Last weekend proved relatively quiet at the box office, with The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes enjoying yet another round at no. 1.
Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron was the best performing new title, landing at fourth position behind The Hunger Games, Trolls Band Together and Napoleon.
Sony/Crunchyroll launched the anime on 210 screens for $1.2 million, or $1.3 million with previews. By screen average – $5,563 per screen – it was the best performer in the top 20. It is being shown in both Japanese with English subtitles and dubbed in English.
In the US/Canada, the film opened in first position with $US12.8 million, making it the first original anime production to ever top the box office in North America. It has also already earned the distinction of becoming Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli’s top-grossing film in that market.
In its native Japan, The Boy and the Heron opened in mid-July has earned $US56.1 million. The film is predicted to be a serious challenger for next year’s Academy Award for Best Animated Feature along with Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse.
Cinema Nova CEO Kristian Connelly reports the anime had a stellar opening at the Carlton venue, where it was the weekend’s highest grosser.
“Nova faced strong competition from surrounding sites in addition to what is an ultra-wide release for a Studio Ghibli title, but wound up ranking seventh nationally,” he tells IF.
Majestic Cinemas CEO Kieren Dell reports the film opened reasonably for his regional NSW and Queensland circuit, screening at select sites. “We have been happy with the response, as these types of movies can struggle regionally.”
The weekend also saw the release of John Woo revenge thriller Silent Night. Jointly distributed by Kismet and Rialto, the Joel Kinnaman-starrer opened at no. 8 with $259,588 from 208 screens ($266,953 with previews).
In at no. 10 was Signal Pictures’ Korean historical drama 12.12: The Day, which collected $141,700 from just 26 screens, with a $5,450 screen average that rivals The Boy and the Heron.
Overall, Numero data has the top 20 titles collecting just shy of $9 million, down 20 per cent on the previous weekend.
This weekend will see the release of Wonka in both Australia and the US. It has already begun its run internationally in 37 markets grossing $US43.2 million, ahead of projections.
David Simpson, head of programming services for Wallis Cinemas, is optimistic about the film, noting pre-sales have been “exciting”.
Dell also expects a good opening, noting the film is perfect for Majestic’s demographics over the Christmas and summer period.
“The only issue will be whether families wait until after Christmas to see it or if there is enough anticipation built to rush in prior, but we expect it to be the major movie over the full summer period,” he says.
Of the holdovers, Roadshow’s The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes has now reached $17.1 million after collecting $1.8 million in its fourth frame – a dip of just 25 per cent on the prior weekend. Globally, the film has reached $US280 million.
Universal’s Trolls Band Together also held well across its second weekend, dropping just 13 per cent to $1.5 million and advancing to $4.8 million overall. The animation should continue to play well in the weekends to come as school holidays begin; they’ve already started in Queensland. As Simpson states: “Just what we were after from Trolls with school years winding down.”
Ridley Scott’s Napoleon is now at $9.3 million for Sony after taking $1.2 million in its third outing, a drop of 40 per cent.
Bollywood three-hour+ actioner Animal, directed by the Sydney-trained Sandeep Reddy Vanga, took $1.1 million through its second weekend, moving to $4.2 million for Forum Films.
Behind it at no. 6 was Saltburn, which continues to benefit from strong word of mouth, dropping just 10 per cent through its third weekend to $344,026. The Emerald Fennell film, which stars Aussie Jacob Elordi, is now at $2 million for Warner Bros.
At Melbourne’s Nova, Saltburn had been growing for three straight weekends, only to finally fall last weekend, a result Connelly posits is due to “an aggressive campaign by a streamer [Prime Video] promoting the film’s recently announced streaming date.”
“Regardless, the film has achieved a terrific lifetime result to-date and should play throughout the holiday season,” he says.
Japanese film Godzilla Minus One also saw a strong hold, dipping 11 per cent to $288,287 in its second weekend, advancing to $794,797.
Connelly add the film had an uptick at the Nova due to excellent word of mouth, which he believes is interesting to witness in parallel to the Heron opening.
“Understanding that Australians are traveling to Japan in significant numbers at the moment, these two films couldn’t have released at a better time,” he says.
Coming in at no. 9 between Silent Night and 12.12 was Trafalgar Releasing’s Renaissance: A Film by Beyonce, which generated $250,558 in its second weekend, a drop of 39 per cent, advancing to $662,866. The hold here in Australia for the concert film was better than in North America, where it stumbled 77 per cent and fell from no. 1 to no. 5.
New Zealand coming-of-age dramedy Uproar remains in the top 20, collecting $60,663 in its second weekend for Kismet, moving to $264,521.
Australian film The Royal Hotel, distributed by Transmission Films, has made $243,957 after ringing up $18,363 in its third frame; it will premiere on Binge this weekend.
Sam Odlum’s Time Addicts opened within the top 50, with Umbrella starting the film on six screens for $5,714, or $8,265 with previews.
Local animation Scarygirl, distributed by Madman, has reached $340,452 after seven weekends.
All Australian box office data is via Numero.