Hello everyone,
BOX OFFICE: The biggest release of the weekend – the animated “Transformers One” failed to meet expectations of $30-35 million. Instead in came in at #2 just behind the #1 movie. “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” was #1 for the 3rd weekend in a row with $25.9 million and “Transformers One” was #2 with $24.6 million. It might have been closer if the screen count for both movies was the same. “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” had about 4170 screens and “Transformers One” had about 3980 screens – however the new movie was playing on the larger IMAX and other premiere screens so it may not have made a difference. The other wide release “Never Let Go” was #4 with just $4.4 million. After this past weekend, “Deadpool and Wolverine” – #5 at the domestic box office this past weekend with about $3.8 million – is now approx. $25 million behind the #1 movie for 2024 (so far). “Inside Out 2” is currently #1 with $652.8 and “Deadpool and Wolverine” is #2 with $627.2 million.
Overall, the total domestic box office was down about 13% from the week before to $81 million. It’s still ahead of the same weekend last year which had a total of $52.1 million total.
It’s really a shame that Apple decided against releasing “Wolfs” wide. It got decent reviews (72% on Rotten Tomatoes) and it could have been the #1 movie of the weekend (they didn’t announce the box office for the movies limited release). It was only playing at about 50 theaters this past weekend. It wasn’t playing at ANY AMC theaters and it was only playing at around 6 theaters in the Los Angeles area including 1 IMAX screen – the Chinese IMAX in Hollywood – buy only at 9:30pm. The rest of the movie theaters playing the movie had it on medium or small screens because “Transformers One” took the big screens (including the rest of the day at the IMAX theater). I ended up seeing it at a fairly small screen at a theater I only go to if I have to. I’m not really sure why they had a limited theatrical engagement. Sometimes, it’s so the movie can get award nomination but I doubt this movie will get any. This is more of a commercial movie, They just announced that a sequel was greenlit. I hope the sequel will be a better theatrical release. Even the director in an interview with Variety said that “”What it really takes is for the people that pay for the movies to back theatrical distribution. It’s not up to the filmmakers. Filmmakers have been making great movies.” Richard Kind – who has a small part in the movie – commented during the premiere that movies like this “…should be shown on movie theater screens measured in feet, not inches”.
WORLDWIDE: Internationally, “Transformers One” opened in about 50 other countries making approx. $14 million for a worldwide total of about $39 million. Next week’s domestic release – the animated “Wild Robot” from Dreamworks – gave it some competition internationally making approx. $6.9 million worldwide so far. “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” was the #1 movie worldwide as well as domestic making $17.2 million in foreign countries for a total of about $330 million.
OTHER NEWS:
It was announced last week that top movie theater chains will spend $2,2 billion over the next 3 years to update their movie theaters including putting the “..latest laser projection technology and immersive sound systems to new seating, enhanced food and beverage offerings, state-of-the-art air conditioning, lighting, signage and carpeting.”
LITTLE BIT OF HUMOR:
If you’ve never been in Burbank, Ca, you might not get this. There is LITERALLY 3 AMC MOVIE THEATERS NEXT TO EACH OTHER. There’s the big AMC Burbank 16, then a block away there’s a mall which has the AMC Burbank 8 inside it. Then on the opposite end of the mall there’s the AMC Burbank 6.
Here’s a map of the locations…..
I hope you’re doing well and staying healthy.
LOS ANGELES FILM REVIEW 