SUNDAY AM WRITETHRU after Saturday AM update: For a film’s second weekend to gross over $100M, that’s quite a gift, not just for a studio, but the greater exhibition industry. Spider: Man: Brand New Day caught $145M this weekend in its web (Sony just updated from $144.5M), the eighth title to pull this off, and it’s the fifth Marvel title to do so after Avengers: Endgame, Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther and The Avengers.
Even though the sequel didn’t topple Force Awakens’ record $149.2M sophomore frame, the Destin Daniel Cretton directed movie is in rare air, and the first for a Sony movie to clear $100M in a second weekend. Of course, the previous second weekend high for Sony belonged to 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s $84.5M.
Globally the pic stands at $1.67B, with an overseas $1 billion haul, becoiming the second fastest movie to cross $1 billion at the overseas B.O.
At $144.5M, Brand New Day owns the third highest second frame ever at the domestic B.O. Currently, PLF screens and Spidey’s added Imax screens are driving 33% of the weekend. Imax delivered $9.8M at 300 auditoriums or 7% of pic’s second frame.
With an expected running cume of $655M by EOD, Brand New Day will have the highest 10-day gross in the history of the domestic box office, ahead of Endgame‘s 10-day $621.2M haul.
Rentrak reports that this weekend at $205M for all titles is the third best weekend overall at the domestic box office YTD, thanks to Spidey and The Odyssey (this after last weekend’s all-time record $437.1M and Toy Story 5‘s opening frame of June 19-21 which drove $231.6M). However, this weekend wasn’t a situation where the tide lifted all boats. The majority is going to see Spidey and Odysseus, leaving all counterprogramming and indies in the dust.
Universal’s romcom, One Night Only, from filmmaker Will Gluck, isn’t over performing with a $5.7M opening that’s near his last film, Anyone But You ($6M) and a CinemaScore of B+. The movie’s female crowed was big at 74%, 50% of that coming from women over 25. But there just needs to be more. Women over 25 gave the movie a solid 60% definite recommend, with women under 25 at 49%. Audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is 73% to Anyone But You‘s 87%. Some would like us to comp One Night Only to Anyone But You in regards to gross, but it’s not. Anyone But You was a unicorn, its legs the beneficiary of a huge Christmas/New Year’s year-end multiple and Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell in Sony’s social media push which bottled their magnetism. The sell with Anyone But You was crazy fun as two opposites went at it in paradise, versus One Night Only which is selling the quiet sexiness of an intimate date. Anyone But You also opened before a huge moviegoing wave, and One Night Only is heading into a time that’s not only owned by two films, but will soon see a drop off as the under 25 set head back to college and high school. Despite having a bigger social media universe in its opening weekend at 355M across TikTok, X, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram than It Ends With Us (337M) and Anyone But You (99M), RelishMix says the buzz has been “mixed-negative leaning chatter, dominated by frustration over the marketing rather than the movie itself. Viewers question the dystopian dating premise, compare it to The Purge, Before Sunrise, Anyone But You, and Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist, and argue the concept strains credibility more than romance should. Critical reactions include, ‘Is Maya Hawke in the room with us?’ alongside ‘The premise is so dystopic as to make this unwatchable.'” Star Monica Barbaro has 1M social media followers, but Dua Lip’s b.f. Callum Turner, who also stars here, is off the grid, in addition to Hawke.
AMC Empire in NYC has the best gross for the movie with $20K as of Saturday night.
With a $4M opening, Searchlight’s Super Troopers 3 isn’t a breakout like its 2018 predecessor which was fueled by its April 20 dating and opened to $15.1M. The start here is also under the $6.2M of the original 2001 movie (unadjusted for inflation). Super Troopers 2‘s first day was $7.9M thanks to being dated on the pot smoker date. This franchise is also a niche IP. Fans on CinemaScore gave it a B- to the previous chapter’s B+. Friday was $1.7M including $350K previews. The threequel isn’t arresting critics at 47%, but that’s the highest critical score the franchise has ever seen above Super Troopers 2 (35%) and Super Troopers (37%). Pic’s majority were guys at 72%, with the 35-44 set being 37% and the over 35 demo being 68%. Diversity demos were 64% Caucasian, 15% Latino and Hispanic, 11% Asian American and 6% Black. AMC Grove has the movie’s best cash at $7K.
The Horror Section’s Eli Roth genre title Ice Cream Man is melting with an estimated $2M start after $1M on Friday. No CinemaScore or PostTrak exits. AMC Empire in NYC is the top grossing venue with just over $8K. Critics aren’t buying the Ice Cream Man at 28% Rotten.
A24’s limited launch of Anthony Bourdain early roots pic, Tony, is looking great with an opening theater average of $58,165, the fourth best YTD behind A24’s The Moment ($107K), Pillion ($60,4K) and Magnolia’s Maddie’s Secret ($58,2K) (we’re not counting Brand New Day‘s robust $80K opening weekend theater average since that was a wide release). This is all figured from the distrib’s reported 3-day of $349K at six NYC and LA sites. Friday was $151K for the Matt Johnson directed, Dominic Sessa, Antonio Banderas and Leo Woodall starring feature which is 95% certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with critics. Updated theatrical grosses include Regal Union Square with more than $64K, Alamo Brooklyn with a near $47K so far, AMC Lincoln Square with $46.4K, AMC LA Grove at $39.2K, AMC Burbank with $31.8K, and AMC Centruy City with $31,8K as well.
Another bright spot in arthouses was Mubi’s Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma from filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun, which following its world premiere at Cannes notched 98% certified fresh with critics. Opening here was $251,5K at five NYC and LA sites with a great $50,3K opening per screen. Mubi reports AMC Theatres adding extra screens and showtimes as early as 7:50AM. NYC’s Angelika Film Center had its largest opening weekend ($82K so far) since the theater’s opening run of Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme last year.
Great box office momentum with Rentrak reporting YTD B.O. for Jan. 1-Aug. 9 at $6.6 billion, up a near +19% over the same period a year ago, but not ahead of the same period in 2019 which was already at $7.2B (we have a $622.2M deficit between this year and 2019).
The summer North American box office is only $12.8M away from crossing $4 billion. Currently at $3.987B for May 1-Aug 9, the heat season is 22% ahead of last year and well ahead of 2019’s $3.8M for the same frame.
Chart updated with Sunday AM box office figures: