Only Two Sequels in the Top 10 — And That’s the Story
‘Wuthering Heights,’ ‘GOAT’ and ‘Crime 101’ powered a rare genre revival
To keep the great moviegoing experiment alive, says Richard Rushfield, Hollywood needs more weekends like this last one, where new releases Wuthering Heights, GOAT and Crime 101 all debuted to solid business while holdovers such as Send Help and Solo Mio remained strong attractions.
“I’m gonna say this is the perfect weekend,” Richard says. “A few more weekends like this, and I might just believe there’s a future for Hollywood still.”
While the overall total for this year’s three new Presidents Day weekend titles fell just behind last year’s debut of Captain America: Brave New World, the films reached a wide spectrum of viewers frequently underserved by constant IP mining: women (Wuthering Heights), kids and families (GOAT) and over 45s (Crime 101).
“You’re reviving genres that have been written off as dead and reinvigorating audiences that had been ignored,” Richard says.
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In fact, other than Zootopia 2 and Avatar: Fire and Ash, the entire top 10 at the box office was filled with original fare or fresh spins on older IP, as in the case of Wuthering Heights from Emerald Fennell.
“It’s pretty rare for the top 10 at the box office to only have two sequels,” adds Sean McNulty.
Elsewhere on today’s Monday Morning Quarterbacks: What’s ahead for Wuthering Heights and GOAT for weekend two (and why both movies might have great success in their second windows), and what happens with Avatar 4 after the haircut Avatar 3 took at the global box office.