Klaus Vedfelt
Alex Garland’s dystopian film “Civil War” is estimated to have won the weekend box office again, but ticket sales have been slow.
A24’s election-year gamble, the indie studio’s biggest-budget film ever, grossed $11.1 million in ticket sales at 3,929 theaters over the course of the year. weekend. The $50 million film, set in a near-future United States where Texas and California have united in rebellion against a fascist president, grossed $44.9 million in two weeks.
Its provocative premise — and A24’s marketing, which included images of war-torn American cities — helped keep the “Civil War” at the forefront of viewers’ minds.
But it was a painfully slow weekend in theaters, one that is sure to heighten concern over what has so far been a down year for Hollywood at the box office.
Over the weekend, Universal Pictures (NASDAQ:CMCSA) “Abigail,” a critically acclaimed horror film about Dracula’s daughter, was expected to drive ticket sales. It came in second with $10.2 million in 3,384 theaters.
This was still a fair result for a film that cost the modest sum of $28 million to make. “Abigail,” a remake of the 1936 monster movie “Dracula’s Daughter,” is about a 12-year-old girl kidnapped by kidnappers who soon realize they’ve made a poor hostage choice. It is directed by the duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett whose production company is called Radio Silence.
More worrying was the overall lukewarm response to a handful of big new releases – and the likelihood that there will be more such weekends throughout 2024. Last year’s actors’ and writers’ strikes, which had a prolonged effect on the pipeline of films, have exacerbated holes in Hollywood production. release schedule.
Even horror films, among the most reliable cash cows in cinemas in recent years, have so far not done the automatic business they used to do. Horror releases accounted for $2 billion in worldwide sales in 2023, according to David A. Gross, who runs the consultancy Franchise Entertainment Research.
Guy Ritchie’s “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” debuted with $9 million in 2,845 theaters. In the Lionsgate film based on a true story, which reportedly cost $60 million to produce, Henry Cavill leads a World War II mission off the coast of West Africa.
Although Ritchie is behind numerous box office hits, including the live-action “Aladdin” and a pair of Sherlock Holmes films, his recent films have struggled to find large audiences. Lionsgate’s spy comedy “Fortune: Ruse de Guerre” grossed $48 million against a $50 million budget, while MGM’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) “The Covenant,” also released last year, grossed $21 million and cost $55 million to make.
A bright sign for “The War Office Ungentlemanly”: the public liked it. The film earned an A-minus CinemaScore.
The anime “Spy x Family Code: White”, from Sony (NYSE:SONY) Crunchyroll also struggled to stand out from the crowd. Although the adaptation of Tatsuya Endo’s manga TV series “Spy x Family” has already been a hit among international moviegoers, it debuted below expectations with $4.9 million in 2,009 U.S. theaters.
The most powerful film globally, however, continues to be “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.” Warner Bros. (NASDAQ: WBD) The monster movie has led ticket sales worldwide for the past month. It added another $9.5 million domestically and $21.6 million internationally to bring its four-week global total to $485.2 million.
Estimated ticket sales Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. The final national data will be published on Monday.
- “Civil War,” $11.1 million.
- “Abigail,” $10.2 million.
- “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” $9.5 million.
- “The War Department Ungentlemanly,” $9 million.
- “Spy x Family Code: White,” $4.9 million.
- “Kung Fu Panda 4,” $4.6 million.
- “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” $4.4 million.
- “Dune: Part II,” $2.9 million.
- “Monkey Man,” $2.2 million.
- “The First Omen,” $1.7 million.
–The associated press