Christmas Box Office In Deep Freeze: Winter Weather Takes Toll On Ticket Sales With Most New Pics Off; ‘Avatar 2’ Eyes $82M 4-Day – Update - Deadline

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SATURDAY AM: Refresh for illustration and much investigation When it’s this cold, cipher wants to permission the location to spell to the movies. CNN reports that 100 cardinal radical successful the U.S. are nether upwind chill alerts successful Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Nashville, Atlanta and Charlotte with those retired of powerfulness astatine 1.7M this morning, the bulk successful the Southeast (709K), New England (385K), South (383K) and Mid-Atlantic (228K). One of the results present from Storm Elliott? Coastal flooding successful Freeport, Long Island.

That was an hr agone connected Guy Lombardo Avenue conscionable disconnected Atlantic Avenue. This is close now, aforesaid location. pic.twitter.com/VmdOXDXkgh

— Nicholas Isabella (@NycStormChaser) December 23, 2022

Some judge the tripledemic is preventing radical from going to the movies. Maybe, but that’s hard to judge erstwhile we had Omicron past Christmas and Spider-Man: No Way Home’s concern was Teflon to that. Blame the freezing upwind and Christmas connected a Sunday, that vacation remaining the plaything origin arsenic to whether grosses grow.

How atrocious is the weather? Sporting events are adjacent getting cancelled. The NHL postponed 2 games primitively docket for yesterday: Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Buffalo Sabres astatine KeyBank Center successful Buffalo and Detroit Red Wings vs. Ottawa Senators astatine Canadian Tire Centre successful Ottawa. Nashville politician John Cooper has called for NFL’s Tennessee Titans to postpone their crippled against Houston Texans contiguous owed to rolling blackouts successful the city. If the face-off goes on, it’s 1 of 11 NFL games contiguous keeping feline moviegoers astatine home, and not extracurricular successful the cold, heading to the multiplex.

20th Century Studios/Disney’s Avatar: The Way of Water isn’t that acold from wherever we saw it yesterday day with Friday coming successful astatine $19.5M, -63%, for a 3-day of $55M and $82M for the 4-day. On a 3-day basis, it’s playing similar Rogue One, both -59% successful their 2nd weekends. No Way Home was down 68% successful play 2 with $84.5M and that’s erstwhile Christmas fell connected a Saturday. Before we state nary 1 was ever funny en-masse successful seeing Avatar 2, box bureau sources privation america to wade done the holiday, this weather, and the adjacent fewer weeks erstwhile schools are off.

Universal/Dreamworks Animation’s Puss successful Boots: The Last Wish saw $3.8M Friday for a 3-day of $11.1M, 4-day of $17.4M and 6-day of $24.3M. Comscore/Screen Engine PostTrak exits gave the sequel 89% to spell on with that A CinemaScore from Wednesday. Kids nether 12 gave it 90%. A 50/50 demo divided with 40% nether 17 years old. Diversity demos were 47% Caucasian, 31% Latino and Hispanic, 10% Black and 12% Asian/other. Those U.S. areas doing concern were West, Southwest and Midwest which is wherever the pic’s apical 9 theaters were. This play the movie opened successful an further 28 markets including China, Mexico, Spain and Germany and is acceptable to marque $32M overseas done Sunday bringing Puss In Boots: The Last Wish global cume (with home grosses done Monday) to $57.1M. Excluding China, the International openings are estimated to beryllium successful enactment with Sing 2, above Ferdinand and conscionable somewhat beneath the first Sing.

Social media scope for Puss successful Boots 2 was primo according to RelishMix with a scope crossed TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter of 358M, successful enactment with the societal media beingness of How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (345M), Lightyear (371M) and Lego Movie 2 (335M). A dedicated Puss In Boots TikTok transmission was launched this August, present with 602K fans and clocking an bonzer 101.8M views “a crystal wide people of wherever Puss In Boots fans unrecorded online, for fun, successful 2022″ says the societal media analytics org.

Sony/Compelling Pictures/Black Label’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody had a $2M Friday, for a 3-day of $5.3M-$5.5M and 4-day of $8M-$10M. PostTrak audiences, the fewer who showed up, gave it 4 1/2 stars, 88% positive, 68% definite urge portion CinemaScore was an A. Women bought tickets astatine 68%, 90% implicit 25, 69% implicit 35 and 45% implicit 45. Diversity demos were 38% Black, 38% Caucasian, 18% Latino and Hispanic and 6% Asian/other. Northeast and South were the champion regions for the Whitney Houston biopic wherever 8 of the apical 10 runs came from. The movie was made with the blessing of the Houston estate, arsenic opposed to the 2015 Lifetime biopic directed by Angela Bassett, Whitney. I Wanna Dance With Somebody was produced by Houston’s sister-in-law and erstwhile manager, Pat Houston, connected behalf of the Estate and the singer’s erstwhile mentor, Grammy-winning euphony shaper Clive Davis (who is played by Stanley Tucci successful the film).

Paramount’s Babylon had a $1.47M Friday, which is translating into a $3.34M 3-day and 4-day of $5M. The 3 hour, 8 infinitesimal moving clip Hollywood play pic received a C+ from audiences who bought tickets. PostTrak was astatine 74% and a debased 47% definite recommend. Relish Mix says that “some are connected the obstruction astir this star-studded romp” connected social. Guys astatine 60% attended, 45% betwixt 18-34, 31% implicit 45. Diversity demos were 68% Caucasian, 12% Latino and Hispanic, 9% Black and 11% Asian and other. The movie’s concern was connected the coasts successful the large cities, which is nary surprise, i.e. LA, NY, San Francisco and San Diego. At the extremity of the day, nary substance wherever the movie’s gross lands, Paramount did proceed to champion this $80M pic, adjacent though it was greenlit by erstwhile Paramount Pictures Motion Picture Group President Wyck Godfrey (who besides produced Damien Chazelle’s First Man).

A24’s The Whale busted into the apical 10 ranking 7th with a $300K Friday astatine 603 theaters for a $933K 3-day, 4 time of $1.3M astatine 603 theaters for a per theatre of $1,5K. Eighteen time cume for the Darren Aronofsky-directed play volition beryllium astatine $2.85M by EOD Monday. It took Focus Features award-lauded Tar 28 days to get to that threshold, that movie acceptable to basal astatine $5.5M by Monday. Critics not large connected The Whale at 65% fresh, but audiences astatine 94% are. The Whale did flips nary the coasts astatine upscale arthouses and Alamo Drafthouse counting six of the apical 10 runs successful the nation.

United Artists Releasing’s Women Talking directed by Sarah Polley, successful 8 locations saw $16K connected Friday for what is looking similar a $52K 3-day, $71K 4-day from 5 markets including NYC, LA, Toronto, Austin and Chicago. Rotten Tomatoes critics astatine 90% certified caller emotion the Rooney Mara, Frances McDormand, Claire Foy and Jessie Buckley ensemble astir the women from an isolated spiritual assemblage coming to presumption with their brutal past and faith.

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FRIDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: Close to eighty cinemas person shuttered contiguous arsenic Winter Storm Elliott tears up the Midwest, 1.3M suffer power, and galore cities specified arsenic Atlanta, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Tallahassee acceptable to spot grounds acold Christmas Eve temperatures per the National Weather Service.

Multiplexes successful specified cities arsenic Cleveland (16 turning disconnected the lights), Indianapolis (14), Buffalo (13), Cincinnati (11) and Portland, OR (10) person shuttered owed to brutal weather.

All of this is presently resulting successful lower-than-expected play projections, which volition hopefully close by Christmas Day Sunday. Already, concern volition beryllium down astir a regular mean of -50% connected Christmas Eve Saturday arsenic is emblematic for that day’s business.

20th Century/Disney’s Avatar: The Way of Water is pacing 37% up of yesterday’s revised $14.6M for a $20M Friday, which volition enactment it connected way for $83M 4-day, -45% from the pic’s archetypal 4 days. Hopefully, the sequel volition deed $90M astatine 4,202 theaters, if concern shifts. That volition enactment the pic’s 11-day container bureau astatine $280.7M.

Second belongs to Universal/Dreamworks Animation’s Puss successful Boots: The Last Wish with $3.75M contiguous astatine 4,099 theaters, +29% from yesterday, for a $11M 3-day, $17.2M 4-day and 6-day of $24.1M.

I Wanna Dance With Somebody from Tri-Star/Compelling Pictures/Black Label is looking at $2.2M contiguous (including past night’s previews), $6.3M for the play and $9M implicit 4 days astatine 3,625 theaters. Sony is getting a organisation escaped for handling with financiers recouping the P&A spend. Rotten Tomatoes critics don’t similar it astatine 46%, but audiences emotion it astatine 94%.

Paramount’s Babylon at 3,343 theaters is seeing $1.6M today, including previews, a 3-day of $4.5M and 4-day of $6.5M successful fourth. Critics’ people landed astatine 55% Rotten, with assemblage people amended astatine 74%.

Fifth spot belongs to Universal’s Violent Night at 2,526 locations with a 4th Friday of $1.1M, -21% from a week ago, for a 3-day of $2.95M, -42% and 4-day of $3.86M and moving full of $42.3M.

FRIDAY AM, PREVIOUS: We’re proceeding that atrocious upwind successful the Midwest importantly impacted Thursday grosses with Winter Storm Elliott intensifying into a weaponry cyclone. As of this morning, much than 1 cardinal customers are without powerfulness crossed the country, astir 4K flights canceled and upwind chill successful the -20 to -30 grade scope arsenic the state gets hammered by terrible wintertime conditions.

Avatar: The Way of Water was up lone 1% from Wednesday with $14.5M for a week’s full of $197.5M astatine 4,202 theaters, 4% down the archetypal week of Top Gun: Maverick which, natch, was boosted by its Memorial Day Monday. Global is astatine $661.4M for the 20th Century Studios/Disney release.

Today successful its 8th time astatine the container office, James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water will transverse $200M successful U.S./Canada. Other films that person taken that agelong to transverse the treble period people stateside see Captain Marvel (final gross $426.8M), Jurassic World: Dominion (final $376M) and Thor: Love and Thunder (final $343.2M).

Christmas play volition beryllium wonky astatine the container bureau with Christmas Eve falling connected Saturday. Not lone is that a down time astatine the container office, with astir movies disconnected -45% to -55% from the time prior, but there’s 11 NFL games unsocial connected Saturday.

Universal/Dreamworks Animation’s Puss successful Boots: The Last Wish made $2.9M successful its 2nd day, -9%, for a two-day full of $6.1M at 4,099 theaters.

Tri-Star/Compelling Pictures/Black Label’s Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody grossed $730K from 3,093 locations disconnected previews that began astatine 2PM yesterday. While nary authoritative comps are being given, that preview currency isn’t that acold from the $800K that West Side Story made connected its Thursday nighttime disconnected showtimes that began astatine 5PM ($10.5M 3-day) a twelvemonth agone and it’s conscionable nether what Universal’s all-femme rubric Sisters did connected its Thursday nighttime backmost connected Dec. 17, 2015 ($769K) which resulted successful a $13.9M opening. I Wanna Dance With Somebody is expected to unfastened to astir $12M implicit 4 days astatine 3,550 locations.

Third spot among regular ranked titles Thursday went to Disney/Marvel Studio’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever at 3,200 sites with $906K, +1% from Wednesday and a moving full astatine extremity of week 6 of $422.6M.

Fourth is Universal’s Violent Night at 3,528 theaters with $792K, -4% from Wednesday, and moving home full of $38.4M astatine extremity of week 3. The genre enactment rubric is 137% up of Universal’s Black Christmas which finaled astatine $16.2M and $200K up of the studio’s 2015 vacation fearfulness drama Krampus at the aforesaid constituent successful time which yet ended its home container bureau astatine $42.7M.

A24’s The Whale ranked 5th astatine 603 theaters with $273K, -60% from Wednesday, and a moving full done the extremity of week 2 of $1.55M.

No grosses reported this AM for Babylon‘s previews. The anticipation is that this Damien Chazelle directed movie, which Paramount has supported greatly, earning 5 Golden Globe nominations, volition beryllium northbound of treble digits implicit 4 days.

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