Even though the actual winter weather has improved, the box office remains frozen. For the first time in 2024, studios did not bring out any new wide releases for theatres to feature. A quick survey of the websites of major circuits showed a hodgepodge of Christmas holdovers and a focus on advance ticket sales for films that have yet to arrive.
In four weeks thus far, only five new movies have opened wide in 2024, and none of them have risen to blockbuster status. The bump that often follows the Academy’s announcement of Oscar nominations has not materialized, since the titles receiving most nominations have long since left theatres. OPPENHEIMER scored thirteen nominations, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON nine, and BARBIE received six.
Only POOR THINGS with its eleven nominations has any meaningful theatrical life left in it, as it has grown in stature over the eight weeks since it first appeared in theatres. On December 8th, it opened in nine select locations and has since then increased its screen count to 2,300 theatres as of this weekend. The total weekend box office for all films in release across the U.S. and Canada was only $61.1M, compared to $73.1M on the same weekend last year.
For the first time in three weeks, Amazon and MGM’s THE BEEKEEPER finished #1 by earning $7.4M, a decline of 14% from last weekend. The film has now broken through $90M worldwide, making it the top-grossing movie of the year thus far. It will most likely give up that crown to ARGYLLE, which opens next weekend and is expected to have a large international following, reminiscent of THE KINGSMAN movies in 2014 and 2017 which each grossed over $400M worldwide.
Paramount’s MEAN GIRLS finished in second place in its third weekend with a total of $7.3M and a drop of 37% from last weekend. After seventeen days, it has generated $60.8M in domestic box office. Tina Fey’s comedic musical has benefitted from having limited competition, and if the stretch of bad weather had not kept would-be moviegoers at home, it might have matched the $86.1M total that the original MEAN GIRLS movie earned in 2004. We expect it will earn well for another two to three weeks and wind up with close to $75M in total domestic gross.
Warner Bros.’ WONKA took third place with an additional $5.9M, a decline of 12% from last weekend. The top-grossing movie of the Christmas season has earned $195.2M domestic over 45 days in release and is the ninth highest-grossing picture in the domestic market among all movies that have opened since January 2023. Based on this success, it seems likely that a sequel to the happy chocolatier is already in the works.
Universal’s animated family picture MIGRATION finished in fourth place, a decline of 6% from last weekend. With a total domestic box office of $101.3M, it has just passed the milestone of $100M. With a production budget of $72M and a worldwide gross of $200M, it has already crossed over into profitability before it becomes available to stream on Peacock.
Fifth place went to Sony’s surprise hit ANYONE BUT YOU, which earned another $4.8M this weekend, a drop of 11% from last weekend. This rom-com has had surprising success, grossing $71.2M in the six weeks it opened in theatres. Conventional wisdom is that a movie has held up well if its total winds up being three times what it earns in its opening weekend. ANYONE BUT YOU earned $6.0M in its opening weekend and is now sitting at $71.2M, a remarkable 11:1 multiple. With a few more weeks to go to finish off its run, this factor will only increase.
.Where Are We as of 1/25
After the first three weeks of the year, the 2024 box office has come in at 90% compared with the same three weeks in 2023, and 63% compared with 2019.
