Once Overlooked and Ignored, Sony and Paramount Prove to be Unlikely Box Office Powerhouses

Refresh for latest…: For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022, Sony Pictures Entertainment saw a 172% increase in operating income to 217.4 billion yen ($1.67 billion). Revenues hit 1,239 billion yen ($9.5 billion), up 55% versus the previous year.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” the newest timeline-altering tentpole in Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe, captured a huge $265 million in its international box office debut.Those mighty ticket sales represent the second-biggest opening weekend overseas in pandemic times. Sony’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home” still stands as the highest-grossing COVID-era debut with $340 million internationally.The second “Doctor Strange” film, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the goatee-rocking sorcerer, generated $185 million in North America over the weekend, bringing its global tally to a massive $450 million.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterDoctor Strange and his questionably effective book of spells has summoned a blockbuster $185 million at North American movie theaters over the weekend, reaffirming the box office dominance of Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe after a shakier, pandemic-battered year for the franchise.The timeline-bending “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” represents a return to form for Disney’s MCU after COVID-era releases “Black Widow” ($80 million debut, plus $60 million on Disney Plus), “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” ($75 million debut), and “Eternals” ($71 million debut). Due to the pandemic and other extenuating circumstances, those installments failed to live up to their franchise predecessors in terms of ticket sales.

Though that’s below the $202 million opening that industry estimates had following the MCU film’s $90 million opening day, it is still at the top of the $170-185 million estimate that Disney posted. Globally, “Doctor Strange 2” has earned an opening of $450 million, second only to “Spider-Man: No Way Home” for worldwide openings since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

despite poor reviews.The star-studded flick, with Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Strange, is now projected to top $200 million in US sales through Sunday, well ahead of the $160 million to $180 million previously expected, according to Variety.“Dr.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” is now within reach of a benchmark that box office analysts were only whispering about before its release: a $200 million-plus opening. After earning a jaw-dropping $90 million on opening day, including $36 million from Thursday previews, the 28th Marvel Cinematic Universe film is now projected by industry estimates to earn a $202 million weekend launch.

kick off the summer blockbuster season in style and give audiences another reminder of what a pandemic box office could look like if back to full strength. Independent trackers suggest that “Doctor Strange 2” could bring in $160 million in its opening weekend, with some going even higher to a $200 million start, if below what “No Way Home” managed.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is already big.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” the latest timeline-bending entry in Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe, has kicked off at the international box office, collecting $27.2 million on opening day.The film is currently playing in 20 overseas markets, including France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Korea. “Doctor Strange 2” opens in North America and several other territories on Friday.

Refresh for latest…: Disney/Marvel’s Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness began offshore release on Wednesday in 20 markets and is already doing some crazy numbers. With $27.2M through yesterday, the first-day overall results are only 4% below Spider-Man: No Way Home and a staggering 153% ahead of the original 2016 Doctor Strange, as well as 210% ahead of The Batman on a like-for-like basis at today’s rates.

Everything Everywhere All At Once is a hit!

China and Hollywood used to seemingly have a healthy, symbiotic relationship. Hollywood released massive blockbusters in the Asian nation, they made massive bank, audiences were happy, and presumably Chinese theater owners were doing quite well for themselves, along with Hollywood often got massive box office boosts from the country.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” topped the box office in South Korea over the May Day weekend, beating a handful of minor local titles which released in hope of catching a rising market.The latest Friday-Sunday period appeared to represent a turning point – a $4.86 million nationwide aggregate was the biggest weekend haul since January – but a slow and uncertain one. Theatrical box office in Korea has been severely depressed all year due to government-imposed COVID restrictions, audience caution and a paucity of new release local titles.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterAt the box office, A24’s genre-bending black comedy “Everything Everywhere All at Once” has become the little indie that could.After six weeks in theaters, the film has grossed $35 million in North America, an impressive sum for an arthouse flick. Those ticket sales are a positive indication that adult audiences will return to the big screen for the right movie, and also a reminder that ticket buyers really love the concept of a multiverse.Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, the well-reviewed “Everything Everywhere All at Once” stars Michelle Yeoh as a wife and mother who exists in a multiverse, a term popularized by Marvel comic book adventures like “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and the upcoming “Doctor Strange” sequel.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterAnother weekend, another new Liam Neeson action-thriller in theaters.“Memory,” the actor’s nth COVID-era caper to play on the big screen, debuted over the weekend to $3.1 million from 2,555 North American cinemas. Its eighth-place finish is a weak result, but one that’s close to Neeson’s recent theatrical releases like “Blacklight” ($3.6 million debut), “Honest Thief” ($3.6 million debut) and “The Marksman” ($3.1 million debut).Since Open Road Films and Briarcliff Entertainment’s “Memory” is the only new nationwide release, last weekend’s champion “The Bad Guys” topped the box office again.

Spider-Man trilogy has spoken about the possibility of a fourth film starring Tobey Maguire as the titular webslinger.Following Maguire’s introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with his appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home, there’s been a renewed interest from fans in continuing the story of Maguire’s version of Spider-Man.Speaking about his interest in revisiting the character, Sam Raimi (who directed 2002’s Spider-Man and the following two sequels) told Rolling Stone he’d be up for it “if there was a great story there.”“My love for the characters hasn’t diminished one iota,” he continued. “It would be the same things that would stop me now that stopped me then: ‘Does Tobey want to do it? Is there an emotional arc for him? Is there a great conflict for this character? And is there a worthy villain that fits into the theme of the piece?’ There’s a lot of questions that would have to be answered.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterBenito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, better known by his stage name Bad Bunny, has been cast as the newest Marvel hero in Sony Pictures’ portfolio of the super characters — and will lead the standalone comic book film “El Muerto.”“El Muerto” is set to hit theaters on Jan. 12, 2024.Introduced by Sony Motion Pictures Group president Sanford Panitch at CinemaCon, the annual gathering of movie theater owners in Las Vegas, Ocasio will be the first ever Latino actor to headline a live-action Marvel movie.“To bring El Muerto to life is just incredible ..

$1.9 billion box office hit in the midst of record COVID-19 infection rates, it was fitting that Sony Pictures was the first studio to make its presentation at CinemaCon 2022 as Chairman/CEO Tom Rothman and his team took a victory lap after a successful winter led by “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”“What are you guys doing here? Don’t you know you’re dead? Not only merely dead but most sincerely dead?” joked Rothman to the CinemaCon attendees as he touted the $3.3 billion that Sony films have grossed at the worldwide box office.Along with the runaway success of “No Way Home,” Sony also released another Marvel hit with “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” which reached $500 million worldwide without the aid of China, while “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” and “Uncharted” also found solid success with domestic audiences. The numbers vindicate Rothman and Sony motion picture group president Josh Greenstein’s pledge at last year’s CinemaCon to commit to theatrical releasing and to be a key part of the pandemic box office rebuilding process.

$502 million in theaters worldwide without the help of a release in China, while Tom Hardy also had a mid-credits cameo in “Spider-Man: No Way Home” teasing the future of Marvel’s symbiote antihero. “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” had a more modest box office run but still did well domestically with $129.3 million grossed in North America and $197.3 million worldwide.

It what is not shocking, Sony teased a third Venom movie today, however, just the pic’s logo in a closing sizzle reel. The first two films, which starred Tom Hardy as the Marvel spider-antihero have collectively grossed $1.4 billion at the global box office to date.