As if theaters don’t already have enough gripes about Netflix, a live event that attracted 60 million households worldwide on a Friday night wasn’t going to make them feel better. Friday night’s Logan Paul-Mike Tyson match-up took a real toll on the evening’s box office.
“Red One” (Amazon MGM) led the weekend with $34.1 million, a disappointment for the $220 million production. Also weak is the weekend’s $74 million total, although a slight improvement over 2023. Year to date remains off 11 percent, but that should change with the upcoming “Wicked” (Universal), “Gladiator 2” (Paramount), and “Moana 2” (Disney).
For now, lower-budget, specialized, and niche films again occupied most of the top 10 slots. They include four leading awards contenders, as well as a real surprise with the first Filipino film ever to make the list. “Happy, Love, Again” (Abramorama) grossed $2.4 million in only 250 theaters, with a sky-high per-theater average of nearly $10,000.
The international opening of “Gladiator 2” ($87 million in 63 countries, with China yet to come) also deserves elevated attention. On the specialized side, the strong debut of acclaimed Indian film “All We Imagine as Light” (Janus/Sideshow) with $51,000 in three New York/Los Angeles locations is another weekend highlight.
The irony of Netflix doing temporary damage to an Amazon film is delicious. Both streaming services have made huge ($200 million or higher) films with Dwayne Johnson, oddly with similar titles (“Red Notice,” with Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot, for Netflix). The earlier film got a 750-theater release in 2021 in advance of its streaming debut.
“Red One” rebounded Saturday with a 24 percent increase, made even more impressive since the Friday gross included both Thursday and prior Sunday previews. The film also benefited from an A- CinemaScore in contrast with its awful 34 Metacritic score from reviews.
The gross the best opener this year for any film not part of a franchise, brand, or otherwise established presence (bestseller adaptations like “It Ends with Us” or “The Wild Robot.”) This one is all about Johnson’s appeal, even if the gross is low for the budget and mid-range among his originals. The test will be how it stands up against even bigger titles in upcoming weeks. The response so far suggests it could sustain a run deeper into the holidays before likely hitting PVOD viewing by Christmas. That heightened awareness should reap benefits for Amazon streaming.
Last week’s top three films all fell 50 percent or more; blame both the Netflix fight and overlapping appeal with “Red One.” The second week of “The Heretic” (A24) fell 54 percent and fourth place (it was #2 last week). “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” (Lionsgate) dropped 50 percent, but held on to third. “Venom: The Last Dance” (Sony), #1 for the past three weeks, fell to second, off 54 percent. The third film in that franchise has now passed $300 million worldwide, ahead of 2021’s “Let There Be Carnage.”
“Hello, Love, Again” is a sequel set in Canada but primarily in Tagalog. With a $2.4 million, it surpassed the entire domestic gross ever for a Filipino film. The American diaspora from that Asian country is 4 million, equal to the combined Korean and Vietnamese ones. Its locally produced films have not achieved the kind of exported interest of Korean titles but it clearly is an untapped audience. It’s playing at theaters in urban centers with established communities; some theaters have it as their second best film for the weekend.
Three more typical specialized films also placed in the top 10. “Conclave” (Focus) again took the lead; it’s in seventh place with just under $2.9 million for a $26.5 million total. #9 “A Real Pain” (Searchlight) widened to a respectable $2.3 million in 1,185 theaters. “Anora” (Neon) placed tenth with $1.8 million. Its $10.5 million total, with plenty more to come, has nearly doubled the total gross of Sean Baker’s previous best film, “The Florida Project.”
All face the buzzsaw of big new openings ahead and the struggle to hold theaters, but what survives could remain for some time to come.
“All We Imagine as Light” had the biggest opening in Janus/Sideshow’s history (which includes “Drive My Car.”) It is very strong for a non-English language film and more so from an unknown Indian director. It won’t have the Oscar bounce of “Drive My Car,” since India declined to submit an independent title as its Academy Award submission, but this has real potential as it expands over the coming weeks.
“Juror #2” (Warner Bros.) remains in limited theaters. Exhibition sources suggest that significant interest from many theaters has been met with studio indifference — again, almost certainly from corporate levels, not its distribution team.
Top 10
1. Red One (Amazon MGM) NEW – Cinemascore: A-; Metacritic: 34; Est. budget: $200 million+
$34,073,000 in 4,032 theaters; PTA (per theater average): $8,451; Cumulative: $34,073,000
2. Venom: The Last Dance (Sony) Week 4; Last weekend #1
$7,355,000 (-54%) in 3,421 (-484) theaters; PTA: $2,150; Cumulative: $127,600,000
3. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (Lionsgate) Week 2; Last weekend #3
$5,400,000 (-50%) in 3,020 (no change) theaters; PTA: $1,788; Cumulative: $19,952,000
4. Heretic (A24) Week 2; Last weekend #2
$5,167,000 (-52%) in 3,230 (+9) theaters; PTA: $1,600; Cumulative: $20,437,000
5. The Wild Robot (Universal)Week 8; Last weekend #4; also on PVOD
$4,300,000 (-35%) in 2,894 (-157) theaters; PTA: $1,486; Cumulative: $123,773,000
6. Smile 2 (Paramount) Week 5; Last weekend #5
$2,950,000 (-42%) in 2,562 (-360) theaters; PTA: $1,198; Cumulative: $65,654,000
7. Conclave (Focus) Week 4; Last weekend #6
$2,850,000 (-31%) in 2,377 (+94) theaters; PTA: $1,199; Cumulative: $26,557,000
8. Happy, Love, Again (Abramorama) NEW
$2,411,000 in 248 theaters; PTA: $9,722; Cumulative: $2,411,000
9. A Real Pain (Searchlight) Week 3; Last weekend #18
$2,300,000 (+681%) in 1,185 (+1,173) theaters; PTA: $1,941; Cumulative: $3,037,000
10. Anora (Neon) Week 5; Last weekend #7
$1,839,000 (-27%) in 1,500 (+396) theaters; PTA: $1,226; Cumulative: $10,500,000
Other specialized/independent titles
Films (limited, expansions of limited) are listed by week in release, starting with those opened this week; after the first three weeks, only films with grosses over $5,000 are listed.Metacritic scores and initial film festivals recordedwhen available.
All We Imagine as Light (Janus/Sideshow) NEW – Metacritic: 93; Festivals include: Cannes, Telluride, Toronto, New York 2024
$51,000 in 3 theaters; PTA: $17,000
Small Things Like These (Roadside Attractions) Week 2
$261,070 in 413 (-388) theaters; PTA: $632; Cumulative: $1,201
We Live in Time (A24) Week 6
$1,135,000 in 1,160 (-705) theaters; Cumulative: $23,932,000
The Outrun (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 7; also on PVOD 19
$27,412 in 167 (+148) theaters; Cumulative: $940,486
The Substance (MUBI) Week 9; also on PVOD and streaming
$136,850 in 119 (-86) theaters; Cumulative: $16,244,000
