Who Was ‘The End of Oak Street’ For?

Not even largely positive reviews from critics (86 percent on Rotten Tomatoes) and an intriguing premise (a family, led by Anne Hathaway, time travels back to the prehistoric era) could help The End of Oak Street exceed its muted box office expectations. The Warner Bros. release with a reported $80 million budget debuted in third place with just $21 million in North America and $47 million worldwide. 

“When you spend that much to make it, $47 million globally isn’t great,” says Sean McNulty, noting the audience scores (a B on CinemaScore and 3.5 out of 5 on PostTrak) portend a rocky road ahead.

In reviews of The End of Oak Street, critics praised how producer J.J. Abrams and director David Robert Mitchell (It Follows) recreated the aesthetic of 1980s Amblin movies — like the Steven Spielberg-produced thrillers Gremlins and Poltergeist. But Christopher Rosen says that fidelity to the era — despite its creative success — may have been a bug for general audiences instead of a feature.

“We’ve seen the Gen X franchises miss recently — Masters of the Universe, The Running Man and Tron: Legacy,” Chris says. “The End of Oak Street is steeped in that 1980s era of moviemaking. But what does that mean to an audience now? Even if it’s good — which I thought it was — why would younger audiences want to come? ‘Hey, remember this style from 40 years ago that you maybe aren’t even aware of — like a Spielberg Amblin movie? Well, now you get to see it all over again!’ I just don’t know if there’s a gotta-see factor for a younger generation.”

Another issue at hand for The End of Oak Street was the success of The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day in IMAX. While Warner Bros. promoted the release’s IMAX footprint, it’s unclear how many actually showed the movie.

The End of Oak Street earned just a reported $1.5 million from IMAX screens (roughly 7 percent of its North American debut) and, as Sean notes, IMAX didn’t even mention the movie in its Sunday box office report. Meanwhile, The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day both earned significantly more ($8.1 million and $4.2 million in North America, respectively).

“I don’t think those IMAX contracts are as locked as we think,” Sean says. “Maybe there are fewer tickets sold for Oak Street in IMAX, and I get it. But this theater count for IMAX may be a little more flexible depending upon the state of how movies are doing than maybe I was under the impression of — and maybe the industry at large, too.”