Screendollars

Greetings! The scary season is upon us, and Cineverse’s TERRIFIER 3 jumped out to first place finish at the box office with $18.3M in its opening weekend. It was a surprisingly strong result for the sequel, whose earlier chapters did well, but not that well. It will be one of the most profitable films of the year, as measured by multiples of its production cost, since only $2M was spent to make the movie. Next week, Paramount’s SMILE 2 will join the party, and the two horror titles together should lead all others. Families continued to file in to enjoy Universal’s THE WILD ROBOT in its third weekend, with $13.5M in new ticket sales this weekend adding up to a 17-day total of $83.7M. The original animated movie is of the best-reviewed films of the year, carrying 98% scores from both critics and audiences. Warner Bros.’ JOKER: FOLIE A DEUX suffered an 81% drop in its second weekend, coming in third place with only $7.1M. The R-rated musical appears to be fading away quickly, and is widely seen as a disappointing misstep for the franchise which began with such promise with JOKER in 2019. Read Dick Walsh’s Weekend Review for additional details on these results. To get the big picture, read our 2024 Third Quarter Review and 2024 Fourth Quarter Preview reports. #terrifier3 #cineverse #thewildrobot #dreamworks #universalpictures #smile2 #paramountpictures #jokerfolieadeux #joker2 #jokermovie #warnerbros #boxoffice #boxofficeresults #screendollars

Greetings! Sadly, the JOKER: FOLIE A DEUX had an unexpectedly hard landing this weekend, with only $40M in ticket sales in its first three days. Pre-release expectations were shifting downward all week leading up to its Friday opening, as the cumulative effect of consistently disappointing reviews started to pile up. This is in stark contrast to the standout performance of the original JOKER in 2019, which was well-received by audiences and became a top 10 movie in the top-grossing year in Hollywood history. In hindsight, asking audiences to adjust to an R-rated dystopian musical as the sequel to the original R-rated dystopian thriller may have been a bridge too far. We captured one moviegoer’s reaction after an opening night screening at the CMX theatre in Miami. You can watch it here on the Screendollars Instagram or YouTube channel. On a brighter note, DreamWorks’ THE WILD ROBOT continues to draw families to theatres, adding $18.7M this weekend to make a 10-day total of $64M. Results have been buoyed by positive word of mouth, evidenced by a 98% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Positive results should continue since the next major animated family film to arrive will be MOANA 2 on November 27th. For more details, read Dick Walsh’s Weekend Review. You should also read our Fourth Quarter Preview to learn more about what to expect over the final three months of the year. This week in our Don’t Kill the Messenger podcast, host Kevin Goetz sits down with Spring Aspers, President of Sony Pictures Music Group, who discusses her work on creating successful movie soundtracks, including her Grammy-nominated work on Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. #jokerfolieadeux #joker2 #jokermovie #warnerbros #thewildrobot #dreamworks #universalpictures #springaspers #dontkillthemessenger #kevingoetz #boxoffice #boxofficeresults #screendollars

Greetings! Universal and DreamWork’s THE WILD ROBOT was #1 movie in theatres this weekend, earning $35M in its first three days. On the one hand, this is not an overwhelming amount for a DreamWorks movie, famous for its blockbuster franchises including SHREK, KUNG FU PANDA and HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON. On the other hand, it is a respectable start and it has a clear lane ahead in the animated/family genre until MOANA 2 opens in two months on November 27th. THE WILD ROBOT has been received warmly, with nearly perfect matching 98% scores on Rotten Tomatoes from both critics and audiences. Next weekend, Warner Bros. adds JOKER: FOLIE A DEUX into the mix, one of the top movies remaining on the 2024 release calendar. At this point, we’re predicting an $80M debut, which would put it solidly in the second tier of movie openings this year, behind DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE ($211.4M), INSIDE OUT 2 ($154.2M) and BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE ($111M) but in the same ballpark with DUNE: PART TWO ($82.5M), TWISTERS ($81.3M), GODZILLA X KONG ($80M) and DESPICABLE ME 4 ($75M). For more box office details, read Dick Walsh’s Weekend Review. You will also enjoy reading our latest reviews of THE WILD ROBOT and CONCLAVE, published in partnership with The Film Verdict. This week in our Don’t Kill the Messenger podcast, host Kevin Goetz is joined by Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey, powerhouse producers and founders of Temple Hill Entertainment. Bowen and Godfrey have produced some of the most popular entertainment of recent years, with a list of credits that includes blockbuster franchises like The Twilight Saga and The Maze Runner Trilogy. #thewildrobot #dreamworks #universalpictures #jokerfolieadeux #warnerbros #martybowen #wyckgodfrey #dontkillthemessenger #kevingoetz #boxoffice #boxofficeresults #screendollars

Greetings! BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE celebrated a three-peat as the top earning movie at the box office for the third straight weekend. It produced $26.0M in new ticket sales, resulting in a 17-day total of $226.8M. Tim Burton’s sequel is now the second highest September opening in history, trailing Stephen King’s IT which stood at $266.1M after its first 17-days in 2017. Paramount’s TRANSFORMERS ONE wound up with a close second place finish, grossing $25.0M in its opening weekend. This was somewhat lower than hoped for, but never fear. In the past, TRANSFORMERS movies have earned 3 to 4 times the amount from international markets as they have in the domestic market. The animated sequel has also received a positive response from audiences and critics, including our own Alonso Duralde. You can read Alonso’s review of TRANSFORMERS ONE here. For more details on the box office results, read Dick Walsh’s Weekend Review. This week in the latest episode of our Don’t Kill the Messenger podcast series, host Kevin Goetz sits down with Hollywood power couple Paula Wagner and Rick Nicita. Wagner has a storied career working at the top echelons of the Hollywood hierarchy as a talent agent, studio executive, and producer of blockbuster hits such as "Mission: Impossible" franchise. Nicita has also worked as a successful talent agent for decades and is now Chairman of the American Cinematheque. #beetlejuicebeetlejuice #warnerbros #transformersone #paramount #paulawagner #ricknicita #dontkillthemessenger #kevingoetz #boxoffice #boxofficeresults #screendollars #thefilmverdict

Greetings Film Professionals and Movie Lovers Alike! BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE was the top grossing movie for the second weekend in a row, adding $51.6M in new ticket sales over the past three days. After ten days, Warner Bros.’ horror comedy has brought in $188M, making it the top movie of the month (of course) and the third best after ten days for any movie this year. It trails DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE which had earned $395.4M by this point, and INSIDE OUT 2 which had earned $356.4M. BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE is also the second highest September opening in history, after IT’s $218.8M after its first 10-days in September 2017. Go deeper into the details in Dick Walsh’s Weekend Review. We are also sharing a cornucopia of new movie reviews, published in our partnership with The Film Verdict. Our critics give their takes on the highly-anticipated JOKER: FOLIE A DEUX which opens on 10/4, THE WILD ROBOT which opens later this month on 9/27 and THE KILLER’S GAME which appeared Friday and was the sixth highest grossing film of the weekend. In case you missed it last week, we call your attention once again to the exciting Don’t Kill the Messenger podcast we shared last weekend with filmmaker Ron Howard, who tells stories from his legendary career with host Kevin Goetz. #beetlejuicebeetlejuice #warnerbros #deadpoolwolverine #insideout2 #itmovie #jokerfolieadeux #thewildrobot #thekillersgame #ronhoward #dontkillthemessenger #kevingoetz #boxoffice #boxofficeresults #screendollars #thefilmverdict

Greetings! BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE re-animated the September box office with a thrilling $110M opening weekend. It was the third highest debut of the year, after DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE’s $211M from July 26-28 and INSIDE OUT 2’s $154M from June 14-16. While it took 36 years for Tim Burton, Michael Keaton, and Warner Bros. to come up with a sequel for their 1988 original, it was well worth the wait. After a scary slow start, the 2024 box office is staging an admirable comeback. Grosses in August were the highest since 2016, and the last 3 months have been nearly as productive as last year’s, when Barbenheimer was setting box office records. You can read more about the August results in Gower Street’s Global Box Office Tracker. To celebrate the 50th episode of our Don’t Kill the Messenger podcast, host Kevin Goetz welcomes his friend and very special guest, the award-winning filmmaker Ron Howard who brings to life some key experiences from his legendary career. After listening to the podcast, you will also enjoy reading our original biography of the famous filmmaker. #beetlejuicebeetlejuice #warnerbros #deadpoolwolverine #marvelstudios #insideout2 #ronhoward #dontkillthemessenger #kevingoetz #boxoffice #boxofficeresults #screendollars

Greetings! At the box office, DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE extended their stay through Labor Day weekend, with an additional $15.2M in ticket sales, a decline of only 17% from last weekend. After 38 days, Marvel’s superhero duo has earned $599.5M in North American theatres and $1.257B worldwide, making it the top-grossing R-rated movie of all time. 20th Century’s ALIEN: ROMULUS hung around in second place, with a 3-day total of $9.3M. After 17 days, the latest sequel in the famous sci-fi series has earned $88.8M domestic. The total for all movies came in at $81.1M, slightly below the $89.2M earned over the first 3 days of last year’s Labor Day weekend. Dick Walsh takes you through all the details in his Weekend Review. Next weekend, the box office will benefit from the much-anticipated arrival of Warner Bros.’ BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE directed by Tim Burton and starring Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder. Check out Alonso Duralde’s review, which describes the film as “energetically grotesque.” 😊 In this week’s Don’t Kill the Messenger podcast, host Kevin Goetz sites down with acclaimed documentary filmmaker Evgeny Afineevsky, who tells his unlikely journey from a childhood in the Soviet Union and Israel to becoming an Oscar-nominated director. #deadpoolwolverine #disney #marvelstudios #alienromulus #alienmovie #20thcenturystudios #beetlejuicebeetlejuice #warnerbros #evgenyafineevsky #dontkillthemessenger #kevingoetz #boxoffice #boxofficeresults #screendollars

Greetings! Disney and Marvel’s DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE climbed back into first place at the weekend box office, with a total of $18.3M in new ticket sales. After 4 full weeks and 5 weekends, the super hero duo has grossed $577.2M, the second highest total of any movie this year behind Pixar’s INSIDE OUT 2 which has earned $646.3M. D&W has been the top movie in theatres for 4 of the past 5 weekends, only bested by last weekend's opening of 20th Century’s ALIEN: ROMULUS, which dropped back into second place this weekend with a 3-day total of $16.2M. Even without an impactful new opener to draw audiences, the total this weekend was on the high end of what is typical for an end-of-August late summer frame. All films earned an estimated $91M, virtually identical to last year’s $90.9M, $52.1M in 2022, $63.4M in 2021, $6.8M in 2020 (Yikes!) and $108.7M in 2019. Read all about it in Dick Walsh’s Weekend Review. You will also enjoy reading Alonso Duralde’s supportive review of the thought-provoking new thriller BLINK TWICE, starring and directed by Zoe Kravitz. In this week’s Don’t Kill the Messenger podcast, host Kevin Goetz engages with Hollywood trailblazer Cheryl Boone Isaacs. Over the course of her long and storied career, Cheryl has worked on marketing campaigns for more than 300 films, including Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Forrest Gump, and The King's Speech. As the first African American and person of color to serve as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Cheryl shares her insights on the journey that allowed her to become a pivotal force for change in Hollywood. #disney #marvelstudios #deadpool&wolverine #alienromulus #alienmovie #20thcenturystudios #blinktwice #zoekravitz #cherylbooneisaacs #dontkillthemessenger #kevingoetz #boxoffice #boxofficeresults #screendollars

Greetings Film Professionals,                                                                      The sci-fi sequel ALIEN: ROMULUS captured first place at the box office this weekend with a $41.5M opening. It was another validation for the potential appeal of R-Rated films, following DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE’s record-setting success over the last three weekends. DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE finished in second place by earning an additional $29M, making for a 24-day total of $545.8M. Both films come from studios under the Disney umbrella, with ALIEN: ROMULUS distributed by 20th Century Studios and DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE from Marvel Studios. After adding in the early summer success of Pixar’s INSIDE OUT 2, it has clearly been a bounce-back year for Hollywood’s largest studio. You can read all about the latest box office in Dick Walsh’s Weekend Review. Also check out Alonso Duralde’s review of ALIEN: ROMULUS, which succeeds in its reprise of the spaceship slasher action from the iconic 1979 original. In this week’s Don’t Kill the Messenger podcast, host Kevin Goetz sits down with producer and former head of Paramount Pictures, Marc Evans. They discuss Marc’s 25 years of experience in the film industry, including many triumphs and a few mistakes while making some of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters. #alienromulus #alienmovie #20thcenturystudios #fedealvarez #caileespaeny #davidjonsson #disney #deadpool&wolverine #marvelstudios #marcevans #paramountpictures #dontkillthemessenger #kevingoetz #boxoffice #boxofficeresults #screendollars

Greetings!                                                                      For the third consecutive weekend, Marvel’s DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE led all films at the box office with an additional $54.2M in North American theatres. After only 17 days, the superhero sequel has earned $494.3M, making it the highest grossing R-Rated movie ever in the domestic market. By next week, it will pass JOKER’s $1.08B worldwide total to become the top earning R-Rated movie of all time. Sony’s romantic drama IT ENDS WITH US slid into second with an excellent $50.0M in its opening frame. Interestingly, its headliner Blake Lively is facing off against her husband Ryan Reynolds with DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE. Make it a family double feature? Get all the details in Dick Walsh’s Weekend Review. You will also enjoy reading our critic’s reviews of M. Night Shyamalan’s psychological thriller TRAP and Neon’s latest blood-soaked horror flick CUCKOO. In this week’s Don’t Kill the Messenger podcast, host Kevin Goetz interviews the filmmaking duo of Will Speck and Josh Gordon on their creative process. Speck and Gordon are behind features including the comic hits BLADES OF GLORY (2007) and OFFICE CHRISTMAS PARTY (2016) as well as iconic advertising campaigns such as the Geico Gecko and Caveman series. #itendswithus #blakelively #sonypictures #deadpoolandwolverine #deadpool&wolverine #marvelstudios #disney #trapmovie #mnightshyamalan #cuckoomovie #neonrated #willspeck #joshgordon #dontkillthemessenger #geicocaveman #geicogecko #kevingoetz #boxoffice #boxofficeresults #screendollars