The season’s biggest hit adds another $42-45 million, and Zazie Beetz can’t beat the horror audience out of its stupor, as the last weekend of March spring breaks to an end.
“Project Hail Mary” is doing robust business, and even a 40-50% falloff from last weekend (Deadline.com is guessing 44%) isn’t bad news for a two and a half hour feel-good sci-fi showcase for Ryan Gosling and a sentient FX rock crab.
MGM’s got a big hit on its hands, even if it isn’t drawing the massive repeat business of films that become phenomena.
I have been questioning where the horror audience went for the entire post COVID box office era, because aside from the odd exceptional film with the heaviest hype (the Oscar winning “Sinners” and “Weapons”) this traditionally younger crowd just isn’t turning up numbers.
Used to be, most any horror film with a little cachet — SXSW or ComicCon buzz — could open in a pre-Trumpflation upper $teens, with a franchises able to count on upper $20s. That’s no longer happening. “Final Destination” and “Scream” and “I Know What You Did Last Summer” reboots can count on a turnout at least the lower end of the range of previous hits. But even they aren’t drawing the raw numbers (tickets are more expensive) that they used to.
It could be that the demographics have shifted, the past audience aged out of going. Higher prices and a crippled economy and Netflix and Shudder may play a role.
And one reason that “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come” with Samara Weaving only managed $9 million last weekend and “They Will Kill You” with Zazie Beetz will be lucky to clear $10 million is that they seem like the same movie, or similar enough to each other and scads of other variations on a young woman battles evil to the bloody death tale.
“They Will Kill You” also features Oscar winner Patricia Arquette, Heather Graham and Hogwarts alumnus Tom Felton and — forget-the-fanboy/RT hype — is collecting even weaker reviews than “Ready or Not 2.” It managed only $1 million in ticket sales Thursday night and Friday didn’t take up enough slack to help.
The witchy horror tale “Forbidden Fruit” from IFC should clear $2 million, maybe $3, and land somewhere deep in the second five.
“Hoppers” is heading towards a $12 or low $teens weekend in second place, with “Dhurandhar: The Revenge” and “Reminders of Him” likely taking fourth and fifth, shoving “Ready or Not 2” briskly out of the top five.
And the two new titles should finally push “Wuthering Heights: out of the top ten as it winds down its run in the mix $80s, and possibly take “Undertone” with it.
I’ll pass on more data as Saturday and Sunday’s BO figures roll in.
