Latido Nets ‘Championext’ Sequel To Javier Fesser Box Office Slam Dunk ‘Champions’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Chuckle all you want about the last Blockbuster and its “be kind, rewind” smiley-face stickers. Nostalgic jokes aside, though, the arena once known as home video (digital sell-thru, rentals and even, yes, physical discs) remains a key variable in the Hollywood film equation — particularly now, as studios retool their streaming strategies and lean into the box office revival.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Creed III” delivered a powerful box office knockout with its $58.6 million domestic debut, clobbering expectations and franchise records in the process. And there’s more good news for struggling theater owners starved for compelling content. It looks like the good fortune will continue in March with “Scream VI” (March 10), “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” (March 17), “John Wick: Chapter 4” (March 24) and “Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” (March 31). There’s at least one major release every weekend through the rest of the month, offering the kind of stability that’s been desperately missing during the great box office reset.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Cyber Heist,” a crime thriller directed by Hong Kong’s Wong Hing-fan (“I’m Livin’ It”) and scripted by Soi Cheang (aka Cheang Pou Soi), took the top spot at the mainland Chinese box office over the weekend. It earned a very modest $6.2 million, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. But that was enough to win on the quietest weekend since January’s Lunar New Year holiday season. “Cyber Heist” stars Aaron Kwok as a cyber security engineer who develops a state-of-the-art firewall that is capable of fending off online attacks against the global financial system. But he does not realize that in doing so he has stepped into a minefield that is even more dangerous. The picture also stars Lam Ka-tun and Simon Yam.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Weekend honors at the South Korean box office went to the Japanese animation film “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba – To The Swordsmith Village,” the latest installment in the “Demon Slayer” film and TV franchise. It earned $2.31 million between Friday and Sunday, for nearly a quarter of the total weekend cinema business, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC).

Aniplex and Crunchyroll of America’s Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – To the Swordsmith Village grossed $10.1 million this weekend in 1,780 theaters. That’s a fourth place finish at the domestic box office but still half the opening of Demon Slayer:  Kimetsu No Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train which opened to a smash $21 million U.S. in April of 2021, going head to head with Godzilla vs. Kong, Mortal Kombat.

The power of a wide theatrical release was realized this weekend by streamer Amazon in its pivot back to the big screen with MGM/United Artists Releasing’s Creed III. It easily minted the best opening ever for the Seattle-based parent, as well as for the Rocky franchise, with $58.6M domestic, $100.4M worldwide.

Creed III is officially a big hit.

Refresh for latest…: MGM’s Creed III is enjoying a knockout opening weekend, punching up $100.4M globally. Of that, $41.8M is from 75 international box office markets. Domestically, the Michael B Jordan-directed movie opened to a franchise record and the best debut ever for a sports title.

MGM’s bet on Michael B. Jordan has paid off, as “Creed III” has knocked out box office expectations with a $58.6 million opening weekend from 4,007 theaters.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Creed III” emerged victorious at the box office with its impressive $58.7 million debut, setting a franchise record while dethroning two-time champ “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” It’s also a big win for theater owners, who are banking on the good fortunes to continue in March with upcoming releases “Scream VI,” “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” and “John Wick: Chapter 4.” Heading into the weekend, “Creed III” was projected to earn $36 million to $40 million, which already would have been enough to establish a new high-water mark. The first “Creed,” which re-launched the decades-old “Rocky” films in 2015, powered to $29.6 million, while its 2018 sequel “Creed II” opened to $35.5 million.

according to IMDB’s Box Office Mojo.The “Rocky” spinoff, which The Post said keeps audiences “under its spell right until the end,” marks the ninth installment in the franchise. The action flick, which is the directorial debut of its leading man Michael B.

projected to pull in $40 million its opening weekend. MGM is projecting $35 to $38 million, on par with “Creed II”s $35.5 million opening. The 2018 sequel brought $3.7 million from preview screenings that took place on a Tuesday night ahead of the extended Thanksgiving weekend in 2018.“Creed III” must take in more than $115 domestically and $214 million worldwide to beat its predecessor, while the first installment in the franchise made $109 million in the U.S.

Jordan Moreau “Creed III” is stepping into the box office ring, and Michael B. Jordan’s latest movie has weighed in with $5.45 million in Thursday previews. The third “Creed” film is looking to deliver a powerful blow to the weekend box office with an opening between $36 million to $40 million. It should be the highest opening weekend for the boxing franchise, after the original “Creed” debuted with $29.6 million in 2015 and “Creed II” launched with $35.5 million in 2018. “Creed III” also landed the highest preview grosses of the series. The first movie, which opened on the Wednesday ahead of Thanksgiving in 2015, pulled $1.4 million in Tuesday previews. “Creed II” had a similar pre-Thanksgiving release in 2018 and made $3.7 million in Tuesday previews.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Already the highest grossing local film in its home market, courtroom drama, “A Guilty Conscience” has broken into Hong Kong’s all-time top ten box office ranking with a cumulative of HK$107 million ($13.7 million). Data from Hong Kong Box Office Ltd. shows the film achieving the feat after just 41 days in cinemas and coming within HK$1 million ($150,000) of overtaking “Top Gun: Maverick.” The data firm noted that the last time a Hong Kong film got this far was with fantasy-action-comedy “Kung Fu Hustle” in 2004. Since then, it has been overtaken by a fleet of Hollywood titles. Hong Hong’s current top ten is headed by “Avengers: Endgame” and includes six Marvel movies, the two “Avatar” titles and “Titanic.”

Marcus Corporation CEO Greg Marcus says he’s encouraged by the recent diversity and consistency of theatrical films and is “not ready to throw in the towel yet” on the notion of box office returning to pre-pandemic levels.

Cocaine Bear has everyone talking this weekend!

Refresh for latest…: Coming out of its second weekend, Disney/Marvel’s Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania has grossed $363.6M globally. Of that, $167.3M is from domestic and $196.3M from the international box office.

“Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” in 2016.With a 10-day total of $164 million, “Quantumania” should have enough momentum to cross the $200 million mark at the domestic box office, but with such a steep drop it is now questionable whether the film will have enough fuel against stiff March blockbuster competition to even pass the unadjusted $622 million global box office total of the last “Ant-Man and the Wasp” back in 2018.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Universal’s horror-comedy “Cocaine Bear” blew past box office projections, earning an impressive $23 million from 3,534 North American theaters in its opening weekend. The blood-splattered animal adventure landed in second place on domestic charts behind Disney’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” which all but collapsed in its sophomore outing. “Ant-Man 3” managed to remain in first place given its huge $106 million opening, but the comic book installment is suffering from negative word-of-mouth. It added $32.2 million from 4,345 venues in its second weekend of release, marking a brutal 69% decline from its debut. Now, “Quantumania” holds the ignominious distinction as the biggest week-to-week drop in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including “Black Widow” (which plunged 67.8% while debuting simultaneously on Disney Plus) and “Eternals” (which fell 62% after equally bad reviews). Globally, the movie has generated $364 million, including $167 million domestically and $196 million internationally.

according to IMDB’s Box Office Mojo.The comedy, which is directed by Elizabeth Banks, whom The Post said, “keeps the powder gags fresh throughout,” is loosely based on a true story of a black bear in Georgia that ate millions of dollars worth of lost cocaine. “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” which was in first place last week, creeped to second with an $8.3 million-dollar take.The plummet in sales for the superhero flick, which cost around $200 million to make, marks the worst-ever second-week drop for a Marvel film, according to Deadline.Remaining in third was “Avatar: The Way of Water” with $1.1 million in sales.