The lowest collective haul ever for a Super Bowl weekend and numbers 15% down from last year all but affirm this is a whimpering time to distribute any feature films. The newcomer Lisa Frankenstein couldn’t even latch onto first place in this moribund setting, only pulling in a sluggish $3.8 million domestically. A year ago, Magic Mike’s Last Dance pulled in $8.2 million domestically, while Avatar: The Way of Water was riding winter legs to nearly pass $650 million domestically.
Turns out, no saving grace this time, as many of the winter films (outside of Wonka) have been posting abysmal legs. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, at this point, is clawing to break even, even when the nail in the coffin already presided over Warner Brothers, and that’s not even counting for them shelving the Coyote v. Acme movie officially. Maybe it was the better option to get a skyrocketed tax write-off for a theatrically dicey release where streaming originals now are futile, even though any other distribution company could’ve purchased it for a worthwhile deal and maybe gotten lukewarm results from putting it out there.
Anyway, Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle remained atop another dim weekend, attaining $6.5 million to put it at $28.8 million domestically and $60.1 million worldwide. With numbers like that, this feature will be okay to pass the Kingsman: The Secret Service and Golden Circle‘s opening domestic numbers and is another shot in the heart for a streaming original-turned-theatrical motions picture. It appears that the golden hours for Vaughn have trickled away, as with grand star power and another action film that couldn’t put off mediocre reviews and lack of general moviegoer interest. This will be the first box office bomb of the year, and Apple will have to decide if they’re willing to put up with these results for much longer.
The Beekeeper remains the only bright spot in this clumsy box office turnout, netting $3.47 million in its fifth weekend, for $114.7 million globally. The Chosen: Season 4 – Episodes 1-3 took in $3.1 million in its second weekend, while Wonka has passed $200 million domestically and should pass $600 million worldwide before the month. Migration has done its job and passed $235 million worldwide, keeping Dreamworks’ noses clean.
This week sees the release of Madame Web, Bob Marley: One Love, What About Love, This is Me…Now: A Love Story, Land of Bad, Bleeding Love, and Lights Out.
