Mortal Kombat opens better than expected, but the real story is the week's #2 title.
It was a record-smashing weekend as, for the first time since the pandemic started, two titles had simultaneously strong openings, as the top two films this weekend had the second and third best openings of the Covid era, and combined for nearly $45 million in ticket sales. We're still well below pre-pandemic numbers, but things are clearly improving.
Opening at #1 is Mortal Kombat, a reboot of the movie franchise based on the popular video game that achieved fame and controversary in the early 90s for its ultraviolent "finishing moves". Those now look rather quaint, especially rendered in that generation's video game graphics, but the franchise itself has maintained its popularity. The R-rating allowed the film to show the violence that the earlier generation of Mortal Kombat movies, with their PG-13 ratings, couldn't. More fans turned out than expected, as Kombat fought its way to an impressive $23.3 million opening.
However, it's not nearly as impressive as the $21.1 million that the weekend's #2 title took in. Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train is a spin-off of the popular--and violent--anime about a teenage boy who becomes a demon slayer in order to avenge his family and hopefully save his sister, who survived the attack but is now possessed. In the movie, the characters have to fight a demon that has merged itself with the train they are traveling on, potentially putting themselves and every other passenger at great risk. Fans could chose to see it in the original Japanese with subtitles or in an English dub.
Demon Slayer had by far the biggest opening ever for a non-Pokemon anime title, and after just one weekend stands less than $10 million away from becoming the highest-grossing non-Pokemon anime title in North American history. Indeed, depending on how fast it falls off, it could end up grossing roughly about the same that Raya and the Last Dragon takes in. It should be pointed out that this is a massive hit overseas, having taken in nearly $400 million even before its American opening. Whatever money it earns here will be gravy, and its shaping up to be lots of gravy.
As encouraging as these openings are, there are issues. Both films' best day was Friday (so good for Demon Slayer that it actually won the day), before grosses fell throughout the rest of the weekend (dramatically in the case of the anime, which was down over 30% on Saturday). That's usually a tell-tale sign of front-loading, meaning both films will likely suffer big drops next weekend. That's been the story of the pandemic. Films that open small can often sustain those totals from week to week. Films that open big almost immediately have gigantic drops.
That's what happened to three-time champ Godzilla vs. Kong, which fell to third this weekend. The lizard vs. monkey showdown took in $4.3 million, a long way from what it earned just three weeks ago. Godzilla still stands as by far the biggest film of the pandemic era, though, with a gross of $86.7 million. It is still likely to be the first $100 million grosser in over a year, but its going to have to stop free-falling from week to week to achieve that.
In fourth was actioner Nobody, which took in $1.7 million for a gross of $21.6 million. If it can stay above $1 million for a few more weeks, it might be able to get to $30 million, though it seems likely to fall short.
In fifth, the aforementioned Raya and the Last Dragon was just a bit over a thousand dollars behind Nobody for the weekend. The somewhat disappointing animated title has now grossed $39.9 million, and will likely struggle to get to $50 million.
The horror flick The Unholy, which has blossomed into a minor sleeper hit, is the only other title above $1 million this weekend, as it took in $1.5 million. It has now grossed $11.6 million and looks to be headed to somewhere between $15 and $20 million.
Falling under a million for the first time is Tom & Jerry, whose overall gross is now $43.5 million. Unless there's an uptick in grosses, $50 million now seems out of the question, and it might have trouble staying ahead of Raya.
Opening in 8th is the weekend's other semi-wide release, the comedy Together Together, starring Ed Helms. Despite decent reviews, this didn't get sampled much, as it took in $0.5 million and seems likely to be heading off to a streaming service or two in the near future.
Rounding out the Top 10 is religious drama The Girl Who Believed in Miracles, which has grossed $2.5 million so far, and the thriller The Courier, which stands at $5.9 million.
For the first time since before Thanksgiving, the Top 10 is not the home of The Croods: A New Age, which fell to 12th this weekend after a record-setting 21-week run. Its overall gross stands at $57.4 million.
This weekend's one new opening is the horror flick Separation, about a young girl whose scary puppet collection comes to life, intending to wreck havoc. It seems unlikely to challenge either Mortal Kombat or Demon Slayer, even if both take a big tumble this weekend. Will Separation have to settle for #3? We'll find out next week.
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