By Chris Kavan - 02/22/23 at 10:41 AM CT
President's Day Weekend belonged to Disney and the MCU with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania weathering some harsh critical waters (currently tied with The Eternals as the lowest-rated MCU film to date on Rotten Tomatoes) to easily win the weekend. Disney had even more reason to celebrate as Avatar: The Way of Water climbed on two major charts. Marlowe opened early but didn't have much impact while Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey made a bloody splash in a limited debut.
Much of the buzz surrounding Quantumania was it's dire critical reception (where it currently sits at 48% Rotten) - with most pointing to a lackluster story, underutilized characters and overuse of CGI as main issues. On the other hand, many also pointed out that Jonathan Majors Kang The Conqueror was a welcome addition to the MCU and his villain was the high point of the film. Audiences, however, were much more receptive, as the film stands at 84% Fresh among verified ratings and the film opened to a mighty $106.1 million - rising to $120.3 million on President's Day. Much like Thor: Love and Thunder and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness - Quantumania was easily the highest-grossing among Ant-Man films - topping the $57.2 million of the original and the $75.8 million of Ant-Man and the Wasp. It was also the third-best President's Day Weekend of all time, coming in behind Black Panther ($202 million) and Deadpool ($132 million). It took in $129.6 million international as well - coming in on top of the other Ant-Man films in nearly every territory, with $19.2 million from China and $10.9 million in the UK leading the pack. With just over $250 million worldwide at this point, I'm going to say the continued dire predictions about the MCU losing their luster continue to be over-blown. Critics may think things are getting worse, but audiences don't seem to share the same feelings. While the low "B" Cinemascore is of some concern, Quantumania doesn't face any direct challenge until Shazam! Fury of the Gods on March 17. Yes, Cocaine Bear, Creed III and Scream VI will also provide some challenge - but I don't think Quantumania is going to falter that much. We'll find out in the coming weeks how it stands in the overall MCU picture.
If overcoming critics wasn't a big enough win for Disney, they got more good news from Avatar: The Way of Water, which only fell 9.2% over the weekend for an $6.55 million total - rising to $8 million by Monday. That was enough for the film to hit $659 million domestic and 2.2477 billion worldwide. On the domestic front, Way of Water topped Jurassic World ($652.2 million) to move up to 9th place all time and sits behind Titanic (getting a boost from its re-release) at $672.4 million. On the worldwide stage, however, Way of Water actually now tops Titanic ($2.221 billion) for third place all-time. It won't catch any other films on the worldwide charts (both Avengers: Endgame and the original Avatar are far ahead) but I suspect it could climb higher on the domestic charts before it finally exits theaters.
In third place, last week's champ Magic Mike's Last Dance expanded into an additional 1,538 theaters but still fell by 34.6%. With a $5.43 million weekend (up to $6.2 million on Monday) the Channing Tatum/Salma Hayek film has earned $18.8 million. With an international total of $19.6 million it stands at $38.4 million worldwide. Nothing huge on either end, but not exactly a disaster.
In fourth place for the weekend (though third for the holiday), Puss in Boots: The Last Wish continues to show remarkable staying power with the best hold in the top 20 with just a 4.3% dip for a $5.33 million weekend and just over $7 million on Monday. The animated sequel has hit $167.88 million on the domestic front with another $257 million international for a $425 million worldwide total. The family film has managed this even as it has been available On Demand for over a month now - proving that families are a driving force when they have something they deem worth watching in theaters.
Rounding out the top five, M. Night Shyamalan's latest Knock at the Cabin took a 26.8% hit and managed a $3.97 million weekend - $4.63 million over the holiday frame - for a new domestic total of $31.1 million. With $17 million overseas, it sits at just $48 million worldwide in what has to be seen as a disappointing result overall.
Outside the top five: Marlowe, starring Liam Neeson as the titular hard-bitten detective Philip Marlowe, and co-starring the likes of Diane Kruger, Jessica Lange, Patrick Muldoon and François Arnaud, opened early on Wednesday but only managed $1.8 million for the weekend (8th place) rising to $2.09 million by Monday. It has followed Neeson's more recent film's in struggling to find a receptive audience and will likely finish around $10 million or so.
In limited release, the buzzed-about Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey - a gory slasher from Rhys Frake-Waterfield following the original story falling into the public domain - scored a terrifying 5% Rotten (only 51% among audiences) as its concept failed to deliver much of a punch. It earned $652,482 from 445 theaters for a middling $1,466 per-theater average (still better than I would have expected, however) - rising to $738,740 on Monday. The director promises more - and I'm not sure that isn't a threat at this point.
Next weekend Cocaine Bear looks to deliver the year's most outlandish action experience while Jesus Revolution throws down some feel-good vibes. Quantumania should still rule the weekend, however - but we'll see how it weathers the storm of criticism.
The MPAA Ratings Board continues to keep things fresh with Paint - as Owen Wilson channels Bob Ross in the up-coming comedy. We also get a second dose of Demon Slayer - in a special event capitalizing on the success of Mugen Train.
Comedy has tackled plenty of ground over the years from anchormen to frat houses to just about every sport, but Owen Wilson is about to go all Bob Ross on us with Paint, and the world may never be the same again. Paint follows the life of Vermont's top public access painter, Carl Nargle (Wilson). With his perfect perm and sick custom van - along with legions of fans, Carl's life is going swell but things quickly change when a young, female artist, Ambrosia Long (Ciara Renée) comes along and steals his quiet thunder. The film co-stars Stephen Root, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Michaela Watkins and Lucy Freyer. The first feature film from director Brit McAdams, the concept seems solid and actually looks damn funny. Comedy has struggled as of late, but hopefully Wilson - channeling some happy trees - can make this memorable in all the right ways. Rated PG-13 for sexual/suggestive material, drug use and smoking.
Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train was one of the most successful anime releases of all time - earning just over $49 million in the U.S. and a whopping $453.2 million worldwide. Anime titles have been seeing great success from Dragon Ball to My Hero Academia and it's no wonder that Crunchyroll would continue to bank on that success by releasing Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba - To the Swordsmith Village as a specialty feature. No a movie but rather the showing is a three-episode Arc (Entertainment District Arc Episodes 10 and 11 and Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 1) for the first time to a worldwide audience. Much like specialty concert films or Fathom events, this looks to be a one-time global release. Considering the vast majority of anime titles receive the bulk of their business during the initial release weekend, this seems like a winning strategy. Granted, I can't begin to describe what will happen - demon battles with the Upper Six and a gathering of other demons in the Infinity Castle, apparently (it's all Greek to me as I don't follow this one). Whatever the case, the surging popularity should mean a decent haul even if it only plays for one weekend. Rated R for violence and bloody images.
Those are the two major releases for this week but you can check out the full MPAA Ratings Bulletin below:
DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA - TO THE SWORDSMITH VILLAGE
Rated R for violence and bloody images. (Dubbed and Subtitled versions)
MASTER GARDENER
Rated R for language, brief sexual content and nudity.
NEFARIOUS
Rated R for some disturbing violent content.
PAINT
Rated PG-13 for sexual/suggestive material, drug use and smoking.
POOR THINGS
Rated R for strong and pervasive sexual content, graphic nudity, disturbing material, gore, and language.
SANCTUARY
Rated R for sexual content and language.
SEAPER POWERS MYSTERY OF THE BLUE PEARLS
Rated PG for some violence, thematic elements and bloody images.
