It was déjà vu at the box office last weekend, with the top six titles from the previous weekend in the same position, and no new releases ranking in the top 10.
With Morbius delayed by Sony to March 31, most exhibitors IF canvassed considered the weekend slow or lacklustre besides the performances of Spider-Man: No Way Home and Sing 2.
Thankfully most existing product at least held well. Of the titles in the top 10, Nightmare Alley had the biggest drop, falling 43 per cent in its sophomore weekend to $291,311 (cume $1.2 million). However, no other film fell more than than 30 per cent.
The highest grossing new release was Nanma International’s Hridayam, which bowed in 13th position. Premiering on just 33 screens, the coming-of-age Indian drama grossed $139,791 – resulting in the highest screen average of any top 20 title at $4,236.
According to Numero, the top 20 titles earned $7.6 million, down 21 per cent on the previous.
While there are commercial prospects for Jackass 4, Death on the Nile, Marry Me and Uncharted on the horizon, most exhibitors predict trade will continue to be fairly quiet through February until the release of The Batman on March 3.
Alex Temesvari, GM of Sydney’s Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace, thinks many films are likely continue to struggle until people feel more comfortable going out frequently.
“In the meantime our special events, live shows and festival screenings are what’s making the difference for us and helping to keep people coming to the venue,” he tells IF, noting that in the last two weeks, live shows grossed double all films combined.
Majestic Cinemas CEO Kieren Dell tells IF given February is usually a slower month, the line-up isn’t that bad, with more variety and younger-skewing producer than usual. However, he argues that some key older-skewing titles will rely on “that demographic emerging from their isolation to rejoin the world and come to the movies.”
“We don’t expect it to be particularly busy, but hopefully steady business,” he says.
Spider-Man has spent seven weekends at no. 1, now tallying $76.7 million for Sony after adding $1.7 million. Worldwide, the film has now grossed a staggering $US1.74 billion.
The second place spot continues to be held by Universal’s Sing 2, which made another $1 million in its sixth, advancing to $17.5 million. The original film, released Boxing Day 2016, made $27 million.
The fifth instalment in the Scream franchise now sits on $5.4 million for Paramount, having collected $854,666 in its third frame. The film has outperformed the fourth in the franchise, released in 2011, which made $4.3 million.
Both in their fifth frames, Ghostbusters: The Afterlife is now on $10.5 million for Sony after a weekend result of $641,279, while Universal’s House of Gucci is on $7.9 million after $601,285.
Disney’s The King’s Man gathered $414,702 in its fourth, moving to $4.6 million, while Paramount’s Clifford the Big Red Dog made $374,696 to climb to $4.7 million.
Warner Bros.’ King Richard is now on $2.1 million in its third frame, with a weekend result of $361,052, while Universal’s The Addams Family 2: Road Trip re-entered the top 10 in its fourth, with earnings of $312,226 moving it to $2.7 million.