Sydney-set rom-com Anyone But You reigned at the box office last weekend, just knocking out Wonka and the previous weekend’s no. 1, Mean Girls.
The Sony title generated $1.696 million across its fourth outing, putting it a hair ahead of Wonka’s $1.690 million and Mean Girls‘ $1.648 million.
Worldwide, the Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney-starrer has crossed the $US100 million mark, with Australia the leading the international market with $16 million.
Among local audiences it has shown strong holds throughout its run, easing only 18 per cent last weekend.
“The longevity of Anyone But You is amazing and it just keeps on keeping on – who said the cinema romcom was dead?” Majestic Cinemas CEO Kieren Dell tells IF.
New in cinemas last weekend were The Iron Claw, which landed in seventh for Roadshow with $748,521 from 210 screens, or $803,148 with previews, while Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, starring Aussie Jacob Elordi as Elvis, premiered at ninth, with $525,901 from 135 screens, or $816,533 with previews.
“Both The Iron Claw and Priscilla opened well given their limited footprint (~180 screens and ~120 screens respectively), giving them both solid location averages. The WOM on both films is excellent, and we are expecting very good holds into the coming weeks,” Village Entertainment head of content Geoff Chard tells IF.
Wallis Cinemas head of programming services David Simpson called the results for the pair of films “subtle”, while Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace GM Alex Temesvari tells IF: “Both underperformed for us given their quality and reviews which is a shame.”
Dell says The Iron Claw was “a bit soft” on his regional NSW and Queensland circuit, but notes it is “difficult to pinpoint the target market in regional areas for an arthouse-leaning wrestling movie, so not unexpected.”
Melbourne’s Cinema Nova was first nationally with Priscilla and with Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal romance All of Us Strangers, which landed at no. 16 for Disney with $197,883 from 48 screens, or $337,164 with previews.
CEO Kristian Connelly credits the success of the latter to a focus internal campaign that worked in tandem with Searchlight’s “wide-reaching” digital efforts.
” This comes off the back of a similarly strong campaign by the local Disney office for Poor Things, which continues to enjoy outstanding word of mouth ahead of this week’s Oscar nominations,” he tells IF.
The Digital IMAX remaster of 1981 concert Queen Rock Montreal boasted by far the best screen average in the top 20, generating $131,033 from the country’s two IMAX screens, for an average of $65,516 each.
“Our seven-storey screen and 12-channel sound system was the perfect format to witness Freddie Mercury at his very best,” IMAX Melbourne general manager Jeremy Fee tells IF.
Overall the top 20 titles collected $12.6 million, down 22 per cent on the previous weekend, according to Numero.
Wonka‘s sixth weekend earnings move the Warner Bros. title to $34.5 million, while Paramount’s musical Mean Girls is at $6.5 million after two outings.
The 41 per cent second weekend drop on Mean Girls is better than what was seen in North America, where the film declined 59 per cent and now stands at $US50 million.
Jason Statham action thriller The Beekeeper held well in its sophomore weekend, dropping just 26 per cent to $1.4 million. Distributed by Roadshow, it stands at $4.2 million overall.
Migration continues to be families’ animated pick, taking $1.1 million in its fifth to move to $17.9 million.
WB’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is now at $17.9 million after a fourth weekend result of $803,707, while Disney’s Wish, also in its fourth weekend, is at $7.9 million after taking $608,559.
Rounding out the top 10 was Roadshow’s Ferrari with $323,388 moving the Michael Mann film to $3.2 million.
With school holidays coming to an end, Simpson is hopeful that the Australia Day long weekend will bring out the last few families for Migration, Wish and Trolls Band Together, while Temesvari is expecting big results from advance screenings of Force of Nature: The Dry 2, which will be officially released February 8.