With “Renaissance,” Beyoncé is the box office queen we need right now – IndieWire

The first weekend in December is often a dead zone, but this year we hit rock bottom with two of Disney’s prime movies doing the worst. In fact, it was his highest-grossing weekend since 2017. And how we got there proves what we learned in 2023. Non-traditional titles with passionate fans are a new path to exhibition success.

“Renaissance: A Beyoncé Movie” (AMC Theaters) was No. 1 with $21 million. This week’s top 10 includes “Godzilla Minus One” (Toho) with $11 million, India’s “Animal” (Cinegalaxy) with $6 million, and “The Shift” (Angel) with $4.3 million. . As major players open up their release calendars, outside forces are scrambling to fill the void.

“Renaissance” is a far cry from “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” which opened with $93 million, but it stands out as the opening of the day. While it shows Swift’s unique appeal (and the concert film’s limited possibilities as a genre), Renaissance is a far more complex work than a concert film. The number of theaters accounted for two-thirds of the period.

The Hindi action thriller “Animal” came in at No. 7 with $6.1 million from 697 theaters and a hefty PTA of $8,771. His sci-fi story “The Shift”, based on the multi-world belief of angels, earned him 8th place on the B+ CinemaScore. This is below average for an Angel title, but reflects the studio’s continued ability to develop a market.

Titles from traditional distributors made less than half of the box office. “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” (Lionsgate) came in second with $14.5 million in its third week, bringing its total to $121 million. At its regular price (unlike the “Renaissance” mark-up price), it could be the most sold ticket this weekend.

But the news for Disney’s “Wish” and “The Marvels” got even worse. Historically, the studio’s Thanksgiving animated release remains his No. 1 hit, grossing well over $100 million and likely getting a second wind at Christmas. Instead, the second weekend of Disney’s $200 million production dropped to fifth place with $7.4 million, and only $42 million so far. It also fell short of Universal’s Trolls Band Together in its third weekend.

As for “Marvels,” it’s outside the top 10, but it came in at No. 11 with $2.5 million in Weekend 4 and a total of $80 million. Neither “Wish” nor any Marvel title is likely to reach $100 million domestically.

John Woo’s Silent Night (Lionsgate) started in ninth place with a disappointing $3 million. The dialogue-free action film received mixed critical response and a low C Cinema Score.

This weekend’s annual revenue is a much bigger winner than last year’s $53 million. This would bring the annual total closer to $9 million, but challenges remain as there are few new releases next weekend and uncertainty whether the top Christmas releases will hit the target.

“Saltburn” (Amazon MGM) was reduced to a mostly limited run of 1,566 screenings. As a result, box office revenue per theater was only $1,001. This was a slight drop of 16% on what was already an underwhelming debut.

“Dream Scenario” (A24), starring Nicolas Cage, expanded to 1,578 theaters in its third week with just under $1.7 million, also just over $1,000 per theater. “The Holdovers” (Focus) topped the $15 million mark with $1.15 million. “Priscilla” (A24) exceeded $20 million.

Among the new limited openings, three stood out. Eileen (Neon), a psychological thriller set in a prison that premiered at Sundance, grossed $90,000 from six theaters in New York, Los Angeles, and Austin (PTA $15,000). Utopia, thanks to a large social media presence and a cast that includes Jacob Elordi, Simon Rex and Ayo Edebiri, will be at the helm of Sean Price Williams’ The Sweet East at New York’s IFC Center. The first performance is expected to raise $30,000. This absurdist drama will be shown alongside carefully cultivated event screenings over the coming weeks.

It’s hard for subtitled films to overcome bad press, but Isabelle Huppert’s draw helped “La Syndicaliste” (Kino Lorber) earn a respectable opening box office of $10,075 in one New York theater.

This isn’t the first time Netflix has lost another bet by hiding the box office revenue of a major film award. Director Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro” will receive his four-week theatrical run as a traditional multi-stage extension before streaming begins. Based on some theater seating charts for about 35 theaters, including many sold-out theaters (seating is limited), this weekend’s box office gross will exceed $400,000, and likely much more. There is a possibility.

Numbers like these not only increase the film’s profile, but could also generate even more interest in theaters as the film expands further. Rather, they reduce its viability with this nonsense.

top 10

1. Renaissance: Beyoncé movies (AMC Difference) NEW – CinemaScore: A+; Metacritic: 86;

$21 million in 2,539 theaters. PTA (average per theater): $8,721.Cumulative total: $21,000,000

2. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (Lionsgate) Week 3; Last Weekend #1

3,691 (-85) in theaters for $14.5 million (-50%). PTA: $3,840.Cumulative total: $121,243,000

3. Godzilla Minus One (Emic from Toho International) NEW – CinemaScore: A; Metacritic: 79; EST. Budget: $15 million.

$11,032,000 in 2,308 theaters. PTA: $4,780.Cumulative total: $11,032,000

4. Trolls unite (Universal) Week 3; Last Weekend #4

3,613 (-280) in theaters for $7,600,000 (-57%). PTA: $2,104.Cumulative total: $74,833,000

5. Wish (Disney) Week 2. Last weekend #3

$7,400,000 (-62%) in 3,900 theaters (unchanged). PTA: $; Cumulative total: $41,956,000

6. Napoleon (Sony for Apple) Week 2. Last weekend #2

$7,125,000 (-65%) in 3,500 theaters (unchanged). PTA: $1,901.Cumulative total: $45.76 million

7. Animals (Cinegalaxy) NEW – Estimated budget: $14 million

6.14 million dollars in 697 theaters. PTA: $8,771.Cumulative total: $6,140,000

8. Shift (Angel) New – CinemaScore: B+; EST. Budget: $6 million.

$4,358,000 in 2,450 theaters. PTA: $1,779.Cumulative total: $4,358,000

9. Silent Night (Lionsgate) New – CinemaScore: C; Metacritic: 53

$3 million in 1,870 theaters. PTA: $1,604.Cumulative total: $3,000,000

10. Thanksgiving (Sony) Week 3. Last weekend #5

$2,630,000 (-63%) in 3,204 theaters (unchanged). PTA: $821.Cumulative total: $28,378,000

Other specialized titles

Movies (limited editions, limited edition expansions, and awards releases) are listed by week of release, starting with the current week. After the first three weeks, only movies with box office receipts exceeding $5,000 will appear on the list. Records Metacritic score and early film festivals.

Irene (Neon) NEW – Metacritic: 71; Festivals include: Sundance 2023

$90,521 in 6 theaters. PTA: $15,087

The Sweet East (Utopia) NEW – Metacritic: 63; Festivals include: Cannes, New York 2023

$30,000 per theater. PTA: $30,000

La Syndicaliste (Kino Lorber) NEW – Metacritic: 49; Festivals include: Venice 2022

1 theater for $10,075. PTA: $10,075

pianoforte (Greenwich) NEW – Festivals include: Sundance 2023

$5,500 per theater. PTA: $5,500

monster (Well Go USA) Week 2

5 (+3) $26,545 in theaters. PTA: $5,309.Cumulative total: $63,314

salt burn (Amazon MGM) Week 3

$1,568,000 in 1,566 theaters (unchanged). PTA: $1,001.Cumulative total: $6,235,000

next goal victory (Searchlight) 3rd week

$231,000 in 500 (-1,740) theaters.Cumulative total: $6,398,000

The disappearance of Shea Hite (IFC) Week 3

19 (+17) $5,100 in theaters.Total: $27,607

dream scenario (A24) Week 4

$1,689,000 in 1,578 (+1,454) theaters.Cumulative total: $3,470,000

radical (Pantelion) Week 5

$271,500 in 255 (-70) theaters.Cumulative total: $8,249,000

Priscilla (A24) Week 6

$322,751 in 435 (-628) theaters.Cumulative total: $20,372,000

holdovers (Focus) Week 6; also on PVOD

1,311 (-290) in theaters for $1,150,000.Cumulative total: $15,100,000

Taylor Swift: The Elus Tour (AMC difference) Week 8

636 (-310) $550,000 in theaters.Cumulative total: $178.8 million

structure of overturning (Neon) Week 8

$67,000 in 72 (-5) theaters.Cumulative total: $3,492,000