A Summer Box Office First for Last Weekend

 It’s been a good month for the box office, that no one can doubt. The rapid July upswing in takings has even managed to see a fantastic new first for the post-pandemic period and one that hasn’t been rivaled in the overall box office takings since 2018- and never in summer. Blake & Wang P.A. entertainment attorney Los Angeles, Brandon Blake, shares the great news.

                                                      

Summer Box Office First

This past weekend saw four films gross over $28M. It’s a first for the summer box office overall, and we’ve only seen it happen once before, at Thanksgiving 2018. It’s also a bit of a brain twister for studio execs. Typically, they try to avoid this kind of ‘dogpile’ in releases, preferring to stagger new openings and dodge competitive clashes. But we’d go so far as to say no one, no matter how industry-savvy, could have predicted this one. Distribution logic, it seems, has flown right out the window.

 

Barbie, unsurprisingly, clinches the top spot for the third week running at $53M. While that’s a 43$ decline, it’s still a nice chunk of change to add to its $459M domestic takings, with international takings now well over the $1B line. Oppenheimer came third at $28.7M, again in its third week and only 39% down.

Add to that another 2 stellar new releases. Meg 2: The Trench took $30M domestic in its opening weekend. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem takes the last spot at $28M straight up, again in the opening weekend.

Great News for Cinemas

The fact that not one, but four popular competitors could all perform so highly (and without cannibalizing each other’s takings) is undoubtedly fantastic news for the exhibition industry. Especially off the back of a lackluster June. Altogether we see $178M in takings for the weekend. Not a record for August (we see $228M for 2016), but in that weekend one release (Suicide Squad) accounted for over half the gross. Notably, both Meg and TMNT are franchise releases, too, which haven’t been living up to expectations this summer.

We’ve already beaten 2022’s summer season by a comfortable margin despite a rocky start. Let’s hope this momentum continues into the end of the year.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ad-Supported Tiers Are Winning, But Why Are Streamers So Keen?

Image
 As a spate of price increases touch all but the ad-supported tiers of most of the major streaming players, it’s clear the streaming world has thoroughly embraced the ad-tier model as a key driver of future streaming growth. But with so many streamers actively pushing new subscribers to their cheaper plans, what’s the secret? And how will this help them achieve that coveted profitability?One of the best entertainment lawyers Los Angeles Brandon Blake, from Blake & Wang P.A, takes a closer look. Brandon Blake Broader Audiences It’s no news that the wider market- Wall Street in particular- has finally realized that the pandemic-spurred boom in subscription numbers is unsustainable. Premium tiers may deliver premium features, but at a time when most households are looking for ways to cut costs, they’re less attractive than they once were. For many, this means a cheaper offering with only a little less convenience looks a whole lot more attractive. What is quite interesting is tha
Read more

Fall Film Festival Acquisitions to Know

Image
 With the traditional red carpet promenade severely limited by strike action, the fall film festival circuit gave indie movies a near-unprecedented chance to shine to buyers. While some jitteriness around the SAG-AFTRA waiver system caused slower-than-normal sales and some of the larger AMPTP distributors to opt for a ‘wait and see’ policy, there have been some strong acquisitions to keep on your radar. Entertainment lawyer Brandon Blake, of Blake & Wang P.A., highlights just a few to watch. Brandon Blake Festival and Post-Festival Sales Of the titles acquired during the festival itself, we see Sing Sing (to A24) headed to 2024 theatrical release in a seven-figure deal. Sorry/Not Sorry (Greenwich Entertainment) and Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World (Wavelengths)also attracted considerable festival attention. Despite the quiet market overall for documentaries, Netflix took home Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa alongside Women of the Hour as the fi
Read more

The Sticky Question of Residuals: Could Netflix Have the Answer?

Image
 Has there been any more contentious issue in the entertainment industry this year than that of residuals? One potential solution to this thorny issue lies in the success-based residual metrics already employed in parts of Europe- ironically, and most notably, by Netflix themselves. Brandon Blake, entertainment lawyer Los Angeles from Blake & Wang P.A, takes a look at this most unusual development. Brandon Blake The European Model Where European copyright legislation and Netflix meet, there could be middle ground. Netflix has already established several collective streamer residual agreements in European countries, from France to Germany, and Scandinavia. These agreements offer additional compensation to creators for well-performing content. However, the level of transparency regarding compensation details remains a concern for both unions and streamers.   It’s no secret that European entertainment markets are more heavily regulated than others, with EU law mandating regi
Read more