Box Office: ‘Gran Turismo’ Narrowly Outraces ‘Barbie’ With Middling $17.3 Million
27.08.2023 - 16:15
/ variety.com
Brent Lang Executive Editor It’s a nail-biter at the box office. Sony’s “Gran Turismo” is projected to narrowly outrace the competition with $17.3 million at the box office. But “Barbie” is close behind with $17.1 million, so it’s possible that when the final tally is revealed, the summer blockbuster will have reclaimed its crown and “Gran Turismo” will have the settle for second place.
As for “Gran Turismo,” its opening figure includes a sizable $5.3 million from preview screenings and fan events that the studio hosted over recent weeks. That’s an unusual bit of accounting. One that came about because Sony, which originally planned to open the film on Aug.
11, instead pushed back its debut by two weeks. At the same time, it orchestrated several days of special screenings for the film to generate excitement and raise its profile. So, while most studios include Thursday preview grosses in their opening numbers, folding in several weeks of grosses is taking the definition of “weekend” in creative directions.
To be clear, “Gran Turismo” has company in its capacious approach to assessing a debut. Paramount’s “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” did the same thing, including results from multiple preview screenings into its inaugural weekend. Needless to say, Warner Bros.
which backed “Barbie,” isn’t a fan of this practice since it could deny them a victory. Beyond photo finishes, there’s another reason that this random weekend in the dog days of summer is being closely scrutinized. You see, Sunday is the second National Cinema Day, during which more than 3,000 theaters across North American will slash ticket prices to a mere $4.
The website popstar.one is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can
send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.