‘Dune 2’ Nears $700 Million at Global Box Office

J. Kim Murphy The summer box office isn’t exactly starting with a bang. Universal’s action-romance “The Fall Guy,” starring Ryan Gosling as a Hollywood stuntman courting a rising director played by Emily Blunt, earned $10.4 million from 4,002 locations on its opening day, a figure that includes $3 million and change from preview screenings.

EXCLUSIVE: DreamWorks Animation/Universal’s Kung Fu Panda 4 crossed the $500M mark globally this past weekend, reaching the milestone on a staggered release pattern that has worked well for the partners in the past (think Puss in Boots: The Last Wish). Through Wednesday, it’s at $324M international box office and $509M worldwide.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, two essential ingredients in the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon, will leave Barbieland and Los Alamos behind them as they team up for “The Fall Guy.” But will audiences turn up in force to see the “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” stars when their new action comedy debuts this weekend? Well, “The Fall Guy” isn’t going to hit those films’ box office heights, but it should have no trouble topping charts as it kicks off the summer movie season. The film is expected to earn north of $30 million, with some rival studio executives pegging the opening at between $35 million to $40 million. The catch is that movie wasn’t cheap to produce, boasting a healthy budget of $130 million, so “The Fall Guy” will need strong word-of-mouth if it’s going to leg it out on the long path to profitability.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “The Roundup: Punishment,” the fourth film in the Don Lee-starring crime action franchise, earned $20.8 million between Friday and Sunday and punched out all competition at the South Korean box office. “Challengers,” which headed the box office this weekend in North America, with $15 million, opened fourth in Korea a 0.5% market share. “Punishment” accounted for a crushing 94% market share and collected its weekend haul from 2.92 million ticket sales, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). The film opened officially on Wednesday, when it scored $4.92 million, and followed that with a $3.25 million Thursday. Including the weekday takings and a smattering of previews from the previous weekend, the film finished Sunday with a cumulative of $29.3 million, earned from 4.25 million spectators. The stellar performance was the biggest opening this year, ahead of February’s “Exhuma,” a spooky drama that earned $14.5 million on its February first weekend and picked up pace in its second week. Giant screen systems provider, Imax reports that “Punishment” earned $770,000 of its Korean score from just 24 screens.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Game, set, and now what to make of this match? “Challengers,” a sexy, subversive, R-rated drama set in the world of tennis, easily took first place at a sluggish domestic box office this weekend with a so-so $15.2 million. On the one hand, it’s a respectable result for an artsy movie aimed at discerning, adult audiences, but what keeps it from being a championship performance is the fact that “Challengers” has a hefty $55 million budget (to say nothing of its marketing costs).

Brent Lang Executive Editor A pair of Warner Bros. releases have achieved some important box office milestones. “Dune: Part Two,” the acclaimed adaptation of Frank Herbert’s monumental sci-fi novel, has passed $700 million worldwide, while “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” the latest installment in the long-running monster franchise, eclipsed $500 million at the global box office.

J. Kim Murphy “Challengers” netted a $6.2 million opening day from 3,477 North American theaters, a figure that includes $1.9 million from preview screenings. Amazon MGM Studios‘ love-triangle drama is set to match industry projections for a $15 million debut.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel received a compensation package worth $83.9 million last year — more than four times his compensation in 2022. Emanuel’s 2023 pay at Endeavor included $4.9 million in salary, a $34.65 million bonus and $43.47 million in stock awards, the company disclosed in a regulatory filing Thursday.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Korean comedy action film “The Roundup: Punishment” destroyed all competition in local theaters on its Wednesday opening day. The film earned $4.92 million from 821,000 ticket sales, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). That represented a crushing 97% share of the day’s theatrical market. Including a smattering of previews over the latest weekend, the film finished Wednesday with a cumulative of $5.26 million earned from 862,000 spectators. Earlier, it was reported that the film had broken the Korean record for advanced ticket sales.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Game, set… but there’s not much of a match. “Challengers,” a steamy tennis drama starring Zendaya and directed by Luca Guadagnino, is poised to lead the domestic box office without much in the way of competition. The film, from Amazon MGM, is projected to collect $12 million to $15 million from 3,400 North American theaters in its opening weekend.

Refresh for latest…: For the fourth weekend in a row, Warner Bros/Legendary Entertainment’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire was the top studio movie at the global and international box office. While it’s true there have not been a whole lot of wide releases on a worldwide level since the start of the year, it’s heartening to see continued play for the big titles. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Fantasy action movie “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” retook the top spot at the mainland China box office from Studio Ghibli animation title “The Boy and the Heron” during the latest weekend. “Godzilla x Kong” recorded earnings of $7.3 million (RMB51.5 million) between Friday and Sunday, a 32% week-on-week drop, according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway. But it returned to the top spot on the box office charts in its fourth weekend of release and overtook “The Boy and the Heron” in the process.

Full House is one of those hit shows from the ’90s that we’re still thinking about all the way into 2024.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Netflix reported its first-quarter 2024 earnings Thursday, revealing it added a whopping 9.33 million paid subscribers. Analysts consensus estimates were for Netflix to add 3.93 million paid subs globally in Q1 (to reach 264.21 million), according to StreetAccount. Per Netflix, it has now climbed to 269.60 million subs as of March 31.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Talk about nepo babies. “Abigail,” a blood-sucking thriller about the daughter of Dracula, arguably the most famous vampire in history, is poised to lead at the domestic box office. The R-rated movie, from Universal Pictures, is aiming for $12 million to $15 million from 3,300 North American theaters in its first weekend of release.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Oscar-winning Japanese animated fantasy “The Boy and the Heron” held on to top spot at the mainland China box office to record a second weekend win. The film, which opened triumphantly on April 3, in time for a family-oriented long weekend, fell steeply in its second, non-holiday, frame. It earned $12.8 million (RMB90.6 million), according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway.

Led by Dune: Part Two and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Warner Bros has crossed the $1B mark at the international box office, becoming the first studio to reach the milestone this year. Getting there in just 15 weeks, this also sets a new speed record for WB, besting the 17 weeks it took in 2018. The full international estimate through today is $1.04B.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Director Alex Garland’s provocative dystopian thriller “Civil War” lit up the box office with $25.7 million in its debut. It’s the first A24 movie to lead the charts in North America, setting an opening weekend record for the New York-based specialty studio. It also marks the biggest R-rated start of the year.

J. Kim Murphy The box office is united behind “Civil War.” A24‘s dystopian thriller earned$10.7 millionfrom 3,838 locations across its opening day and preview screenings, putting itself on track for a debut of around $26 million. The debut figure represents the highest opening day gross ever for A24, besting the $5.1 million earned by 2018’s “Hereditary” in its first screenings.

A24‘s Alex Garland political thriller, Civil War, is off to a solid start with $2.9M in Thursday previews, the movie on its way to $20M+ opening. Nobody, rivals nor A24 are complaining about that for what is the studio’s priciest pic — under $60M before P&A.