Wednesday, March 16, 2022

Box Office Discussion: "Batman" Returns to #1


 The Batman held up well in weekend #2, while BTS once again proves that they're the most popular band on the planet.

For whatever reason, Hollywood has largely gone on vacation again.  The last three weeks have seen only two movies open on more than 2,000 screens, and only one on more than 3,000 screens.  The good news for movie theaters is that one massive release is doing a ton of business.

The Batman stayed at #1 for the second week in a row, taking in $66.5 million, a fairly small (for a blockbuster superhero movie) 50% decline from its opening.  The thriller's 10-day total stands at $239 million, already pushing it past Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings to #2 on the pandemic era's box office.  With little in the way of direct competition for the next couple of weeks, this seems likely to be past $300 million on its way to $400 million in the next couple of weeks.  While The Dark Knight Rises (and for that matter, The Dark Knight) seems out of reach, it should pass Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice's $330 million and Joker's $335 million to become the third-highest-grossing Batman (and Batman-adjacent) movie by the end of its run.

Coming in second is Uncharted, the February hit that is still doing decent business in March.  The actioner grossed $9.3 million for a total of $113.4 million.  In the next week or so, it will pass Jungle Cruise and Free Guy to become the pandemic era's highest-grossing non-franchise movie (or, given that we're getting sequels to Jungle Cruise, Free Guy, and Uncharted, the pandemic era's highest-grossing franchise starter).

Coming in third is not a movie, but a concert, specifically a concert by mega-popular South Korean boyband BTS.  The livestream of their Saturday concert, given the rather awkward title of BTS Permission to Dance on State-Seoul Live Viewing, was beamed to theaters across the world.  BTS fans flooded theaters on Saturday night, as the show grossed $6.8 million in the US.  Granted, tickets were considerably higher for the concert than for the actual movies playing at the multiplexes, but still, that's an impressive haul given that there was exactly one showing for the entire weekend at each theater that played it.  Numbers like this invite encores, so don't be surprised if there are further showings of the concert in the coming days.

Getting back to actual movies, coming in fourth was the Channing Tatum hit Dog, which brought in another $5.2 million for a gross of $47.7 million.  It looks to finish its run north of $60 million.  In fifth was long-running megahit Spider-Man: No Way Home, which snagged $4.1 million for a gross of $792.3 million.  It should hit $800 million soon, but the one thing that might slow Spidey down has finally launched--availability for home viewing (Sony waited a whole three months to make this available on home PPV, which seems like an eternity these days).  That said, Sing 2 is still in the Top 10 even though its been available for digital purchase since January, so who knows?  In sixth, Death on the Nile continues to cruise along, earning $2.4 million for a total of $40.7 million.

Opening in 7th is Radhe Shyam, an Indian romantic drama.  The film took in $1.9 million and finished in one of the highest slots a Bollywood movie has ever hit in the weekend Top 10.

Rounding out the Top 10 is the aforementioned Sing 2, which took in $1.6 million for a total of $155.9 million, Jackass Forever, which brought in $1.1 million for a total of $56.3 million, and Scream, which is now up to $80.9 million.

Three new movies open wide this weekend, though none of them are likely to challenge Batman's grip on the top spot.  The most promising box-office-wise is X, a 70s-set horror movie about a group making a porn movie on a farm in Texas, which clearly displeases someone, as members of the cast and crew keep getting violently murdered.  Early reviews have been very strong, and even if this fails to catch on at the box office, it seems very likely to become a cult hit.  Also arriving is The Outfit, a thriller starring Mark Rylance as a seemingly meek tailor who, as it turns out, has a particular set of skills beyond just being able to craft a suit.  This one is also getting excellent early reviews, and also seems to have the makings of a cult classic.  Finally, Jujutsu Kaisen 0 is a prequel to the popular anime series, revealing the backstory of one of the show's characters and how he became an expert fighter of curses.  Even if they don't hit #1, these three, along with more limited releases like the Sandra Oh-starring horror film Umma and the Bollywood release Stand Up Rahul, will likely shake up the Top 10.  We'll find out to what extent next week.

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