Will Americans Ever Go Back to the Movie Theater?
by EG
Despite being the only recent new release in American theaters, Liam Neeson's The Marksman pulled in an anemic $2 million at the box office this weekend. Every movie that has dared to hit theaters as the pandemic rages on has struggled, with mega-budget movies like Christopher Nolan's Tenet turning in hugely disappointing numbers. Nolan was critical of the choice to release Wonder Woman 1984 directly to the HBO Max streaming platform, but that decision might have been the only thing that made the expensive WW84 viable. The question is whether blockbuster movies will ever again earn billions at the box office and if cookie-cutter thrillers like The Marksman can hope to earn $100 million or more in theaters in the future. Read on for details.
Liam Neeson's action thriller The Marksman stayed atop the languishing domestic box office in its second weekend with an estimated $2 million.
There were no new wide releases as most Hollywood studios continue to delay their high-profile titles amid COVID-19 and continued theater closures, including in the top 10 moviegoing markets. Though smaller markets have reopened this month, it hasn't made much of a dent. So far, January ticket sales are running more than 90 percent behind last year, according to Comscore.
The Marksman is directed by Robert Lorenz, Clint Eastwood's longtime collaborator, and has earned $6.1 million in its first 10 days. Open Road, also home of Neeson's recent pandemic pic Honest Thief, is handling the film domestically.
Universal and DreamWorks Animation's The Croods: The New Age wasn't far behind The Marksman. The family animated film grossed $1.9 million in its ninth weekend for a domestic tally of $41.8 million and $139.8 million worldwide.
Croods 2 has held up well in cinemas well despite being available on premium VOD in the U.S.
Wonder Woman 1984 came in third in its fifth weekend with $1.6 million for a domestic total of $37.7 million. Overseas, it has grossed $110.3 million for a worldwide total of $148 million.
In a controversial move, Warners WW84 made the Christmas Day superhero sequel available on HBO Max and in cinemas the same day because of the COVID-19 crisis and shuttered cinemas in many major markets.
At the international box office, Disney's Soul posted strong openings in North Korea — where it scored the second-biggest pandemic debut for a non-Korean title — and in Russia. The Pixar title has now grossed $71.2 million at the foreign box office from 13 material markets, including $48.2 million in China.
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.
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