“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” (Warner Bros.) pulled off a “Twisters”: Take a fondly regarded, pre-2000 smash that never had a sequel, tweak it enough while keeping its strongest elements intact, capitalize on premium formats, and open to terrific results.
Tim Burton’s film (adjusted to current ticket prices, his fifth biggest opening that includes two “Batman” films and “Alice in Wonderland”) did $110 million, almost $30 million better than “Twisters” on its July release date and in a more crowded field. If Sunday estimates hold, it will represent close to 75 percent of all business in U.S./Canada theaters.
The weekend after Labor Day can be one of the year’s worst, but studios began shifting that narrative back in 2017 when Warner Bros. released “It” to $123 million (today, over $150 million). Other studios avoided the date against a blockbuster, but they also had to contend with the NFL’s early-season games as well as some key competitions in college football.
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” benefited from demographics less devoted to football: It skewed female (Thursday previews were around 60 percent) and 31 percent Latinx (about double the share of U.S./Canada population), with Jenna Ortega’s central role likely a draw.
Unlike many $100 million+ openers, this saw a 45 percent Saturday uptick over Friday total, previews not included. Presales drove projections of around $100 million, but the overperformance suggests good word of mouth. Surprisingly, the film’s Cinemascore is a mediocre B+.
‘Twisters’
Already open in about 75 percent of foreign territories, overseas grosses of $35 million suggest that “Beetlejuice” may share the problem that beset “Twisters.” Grosses outside the U.S. and Canada used to represent 60 percent-70 percent of the total; today they struggle to reach 50 percent. These two films fall short of even that.
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” had a reported pre-marketing cost of $100 million. Between its initial domestic take, good long-term prospects, and then post-theatrical opportunities, it should easily get into profit. Still, studios need hits to thrive worldwide to make up for the unavoidable duds.
Like Sony’s “Afraid” last week, horror film “The Front Room” (A24) saw a truly dreadful wide release with less than $1.7 million. Standouts among holdovers were two films appealing to conservative and faith-based audiences. “Reagan” (Showbiz Direct) rose to #3 with $5.2 million, down only 34 percent. “The Forge” (Sony) fell just 36 percent for #6 at $2.9 million.
Other older titles dropped around 50 percent or more, typical for a post-holiday weekend against a strong new opener. The $150 million total for all films was up about 60 percent from last year. Year to date, we’re down 13 percent from 2023.
Venice, Telluride, and Toronto showcase a range of potentially lucrative specialized titles, including Pedro Almodóvar’s “The Room Next Door” (Sony Pictures Classics), which earned the Golden Lion this weekend, and “The Brutalist” (just acquired by A24 and recipient of the Silver Lion for director Brady Corbet), among many others.
In a virtual vacuum on new releases, “¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!” (MTV Documentary Films) stands out. The film details the misadventures of “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone as they rehabilitated an iconic Denver-area Mexican restaurant. It opened at Denver’s Alamo Drafthouse Sloan Lake with virtually all shows sold out to gross $21,750.
That’s a great documentary opening, albeit one that benefited from a single theater to fulfill hometown interest; shows sold out well in advance. At the same time, ticket prices in the area are $11.50 — lower than in New York and Los Angeles, where other top documentary grosses have resulted. How this translates to other theaters (many also Alamo Drafthouse) next week ahead of streaming remains to be seen. It won the Audience Award at Tribeca Film Festival, so it may have wider appeal.
Top 10
1. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Warner Bros.)NEW – Cinemascore: B+; Metacritic: 62; Est. budget: $100 million
$110,000,000 in 42,500 theaters; PTA (per theater average): $24,044; Cumulative: $110,000,000
2. Deadpool & Wolverine (Disney)Week 7; Last weekend #1
$7,200,000 (-53%) in 3,400 (-230) theaters; PTA: $2,118; Cumulative: $614,038,000
3. Reagan (Showbiz Direct) Week 2; Last week #4
$5,231,000 (-34%) in 2,770 (+16) theaters; PTA: $1,889; Cumulative: $18,531,000
4. Alien: Romulus (Disney) Week 4; Last week #2
$3,910,000 (-58%) in 2,560 (-560) theaters; PTA: $1,527; Cumulative: $97,199,000
5. It Ends with Us (Sony) Week 5; Last weekend #3
$3,750,000 (-49%) in 2,850 (-701) theaters; PTA: $1,316; Cumulative: $141,367,000
6. The Forge (Sony) Week 3; Last weekend #7
$2,935,000 (-36%) in 1,710 (-211) theaters; PTA: $1,716; Cumulative: $20,757,000
7. Twisters (Universal) Week 8; Last weekend #5; also on PVOD
$2,250,000 (-71%) in 2,252 (-753) theaters; PTA: $999; Cumulative: $264,600,000
8. Blink Twice (Amazon MGM) Week 3; Last weekend #6
$2,114,000 (-56%) in 1,806 (-1,261) theaters; PTA: $1,171; Cumulative: $20,292,000
9. Despicable Me 4 (Universal) Week 10; Last weekend #8
$1,800,000 (-56%) in 1,919 (-779) theaters; PTA: $938; Cumulative: $357,800,000
10. The Front Room (A24) NEW – Cinemascore: C-; Metacritic: 62
$1,664,000 in 2,095 theaters; PTA: $794; Cumulative: $1,664,000
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.
¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor! (MTV Documentary) NEW – Festivals include: Tribeca, Telluride 2024
$21,750 in 1 theater; PTA: $21,750
Red Rooms (Utopia) NEW – Metacritic: 81; Festivals include: Karlovy Vary, Hamptons 2023
$40,295 in 50 theaters; PTA: $805
1992 (Lionsgate) Week 2
$450,000 in 875 (no change) theaters; PTA: $; Cumulative: $2,587,000
Seeking Mavis Beacon (Neon) Week 2 1
$15,168 in 4 (+3) theaters; PTA: $3,792; Cumulative: $24,801
Shaun of the Dead (Focus) (REISSUE)
$31,000 in 202 (+69) theaters; PTA: $153; Cumulative: $(adjusted) (est.) 25,767,000
Strange Darling (Magenta Light) Week 3
$120,196 in 130 (-670) theaters; Cumulative: $2,884,000
Between the Temples (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 2
$186,619 in 173 (-131) theaters; Cumulative: $1,813,000
Good One (Metrograph) Week 5
$19,188 in 59 (-34) theaters; Cumulative: $304,543
Kneecap (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 6
$12,276 in 16 (-5) theaters; Cumulative: $1,093,000
Didi (Focus) Week 7; also on PVOD
$151,000 in 113 (-121) theaters; Cumulative: $4,553,000
Sing Sing (A24) Week 9
$105,672 in 92 (-99) theaters; Cumulative: $2,570,000
Longlegs (Neon) Week 8; also on PVOD
$36,280 in 55 (-113) theaters; Cumulative: $74,004,000
