All posts tagged: box office

Disclosure Day Heading to Solid Opening, Obsession No. 2

Disclosure Day Heading to Solid Opening, Obsession No. 2

Published by Daniella Wilson

The original summer movie filmmaker meets the new generation of directors this weekend, with Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day entering the fray amid a summer dominated by Gen Z hits Obsession and Backrooms. Spielberg’s $115 million budgeted UFO feature is looking to bring in $44 million this weekend after grossing $19 million on Friday, including Thursday previews, a solid start for the filmmaker’s first popcorn movie in eight years, since he released Ready Player One to $53.7 million on its way to $583.5 million globally. Worldwide, Disclosure Day is expected to end the weekend with a global haul of $93.9 million. If estimates hold, this would be Spielberg’s top grossing opening weekend domestically for an original feature. He conceived of the story, and then handed it off to his Jurassic Park screenwriter David Koepp to pen the sci-fi thriller about the race to reveal that extraterrestrial life is among us. Emily Blunt and Josh O’Connor are among the cast, with critics granting it strong reviews and audiences giving it a B CinemaScore. Curry Barker’s word-of-mouth hit, …

First B Movie of 2026

First $1B Movie of 2026

Published by Daniella Wilson

In good news for Universal, movie theaters and men who are considering buying a pair of overalls, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has crossed $1 billion at the box office, the first film of 2026 to do so. After this weekend, Galaxy stands at $428.5 million at the domestic box office and $571.5 million internationally. Galaxy’s predecessor, 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie, earned more than $1.3 billion at the box office. Over two films, the Mario movies have become one of Hollywood’s more lucrative animated film series, coming in ninth with $2.3 billion in global ticket sales. It is joining the ranks of Inside Out ($2.56 billion, unadjusted, over two films), Kung Fu Panda ($2.37 billion, unadjusted, over four films) and Madagascar ($2.26 billion, unadjusted, over seven films). The highest-grossing animated franchise is Despicable Me, also from Universal and Illumination, which has earned $5.64 billion over six films. Domestically, the Mario movies are the fifth-biggest animated franchise, following Despicable Me, Shrek, Toy Story and Inside Out. Galaxy, which saw Uni re-team with animation studio Illumination …

’Scary Movie’ No. 1 With M

’Scary Movie’ No. 1 With $55M

Published by Daniella Wilson

More than a decade after the last installment, Scary Movie has proven its staying power, landing at the top of the weekend box office with an estimated $55 million in domestic ticket sales for its debut weekend. Coming in second was the weekend’s other new opening, Masters of the Universe, earning $29.3 million at the domestic box office. Masters was followed by the A24 horror Backrooms, with $25.9 million, and close behind that is Focus Features’ own genre entry, Obsession, with $25.6 million. Directed by Michael Tiddes, Paramount and Miramax’s Scary Movie sees the return of franchise stars Anna Faris and Regina Hall. The R-rated comedy is the return of the spoof film franchise that sends up horror movie tropes, popular culture and current events. The film, which was made in association with original studio Miramax, is the sixth installment in the franchise but the first in more than two decades to feature the series’ originators, the Wayans brothers. In addition to its $55 million domestic bow, Scary Movie earned $50.5 million abroad from more …

Backrooms Becomes A24’s Highest Grossing Movie Domestically

Backrooms Becomes A24’s Highest Grossing Movie Domestically

Published by Daniella Wilson

Kane Parson’s Backrooms is making another piece of A24 history. The feature is expected to pass the $100 million mark domestically on Wednesday, after officially becoming A24’s highest grossing film of all time in North America Tuesday with a cume of $97.7 million. The $10 million movie takes the crown from the Timothée Chalamet starrer Marty Supreme, which brought in $96 million domestically and was the studio’s most expensive movie. The achievement comes just days after Backrooms notched A24’s biggest opening weekend ever at $81.4 million and made Parsons, 20, the youngest filmmaker ever to top the domestic box office. The film has not slowed down and has been big during the week, collecting $7.6 million on Monday and $8.6 million on Tuesday. Parsons began Backrooms as a series of popular YouTube Shorts and maintains the rights to the IP. After building up a massive online following, the movie has hit a nerve with Gen Z, with half of the opening weekend audience under 25 and 75 percent under 35. Backrooms‘ producers include Chernin Entertainment, …

Backrooms and Obsession Boost Movie Theaters to Major Win at May Box Office

Backrooms and Obsession Boost Movie Theaters to Major Win at May Box Office

Published by Daniella Wilson

By all box office measures, May was a month to remember for major exhibitors after movies like Michael, The Devil Wears Prada 2, Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, Obsession and Backrooms performed at the multiplex. Cinemark on Monday said delivered its highest-ever domestic box office performance for the month of May, driven by a steady and more varied slate of Hollywood movies from its major studio suppliers. “The sustained box office momentum we have seen year-to-date reflects the impact and importance of a healthy, well-balanced release cadence of compelling films. Audiences are showing up for a wide range of content, with particular strength in younger moviegoers, resulting in impressive performances across blockbusters and varied small- to mid-tier titles,” Sean Gamble, Cinemark president and CEO, said in a statement. Mega-exhibitor AMC Theatres said it had recorded its highest-attended month of May since 2019, both domestically and internationally at its Odeon Cinemas circuit. For Adam Aron, CEO of parent AMC Entertainment, his own longstanding calls to the major studios for a compelling and varied Hollywood film …

Backrooms Sets A24 Record with M Opening, Obsession Making History

Backrooms Sets A24 Record with $90M Opening, Obsession Making History

Published by Daniella Wilson

Kane Parsons is the new king of the box office with Backrooms. His $10 million adaptation of his viral YouTube short film series is eyeing the biggest opening in A24 history, with at least $80 million. Rival studios even think it could go as high as $90 million. It will easily take the No. 1 spot, after landing around $38 million on Friday, including Thursday previews. It focuses on a failed architect (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who stumbles across an endless series of rooms in the furniture store he manages. The ascension of Parsons, 20, comes just two weeks after fellow YouTuber Curry Barker became the hottest 20-something filmmaker in Hollywood thanks to surprise hit Obsession. The $750,000 feature, now in its third week, is making history as the first film outside of Christmas since 1982 to increase in both its second and third weekends. It is expected to be up 19 percent from last weekend, with an estimated $28.5 million. That’s after defying box office gravity last weekend, earning an unheard of 39 percent more in …

The Mandalorian and Grogu’ Opens to Series-Low M

The Mandalorian and Grogu’ Opens to Series-Low $98M

Published by Daniella Wilson

The roller-coaster ride that accompanies the opening of a Star Wars movie is over — for now. The final numbers are in for the long Memorial Day box office, and they show Lucasfilm/Disney’s Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu opening to $98 million for the four-day holiday at the domestic box office, and 82 million for the three day, after traffic slowed somewhat toward the end of the holiday frame. In 2018, the ill-fated Solo: A Star Wars Story opened over Memorial Day weekend to $103 million domestically, including $84.4 million for the three-day weekend. It marked the worst debut for a Star Wars movie since Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012. Now, it gets to pass that badge to Mandalorian. Or does it? Overseas, where the sci-fi genre struggles badly in many markets, Jon Favreau’s big screen adaptation of his hit Disney+ series The Mandalorian posted an opening gross of $63 million through Sunday. When folding in Monday earnings, Mando‘s global total through May 25 stood at $167 million, just ahead of the the film’s …

‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ Makes Major Gains

‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ Makes Major Gains

Published by Daniella Wilson

After bumpy opening day, the Force has thrown its weight behind Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu. On Friday, Jon Favreau‘s feature film adaptation of his hit Disney+ series appeared at risk of scoring the lowest box office opening of any title in the storied Star Wars franchise since Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012. But all bets were off when the movie snagged a franchise-best audience score of 89 percent on Rotten Tomatoes — the best of any Star Wars film since Disney took over — and equally strong exit score on PostTrak, especially among youngsters as Baby Yoda, aka Grogu, made the leap from the small screen to the big screen. (Disney insiders believe Mando could become the most family friendly film of any title in the iconic series, at least in modern times.) Still, Disney and Lucasfilm executives were no doubt on pins and needles when Mando topped Friday’s domestic box office chart with a worrisome, series-low $33 million from 4,300 theaters, behind the $35.4 million earned by the ill-fated Solo: A Star …

‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ Makes Major Gains

The Mandalorian and Grogu’ Targets $80M-Plus Box Office

Published by Daniella Wilson

Can Baby Yoda become a cultural touchstone once again? That’s the major question as Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu opens on the big screen over Memorial Day weekend. The film continues the story of The Mandalorian, Jon Favreau‘s series that helped launch Disney+ and introduced the world to Baby Yoda (Grogu) just before the depths of the pandemic The scrutiny couldn’t be more intense. A standalone movie or not, it’s the first Star Wars film to play in theaters in seven years due to a host of reasons, beginning with the pandemic and followed by the labor strikes. Tracking services show The Mandalorian and Grogu opening to roughly $82 million at the domestic box office for the four days, while some exhibitors see it coming in as high as $95 million to $100 million. That would be on the lower end of any Star Wars title released by Disney since paying $4.05 billion to buy Lucasfilm in 2012, and it could potentially end up the lowest domestically, not adjusted for inflation. Globally, Disney insiders …

‘Mortal Kombat II’ Battles ‘Prada 2’ for Weekend Win

‘Mortal Kombat II’ Battles ‘Prada 2’ for Weekend Win

Published by Daniella Wilson

In a battle of the genders, New Line’s video game adaptation Mortal Kombat II and 20th Century’s The Devil Wears Prada 2 are in a close race for No. 1 at the domestic box office. The Mortal Kombat sequel, fueled by males, topped Friday with an opening-day gross of $17 million range, including $5.2 million in previews and special Imax sneaks. That puts it on course for a domestic opening in the $40 million to $41 million range; ditto for Prada 2, which came in second Friday with $9.8 million for a stellar domestic total of $111.6 million and well north of $300 million globally. Heading into the weekend, some tracking services showed Mortal Kombat II opening to $45 million or more. New Line and parent company Warner Bros., however, had always predicted a far more conservative launch in the $35 million range to $40 million range for a worldwide bow anywhere between $65 million and $80 million. Males made up more than 75 percent of Friday’s audience, which bestowed the film with a B+ CinemaScore. …