"Tenet" Holds #1 Spot in 4th Weekend

[JamesG]

WB's Tenet Rakes In $20.2 Million in Long-Awaited U.S. Debut
by Chris Nashawaty - Box Office News
September 7, 2020


Labor Day weekend gave us our first glimpse at what a blockbuster looks like in the age of COVID-19.

Christopher Nolan’s long-delayed brainteaser, Tenet, was the first major test of U.S. movie exhibition in the coronavirus pandemic. Now, with receipts tallied, it appears the Warner Bros. film passed that test. The twisty, PG-13 thriller starring John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Kenneth Branagh, and Elizabeth Debicki opened with $20.2 million domestically in 2,810 theaters (an impressive $7,189 per-theater average) over the long holiday weekend.

Nolan’s film has also resonated overseas, where it pulled in $126 million over two weekends for a total box-office cumulative of $146.2 million. All told, the movie is now playing in 46 international markets on 52,913 screens.





Finishing in the runner-up slot was Fox’s The New Mutants. After eking out a lackluster $7 million last weekend, the poorly reviewed PG-13-rated X-Men spin-off brought in an additional $3.6 million in its second weekend in 2,754 theaters (for a $1,307 average).

Its total domestic gross now stands at $12.35 million with an additional $8.5 million coming from overseas for a cumulative $20.85. The film expanded this weekend into such international markets as the UK and Australia.





In third place was Solstice Studios’ Unhinged with $2.2 million. In its fourth week of release, the R-rated road-rage thriller starring Russell Crowe played in 2,402 theaters.

The film has grossed a total of $11.83 million domestically and $12 million overseas, bringing its global cumulative box office to $23.83 million.





In fourth was United Artists’ Bill & Ted Face the Music, the third installment in the time-traveling dude comedy starring Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter.

In its second weekend, the PG-13 film pulled in $809,794 in 953 theaters, bringing its total domestic gross to $2.3 million. It added a negligible $61,214 overseas.





Rounding out the top five was Paramount’s The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, which earned $470,000 in 304 theaters.

The PG-rated animated film’s domestic cumulative now stands at $3.44 million. It has yet to open overseas.





Bubbling under the top five were two indies in their second weeks of release.

In sixth place was Fox Searchlight’s PG-rated The Personal History of David Copperfield with $430,000 (its $1.09 million domestic total is a drop in the bucket compared to its hefty $9.94 million international take).

And in seventh was Roadside Attractions’ Words on Bathroom Walls with $350,135, bringing its domestic cumulative to $1.6 million. The PG-13 film has yet to open overseas.

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/articl...?ref_=bo_hm_hp







September 4-7, 2020: Weekend Studio Estimates

1. Tenet $20,200,000
2. The New Mutants $3,600,000 / $12,352,627
3. Unhinged $2,200,000 / $11,832,000
4. Bill & Ted Face the Music $809,794 / $2,304,258
5. The Personal History of David Copperfield $430,000 / $1,093,473
6. Words on Bathroom Walls $350,135 / $1,609,673
7. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run $345,000 / $3,314,145
8. My Brother's Crossing $19,386

[JamesG]

WB's Tenet Holds Top Spot in U.S. Despite Second Slow Weekend, Mulan Opens in China
by Chris Nashawaty - Box Office News
Sept. 14, 2020


What a difference a week makes.

After its highly anticipated U.S. debut last weekend, when it raked in $20.2 million, Christopher Nolan’s Tenet couldn’t continue its momentum at home, pulling in just $6.7 million domestically in its sophomore session.

The tally was still good enough for a first-place finish thanks to a lack of splashy new competition, but the Warner Bros. thriller dropped a steep -66.8% from the previous weekend. Playing in 2,810 theaters, Nolan’s film earned a $2,384 average and has a $29.5 million cumulative at the domestic box office.




However, the good news for Tenet is that overseas audiences continue to flock to the mind-scrambling epic which stars John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Kenneth Branagh, and Elizabeth Debicki.

The PG-13 film racked up a total of $37.3 million worldwide this weekend, helping to push its global box-office cumulative past the $200 million milestone to $207 million, with China leading the way.

All told, the movie is now playing in 48 international markets on 52,913 screens.







Finishing in the runner-up slot once again was Fox’s The New Mutants.

In its third week, the poorly reviewed PG-13-rated X-Men spin-off brought in an additional $2.1 million in the US, dropping -32.5% from the previous week at home. The New Mutants is playing in 2,704 theaters and had a $758 per-theater average. Its domestic total now stands at $15.3 million.

The film added $3.8 million overseas, bringing its international cumulative to $14 million and its worldwide total to $29.3 million. New markets for the film this week included Korea and Germany.







In third place was Solstice Studios’ Unhinged with $1.5 million. In its fifth week of release, the R-rated road-rage thriller starring Russell Crowe played in 2,365 theaters.

The film has grossed a total of $13.8 million domestically and $12 million overseas, bringing its impressive global cumulative box office to $25.8 million.







In fourth was Sony’s The Broken Hearts Gallery, the only new film to debut in the Top 5.

The PG-13-rated romantic comedy written and directed by Natalie Krinsky and starring Geraldine Viswanathan managed to rack up $1.1m in 2,204 locations and currently has a 74% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. The independently-produced rookie has yet to open internationally.







In fifth was United Artists’ Bill & Ted Face the Music, the third installment in the time-traveling dude comedy starring Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter.

In its third weekend, the PG-13 sequel added an underwhelming $260,000 in 807 theaters (a precipitous -66.4% drop-off), bringing its total domestic gross to $2.8 million. It has so far added $216,900 overseas.







Elsewhere, the big story was the debut of Disney’s live-action Mulan in China. While the PG-13-rated film is available in the US via Disney+ Premier Access, it had a strong opening in China, where it grossed an estimated $23.2 million, bringing its international box office total to $37.6 million.

The film, which stars Chinese-American actress Liu Yifei in the title role (as well as Donnie Yen, Gong Li, and Jet Li), is now playing in 17 territories, including Russia, Greece, Hungary, Slovenia, Ukraine, Poland, and South Africa, which were all added this week.

Next weekend it will also open in Hong Kong and Korea.

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/articl...?ref_=bo_hm_hp







September 11-13, 2020: Weekend Studio Estimates

1. Tenet $6,700,000 / $29,500,000
2. The New Mutants $2,089,204 / $15,329,572
3. Unhinged $1,516,422 / $13,842,978
4. The Broken Hearts Gallery $1,126,401
5. Bill & Ted Face the Music $292,653 / $2,748,235
6. Words on Bathroom Walls $229,892 / $1,941,428
7. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run $225,829 / $3,964,145
8. The Personal History of David Copperfield $194,528 / $1,405,572
9. Penisula $52,110 / $943,460
10. Cut Throat City $41,029 / $695,812

[JamesG]

Tenet Continues to Score Abroad, but Stalls at Home in its Third Weekend, Infidel Debuts at #3 and Mulan Loses Steam in China
by Chris Nashawaty - Box Office News
September 21, 2020


Now three weeks into Tenet’s highly anticipated North American campaign, Warner Bros.’ wannabe blockbuster continues to tell two wildly divergent tales at the box office.

While the Christopher Nolan thriller continues to underperform at home, adding just $4.7 million in its third frame and bringing its domestic total to $36.1 million, it just keeps barreling along overseas, where it’s now racked up $203 million and counting.




As many other studios continue to postpone the releases of their splashiest 2020 titles, Warner Bros. instead chose to move forward with Nolan’s latest.

Over the past three weekends, Tenet has been seen as a test case, gauging whether American moviegoers are ready to return to theaters despite the ongoing COVID pandemic. But so far that test has been a disappointment as Nolan’s film dipped another -29.9% from the previous weekend, managing only a $1,604 per-screen average in 2,930 theaters in North America.




However, Tenet continues to draw international ticket buyers, who have made up over 80% of the movie’s audience. Now playing in 52 markets globally, the PG-13 film saw its strongest turn-out in China, where it made $5.6 million in its third frame there. It also racked up $4.3 million in Japan, where it bowed this weekend.

Still, all hope is not lost on the homefront as Tenet still has plenty of breathing room to add to its domestic numbers, especially as more cities re-open for business.







Finishing in the runner-up slot once again was Disney’s The New Mutants. In its fourth week, the PG-13-rated X-Men spin-off brought in an additional $1.6 million in the US, dropping -23.4% from the previous week.

The New Mutants is playing in 2,518 theaters and had a $635 per-theater average. Its domestic total now stands at $17.7 million. To date, the film has added $17.3 million overseas, bringing its worldwide total to $35 million.







In third place was Cloudburst Entertainment’s Infidel, which earned $1.5 million in its opening weekend.

The R-rated espionage thriller starring Jim Caviezel was the inaugural film from the new distribution and production company founded by former executives from Pure Flix Entertainment, known for low-budget, religious-themed films.

Produced by Dinesh D’Souza, Infidel had a $870 per-screen average in 1,724 theaters. It has not yet opened internationally.







In fourth place was Solstice Studios’ Unhinged with $1.3 million. In its sixth week of release, the R-rated road-rage thriller starring Russell Crowe played in 2,324 theaters and had a $870 per-screen average.

The film has been one of the season’s biggest surprises at the box office, grossing an impressive $15.7 million domestically and $12 million overseas, bringing its global cumulative box office to $27.7 million.







In fifth was Paramount’s The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run with $210,000. The animated kids’ film, which climbed from the seventh-place slot last weekend, had an $804 per-screen average in 261 theaters. It has not yet opened internationally.

Elsewhere, the big box-office stories were the lackluster sophomore showing of Disney’s live-action Mulan in China, where it dropped off 72% in its second weekend, and the debut of Bleecker Street Media’s indie revenge-thriller The Secrets We Keep, which snuck into the Top 10 at number 8, with $89,955 in 471 theaters.

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/articl...?ref_=bo_hm_hp







September 18-20, 2020: Weekend Studio Estimates

1. Tenet $4,700,000 / $36,100,000
2. The New Mutants $1,823,448 / $17,741,422
3. Infidel $1,384,296
4. Unhinged $1,281,563 / $15,695,476
5. The Broken Hearts Gallery $802,322 / $2,409,216
6. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run $205,700 / $4,236,803
7. Bill & Ted Face the Music $189,014 / $3,117,463
8. Alone $182,473
9. The Personal History of David Copperfield $172,601 / $1,652,515
10. Words on Bathroom Walls $147,175 / $2,189,346

[JamesG]

Tenet Limps at Home but Soars Overseas, While Some Old Visitors From a Galaxy Far, Far Away Return for a Top Five Encore
by Chris Nashawaty - Box Office News
Sept. 28, 2020


In an acceleration of recent years' trends, international audiences have become increasingly critical to Hollywood’s bottom line during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

While Christopher Nolan’s Tenet passed the $280 million mark at the worldwide box office, thanks to strong overseas turnout, the film continued to lose steam domestically, pulling in $3.4 million in its fourth weekend.

In context of the current domestic theatrical space, that figure was still good enough to make the Warner Bros. tentpole the top movie in the US, pulling in $1,192 per-screen average in 2,850 theaters. Still, that only brings the domestic box-office total to a $41.2 million, representing 14.5% of the total worldwide gross.




Yet while all was quiet on the home front, Nolan’s mind-bender continued to perform strongly overseas, where its international total now stands at $242 million, for a cumulative worldwide haul to $283.2 million.

With a budget of $205 million, Tenet will need to keep barreling along abroad to recoup the studio’s investment in the tentpole.







Major studios continue to push back the releases of their high profile 2020 titles like a series of falling dominoes.

Last week Disney announced the postponement of three of its splashiest blockbuster hopefuls: Marvel’s Black Widow, which moved from November 6 to May 7, 2021; Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, which moved back nearly an entire year from December 18 to December 10, 2021; and Branagh’s Agatha Christie whodunit Death on the Nile, which moved from October 23 to December 18, 2020.

For the time being, the 20th Century Studios is putting its horror film The Empty Man in the pre-Halloween slot of October 23 and keeping its Pixar comedy Soul on its November 20 date, where it is scheduled to go head-to-head with Universal and MGM’s latest James Bond installment, No Time to Die.







Finishing in the runner-up slot yet again was 20th Century Studios' The New Mutants. In its fifth week, the PG-13-rated X-Men spin-off brought in an additional $1.1 million in the US, dropping -37.1% from the previous frame.

The New Mutants played in 2,305 theaters and had a $497 per-screen average. Its domestic total now stands at $19.5 million. To date, the film has added $19.4 million overseas, bringing its worldwide total to $38.9 million.







In third place was Solstice Studios’ Unhinged with $1.0 million. In its seventh week of release, the R-rated road-rage thriller starring Russell Crowe played in 2,182 theaters and had a $458 per-screen average, dropping off -22.0%.

The film has been one of the season’s biggest surprises at the box office, grossing an impressive $17.2 million domestically and $14.6 million overseas, bringing its global cumulative box office to $31.8 million.







In fourth place was a familiar visitor from a long time ago and a galaxy far, far away.

Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back returned to theaters to celebrate its 40th anniversary. Now a Disney property, the PG-rated film used the Force to score $908,000 in 2,097 theaters for a $432 per-screen average.

The original release from 1980 racked up a whopping $400 million at the worldwide box office, unadjusted for inflation.







In fifth was Cloudburst Entertainment’s Infidel, which earned $745,000 in its sophomore weekend.

The R-rated espionage thriller starring Jim Caviezel fell off -46.2% and had a $395 per-screen average in 1,885 theaters. It has not yet opened internationally.







Elsewhere, a trio of indie debuts clawed their way into the Top 10:

Gravitas Ventures’ R-rated creature-feature Shortcut bowed in seventh place with $305,000 in 725 theaters (a $420 per-screen average).

Sony Pictures’ R-rated fast-food comedy The Last Shift debuted with $235,000 in 871 theaters (a $269 per-screen average).

Focus Features’ Miranda July-directed heist comedy Kajillionaire opened with $215,000 in 529 theaters (a $406 per-screen average).

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/articl...?ref_=bo_hm_hp







September 25-27, 2020: Weekend Studio Estimates

1. Tenet $3,400,000 / $41,200,000
2. The New Mutants $1,172,088 / $19,484,246
3. Unhinged $967,903 / $17,157,450
4. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back $908,000 / $1,923,000
5. Infidel $761,136 / $2,690,735
6. The Broken Hearts Gallery $501,197 / $3,269,620
7. Shortcut $305,000
8. The Last Shift $246,491
9. Kajillionaire $215,675
10. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run $142,355 / $4,435,735