Super Bowl weekend is always a dead zone for the movie business, and this year was no exception. Two new films – United Artists’ Gretel & Hansel and Paramount’s The Rhythm Section– were dumped onto the market to indifferent reviews and empty auditoriums, while aging holdovers such as Bad Boys For Life and 1917 collected whatever cash they could grab from what turned out to be the second-worst Super Bowl weekend for the movie industry in the last decade and a half.
Leading the charge for a third straight week was Sony’s Bad Boys sequel with an estimated $17.7million from 3,705 screens. Down 48% from one week ago, the third entry in the 25-year old franchise has brought in a terrific $148million so far. If the film continues to hold over the next few weeks, Bad Boys For Life should call it a day with close to $200 million in the bank. Overseas, Smith and Lawrence have brought in $142.7 million so far.
Staying put in second place is Universal’s award-winning 1917, which fought 39% less in its sixth weekend to earn an estimated $9.66 million from 3,987 theaters. The frontrunner for Best Picture at next week’s Whitey Awards –sorry, Oscars– has brought in an estimated $119.2 million and is still on course to bring in at least $150 million. Internationally, 1917 has brought in $129 million.
A complete lack of competing family films has given the Universal dud Dolittle some unexpected box office longevity. That will change when Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog blesses us with its presence starting on Valentine’s Day. Until then, the Robert Downey Jr. misfire collected an estimated $7.7 million in its third weekend from 3,750 theaters to bring its overall total to $55.2 million. Dolittle has earned an additional $71 million from overseas markets.
Opening in fourth place with a tepid $6 million from 3,007 theaters was the United Artists horror film Gretel & Hansel. The PG-13 horror film scored mixed notices from the critics but flopped with the general public. Gretel & Hansel scored a 56% approval from Rotten Tomatoes and a 64/100 on Metacritic while opening day ticket buyers condemned the film on CinemaScore, giving it a dire “C-.”
Rounding out the top five this weekend was STX’s The Gentlemen with an estimated $6 million from 2,675 theaters. The Guy Ritchie crime comedy has earned $20.4 million after two weeks of release and should finish between $35-40 million.
- Jumanji 3 (Sony) $6 million (-22%); $291 million
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (Disney) $3.2 million (-43%); $507 million
- The Turning (Universal) $3.05 million (-56%); $11.7 million
- Little Women (Sony) $3.01 million (-34%); $98.7 million
- The Rhythm Section(Paramount) $2.8 million
Paramount scored its latest box office disaster with the horrible debut for this $50 million thriller starring Blake Lively, her wig collection and Jude Law.
Next weekend, Warner Brothers debuts the R-rated comic book flick Birds of Prey. The film is currently looking at a possible opening around $50 million.
