By Chris Kavan - 03/24/21 at 11:39 AM CT
With L.A. finally getting theaters back up and running, it spelled good news for movies as indications point to the city accounting for about 9% of the total box office. That meant small drops for most films and even some minor gains for others. It also means that perhaps theaters aren't quite dead in the water... though as the recent decision by Disney over Black Widow, Luca and Cruella show, streaming options (even if they are at a premium) aren't going away anytime soon.
Speaking of Disney, Raya and the Last Dragon was the top draw for the third week in a row, bringing in $5.13 million (down a tick over 10%) and raising its total to $23.4 million with a global total of $60.7 million. While those numbers are not exactly eye-popping, Disney must be happy with the results of this - as well as Mulan - as they have decided they will roll out both Cruella (on 5/28) and Black Widow (moved back to 7/7) as both theatrical and premium Disney+ offers. No word yet on whether all theater chains will be on board as Cinemark theaters refused to show Raya.
In second place, Tom and Jerry held on to their spot as well, bringing in $3.8 million (down a light 7.3%), adding up to a $33.7 million domestic total. Worldwide, the film has brought in $77.2 million as families continue to drive the box office.
In third place the sci-fi film Chaos Walking dipped 14.5% and brought in $1.9 million for a new domestic total of $9.7 million and a worldwide total of $14.7 million.
In fourth place we find the weekend's only new wide release, the Benedict Cumberbatch Cold War spy thriller The Courier. The film opened with $1.88 million (a decent-for-these-times $1,313 per-screen average) and has not yet released internationally.
Rounding out the top five, The Croods: A New Age is still sticking around and actually boosted its numbers - jumping 15.7% (the best gain among the top 10, anyway) and adding $626,000 to its tally, which now has topped $55 million ($55.2 million to be exact) and hit $160 million at the global box office.
Among the biggest gains for the week were Oscar contenders Minari - which added over 500 theaters and jumped 131.4% landing just outside the top 10 in 11th place with $306,000. It has made about $1.4 million thus far. Also making big gains was Promising Young Woman with a 116% jump after adding 334 theaters, landing in 15th place with $193,700 and a $5.7 million total so far.
Next week Bob Odenkirk does his best John Wick impersonation with the over-the-top violent Nobody - we'll see if audiences are in the mood for random acts of violence at this time.
In the MPAA update this week, another family-friendly title - sequel - gets singing right along.
With family films doing to well right now, animation still seems the best bet to draw in the biggest crowds. Lucky for us, 2021 has no shortage of them and why not add a bit of music to the mix? Sing 2 brings back pretty much all of the original cast: Matthew McConaughey, Taron Egerton, Tori Kelly, Reese Witherspoon, Nick Kroll, Seth MacFarlane and Scarlett Johansson. In the first film, McConaughey voiced Buster Moon, who hoped a singing competition would boost his aged and failing theaters chances at staying open. Of course a mistake in offering a huge cash prize meant it was a little too popular, but we got a lot of talent, from a soul-searching gorilla (Egerton), a shy elephant with a big voice (Kelly), a punk-rock porcupine (Johansson), a classic crooner mouse (MacFarlane) and a housewife pig looking to break free and break out (Witherspoon). The music was spot on, the film was a lot of fun - and here's hoping the sequel can re-capture that spirit. This time around, our group is after a reclusive musician Clay Calloway (voiced by U2's Bono) in order to headline a grand new show. And, as we know from these type of movies, it isn't going to be easy. Also joining the cast are Bobby Cannavale, Halsey, Eric André, Pharrell Williams and Pharrell Williams (among others) meaning there is plenty of new musical talent to showcase. While sequels often fall short of their predecessors - and we still can't know what this year will bring - I fully admit that Sing was one of the most pleasant surprises in terms of animated films for me, personally and I really want this sequel to shine. Rated PG for some rude material and mild peril/violence.
That is the lone wide release for this week, but you can check out the full MPAA Ratings Bulletin below:
THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR
Rated R for pervasive language, sexual content, and brief nudity.
JOLT
Rated R for strong violence, sexual content, and language throughout.
THE PAPER TIGERS
Rated PG-13 for some strong language, offensive slurs, and violence.
SEAPER POWERS: THE MOVIE
Rated G
SIBERIA
Rated R for strong sexual content, nudity/graphic nudity, some disturbing violence, and bloody images.
SING 2
Rated PG for some rude material and mild peril/violence.
THE SPACE BETWEEN
Rated R for pervasive language, drug content, some sexual content and nudity.
STREET GANG: HOW WE GOT TO SESAME STREET
Rated PG for some thematic elements, language and smoking.
