Labor Day holiday weekend has come and gone in the US. AStudios consider this as the last weekend of the summer season and their final line in the sand as to whether they have had a good prime period at the box office. So, what does it tell us this year?
Deadpool & Wolverine returned to the top of the hill with another $15.1 million (3-day) and $19.4 million (4-day) taking it over $600 million domestically and closing in on $1.3 billion worldwide. Marvel will be happy with their summer’s work, particularly as this was their only big screen project this year.
Alien: Romulus was doing well in second place. Another $9.3 million (3-day) and $11.5 million (4-day) takes it up to over $285 million worldwide. This is against a tiny budget – these days – of $80 million. This makes it a major win for the studio.
It Ends With Us takes another $9.5 million (4-day) to pass £285 million globally. A $25 million production budget means Sony will likewise be laughing all the way to the bank.
Lessons to be learned for Hollywood here? Not saturating the box office with mega hits from super franchises, and investing in lower / moderate budgets can create big rewards if they have space at the box office. Hollywood, of course, will learn nothing from this and instead will bombard us next year with Superman, Fantastic Four, Jurassic World: Rebirth, and The Naked Gun all within days of each other…
…and then wonder why at least two of them underperform.
Down in fourth place at the box office there is an interesting critics / audiences schism developing around Reagan. The Dennis Quaid-led biopic has been savaged by critics but hit well with audiences. Dang, those pesky Red States all across the middle not doing what their coastal betters tell them again? It pulled in $9.2 million for the 4-day.
Twisters is in fifth, even as it debuts on PVOD globally, with an $8.8 million 4-day haul.
Elsewhere, Inside Out 2 overtook The Lion King to become the ninth highest-grossing movie of all time. Despicable Me 4 passed $900 million worldwide.
Considering the carnage of the last few years, the industry as a whole will be broadly happy with this year’s box office performances overall.