Something is going on at the box office. After a seven-week stretch through June and July, the domestic box was averaging just under $200 million per weekend; now, at the end of August, we’ve seen the total weekend drop down to an abysmal $41 million. Oof.
The Invitation topped the box over its first weekend of release with just $7 million in sales despite playing on more than 3,100 screens. I have to admit, I’m not familiar with this film, and after looking it up, I’m not exactly impressed. And when I look at the release schedule for the next few weeks, well, there’s not much to look forward to.
Typically, there are some exciting releases that get pushed onto screens before the NFL season starts, but that doesn’t seem to be the case this year for some reason.
Also at the box
Bullet Train took the No. 2 spot at the domestic box office over its fourth weekend of release, bringing in another $5.6 million, upping its U.S. sales total to just over $78 million. Add in foreign sales, and Bullet Train has brought in $173 million. Not bad, but they were expecting John Wick-like numbers. I’ll check it out eventually, maybe some night when I can’t sleep or find anything else to watch.
Oddball Idris Elba vehicle Beast took the No. 3 spot with $4.9 million in sales, upping its 10-day sales total to just over $20 million. This one looks downright awful.
The great Top Gun: Maverick, in its 14th weekend of release, took the No. 4 spot with another $4.7 million. Maverick has grossed $1.422 billion worldwide, an amount I don’t think anyone us thought would ever be reached again during COVID. I finally saw the flick, and yeah, it’s great. Very fun. Satisfying. Will watch again. Best film of the year? Nope. Not even close.
Rounding out last weekend’s Top 5 was something called Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, which sold $4.56 million over its second weekend, upping its 10-day sales total to just under $31 million. No interest at all in this one.
New this week
This weekend will see the wide release of two films: (Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. and a rerelease of Spider-Man: No Way Home. I don’t expect either of those to set the world on file, although Honk is a Focus Features flick, and thus likely good.
There are a number of interesting smaller films that will begin to hit screens as well, including The Harbinger, Gigi & Nate, Burial, Peter von Kant, Waiting for Bojangles, a reissue of Jaws, and a horror-thriller called Saloum.
Not a great time at the movies right now. As I look ahead at the rest of September, I can’t help but be bummed. There are a whole lot of lame re-releases and not a single major release that I think I’ll be racing out to see.
ScreenRant
Since the studios seem to have given up on the post-summer, pre-prestige season, I figured I’d recommend a few flicks from a few of the different streaming services. Less obvious stuff, hopefully. Here we go …
Netflix: Mr. Bean’s Holiday, Dope, The Nice Guys, Above the Rim, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Den of Thieves. Lots of variety on Netflix right now.
Hulu: Ricochet, I’m Still Here, Prince Avalanche, Shame, Lemon, Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star, and Take This Waltz.
HBO Max: Lean on Pete; Blowout; Jeff Who Lives at Home, Mississippi Grind, Under the Skin, and, most of all, the incredibly underrated The End of the Tour, which I watch at least 2-3 times every year.
Prime: Licorice Pizza is now available, and of course I recommend that one. Also on the streaming service are The Yards, Dark Water, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Freeway, and, not even kidding, Michael Bay’s Pain and Gain.
