As expected, THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE continued its total domination of the box office by delivering a weighty $58.2M in its third weekend, a drop of only 37% from weekend #2. Illumination’s movie adaptation of Nintendo’s video game superhero refuses to let up on its climb into the record books. After only 19 days in release, SUPER MARIO has earned $434.3M domestically and $871.8M worldwide. Here is a measure of its meteoric domestic rise:
What’s even more remarkable is that SUPER MARIO’s success is taking place in April, which has historically been a slow month for moviegoing, when most schools are in session and there are no national holidays. This weekend’s drop of only 37% signals that SUPER MARIO should continue to produce strong results for a few more weeks, maintaining its #1 spot until May 5th when Marvel’s GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 arrives. Even then, SUPER MARIO will most likely settle into the #2 slot and keep its hold on family audiences.
Warner Bros.’ EVIL DEAD RISE finished in second place with $23.5M in its opening weekend. This is the fifth chapter in the iconic horror series begun by filmmaker Sam Rami back in 1981 with the release of EVIL DEAD, which grossed only $2.9M worldwide. The franchise’s top performer came in 2013 with EVIL DEAD, which generated $97.5M worldwide.
Now after a 10-year hiatus, the latest chapter was written and directed by Lee Cronin. A single mom of three living in a small L.A. apartment uncovers a strange book in the depths of her building, which unleashes flesh-possessing demons. EVIL DEAD RISE has received Rotten Tomatoes grades of 88% from critics and 86% from audiences, which is relatively strong for a horror movie.
Third place this weekend went to Amazon/MGM’s war action film GUY RITCHIE’S THE COVENANT which earned $6.3M. The film is set during the U.S. war in Afghanistan, telling the story of a local Afghani interpreter who risks his save the life of a badly-injured U.S. soldier by carrying him across miles of grueling terrain populated by enemy fighters. After returning to health, the U.S. soldier learns of the hard times his interpreter is still facing and returns to the country to save him. Guy Ritchie directs, with Jake Gyllenhaal starring as U.S. Army Sergeant John Kinley.
Ritchie has established a reputation as a force behind many commercially successful movies, with films he directed earning $2.4B at the worldwide box office since 1998 when he began directing feature films. THE COVENANT’s opening box office does not bode well for profitability, as the movie’s production cost is estimated at $55M.
This may wind up as Ritchie’s second straight box office disappointment, after OPERATION FORTUNE: RUSE DE GUERRE opened on March 3rd and earned only $6.5M domestically and $37.7M worldwide on a production budget of $58M. Never say die, the filmmaker is already at work making THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE, a WWII spy story. Ritchie is co-producing the movie with Jerry Bruckheimer, with Lionsgate on board to release it in 2024.
JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4 came in fourth place by adding $5.8M to its box office take, a decline of 29% from last weekend. America’s favorite assassin just refuses to go away, with JW4 bringing in a franchise-best $169M domestic and $359M worldwide.
Fifth place was awarded to AIR, with a $5.5M score this weekend and a drop of only 29%. After 12 days, AIR’s total take has been $41.3M domestic and $62.8M worldwide. After holding nicely with weekend drops of 47% from weekend 1 to 2 and 29% from weekend 2 to 3, we estimate that AIR’s final box office will come in at $80M worldwide. After exhibitors take their share, Amazon seems unlikely to earn back from the box office anything close to the $90M spent on its production.
Last week, we reported on a successful limited debut for A24’s BEAU IS AFRAID, which opened initially at four theatres in New York and Los Angeles. By racking up $320K total and a per-theatre average of $80K, it seemed hard to imagine any beginning for this film that could have been more positive. Sensing an opportunity, A24 made the very rare move to add 44 new locations beginning on Tuesday and expand further for the weekend to reach 961 locations total. Alas, the response from this wider audience has been so-so, earning a 9th-place finish with a gross of $2.7M and a per-theatre average of $2,809K.
The film is directed by Ari Aster who thrilled horror fans with HEREDITARY (2018) and MIDSOMMAR (2019). It stars Joaquin Phoenix as Beau with a strong supporting cast of Patti LuPone, Nathan Lane, Parker Posey, and Richard Kind. Its bold and cleverly depraved plot revolves around a paranoid man who embarks on an odyssey to return home to his mother. Critics and audiences are lukewarm on the film, giving a 74% critics score and a 73% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
This film is the most expensive A24 movie ever, having invested $35M in its production. By comparison, A24 spent $25M to create last year’s multi-award winning EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE, ALL AT ONCE, which went on to gross $139M worldwide. While nobody expects BEAU IS AFRAID to achieve this level of success, A24 is hoping to at least break even on the project, though there is still a long way to go to reach profitability.
All movies in theatres this weekend grossed $122M, compared to $95M from the same weekend in 2022. Last year’s top movie was Universal and DreamWorks’ animated feature THE BAD GUYS which earned $24M in its opening weekend.
WHERE ARE WE AS OF 4/20
Last week’s super-charged opening for THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE boosted the 2023 box office to new heights. After 15 weeks, it stands at 139% compared with the same weeks in 2022 and 85% compared with 2019 results.
