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[xaosslug]

tomatometer:

39% The Hitman's Bodyguard

67% Annabelle: Creation

37% Leap!

85% Wind River

93% Logan Lucky
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27% Birth of the Dragon
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89% All Saints

metacritic:

*click pic(s) for source*

Lackluster Releases, Mayweather-McGregor, Hurricane Harvey Create Perfect Storm

There's no getting around it: this weekend's domestic box office is a catastrophe.

In the grand scheme, it can seem like a small issue when compared with Hurricane Harvey — the deadly natural disaster that tore through the Gulf Coast of Texas on Friday, dumping more than 20 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service. But Harvey also had at least some impact on the business, forcing theater closures in South Texas. Still, the degree to which the storm hurt the bottom line of moviegoing is up for debate.

Another factor under inspection is Saturday evening's UFC match which saw Floyd Mayweather beat Conor McGregor with a 10th-round TKO. The fight was estimated to reap as much as $1 billion in revenues, and among the biggest pay-per-view draws in history. Numbers regarding the amount of viewers will be released later in the week, but some analysts predicted the highly-anticipated brawl could keep those who would ordinarily see a movie, out of theaters.

All that said, no amount of outside factors can excuse the reality that no major releases this weekend managed to connect with audiences in a significant way. The overall box office this weekend is not expected to pass $65 million, and the top 12 films will gross less than $50 million. Those figures are the lowest is more than 15 years.

There have been lulls around this time in recent years. In 2014, the first weekend in September made $66 million overall. Two years before that, the Sept. 7-9 frame made $67 million overall and $51.9 from the top 12. 2008 saw a similar slump in the Sep. 5–7 frame.

But not since late September in 2001 have dropped quite so low.* The Sept. 21-23 frame in 2001 earned $59 million overall and the top 12 made $43.5 million. The year before, Sept. 15-17 fell to $53.7 million for the weekend and $37.9 for the top 12.

Back to the current day, once again, ”Hitman's Bodyguard" and ”Annabelle: Creation" will top the charts for Lionsgate and Warner Bros., respectively. ”Bodyguard" is expected to earn $10.1 million from 3,377 theaters — combined with last weekend, its total domestic gross should be $39.6 million. And ”Annabelle" will make $7.4 million from 3,565 locations, raising its current domestic cume to $77.9 million.

”We expect it to continue to perform well right into September," said Lionsgate's distribution president David Spitz.

Otherwise, TWC made two of the weekend's biggest plays with the animated feature ”Leap!" and the expansion of Taylor Sheridan's ”Wind River." The former opened at 2,575 locations in North America, and is expected to take in $5 million. The film was acquired for a low cost of $3 million, and under its title in every market outside of the U.S., ”Ballerina" has already picked up $58.2 million from foreign locations. It's billed as a musical adventure comedy about an orphan girl who aspires to become a dancer. The voice cast is led by Elle Fanning, and also includes Maddie Ziegler, Carly Rae Jepsen, Nat Wolff, Kate McKinnon, and Mel Brooks. Critics smushed it to 37% on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences earned the film an A CinemaScore.

”It's a tough weekend out there in the marketplace when a $5 million movie is ranked third," remarked Laurent Ouaknine, distribution boss at TWC. ”On our side, we have a film that audiences love," he said, adding that, while the audience is predominantly young and female, they're seeing that boys ”that are coming with their family like it too."

”Wind River," meanwhile should make an additional $4.4 million this weekend from 2,095 locations. The film, now in its fourth week of release, is intended as the conclusion of a trilogy that includes ”Sicario" and ”Hell or High Water." During its first weekend at four theaters, the thriller scored one of the year's best per-screen averages, but its mass appeal seems more questionable. ”Hell or High Water," which earned a best picture nomination at the Oscars, also made $4.4 million during its fourth weekend, but from fewer locations (1,303).

”We did decide to go a little bit wider," Ouaknine said. ”We saw the room in the marketplace, and that there was nothing new out there for the intended audience," he added, touting that TWC is responsible for two of the top five films in the marketplace.

Also, ”Birth of the Dragon" is opening at 1,618 locations to $2.5 million. That's below the $3.25 million goal set by the distributor. BH Tilt and WWE Studios co-acquired the film after its premiere at the 2016 Toronto Film Festival. The marketing campaign was inexpensive and focused on digital promotion, and targeted events. The movie — an homage to Bruce Lee's style of martial arts films — lends its inspiration's name to the main character, played by Philip Ng. Set in 1960s San Francisco, Lee challenges kung fu master Wong Jack Man (Xia Yu) to an epic fight.

And Sony's ”All Saints," from Affirm Films and Provident Films should earn $1.55 million from 846 locations. The faith-based film has a low budget, and is generally embraced by critics (89% on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences (A- CinemaScore). John Corbett and Cara Buono lead the cast of the flick, directed by Steve Gomer. Steve Armour wrote the script, based on a true story, that centers on a salesman-turned-pastor and a group of refugees from Southeast Asia.

Despite the recent popular assertion that movie releases are moving to a year-round schedule with fewer dead zones, August remains a predictably sleepy month for theaters. Still, years past have managed bigger successes than we are seeing in 2017. Last year at this time, for example, Sony's Screen Gems launched ”Don't Breathe," which grossed $26.4 million in its opening weekend. While a similar sort of horror hit would be difficult to position between ”Annabelle" and September release ”It," there is potential for movies to perform well at the tail end of summer. That ”Wonder Woman" and ”Baby Driver" saw their theater counts upped only adds as further emphasis that studios see the hole in the schedule — they just aren't quite sure how to properly fill it.

* Numbers are not adjusted for inflation.

*click pic for full list/source*


*click pic for full list/source*

 

[Falchion]

The Hitman's Bodyguard is going to be my first movie pass movie as soon as I get my card.

 

[Messofanego]

The Hitman's Bodyguard is going to be my first movie pass movie as soon as I get my card.

Not The Nut Job 2: Nutty By Nature?

 

[broncobuster]

Would Wonder Woman and Baby Driver be considered good bumps for the temporary expansions?

WW's is somewhat strange when the digital release is in two days.

 

[gamz]

Would Wonder Woman and Baby Driver be considered good bumps for the temporary expansions?

WW's is somewhat strange when the digital release is in two days.

Not much else out.

 

[kswiston]

Worldwide Updates:

Despicable Me 3 - $972M
Wolf Warrior 2 - $811M in China
Wonder Woman - $806M
Spider-Man Homecoming - $737M
Transformers 5 - $604M
Dunkirk - $412M
War for the Planet of the Apes - $360M
Cars 3 - $325M
Annabelle Creation - $215M
Baby Driver - $194M
The Emoji Movie - $144M
The Dark Tower - $89M
Atomic Blonde - $81M

 

[Sweeney Tom]

Has Valerian even made $40mil in the US yet

 

[broncobuster]

Is it possible for Wolf Warrior 2 to top Star Wars 7 as highest grossing in a single region?

And it's a shame War for Planet of the Apes didn't hit as high as Dawn.

Not much else out.

I suppose. And I imagine the bump might help it land in the top 5 domestic superhero movies, along with Avengers, Batman, Avengers, and Batman.

 

[kswiston]

Is it possible for Wolf Warrior 2 to top Star Wars 7 as highest grossing in a single region?

And it's a shame War for Planet of the Apes didn't hit as high as Dawn.

I suppose. And I imagine the bump might help it land in the top 5 domestic superhero movies, along with Avengers, Batman, Avengers, and Batman.

Wolf Warrior's run is wrapping up. It might pass $850M in China, but I doubt it hits $900M.


Also, Wonder Woman's reign in the Super Hero Top 5 will probably be short lived. If Justice League doesn't get there, Infinity War will.

 

[Certinty]

The Hitman's Bodyguard wasn't even a good movie.

What a weak week. I'll give Logan Lucky, Detroit and American Made a view next week though.

 

[NealMcCauley]

Will there be any numbers for T2 3D?

 

[broncobuster]

Wolf Warrior's run is wrapping up. It might pass $850M in China, but I doubt it hits $900M.


Also, Wonder Woman's reign in the Super Hero Top 5 will probably be short lived. If Justice League doesn't get there, Infinity War will.

Either way, Batman and Iron Man will join Batman and Iron Man in the top 5.

 

[Diprosalic]

i don't think i cared less for a top 5 in a long while.
i wouldn't watch any of these for free.

 

[Vectorman]

Wind River deserves more money. That cinematography and score were so damn good.

 

[LordOfLore]

Wolf Warrior's run is wrapping up. It might pass $850M in China, but I doubt it hits $900M.


Also, Wonder Woman's reign in the Super Hero Top 5 will probably be short lived. If Justice League doesn't get there, Infinity War will.

How much is left for WW to get there?

 

[Bobby Roberts]

That Hitman's Bodyguard number is going down under 10mil when actuals come in.

They're spraying a can of glade on a full litterbox instead of changing the sand.

 

[Grizzlyjin]

Isn't next week going to be terrible too? I can't think of anything worth going to the theater for until IT and American Made come out.

 

[gamz]

Worldwide Updates:

Despicable Me 3 - $972M
Wolf Warrior 2 - $811M in China
Wonder Woman - $806M
Spider-Man Homecoming - $737M
Transformers 5 - $604M
Dunkirk - $412M
War for the Planet of the Apes - $360M
Cars 3 - $325M
Annabelle Creation - $215M
Baby Driver - $194M
The Emoji Movie - $144M
The Dark Tower - $89M
Atomic Blonde - $81M

Annabelle crossed 200M already. Damn, that universe keeps on giving. Sheez!

 

[Fancyarcher]

No need to put down Wind River like that. It's a very good, & it's done well in limited.

That Hitman's Bodyguard number is going down under 10mil when actuals come in.

They're spraying a can of glade on a full litterbox instead of changing the sand.

At least its budget isn't huge, but yeah it's a dead weekend at the box office.

 

[Omadahl]

I have never heard of any of these films. Yeesh.

 

[LFMartins86]

I wonder if The Hitman's Bodyguard is going to be affected by the very early high quality leak.

 

[Fancyarcher]

Isn't next week going to be terrible too? I can't think of anything worth going to the theater for until IT and American Made come out.

Next weekend will be every worse. Hitman's Bodyguard could repeat for all we know.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Not a horrible drop for Logan Lucky, but it's enough that legs won't salvage the profitability. Really too bad, one of the better films this summer.

I finally got to see Wonder Woman one last time last night, with my daughter, thanks to the re-expansion. We both saw it three times in total. Was nice to revisit it after a couple months. The crowd was 2-3x as many people than were in our showing of Logan Lucky. My town is weird.

I really want to see Wind River, but it's not showing anywhere near me.

 

[JohnDrake]

Awful. Just awful. Everything awful.

 

[Fancyarcher]

I wonder if The Hitman's Bodyguard is going to be affected by the very early high quality leak.

Doubtful. If that had any affect, it should have happened before the first weekend.

 

[The Abominable Snowman]

Either way, Batman and Iron Man will join Batman and Iron Man in the top 5.

Batman and sassy Batman will forever reign among popular superheroes

 

[Plasticine]

Isn't next week going to be terrible too? I can't think of anything worth going to the theater for until IT and American Made come out.

Next weekend will be every worse. Hitman's Bodyguard could repeat for all we know.

Awful. Just awful. Everything awful.

I guess you could say we're in the BronsonLee period of the box office.

 

[cj_iwakura]

Wait, Sicario and Hell or High Water are related?

 

[KeyBladerXIII]

Haven't heard of Wind River, Renner and Olsen must be good friends ever since Avengers.

 

[Sibersk Esto]

That lineup looks like some random week in 2005.

Moviepass card finally came in though, so time to play catchup.

 

[Chamber]

Has Valerian even made $40mil in the US yet

Why don't you ask that question to my face, friend?

 

[snap]

I got my MoviePass card a few days ago and still haven't used it, that's how bad this weekend is.

I wanted to see Detroit but they pulled it near me, so the first thing I'm using this card for is a Ghibli Fest whatever screening of a dubbed version of Castle in the Sky, that's how fucking bad this weekend is.

 

[kswiston]

If Hitman's Bodyguard wins next weekend (which is probable), it will be the lowest grossing film to win 3 domestic weekends since The Whole Nine Yards in 2000.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

I wonder if the desolate nature of the box-office is going to make IT's opening weekend even larger.

Anticipation + Awareness + Quality Marketing + about a month of nothing with any buzz at the theater = thirsty audience.

 

[GhaleonEB]

I wonder if the desolate nature of the box-office is going to make IT's opening weekend even larger.

Anticipation + Awareness + Quality Marketing + about a month of nothing with any buzz at the theater = thirsty audience.

I think you're onto something there. It's a highly anticipated movie opening in total drought of good films. People are not just thirsty for good horror, they'll want anything good at this point. Especially if the reviews are anywhere near as strong as the buzz.

 

[kswiston]

I was looking at the release schedule and saw that Reese Witherspoon has another September Rom-Com out the same weekend as IT, called Home Again. Looking at the production credits, it was written and directed by Nancy Meyer's daughter (with Meyers producing). I guess nepotism is one way to get more women behind the camera.

 

[snap]

If IT hits, and IT: Part 2 also catches on, how long until IT: Part 3: Pennywise Resurrected?

Or do they just do another King book and try to market it as a continuation?

 

[HeartlessNobody213]

Sucks for Apes. Dawn made over $700 million but War won't even make $400 million it seems.

 

[Plasticine]

I wonder if the desolate nature of the box-office is going to make IT's opening weekend even larger.

Anticipation + Awareness + Quality Marketing + about a month of nothing with any buzz at the theater = thirsty audience.

It will help, no doubt. Especially if the movie is good. If word of mouth confirms that the awesome marketing is indeed selling the real deal, IT will be a monster.

 

[Kusagari]

I got my MoviePass card a few days ago and still haven't used it, that's how bad this weekend is.

I wanted to see Detroit but they pulled it near me, so the first thing I'm using this card for is a Ghibli Fest whatever screening of a dubbed version of Castle in the Sky, that's how fucking bad this weekend is.

Ingrid Goes West is great if it's playing anywhere near you.

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

Is that WW number smaller than expected?

 

[Xevren]

Wind River was such a fantastic movie, super happy I went and saw it. Hope more people look into it.

 

[J_Viper]

The film, now in its fourth week of release, is intended as the conclusion of a trilogy that includes “Sicario” and “Hell or High Water.”

Wait what?!

Wind River was such a fantastic movie, super happy I went and saw it. Hope more people look into it.

Sicario was great, and HoHW is one of the best films I've seen in years. I really need to check it out.

 

[Alex_Mexico]

Worldwide Updates:

Despicable Me 3 - $972M
Wolf Warrior 2 - $811M in China
Wonder Woman - $806M
Spider-Man Homecoming - $737M
Transformers 5 - $604M
Dunkirk - $412M
War for the Planet of the Apes - $360M
Cars 3 - $325M
Annabelle Creation - $215M
Baby Driver - $194M
The Emoji Movie - $144M
The Dark Tower - $89M
Atomic Blonde - $81M

How did WW perform in its first weekend in Japan?

 

[kswiston]

It is looking likely that IT will finally help September shed its shame as the month with the lowest opening weekend record. Anything over $56M puts October at the bottom of the pack.

How did WW perform in its first weekend in Japan?

Good, but not fantastic for a superhero film. Which means not very good. Wonder Woman might make $15M in Japan.

 

[AgentChris]

Wait, Sicario and Hell or High Water are related?

From the same writer- Taylor Sheridan.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

Wait what?!

I gotta imagine they mean like... a tonal trilogy? Sorta like "Man With No Name?" Because that's not really a trilogy either. It's not even the same characters in any of the movies. But they're a trilogy because they're similar-ish in tone and they've all got Eastwood + Morricone + Leone

This is Taylor Sheridan's "trilogy", I guess.

 

[Sean C]

Only Tulip Fever can save the box office!

 

[kswiston]

Only Tulip Fever can save the box office!

It is humorous to me that next week's biggest opener is a limited re-issue of Close Encounters.

 

[carlsojo]

If IT hits, and IT: Part 2 also catches on, how long until IT: Part 3: Pennywise Resurrected?

Or do they just do another King book and try to market it as a continuation?

I doubt it happens but a third IT movie that's completely original could be very, very cool.

Pennywise Lives!