What a Theatrical Hit Looks Like During a Pandemic
May 13, 2020
For obvious reasons, it has been a while since we have had a column on theater averages. However, we are beginning to actually have some box office numbers to talk about. This past weekend, How to Build a Girl opened with $13,000 in 6 theaters for an average of $2,200. Given the strange times we live in, that prompts the question, is that a good result?
It’s really hard to tell, because we can’t just look at historic numbers and compare. This would be a terrible result for a regular limited release, but the film was only playing in drive-in theaters, which don’t have nearly as many screenings per weekend as regular theaters. You generally can’t have matinee shows, for example, because it’s not dark enough.
By comparison, The Wretched opened with $66,000 in 12 theaters last weekend for an average of $5,492. In fact, it earned $70,000 this past weekend in 19 theaters for an average of $3,664, so it earned a better average during its second weekend of release than How to Build a Girl earned during its opening weekend.
Normally, a coming-of-age dramedy would be a bigger draw in limited release than a horror film would; however, horror films appear to be a better fit for drive-in theaters. That has certainly been the case historically. Perhaps we’ll see horror movies topping the charts for a while.
As far as benchmarks go, based on the last two weeks, it’s looking like a $5,000 theater average will be the new target for a film to be considered a relative success.
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Filed under: Theater Averages, How to Build a Girl, The Wretched