Box Office Discussion: I Scream, You Scream, We All "Scream"

 Scream 5 slashes Spidey to take the #1 slot.

MLK weekend proved very fruitful for the latest 25th anniversary commemorative sequel, as Scream, the fifth installment of the iconic horror franchise and the first since 2011, had a strong opening, scaring up $30 million, which makes it the third-best January horror opening of the last decade, behind only the M. Night Shyamalan pair of Glass and Split.  It finishes only a few million behind the openings of Screams 2 and 3 (though, since those movies were released in 1997 and 2000, respectively, both films sold a lot more tickets on their opening weekends).  It's also the third-best horror movie opening of the past year, behind only Halloween Kills and A Quiet Place Part II.  The film should be looking at a minimum final gross of around $60 million, and if things go really well, it could make it north of $80 million.  Not bad for a movie that only cost $25 million.

For Scream to rise, Spidey had to fall, as Spider-Man: No Way Home took in $20.1 million to fall to second after a four-week run at the top.  The film's gross stood at $698 million after Sunday, meaning it's now passed $700 million and the final gross of Black Panther to stand 4th on the all-time domestic list.  There might be enough left in the tank to pass Avatar's $760.5 million for third all-time, but it will likely run out before $800 million, well before either Avengers: Endgame or Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  Still, this is a remarkable achievement, even more so coming in the middle of the pandemic.

Even streaming on PPV at home, Sing 2 continues to take advantage of being the only family movie out in wide release right now, pulling down another $8 million for a current gross of $119.1 million.  It seems likely to finish between $130 and $140 million, not bad, but still only about half of what its predecessor made.

Actioner The 355 dropped half from its dismal opening last weekend, shooting up $2.3 million for a ten-day total of $8.4 million.  It will likely finish between $10 and $15 million.  The King's Men continues to do surprisingly decent business despite flopping out of the gate, bringing another $2.2 million for a total of $28.6 million.

Opening in sixth is the anime Belle.  The modern-day riff on Beauty and the Beast, directed by Mamoru Hosoda, whose Mirai became the first anime title not released by Studio Ghibli to receive an Oscar nomination for Animated Feature, opened to $1.7 million.  Most theaters are running both the subtitled and English dubbed versions.

American Underdog is the only other film this week to top $1 million, earning $1.6 million for a total of $21 million.  Finishing under $1 million but still making the Top 10 were Christmas leftovers West Side Story, Licorice Pizza, and The Matrix Resurrections, which has earned $33.8 million, $9.6 million, and $35.8 million, respectively.

As horror movies tend to have big second-weekend drops, Scream probably shouldn't get to comfy at #1.  There's a solid chance that Spidey might swing back to the top spot next weekend.  Probably not opening at #1 is the Christian drama Redeeming Love, about a farmer who falls for a prostitute in 1850s California.  Some Christian movies open very well, but I don't think this one will.  Then again, I could be surprised and see Love redeemed by opening on top.  We'll find out next week.