Box Office: ‘Boss Baby 2,’ ‘Forever Purge’ Both Earn $1.3 Million in Previews

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaScreen Media, the distributor of “The Outpost” and “Willy’s Wonderland,” has reached a distribution deal with Millennium Media, the company behind The Expendables and Olympus has Fallen franchises, to release at least five films a year for the next three years. The first film under the deal will be “The Enforcer” starring Antonio Banderas, Kate Bosworth and 2 Chainz.

Marvel‘s “Black Widow” had a pandemic-record opening making $80.3 million last weekend. However, in its second frame, the top spot has been usurped by LeBron James‘ “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” as the sequel has earned $31.6 million, which is still slightly less than WarnerMedia was hoping for, but the studio is also offering a home viewing option to HBO Max subscribers.

Space Jam: A New Legacy is having a successful weekend at the box office!

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaReggie Bush is ready to tell his side of the story in a new documentary from Believe Entertainment Group, the studio behind the Oscar-winning “Dear Basketball.”Before he achieved NFL stardom as a running back for the New Orleans Saints, Bush was one of the top college football players in the country.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and Media“Sleep No More,” the groundbreaking and immersive reimagining of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,” will resume performances this fall, becoming the latest show to announce its return after COVID-19 caused theaters and live events to go on a months-long hiatus.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterDisney and Marvel’s superhero adventure “Black Widow” captured a massive $80 million in its first weekend, crushing the benchmark for the biggest opening weekend since the pandemic.In a first for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the film opened simultaneously in theaters and on Disney Plus as part of the streaming service’s Premier Access offering, where subscribers can rent “Black Widow” for an extra $30.

Just as notable is Disney’s announcement that the Marvel film earned over $60 million worldwide from its Premier Access program, which made “Black Widow” available at home for Disney+ subscribers for $30. This is the first time that Disney has released any PVOD numbers since “Mulan” moved from theaters to Premier Access last summer, with the studio retaining all revenue from those PVOD sales as opposed to splitting it with theaters.

Angelique Jackson Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson transported audiences back to the late 1960s with a special screening of his new documentary, “Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not be Televised),” at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on Friday night.In its first two weeks in theaters, the musical movie about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival (billed as “a Questlove jawn,” paying homage to the director’s Philly roots) has gone on to make more than $1 million at the box office, plus

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and Media“Black Widow” marks the return of Marvel movies to cinemas after a long and arduous COVID era absence. There’s clearly been a lot of pent-up demand for all things MCU.

FRIDAY AM UPDATE: Refresh for more analysis No, streaming hasn’t killed theatrical just yet, and those exhibitors who’ve gone hungry over the last year and half, received lots of bread last night. Disney/Marvel’s Black Widow kicked off its previews at 5PM earning a huge $13.2M, easily the best preview night to date during the pandemic besting Universal’s F9 ($7.1M) and Paramount’s A Quiet Place Part II ($4.8M).

Gregg Goldstein With films from Lin-Manuel Miranda, Bill Murray, Todd Haynes, Leos Carax and others, the Cannes Film Festival, movie theaters and streamers are alive with the sound of music. “It might just be the shuffling of release dates as a result of the pandemic, but 2021 is shaping up to be an embarrassment of riches for fans of movie musicals,” Miranda says.And he should know.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterIt won’t be a weekend for the record books, but this year’s July 4th holiday box office haul is a marked improvement on the 2020 edition.The box office boost is thanks to a trio of new movies, the kid friendly “The Boss Baby: Family Business,” the gruesome thriller “The Forever Purge,” and the satirical comedy “Zola,” each appealing to vastly different moviegoing audiences.

Universal’s “The Forever Purge,” the fifth and final movie in “The Purge” horror franchise, and the animated family sequel “The Boss Baby: Family Business,” each made $1.3 million at Thursday preview screenings ahead of the 4th of July weekend. Both films figure to perform strongly over the holiday weekend in theaters, and with “F9” still going strongly, there’s a chance Universal can take the top 3 spots at the box office.

Universal had not one, but two wide release previews last night as they head into the four-day Independence Day weekend, and both DreamWorks Animation’s The Boss Baby: Family Business, and Blumhouse’s The Forever Purge grossed $1.3M apiece.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterAny “Fast” fan knows there’s nothing stronger than family. But the second weekend at the box office for “F9: The Fast Saga” will test the potency of the film’s big-screen appeal, as well as lingering skepticism from moviegoers as the cinema industry emerges from the pandemic.The ninth entry in Universal’s “Fast & Furious” saga opened last weekend to $70 million in North America, marking the best start for a Hollywood movie in more than a year.

It’s just the latest distribution experiment in a year full of them, and it could lead to some rare sights on this weekend’s charts. Universal notes that if its three current releases take the top three spots on the July 4 charts — and that is very likely considering both new releases are projected for openings of over $10 million — it would become the first studio since 2005 to do a podium sweep of the box office.

Any other year, it wouldn’t be a massive surprise that a ‘Fast & Furious’ film debuted with a huge box office total. But after a year of basically no theatrical releases and no major blockbusters, the fact that “F9” debuted with a $70 million estimated opening weekend is noteworthy.

COVID-19 lockdown.Thus comes an official declaration: “Cinema is back!,” the franchise’s lead thespian, Vin Diesel, has announced in an official statement. A delayed theatrical release turned out to be the right move for the “Fast and Furious” sequel, the ninth in the franchise’s 20-year run.