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Long may Peter Parker reign! Sony’s Marvel adventure “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” continues to dominate at the box office, collecting $39 million in its fourth weekend of release.
Despite a smattering of newcomers, Spidey
remained at No. 1 ahead of another Sony release, “Insidious: Out of the Further.” Much lower down on box office charts were Lionsgate’s action-thriller “Mutiny,” starring Jason Statham, and Black Bear’s comedy “Spa Weekend,” led by Isla Fisher, Leslie Mann, Anna Faris and Michelle Buteau.
“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” has been unstoppable on the big screen with $855 million in Stateside revenues and $2.22 billion globally to date. It’s the fourth film to surpass $800 million in North America and currently ranks as the third-highest grossing domestic release ever, not far behind 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame” ($858 million) and within reach of 2015’s all-time champ “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($936 million).
With no sign of slowing down, the newest “Spider-Man” is primed to eventually overtake “The Force Awakens” as the biggest movie ever at the domestic box office — and could even be the first to clear $1 billion in North America. Meanwhile, “Brand New Day” is the third-highest grossing movie in history in terms of worldwide grosses, behind just 2009’s “Avatar” ($2.9 billion) and “Avengers: Endgame” ($2.7 billion) and ahead of 2022’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” ($2.3 billion).
Second place went to “Insidious: Out of the Further” with $25.3 million from 3,303 theaters. Those ticket sales are behind the franchise’s prior entry, 2023’s “The Red Door,” with $33 million. However, the paranormal sequel cost just $18 million to produce, so it won’t require a huge turnout to reap box office rewards. “Insidious” revolves around a purgatorial place inhabited by the tortured spirits of the dead, and it’s been commercially successful for Sony and Blumhouse, with the five prior installments having generated a combined $740 million worldwide against low budgets. While the 2013 sequel “Insidious: Chapter 2” maintains the record for the biggest debut in the franchise with $40 million, “The Red Door” ranks as the highest-grossing installment to date with $189 million worldwide.
“The drop from [the previous installment’s] opening in July 2023 is substantial but typical of these sequels,” says David A. Gross, who publishes the box office newsletter FranchiseRe. In general, he notes, “the horror audience is thoroughly engaged.”
“The Odyssey” landed at No. 3 with a remarkable $19.5 million in its sixth frame, a decline of just 17% from the weekend prior. Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster is the second-biggest movie of the year, as well as the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time, with $539 million in North America and $1.44 billion worldwide to date.
“Mutiny” launched in sixth place, on the lower end of expectations with $7.5 million from 2,703 theaters. It’s a weak start against the movie’s $40 million production budget. (Lionsgate acquired North American rights but didn’t finance the film.) Statham plays a former Marine who has to prove his innocence after he’s framed for murdering his billionaire boss. Audiences were kinder to the film than critics, with “Mutiny” scoring a “B+” grade on CinemaScore exit polls and a tepid 50% on Rotten Tomatoes.
“This is a fair domestic opening,” Gross says. “Overseas is where Statham does particularly well and where the movie should make money.”
“Spa Weekend” fared even worse, crash-landing at No. 9 with $3.05 million from 2,009 screens. It carries a roughly $20 million price tag and likely won’t earn enough to justify Black Bear’s spend on the R-rated comedy. Directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, the movie follows three burned-out childhood besties who travel to a luxury resort in Palm Springs. “Spa Weekend” also earned a decent “B+” grade on CinemaScore but was saddled with a much harsher 33% on Rotten Tomatoes from film reviewers.
Two holdover titles, “The End of Oak Street” and “PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie,” rounded out the top five. Both films earned roughly $9 million in their sophomore outings (with each suffering a 60% decline from their respective debuts), so the final order on box office charts won’t be confirmed until Monday.
“The End of Oak Street,” a prehistoric sci-fi mystery starring Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor, has generated $38 million in North America and $86 million globally. Warner Bros. spent $80 million on the movie, and since theater owners get to keep about half of ticket sales, “Oak Street” needs to gross roughly $200 million to break even in its theatrical run.
“PAW Patrol,” a sequel based on the popular Nickelodeon television series for preschoolers, has earned $35.4 million domestically and $103 million worldwide. It carries a $40 million production budget, which was split between Paramount and Spin Master.
As popcorn season winds down, cinema operators are rejoicing because it’s already the highest-grossing summer movie season since COVID upended the industry in 2020. Now it’s up to fall releases — including Tom Cruise’s comedy “Digger,” “Practical Magic 2” with Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock, a “Resident Evil” reboot from “Weapons” director Zach Cregger and Colleen Hoover’s “Verity” adaptation led by Hathaway and Dakota Johnson — to sustain the momentum.
“There are a lot of cool and original ideas for the fall, which is what everyone wants to see,” exhibitor Chris Randleman of Flix Brewhouse told Variety. He says theater owners aren’t comparing the autumn box office to summer, which is the biggest time of year for moviegoing. “We’re looking at whether we’re better off than we were last [fall]. Even if it’s a low bar, we are definitely going to exceed last year.”
