Movie Theaters Are Going to Be Crowded Over the Holidays
by EG
Movie theaters are going to be full over the last two weekends of 2023, at least in terms of how many new movies will be on display. It's less clear whether or not the theaters will be full of moviegoers. The headlining new release this weekend is Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which will be debuting in the middle of a major superhero slump for Hollywood. Fortunately, moviegoers will have lots of other options if they're sick of comic book characters. Read on for details.
Via Variety.
“Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” is one of four movies opening in theaters over the weekend. Which of the new releases will sink and which will swim at the box office?
Jason Momoa’s “Aquaman” sequel is expected to float to the top of charts in North America over fellow newcomers: Universal and Illumination’s animated “Migration,” Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell’s romantic comedy “Anyone but You” and A24’s sports drama “The Iron Claw.” But the Warner Bros. comic book installment faces choppy waters. It’s targeting a soft $35 million to $40 million in its four-day debut (including Monday’s Christmas Day), which could make it the latest catastrophe in a terrible year for superhero movies.
December releases aren’t known to generate big opening weekends and instead tend to enjoy staying power through the new year. For example, 2018’s “Aquaman” collected an unspectacular $67 million to start but powered to a mighty $335 million in North America (and $1.15 billion globally). However, the $205 million-budgeted sequel arrives at a time that’s been unforgiving to many stories about Spandexed heroes — and “The Lost Kingdom” has been positioned as the final lame duck before DC’s new bosses, James Gunn and Peter Safran, reset the sprawling superhero universe. Already, the three DC movies to debut this year– “The Flash,” “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” and “Blue Beetle” — have flopped in spectacular fashion.
Warner Bros. has seemingly scaled back “Aquaman 2’s” marketing efforts, which likely still cost $100 million. The studio opted to mount a “fan screening” and “genre media and influencer” event in Los Angeles with just Momoa and director James Wan, rather than host a splashy red carpet premiere with the full cast, including Patrick Wilson, Amber Heard, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Nicole Kidman. Reviews remain under embargo for the follow-up film, which sees Aquaman forced to protect Atlantis from devastation after an ancient power is unleashed on the underwater kingdom.
Movie theater marquees are getting more crowded on Christmas Day as Warner’s musical adaptation of “The Color Purple,” Neon’s drama “Ferrari” and director George Clooney’s “The Boys in the Boat” enter the box office race. None of these movies are expected to break out in their opening weekends, leaving theater owners concerned about a lackluster holiday season. There’s no potential billion-dollar blockbuster, in the vein of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and “Avatar: The Way of Water,” to cap off 2023 and keep theaters busy in early 2024.
“Migration” is hoping to become the de facto choice for family audiences, though it’ll face competition from last weekend’s champion, “Wonka.” The Warner Bros. prequel, starring Timothee Chalamet as the eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka, is expected to add $21 million to $23 million in its second weekend of release. It has grossed $156 million worldwide to date.
Get the rest of the story at Variety.