(Updated) Theater Counts: Daddy’s Home and Orient Express Vie for Theater Space Between Thor and Justice League

November 9, 2017

Thor: Ragnarok

Two new releases are fighting for some theater space between two giant releases this weekend. With Thor: Ragnarok holding on to the 4,080 theaters it opened in last weekend, and Justice League opening in approximately 4,000 theaters next weekend (per Warner Bros. announcement this evening), Daddy’s Home 2 and Murder on the Orient Express had some work to do to get a shot at good debuts. It looks as though they’ve pulled that off, mostly.

Daddy’s Home 2 will open in 3,575 locations for Paramount. That’s quite a bit more than the 3,271-theater opening of the original. That film topped $10,000 per theater after opening on Christmas Day in 2015, and had good legs through the holidays and into the New Year. The sequel looks like less of a sure bet, partly because of the decision to cast Mel Gibson. Although no-one could have known at the time that decision was made, stars with an unsavory past aren’t exactly flavor of the month right now. Even without that marketing challenge, the film is getting panned by critics, and seems unlikely to draw in many people who have read a review.

Murder on the Orient Express looks likely to have the better opening, comparatively speaking, and Fox have managed to get it into 3,341 theaters—pretty good for a film with somewhat niche appeal. It seems better placed for second place behind Thor right now.

One notable debutant in limited release is Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, which will open in four carefully-chosen theaters. It should easily top the theater average chart for the week. The more interesting question is whether it can come close to Lady Bird’s best average for the year: $91,109 on average, also from four locations.

In spite of Justice League’s big moment next weekend, and its expected 4,000-theater-plus rollout, a couple of films are daring to go up against it. The Star will play in about 3,000 theaters for Sony, and Lionsgate will launch Wonder in the same number, according to their estimate. Also worth looking out for next weekend is the debut in four theaters of Roman J. Israel, Esq..

Theater Counts for Weekend of November 10-12

MovieDistributorTheatersPrevious
Theaters
Change
Thor: RagnarokWalt Disney4,0804,0800
A Bad Moms ChristmasSTX Entertainment3,6153,6150
Daddy's Home 2Paramount Pictures3,575new
Murder on the Orient Express20th Century Fox3,341new
JigsawLionsgate2,6512,941-290
Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea HalloweenLionsgate1,9002,202-302
GeostormWarner Bros.1,6852,666-981
Happy Death DayUniversal1,5642,184-620
Thank You for Your ServiceUniversal1,3482,083-735
Only the BraveSony Pictures1,2072,073-866
Blade Runner 2049Warner Bros.8631,464-601
The Lego Ninjago MovieWarner Bros.771835-64
The ForeignerSTX Entertainment7371,456-719
Victoria & AbdulFocus Features637796-159
LBJElectric Entertainment608659-51
MarshallOpen Road596504+92
My Little Pony: The MovieLionsgate592785-193
ItWarner Bros.5781,081-503
Kingsman: The Golden Circle20th Century Fox421802-381
American MadeUniversal419663-244
The Mountain Between Us20th Century Fox403716-313
Same Kind of Different As MePure Flix296524-228
SuburbiconParamount Pictures2812,046-1,765
WonderstruckRoadside Attractions261121+140
The Killing of a Sacred DeerA2423886+152
The Florida ProjectA24229189+40
Goodbye Christopher RobinFox Searchlight196262-66
Despicable Me 3Universal195194+1
Leap!Weinstein Co.1101100
Battle of the SexesFox Searchlight103158-55
Wind RiverWeinstein Co.86105-19
The SnowmanUniversal85524-439
DunkirkWarner Bros.65650
Lady BirdA24374+33
The StrayPurdie-Distribution3423+11
Last Flag FlyingLionsgate324+28
A Question of FaithPure Flix3025+5
StrongerRoadside Attractions2035-15
Hitchcock's Shower SceneIFC Films1214-2
Professor Marston & The Wonder WomenAnnapurna Pictures1127-16
Walking OutIFC Films1117-6
KidnapAviron1014-4
DealtIFC Films96+3
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, MissouriFox Searchlight4new
Frank SerpicoIFC Films21+1
Tulip FeverWeinstein Co.14-3
Note: New theater counts are added as studios report throughout the day on Thursday



Estimates for Weekend of November 17

MovieDistributorEstimated
Theaters
Justice LeagueWarner Bros.4,000
The StarSony Pictures3,000
WonderLionsgate3,000
MudboundNetflix17
Roman J. Israel, Esq.Sony Pictures4
Sweet VirginiaIFC Films1



Estimates for Weekend of November 24

MovieDistributorEstimated
Theaters
Eric Clapton: A Life in 12 BarsAbramorama2

Filed under: Theater Counts, Mel Gibson