Well, the box office has had better weekends.
One week after Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — Infinity Castle opened with more than $70 million in North America, two new original projects failed to combine for more than $17 million in total.
Universal’s football horror film, Him, from producer Jordan Peele, fumbled with $13.5 million and a rough C- grade on CinemaScore; meanwhile, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, Margot Robbie’s first film since Barbie, bombed to just $3.5 million against a reported $50 million budget.
But despite the results — and to mix sports metaphors between baseball and Him’s football — Richard Rushfield commends the studios for coming to the plate, an ethos that will eventually lead to success. “The thing about taking these big swings, and doing originals, is you’re not going to hit a grand slam every time,” he says.
While the new releases failed, this weekend’s top 10 at the box office continued to show the power of unexpected titles, including re-releases (1995’s Toy Story), films for faith-based audiences (Angel Studios’ The Senior) and special events (Noah Live, a Fathom event of a stage production that also brought in a faith-based crowd). “Theaters are looking for product,” Sean McNulty says.
Elsewhere on Monday Morning Quarterbacks, Richard and Sean discuss the next theatrical special event — Taylor Swift’s The Official Release Party of a Showgirl, which is already tracking to lead the box office during the Oc.. 3 weekend — and how Swift masterfully deploys the power of theaters. Plus: High hopes for cinephile darling One Battle After Another, out this week.
