Theater counts: West Side Story and National Champions start relatively small

December 9, 2021

This weekend will be a pleasant change from the last one at the box office as we see two new wide releases make their way into North American theaters. Both are starting out with targeted releases, rather than opening as wide as possible. The one with the largest release is the romantic musical West Side Story, which is directed by Steven Spielberg and stars a distinguished ensemble cast including Ansel Elgort and Ariana DeBose. West Side Story will open in 2,820 locations. Also new this week is National Champions. The film from STX Entertainment follows a star collegiate quarterback who ignites a players’ strike hours before the biggest game of the year in order to fight for fair compensation, equality, and respect for the athletes who put their bodies and health on the line for their schools. Arriving in 1,197 locations, National Champions stars Stephan James and J.K. Simmons, along with an array of cameos from the NFL and sports world. More...

Sing 2 trailer

December 8, 2021

Musical animated adventure with an all-star voice cast opens in theaters on December 22 ... Full Movie Details. More...

West Side Story trailer

December 6, 2021

The classic musical, directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Ansel Elgort and Ariana DeBose opens in theaters on Friday, December 10 ... Full Movie Details. More...

Weekend estimates: Encanto holds top spot on slow post-Thanksgiving weekend

December 5, 2021

Encanto will do enough this weekend to hold on to top spot at the box office, according to studio estimates released on Sunday. With a projected $12.739 million this time around, Disney’s animated adventure will end the weekend with around $58 million in total domestically. It will be down 53% from the Friday–Sunday portion of Thanksgiving—a little stronger than Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which will be off 57% in its third weekend. Afterlife will take in $10.35 million this weekend, according to Sony, for $102.2 million to date. More...

Weekend predictions: our model predicts Ghostbusters will win the weekend

December 3, 2021

With no major new releases this weekend, the race at the box office will be between returning films, and our model thinks we’ll have a surprise winner. After trailing Encanto by just $3 million over the Friday–Sunday portion of the Thanksgiving Holiday, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is favored to win this weekend by a similar margin. More...

Theater Counts: Ghostbusters stays widest release

December 2, 2021

With the post-Thanksgiving holiday lull upon us, and no new wide releases debuting this weekend*, last week’s biggest films look to keep their places leading into the first weekend of December. Encanto was the winner at the box office last week, but placed second behind Ghostbusters: Afterlife as the week’s widest releasing film.

* Although it’s not opening this weekend, Christmas with the Chosen: The Messengers opened on Wednesday and will play in an estimated 1,600 locations every day until it concludes on December 10th. Like most films from Fathom Events, box office isn’t being reported. More...

National Champions trailer

November 29, 2021

Drama starring Stephan James and J.K. Simmons opens in theaters on December 10 ... Full Movie Details.

A star collegiate quarterback ignites a players’ strike hours before the biggest game of the year in order to fight for fair compensation, equality, and respect for the athletes who put their bodies and health on the line for their schools. More...

Weekend estimates: Encanto leads modest Thanksgiving weekend

November 28, 2021

The first Thanksgiving with a full slate of new releases during the pandemic was full of uncertainty for theater owners. Family audiences have been returning to theaters but remain at about half their usual level, while the older crowd is mostly on the sidelines and at around 30% of its pre-pandemic size. A holiday weekend dominated by family fair like Encanto and Ghostbusters: Afterlife, with a side dish of the older-skewing House of Gucci is a welcome sight, but the big question was who would show. As it turns out, we’re looking at a modest weekend, with audiences hovering around their long term trend rather than rushing back to theaters. More...

Theater counts: Ghostbusters, Encanto dominate the Thanksgiving holiday

November 23, 2021

Heading into Thanksgiving weekend, three new wide releases catapult into theaters with Wednesday arrivals. The largest of the three is Encanto. Directed by Byron Howard and Jared Bush, and with original songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Encanto opens in 3,980 locations. Coming in next is the biographical crime drama, House of Gucci, directed by Ridley Scott and starring an ensemble cast of top level Hollywood actors, including Jared Leto, Adam Driver, Jeremy Irons, Lady Gaga, and Al Pacino. House of Gucci is set to release in 3,441 theaters. Lastly, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City in 2,803 cinemas. The $25 million action horror reboot stars Kaya Scodelario and is directed by 47 Meters Down and 47 Meters Down: Uncaged helmer, Johannes Roberts. More...

Weekend estimates: Ghostbusters comes to life with $44-million weekend

November 21, 2021

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is tearing into theaters this weekend with a strong $44-million opening, according to Sony’s Sunday-morning projection. That’s well ahead of our model’s pre-release prediction of $25 million, and comfortably exceeds the model’s prediction based on Thursday previews of $36.2 million. It’s also the studio’s second legitimate hit of the year after Venom: Let There Be Carnage and evidence that their theatrical-only strategy is paying off (even if the total dollars involved are modest compared to the pre-pandemic market). More...