By Chris Kavan - 08/24/22 at 12:46 PM CT
While the the weekend may not have been the biggest on record, it actually wasn't all doom and gloom thanks to a surprisingly strong (though incredibly front-loaded) opening for the latest Dragon Ball film. Meanwhile, Idris Elba's Beast opened to more a meow than a roar. On the ratings front, the MPAA Board is once again being a bit stingy but something is better than nothing.
While we are entering a slow period for the box office, the news was good enough for at least this weekend. The weekend came in at $78.8 million - $13.5 million above last weekend and, while still on the low end, may be the last big weekend in awhile. Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero opened atop the box office with $21.1 million. It was the first anime title to open in first place since Pokémon: The First Movie - Mewtwo Strikes Back way back in 1999. It more than doubled the opening of the last Dragon Ball film - Super: Broly ($9.8 million) in 2018. The adjusted gross puts is just a hair behind Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train ($21.2 million) - which went on to gross just under $50 million. Though Super Hero was quite front-loaded (half of its grosses came from Thursday previews and Friday showings) it should follow a similar path to Demon Slayer. It has $32 million worldwide at this point and it will be interesting to see where it winds up after a few weeks time.
In second place, Idris Elba and Sharlto Copley along with Leah Jeffries and Iyana Halley, took on the dangerous Beast which opened with $11.5 million, which was in line with expectations, but not exactly a roaring start for the reported $36 million film. That was just behind the opening for Crawl ($12 million) - which went on to a $39 million total. Beast also earned the same cinemascore - a "B"- but the legs on this one look like they won't be as long as it only has two weeks before its PVOD debut.
In third place, Bullet Train suffered a 40% hit, adding $8 million and upping its total to $69 million. It is still running neck-and-neck with Lost City ($68.7 million through the same point) and still looking at a $100 million plus final tally. It has earned over $150 million on the global stage at this point as well.
In fourth place, Top Gun: Maverick - still going strong after 13 weeks - had the best hold in the top 12 dipping a mere 16.1% - and brought in $5.91 million for a new $683.4 million total. It also continues to rise through the all-time ranks, passing Avengers: Infinity War ($679 million) for the sixth place spot and looks to give Black Panther ($700 million) a run for its money. It also passed Avengers: Age of Ultron on the global list with $1.404 billion to rise to 12th place on that list. The film should play through the fall - with a November 1st home release date - so it still has plenty to go.
Rounding out the top five was DC League of Super-Pets with an 18.8% dip leading to a $5.68 million weekend and a new $67.4 million total. It's trending just ahead of The Bad Guys ($66.4 million) through the same point and may hit $100 million as well. Its global cume has reached $130 million - with some territories yet to come - but it will still struggle to reach profitability with its $90 million budget.
Outside the top five: Minions: The Rise of Gru made off with $3.72 million (7th place), which was enough for it to top $350 million and is still looking to top Despicable Me 2 ($368 million) to take the series crown.
Bodies Bodies Bodies continued to expand into over 2500 theaters, rounding out the top 10 with $2.41 million and a new $7.43 million total. It should be able to top X ($11.8 million) to become the second-highest grossing A24 film of 2022 behind the smashing success of Everything Everywhere All at Once ($69.8 million).
Next week brings a lot of new wide releases - including horror film The Invitation,
George Miller's fantasy/drama/romance Three Thousand Years of Longing, Sylvester Stallone's super hero in hiding Samaritan and John Boyega trying to change a broken system in a desperate way in Breaking. Whether any will be able to stand out is uncertain.
On the ratings front, the MPAA Ratings Bulletin is once again a bit light on content, but there is at least one wide release, a true-life drama that set the #MeToo movement in motion.
Based on the best-selling book of the same name, She Said follows New York Times reporters Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) and Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan) who put everything on the line to investigate decades of sexual abuse in Hollywood, focusing on Harvey Weinstein and despite the many obstacles in their way, lay the groundwork for the #MeToo movement. The film also co-stars Samantha Morton, Andre Braugher, Jennifer Ehle, Patricia Clarkson, Adam Shapiro, Tom Pelphrey and Maren Lord. While high-drama films don't often bring in the most money, they may win a few awards. If it can match Bombshell (which focused on another habitual abuser in Roger Ailes) at around $32 million, that would be a win. Rated R for language and descriptions of sexual assault.
That's the only wide release for this week, but you can check out the full MPAA Ratings Bulletin below:
ABOUT FATE
Rated R for some language and a sexual reference.
THE AUTHOR
Rated PG for some accident images.
BEZOS
Rated R for language.
DRIFTING HOME
Rated PG for thematic material, peril, language, some bloody images and brief smoking.
FISHERMAN'S FRIENDS: ONE AND ALL
Rated PG-13 for some suggestive material and language.
THE HONEYMOON
Rated R for pervasive language, crude sexual content and drug content.
THE INSPECTION
Rated R for language throughout, sexual content, some nudity and violence.
LAMBORGHINI
Rated R for some language including a sexual reference.
MERRY CHRISTMAS OFFICER HANSEL
Rated G
PAUL'S PROMISE
Rated PG for thematic material including racism and domestic violence, language, some violence and smoking.
PLEASURE
Rated R for strong/graphic sexual content including dialogue throughout, sexual violence, graphic nudity, pervasive language and drug use.
SHE SAID
Rated R for language and descriptions of sexual assault.
SIGNIFICANT OTHER
Rated R for violence, gore and language.
SPIRITED
Rated PG-13 for language, some suggestive material and thematic elements.
SUN MOON
Rated PG for mild thematic elements and brief suggestive material.
WENDELL AND WILD
Rated PG-13 for some thematic material, violence, substance use and brief strong language.
