The Summer Box Office Season is just about upon us
It’s been a while since I have posted but here we are just one week out from the kickoff of the “official” Summer Moviegoing season (which by the way, for the first time since 2007-pandemic years not withstanding -does not have a Marvel Title on the date). It is not a surprise that we enter this weekend down 21% from last year (which had about $445 million of gross from SUPER MARIO) If you factor out the MARIO effect, 23 and 24 are virtually even during the same period. That may be a “Pollyanna” view, but it also illustrates that we are just one MARIO away from closing the gap. During my studio days, we would look at our slate of films using a “portfolio” approach, meaning that we would wait and judge the entire slate not just one film. It feels like 24 should be looked at using that “portfolio” approach as well. The 4th quarter is loaded and the story for the year is far from over. There were over 50 films that showcased footage at CinemaCon Comscore, Inc. Senior Media Analyst Paul Dergarabedian puts it this way “As we stand on the cusp of the summer movie season with a 21% YTD deficit the industry can take solace in the fact that the titles on the horizon starting with THE FALL GUY look truly amazing and moviegoers will focus on the solid array of films and not the necessarily the ebb and flow of the box office. Goodwill will be a powerful currency that will be generated by the eclectic and appealing lineup of films over the 18 weeks of this all-important corridor for theatres.” Before we get to next week, there is this week and thankfully, there are a couple of solid films opening to help weather the storm. Leading the way is a film that actually was one of those pushed out of last year as CHALLENGERS is opening this week in 3,477 venues and Amazon/MGM is reporting an opening day total of $6.22 million (Including $1.9 million from Thursday). That should playout for a 3 day total of around $15 million or so which would be on the higher side of most pre-release predictions. CHALLENGERS looks to have some nice runway in front of it as well as both critics and audiences responded to the film. CHALLENGERS currently sits with an 88% fresh rating with Rotten Tomatoes and earned a B+ CinemaScore grade last night. With Zendaya as the lead (and now a bona fide star) The audience leaned heavily female (60%) and younger (75% under 35). In the runner up spot from Lionsgate and the Kingdom Story Company is UNSUNG HERO. The film took in $3.65 million on Friday (including $1.67 million from Thursday shows and advanced screenings). The film received a rare A+ CinemaScore grade from an audience that was heavily female (61%) and older (77% over 35). The film is most likely on track for an opening weekend total of around $8 million or so which have the film exceeding most pre-release projections. Lionsgate really rolled up their sleeves on this one with a heavy gross roots program that doesn’t always show up on tracking and is clearly paying dividends.
