Counter Programming Counted Out

It’s hard out there for the little guys.

It has been a tough summer for Hollywood with good and bad results on any given week. Basically if you are not one of the big guns then finding business in theaters is some tough sledding. Even this weekend’s lull before the big time release of “The Lion King” was not too fruitful. There also is little room, as the major releases are dominating the screens. “Spider-Man” sports the second highest release (4,634 screens) and “Toy Story 4” has the third highest — combined these two titles are showing on nearly 8,850 screens.

This week was a slight break between major releases so other studios attempted to get smaller-scale films noticed, trying to get attention by running between the legs of the giants. It did not work out that way and the established titles enjoyed decent returns. So here are what audiences chose to get out of the heat.

1. SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME – $45.3 Million The 4th of July champ continued to rule. While it officially drops just over -50% that is a bit of a stilted number, as the film debuted on a Tuesday and that skews the conventional week-over-week measure. The latest comic book hero pic has been a smash, earning $275 million already, and tack on an additional $400 million in overseas returns. It is looking like Sony’s decision to partner with Marvel is paying off well.

2. TOY STORY 4 – $20.66m Those days of some speculating this third sequel had a soft opening are rather humorous now. This return takes the film on the edge of $350 million and a worldwide total in the $700 million range. It is drawing better than “TS3” and has held nicely against a serious comic book film. The biggest challenge for the Disney film will be next week’s release of a Disney film.

3. CRAWL – $12.0m There were tepid expectations for this horror thriller from Paramount. The hope is there would be some interest in the lag week, but this came in slightly below anticipated numbers despite a slight show of strength on Saturday. We covered the details on this one on our “Disasters In The Making” podcast this week, as weather-based creature film, where a massive hurricane hits Florida and rampaging alligators trap a family in their home. The accuracy is low and the reliance on CGI is high. This will have to lurch its way to about the $50 level to see a profit, which seems a longer shot than the family’s survival.

4. STUBER – $8.04m A comedy action farce with Dave Bautista and Kumail Nanjiani, this one suffers from a few maladies. It is an already tough market for adult comedies, and this was produced by 20th Century Fox, before the Disney takeover. As a result, it was drifting in the takeover, with Disney not really backing it and letting the remaining Fox ad team handle the promotions. Looking as if this will be fading very quickly from screens.

5. YESTERDAY – $6.1m Becoming quite the quiet success story. Each week it is adding screens as the adult audience is finding this to be an alternative for their choosing. Nearly hitting the $50 million level, which few had anticipated for this small feature.

6. ALADDIN – $5.7m Still churning out the returns with low percentage drops per week. This time seeing a dip of only -24%, but likely to feel the arrival of the next live-action remake coming next week.

7. ANNABELLE 3 – $5.5m The dearth of any true horror hits has meant that the audience has spread around modest amounts to those that have arrived. This return is low for its series but decent for the summer releases.

8. MIDSOMMAR – $3.5m An acclaimed art-house horror offering it has not garnered the same attention as the conventional choices. After two weekends it has yet to even hit $20 million in total.

9. THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS 2 – $3.1m A surprisingly lower performance than its predecessor, it still has not inched its way over the $150 million plateau.

10. MEN IN BLACK INTERNATIONAL – $2.21m A complete flameout here in the states at just $75 million in total it has drawn more than twice that in foreign sales. It remains to be seen if ultimately it manages to break even for Sony.

Source: Redstate.com

Powered by NewsAPI.org

Keywords:

Hollywood • The Lion King • Spider-Man • Toy Story 4 • Spider-Man • Independence Day (United States) • Number • Comic book • Sony Pictures • Toy Story 4 • Comic book • The Walt Disney Company • The Walt Disney Company • Thriller (genre) • Podcast • 1900 Galveston hurricane • Florida • Alligator • Computer-generated imagery • Farce • Dave Bautista • Kumail Nanjiani • Comedy • 20th Century Fox • The Walt Disney Company • The Walt Disney Company • Aladdin (1992 Disney film) • Midsummer • Art film • The Secret Life of Pets • Men in Black (film) • Flameout • Sony •