Liam Neeson's "The Marksman" Makes #1 Spot for 2nd Weekend

[JamesG]

Liam Neeson's The Marksman Unseats Wonder Woman 1984 at the Domestic Box Office with $3.7M over MLK Jr. Weekend
by Chris Nashawaty
Jan. 19, 2021


Moviegoers didn’t have much time to miss Liam Neeson, whose Honest Thief debuted in the top box-office spot back in October. Because now, just three months later, the AARP action star is back and this time he’s No. 1 with a bullet as his latest thriller, The Marksman, pulled in $3.2 million over the weekend and in total $3.7 million including the MLK Jr. holiday — more than enough to finally unseat Wonder Woman 1984, which had spent three straight weeks as the highest-grossing movie in North America.

Open Road Films, the indie behind The Marksman, has certainly found a good luck charm in the 68-year-old leading man. His new PG-13-rated suspenser, about an Arizona rancher who comes to aid of a Mexican boy being hunted by a south-of-the-border drug cartel, is his third No. 1 debut for the studio following 2012’s release of The Grey and 2020’s Honest Thief.




While Neeson’s films often have muscular openings, the fact that his latest toppled a tentpole the size of Wonder Woman while it was still in its first month reinforces both the star’s multiplex might and Wonder Woman’s surprising underperformance. Over the holiday weekend, The Marksman opened in 1,975 theaters and racked up a $1,875 per-screen average.

It has not yet opened internationally.







As mentioned above, Warner Bros.’ Wonder Woman 1984 got bumped to second place in its fourth weekend, lassoing just $2.6 million, not including the Monday holiday. Receipts for the DC title dipped -13.3% from the previous session.

To date, the Gal Gadot-led epic has pulled in $35.8 million at the domestic box office and another $105.9 million overseas, totaling $141.7 million worldwide. The PG-13-rated movie’s lackluster run in theaters has no doubt been affected by Warner Bros.’ decision to release the film simultaneously on its HBO Max streaming service.

And while the studio has not publicly released at-home viewership numbers yet, it was apparently pleased enough with the film’s performance to already greenlight another Wonder Woman sequel with both Gadot and director Patty Jenkins returning to the fold.







In third place was Universal and DreamWorks’ animated sequel The Croods: A New Age, which popped +12.7% in its eighth week, pulling in $2 million domestically.

The PG-rated picture, which features the voices of Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, and Ryan Reynolds, scored a $1,099 per-screen average in 1,855 theaters. It has racked up $40.1 million at the North American box office to date and $94.7 million overseas, adding up to an impressive $134.8 million worldwide gross.







In fourth place was Universal’s News of the World with $1.1 million in its fourth weekend. The PG-13-rated Western, starring Tom Hanks as a Civil War veteran escorting a young girl on a perilous frontier journey, slid -15.1% from the previous session, earning a $537 per-screen average in 1,953 theaters.

The film has pulled in $8.7 million at the domestic box office so far. It has not opened internationally yet.







In fifth place was Screen Gems’ Monster Hunter, which managed $925,000 in its fifth weekend. The action-packed, PG-13-rated video game adaptation starring Milla Jovovich took a -16.4% ding in ticket sales from last weekend, scoring a $546 per-screen average in 1,694 theaters.

Monster Hunter has made $9.2 million domestically so far and another $7.1 million internationally, equaling a worldwide box office total of $16.3 million.







Outside of the week’s Top 10, there was one final debut of note: a very timely one, in fact.

MLK/FBI, a critically praised documentary about the civil rights leader’s harassment by the US government, earned $33,250 in 120 theaters over the long Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, which translates to a $277 per-screen average.

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







January 15-18, 2021: Weekend Studio Estimates

1. The Marksman $3,503,257
2. Wonder Woman 1984 $2,507,625 / $39,757,090
3. The Croods: A New Age $1,180,170 / $8,634,510
4. News of the World $1,090,221 / $9,200,328
5. Monster Hunter $630,000 / $4,842,845
6. Fatale $537,485 / $3,453,780
7. Promising Young Woman $219,000
8. The Emperor's New Groove [re-release] $219,000
9. The War with Grandpa $200,289 / $19,281,739
10. Pinocchio $195,432 / $1,376,795

[JamesG]

Liam Neeson's The Marksman Holds #1 Spot with $2M in its Second Week
by Chris Nashawaty - Box Office News
Jan. 25, 2021


In another sluggish session at the domestic box office, Liam Neeson once again proved to be Mr. Reliable by holding onto the top spot for the second straight weekend with his latest outing, The Marksman.

The PG-13-rated border thriller from indie studio Open Road Films put $2 million into its crosshairs, edging out a soft field still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic.



After two weekends in theaters, The Marksman is tracking very closely with Open Road’s last Neeson headliner, Honest Thief, which also held the top spot for two consecutive weeks back in October on its way to grossing $14.2 million during its domestic run.

To date, The Marksman has racked up $6.1 million in North America. It has not yet opened internationally.







In second place was Universal and DreamWorks’ impressively resilient The Croods: A New Age, which dipped just -9% in its ninth week, pulling in $1.8 million domestically. Despite already being available on premium VOD, the PG-rated animated sequel scored a $970 per-screen average in 1,876 theaters.

To date, it has piled up $41.8 million at the North American box office and another $98 million overseas, totaling $139.8 million worldwide.







In third place was Warner Bros.’ Wonder Woman 1984 with $1.6 million in its fifth weekend.

The superhero sequel, whose total domestic haul now stands at $37.7 million, has proven to be a bit of a box-office bust stateside, where it debuted simultaneously on the HBO Max streaming service. Still, the DC title has fared better overseas, where it has lassoed $110.3 million so far, pushing its cumulative worldwide box office to just shy of the $150 million milestone with $148 million.







Slugging it out for fourth and fifth place — and caught in a dead heat at press time — were Universal’s Tom Hanks Western, News of the World, and Screen Gems’ videogame adaptation, Monster Hunter, which both appeared to have racked up $810,000 over the weekend.

In its fifth weekend, News of the World slid -18.8% from the previous frame, earning a $414 per-screen average in 1,953 theaters, which brought its total domestic draw to $9.7 million.

It has not opened internationally yet.







Meanwhile, in its sixth weekend, Mila Jovovich’s Monster Hunter fell -12.9%, with a $487 per-screen average in 1,661 locations.

The film has made $10.2 million thus far in North America and $7.9 million abroad, totaling a hair over $18 million worldwide.







The only other debut to crack the Top 10 this weekend was Gravitas Ventures’ tearjerker Our Friend, which bowed in eighth place with $250,000.

The R-rated indie drama about friendship, terminal illness, and grief starring Dakota Johnson, Casey Affleck, and Jason Segel had a $460 per-screen average in 543 theaters. It has not opened overseas yet.

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







January 22-24, 2021: Weekend Studio Estimates

1. The Marksman $2,028,944 / $6,092,738
2. The Croods: A New Age $1,795,845 / $41,811,300
3. Wonder Woman 1984 $1,600,000 / $37,700,000
4. Monster Hunter $825,316 / $10,200,142
5. News of the World $784,275 / $9,626,140
6. Fatale $398,798 / $5,257,400
7. Promising Young Woman $396,625 / $3,976,090
8. Our Friend $240,160
9. The War with Grandpa $160,174 / $19,465,588
10. Pinocchio $130,362 / $1,535,240