

Every now and then, studios remember that A) audiences come to the movies for the shared experience of living through a film together and B) that they have a back catalog of titles sure to draw a crowd of fellow believers.
Valentine’s Day has “Casablana” re-releases, Christmas earns a little “Love, Actually.” And Labor gets a wide re-opening of “Jaws.”
Some $9.7 million in tickets are being sold by that 50 year old shark-hunting classic as filmgoers set aside a chunk of time over the four day weekend to remember “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”
Time for a celebratory mimosa, Mr. Spielberg and Mr. Dreyfuss.
That won’t be enough to dethrone the late summer smash “Weapons,” which did for August what “Sinners” did for May. It’ll earn another $12 million, Deadline.com says. That should put this winner over $145 million by midnight Monday (Labor Day).
The caper comedy “Caught Stealing” shows a little Austin Butler drawing power, and it looks to edge “Freakier Friday” for third place, taking in over $9.5 million over the four day weekend. “Freakier” should earn on $8.7 and come in fourth.
The second film version of the novel about the comic couple that’s reached the “I’m gonna KILL you” stage of the marriage, “The Roses,” is doing a robust $7.35 million. “Robust” because this isn’t Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas, with Danny DeVito waging “The War of the Roses.” It’s the British Oscar winner Olivia Colman and just as British Benedict Cumberbatch in the leads, with Kate McKinnon and Andy Samberg SNL-ing the support. Not a “box office” name in this version.
That’s good enough for fifth place.
“Fantastic Four” finally falls out of the top five, as does “The Bad Guys 2,” the only small-kid picture in cinemas on the cusp of September. “Fan-Four-First-Steps” will be sitting in the mid $260s, domestic gross by Monday night. We’ll see more of this “Four,” which is now in seventh place at $6 million
And “The Bad Guys” may have somewhat run their course, finishing their run and losing screens on their way to @$75 at the North American box office. It’s on track to his over $6 million over the four day weekend and land in sixth place.
“The Bad Guys 2” did reasonably well overseas, so we’ll see if another sequel is in the cards.
“Superman” clears the $350 million mark with a $3 million four day Labor Day, in eighth place.
“Nobody 2” is ninth with a $2.3 million+ weekend.
The 2023 Peter Dinklage “Toxic Avenger” ($2.2, good enough for 11th) reboot, now in theatrical release, did not push “Naked Gun” out of the top ten.
It’s a busy weekend, with protests against a criminally incompetent dictatorship, corropt courts and Grand Old Party of Pedophiles and all.
The three day weekend numbers — excepting Monday — are “Weapons” over $10, “Jaws” over $8, “Stealing” almost $8, “Friday” $6.5 and “Roses” almost $6.4.
“Jurassic World: Rebirth” and “F1” leave the top ten, as do “Honey, Don’t” and “Relay.” “A Little Prayer” and most everything else added onto this Last Weekend of Summer” failed to crack the top tier.


