-day advance sales to opening-day figures. Even if the actual gross is somewhat under the reported $40 million, it is an incredible achievement.
Lionsgate opened its acclaimed “Joy Ride” wide to a modest result of just under $6 million for #6. Wide openings for smaller films are now common; they provide PVOD promotion and avoid the risks of platform releases. However, this R-rated comedy centered on Chinese-American characters (younger than “Crazy Rich Asians”) had a B- CinemaScore, suggesting it might have trouble sustaining a run.
Most holdovers reported well. (Exception made for the second weekend of Universal’s “Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken,” down 49 percent at #10.) Best was “Elemental” (Disney), which fell 21 percent and is now ahead of “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” (Sony). The Marvel film fell 33 percent, about the same as “No Hard Feelings” (Sony) and “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” (Paramount).
The hold for “Elemental” is encouraging, but it has grossed $109 million domestic, $252 million worldwide, on a film that costs more than $300 million.
“Asteroid City” (Focus) has reached $24 million. “Past Lives” (Focus) is over $8 million so far. Both are credible results for films aimed at older and more sophisticated viewers.
The Top 10
1. Insidious: The Red Door (Sony) NEW – Metacritic: 45; Est. budget: $16 million
$32,650,000 in 3,188 theaters; PTA (per theater average): $10,242; Cumulative: $32,650,000
2. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Disney) Week 2; Last weekend #1
$26,500,000 (-56%) in 4,600 (no change) theaters; PTA: $5,761; Cumulative: $121,205,000
3. Sound of Freedom (Angel) NEW – Cinemascore: A+; Metacritic: 60; Est. budget: $15 million
$18,220,000 in 2,850 theaters; PTA: $6,172; Cumulative: $40,207,000
4. Elemental (Disney) Week 4; Last weekend #3
$9,600,000 (-21%) in 3,440 (-210) theaters; PTA: $2,791; Cumulative: $109,192,000
5. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony)Week 6; Last weekend #2
$8,000,000 (-33%) in 3,023 (-382) theaters; PTA: $2,646; Cumulative: $357,648,000
6. Joy Ride (Lionsgate) NEW – Cinemascore: B-; Metacritic: 75
$5,850,000 in 2,820 theaters; PTA: $2,074; Cumulative: $5,850,000
7. No Hard Feelings (Sony) Week 3; Last weekend #4
$5,250,000 (-33%) in 2,686 (-522) theaters; PTA: $1,955; Cumulative: $40,412,000
8. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (Paramount) Week 5; Last weekend #5
$5,000,000 (-32%) in 2,475 (-377) theaters; PTA: $2,020; Cumulative: $146,723,000
9. The Little Mermaid (Disney) Week 7; Last weekend #7
$3,500,000 (-35%) in 2,080 (-350) theaters; PTA: $1,683; Cumulative: $289,039,000
10. Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken (Universal) Week 2; Last weekend #6
$2,800,000 (-49%) in 3,408 (+8) theaters; PTA: $822; Cumulative: $11,600,000
Other specialized titles
Films (limited, expansions of limited, as well as awards-oriented releases) are listed by week in release, starting with those opened this week; after the first two weeks, only films with grosses over $5,000 are listed.
Amanda (Oscilloscope) NEW – Metacritic: 81; Festivals include: Venice, Toronto 2022
$9,450 in theaters; PTA: $4,725
The Lesson (Bleecker Street) NEW – Metacritic: 64; Festivals include: Tribeca 2023
$157,752 in 268 theaters; PTA: $588
Biosphere (IFC) NEW – Metacritic: 58; Festivals include: Toronto 2022; also on VOD
$34,000 in 48 theaters; PTA: $708
Once Upon a Time in Uganda (Yellow Veil) NEW – Metacritic: 77; Festivals include: Doc NYC 2021
$9,400 in 8 theaters; PTA: $1,175
The Wicker Man (1973) REISSUE
$6,000 in 1 theater; PTA: $6,000
Every Body (Focus) Week 2
$54,0000 in 255 (no change) theaters; PTA: $208; Cumulative: $258,000
Contempt (Rialto) REISSUE Week 2
$16,200 in 2 (+1) theaters; PTA: $8,100; Cumulative: $45,049
Revoir Paris (Music Box) Week 3
$5,828 in 3 (no change) theaters; Cumulative: $33,012
Asteroid City (Focus) Week 4
$2,230,000 in 1,111 (-790) theaters; Cumulative: $23,994,000
Past Lives (A24) Week 6
$1,001,000 in 771 (-135) theaters; Cumulative: $8,384,000
You Hurt My Feelings (A24) Week 7; also on PVOD 68
$25,502 in 60 (-8) theaters; Cumulative: $4,800,000
It Ain’t Over (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 8; also on PVOD 30
$9,437 in 19 (-11) theaters; Cumulative: $691,127
