The Invitation lead the box office this weekend with a lackluster $7 Million. No doubt the studio thought making this one PG13 would help sell tickets to the under 18 crowd, however I do believe that rating actually hurt it as anyone over 18 just wasn’t interested in venturing out to theaters for watered down horror. Making matters even worse, the film’s C cinemascore means that the people that did pay to see it in theaters didn’t really like it which doesn’t bode well for its longevity at the big office.
Coming in second place is the Brad Pitt action comedy Bullet Train with an estimated $5.6 Million. Personally I am glad to see this film have solid legs at the box office as it was a highly entertaining confined action film with great acting across the board. Even the musician Bad Bunny gave a solid performance which gives me hope for his lead role in the Marvel project, El Muerto coming in 2024.
Third place went to the Idris Elba starring Beast, dropping 58% of its audience and finishing the weekend with $4.9 Million. I was slightly off in my predictions for this one as I thought the lack of any real competition would see this one hold better than it did. But with theatrical windows getting shorter before a film can be viewed in your own home, it appears people are waiting this one out. Or maybe it is one of those movies that is released, it does its thing and then is forgotten forever? It is certainly a blow to the star power of Idris Elba, who judging from last weeks poll, most people prefer to see in supporting roles.
Fourth place belonged to Tom Cruise and his high flying Top Gun: Maverick with $4.7 Million. The film is quite simply a juggernaut. It has proven that when you put something out into theaters that people actually want to see, and you make it right, as Cruise, Director Joseph Kosinski and Producer Jerry Bruckheimer did, people will show up. It is the Field of Dreams of 2022 movies: if you make a good movie, they will come! With anticipation already building for Cruise’s Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning Part One due in theaters July 14, 2023, it is possible Cruise can rule two summers in a row. Who says that the age of the movie star is dead?!
Shedding 78% of its audience, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero had an even steeper drop off than its predecessor Dragon Ball Super: Broly did back in 2019 when it shed nearly 70% of its audience. However with the numbers being so low this weekend, the $4.5 million weekend take still meant a 4th place finish for this niche animated film.
Speaking of the star power of Idris Elba, his second movie to release in as many weeks is the George Miller directed fantasy film Three Thousand Years of Longing which is clocking just $2.8 Million in ticket sales this weekend. It appears even our great review of the film couldn’t entice people to get to the theater to see this adult fairy tale. That is a shame because Miller is one of those filmmakers who is willing to take a chance on stories that you wouldn’t normally see and when he does you tend to get some great films such as the Best Picture nominated Babe (which he wrote and produced); the Oscar winning Happy Feet and the masterpiece Mad Max franchise for which he is currently filming the next chapter, Furiosa set to be released on May 24, 2024.
Bleecker Street’s Breaking starring John Boyega and the late Michael K. Williams finished outside the top ten with just $1.02 Million in tickets sold while Disney’s Imax only re-release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was only able to snag $1.1 Million.
This weekend marks the first time since the weekend of April 16, 2021 when Godzilla vs Kong finished in first place with just $7.8 Million in its third week of release, that no film earned double digits at the box office. Many people are questioning Amazon’s direct to streaming strategy this weekend when their new release film Samaritan staring Sylvester Stallone could have easily topped the box office especially given the films high audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
As we look to the future, there is some potential for breakout hits such as the ensemble whodunnit See How They Run, the Viola Davis starring The Woman King or the Billy Eichner fronted romantic comedy Bros. However, there doesn’t seem to be a surefire hit slated until mid October when Halloween Ends hits theaters on October 14, but even that is being undercut by a simultaneous day and date release with the Peacock streaming service.
Did you venture out to theaters this weekend? Or did you stay home and catch one of the new streaming releases such as Samaritan or the not very good Me Time starring Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg? Let us know in the comments.