Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief China recorded an unchanged top five films and its weakest box office weekend since Chinese New Year. Nationwide gross box office was just $18.6 million. Comedy drama film “Give Me Five” held on to the top spot for the third week, with a weekend score of $6.3 million (RMB43.3 million), according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. It now has a cumulative of $46.4 million since release on Sept. 9, 2022. The film is the story of a young man who is helping his father rediscover his lost memories. As he does so, he is transported back in time and accidentally alters his parent’s pasts. That means he must reunite the pair or risk never being born. It stars Ma Li Chang Yuan and Wei Xiang and is directed by Zhang Luan.
Box Office Drought Prompts Media Execs And Wall Streeters To Take Stock Of Post-Pandemic Movie Business
09.09.2022 - 19:17 / deadline.com
Widespread optimism months ago that domestic box office might readily return to pre-Covid levels has given way to a new sense of pragmatism about the movie business.
This year’s tally will far surpass last year’s $4.5 billion haul, but it will certainly fall billions short of 2019’s $11.4 billion in receipts, and all bets are off for 2023. Given the uncertainty, Wall Street analysts and media executives are sharpening their pencils and revising the books. Their general sentiment is that there is still money to be made — particularly on the studio side — but that old methods will no longer suffice.
Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Tony Vinciquerra was asked at this week’s Bank of America investor conference if he thought the box office would eventually get back to pre-pandemic levels. “I hope it does,” he said. “I believe it will get close.” Despite the domestic struggles, he noted, “the rest of the world is still growing in film. There’s a big challenge in China, a big challenge in Russia and Ukraine, obviously,” but territories like Korea, Indonesia and India are “still doing really well.”
Covid production shutdowns months ago are resulting in the current drought of viable new titles, Vinciquerra added, and a strong fourth quarter and 2023 slate will inject much-needed energy. “Next summer is going to be absolutely crazy,” he predicted. “It’s going to be back to where we were pre-pandemic, where you have a lot of films in the marketplace, a lot of marketing going to promote these films, and you’re going to see significant, significant box office.”
Studio owners are adjusting their operations to reflect the new landscape. Even before the Covid struggles began in 2020, the rise of streaming was altering release window
Dino-Might: ‘Jurassic World Dominion’ Crosses $1B At Worldwide Box Office
The dinosaurs have done it as Universal/Amblin’s Jurassic World Dominion crossed the $1B mark at the global box office with Thursday’s business included. It took a little while, but that shouldn’t diminish that this makes the Colin Trevorrow-directed installment one of only three films to the milestone since the beginning of the pandemic. It is the No. 2 film of 2022 behind Top Gun: Maverick.
China Box Office: ‘Give Me Five’ Wins on Slow Weekend
Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Comedy drama film “Give Me Five” held on to the top spot at the mainland Chinese box office with a weekend score of just $7.4 million (RMB50.8 million). The film is the story of a young man who is helping his father rediscover his lost memories. As he does so, he is transported back in time and accidentally alters his parent’s pasts. That means he must reunite the pair or risk never being born. It stars Ma Li Chang Yuan and Wei Xiang and is directed by Zhang Luan.
‘Moonage Daydream’ Rocks On Imax – Specialty Box Office
Brett Morgen’s kaleidoscopic ode to David Bowie landed at no 10 in North America this weekend, singing up $1.225 million on 170 screens – exclusively Imax (159 U.S. locations, 11 in Canada).
President Biden Meets With Wife Of Imprisoned WNBA Star Brittney Griner In Oval Office
Brittney Griner is still languishing in a Russian prison, but President Joe Biden hasn’t forgotten her. He met today with her wife, Cherelle Griner, and let her know that he is working to gain the WNBA star’s freedom.
Kevin Smith Explains How Harvey Weinstein Is Holding ‘Dogma’ Hostage: ‘My Movie About Heaven Is in Limbo’
If the opening of “Clerks III” this week has you feeling nostalgic about the earlier films of writer/director Kevin Smith, you’ll hit a dead-end when searching for one of his greatest accomplishments – 1999’s religious satire “Dogma.”“Dogma,” which stars Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Alan Rickman and Chris Rock, is currently not available to stream anywhere or buy digitally, and the out-of-print Blu-ray frequently sells for around $100 on the secondary market. While religious groups were bent out of shape by the movie, it was warmly received by critics (Roger Ebert gave it three-and-a-half out of four stars) and made $44 million at the box office (it only cost $10 million).
Matthew McConaughey soccer film ‘Dallas Sting’ killed despite scheduled production
The movie "Dallas Sting" starring Matthew McConaughey was abruptly put on the chopping block weeks before production was scheduled to begin. Although it has not been confirmed why the Skydance film was canceled, the producers reportedly received "disturbing allegations surrounding aspects of the true story on which the drama was based," according to the Hollywood Reporter. The film was slated to highlight the true story of a girls' soccer team that traveled to China to compete in an international tournament. "Dallas Sting" was supposed to be set in 1984, and McConaughey was to star as the team’s coach, Bill Kinder. Marvel’s "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s" director Kari Skogland and Berlanti Schechter Productions were projected to work on the inspiring sports film.
Matthew McConaughey Movie 'Dallas Sting' Scrapped Weeks Before Production Was Set to Begin - Find Out Why
Matthew McConaughey‘s movie is not moving forward.
‘Brahmāstra Part One: Shiva’ Powers to $28 Million Global Opening Weekend, Bringing Temporary Relief to Beleaguered Bollywood Box Office
Naman Ramachandran Ayan Mukerji’s Bollywood action fantasy “Brahmāstra Part One: Shiva” was one of the leading films at the global box office over the weekend, grossing $28.2 million, according to its producers, Disney’s Star Studios India and Dharma Productions. The film released in India across 5,019 screens and debuted at No. 1 with a three-day weekend of $18.9 million. The film’s overseas screen count was 3,894. In the U.S., where the film is distributed by Disney, it released in 810 theaters and debuted at No. 2 with $4.4 million. However, the film needs to sustain its momentum to break even, with its budget approximately $51 million.
‘Brahmastra’ Fires Up $26.5M WW Bow, ‘Minions: Rise Of Gru’ Passes $900M, ‘Top Gun’ Tops $1.45B – International Box Office
Refresh for latest…: There was a little more excitement at the international box office this weekend, with two local movies leading the charge and a handful of new milestones for Hollywood pics.
Box Office Doldrums Continue as ‘Barbarian’ Debuts With $10 Million
Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Barbarian,” a horror movie that may have audiences thinking twice about booking that next Airbnb, scared up a better-than-expected $10 million in its domestic debut. Since the box office has been a wasteland for some weeks now, those ticket sales were enough to lead domestic charts, despite barely reaching double digits. This weekend’s other new nationwide release, “Brahmastra Part One: Shiva,” opened in second place with $4.4 million from 810 North American theaters. Both films are backed by Disney. Though “Barbarian” landed a tepid “C+” CinemaScore, the twisty thriller is benefitting from word-of-mouth, given the film’s zany and flat-out terrifying turns. Variety’s Peter Debruge gave “Barbarian” high praise, calling it a “new horror classic,” one that gets “downright demented as it goes along.” If “Barbarian,” which stars Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård and Justin Long, keeps people talking, the movie is likely to keep filling seats during a creaky September at the box office.
‘Barbarian’ Leads Anemic Box Office With $10 Million Opening
That would give this September weekend the second-lowest total of any weekend in 2022. The only weekend with a lower amount is the weekend of Jan. 28 with $34 million.
Box Office: ‘The Barbarian’ Takes a Stab at No. 1 in Quiet Week
Ethan Shanfeld Can Zach Cregger’s slasher film “The Barbarian” scare up enough ticket sales to top the domestic box office? Though it is a quiet week, with only one other major release — the Indian Hindi-language action-adventure “Brahmastra Part One: Shiva” — the horror film edged out box office mainstays on Friday as “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Bullet Train” fought to retain their hold at the top of the charts. “Barbarian” took home $3.8 million on Friday, with a projected $9 million over the weekend. Trailing behind is “Brahmastra,” which opened with $2 million, a number that is estimated to grow to $3.6 million by Sunday.
Disney Movies ‘Barbarian’ & ‘Brahmastra Part One: Shiva’ Lead 2nd Lowest Weekend YTD – Saturday AM Box Office Update
SATURDAY AM UPDATE: With the exit of New Line’s adaptation of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot in what has been a lucrative post Labor Day weekend pre-pandemic, Disney swooped in and booked its 20th Century Studios horror title Barbarian. That pic, directed and written by Zach Cregger, follows a woman staying at an Airbnb, who discovers that the house she has rented is not what it seems. The movie grossed $3.8M on Friday (including $850K Thursday night previews) and is poised to make around $9M, possibly double digits.
‘Table for Six’ Sets Hong Kong Box Office Record on Delayed Release (EXCLUSIVE)
Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Family comedy “Table For Six” has set an opening day local record for a comedy film in Hong Kong, to the relief of producers who were forced to digest a releasing delay of six months. The Sunny Chan-directed film opened Wednesday in Hong Kong and Macau at 61 theatres, playing a total of 608 sessions. That gave it an accumulated box office of HK$1,986,701 ($255,000). “Table for Six,” which chronicles a family’s holiday gathering where food, love, friendship, jealousy and relationships are on the menu, had originally been planned as a dish to be served at Chinese New Year, in February. And producers had assembled a cast of major Hong Kong and regional talents, including Dayo Wong, Stephy Tang, Louise Cheung, Ivana Wong, Lin Min-Chen and Chan Charm Man.
Art-House Film ‘Return to Dust’ Wins Weekend as China Box Office Dips to Three Month Low
Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Art-house title “Return to Dust” was a surprise weekend winner, topping the mainland China box office in its ninth weekend of release. The astonishing feat occurred on an otherwise depressed weekend in which China’s cinema box office dipped to a three-month low. This reflected the summer season winding to an end and anti-COVID measures once again forcing major Chinese cities into retreat. Data from consultancy Artisan Gateway showed “Return” grossing $5.3 million (RMB36.2 million) between Friday and Sunday. Those three days accounted for nearly half of the $12.7 million (RMB87.4 million) cumulative total it has earned since release on July 8, 2022.