Theater counts: Barbarian lands in theaters but No Way Home endures once again as widest release

September 8, 2022

While no film put up huge numbers last weekend at the box office, it was an interesting one nevertheless as a handful of films repeatedly traded places with one another at the top of the chart, finally presenting a winner in Top Gun: Maverick as the jet-fueled movie came out on top of the Labor Day Holiday weekend (while also crossing the $700 million mark domestically on Monday). One of Maverick’s competitors was another behemoth feature, Spider-Man: No Way Home, which once again repeats as widest release this weekend by showing in 3,213 cinemas. Those two films alone account for a staggering $3.34 billion in worldwide earnings to date.

We do see three new wide releases make their theatrical entrance this week: Barbarian and Brahmastra Part 1: Shiva. The former, playing in 2,340 locations, follows a young woman who books a rental home, but when she arrives late at night, she discovers that the house is double-booked and a strange man is already there. The psychological horror stars Georgina Campbell and is directed by Zach Cregger. The latter film, a Hindi-language adventure, is the first in an intended trilogy of a newly-titled cinematic universe called Astraverse. Brahmastra will debut in 810 theaters this weekend. Also settling into theaters this week is Medieval. The historical drama about the Boheman military commander, Jan Žižka will show in 1,311 theaters. Rounding out the top five for the upcoming week are two other Sony Pictures releases in The Invitation at number two with 3,094 locations and charting just behind is Bullet Train, in 3,056 theaters. Lastly, in 3,043 locations is DC League of Super-Pets and, still firing on all cylinders, Top Gun: Maverick, which will be showing in 3,005 movie houses.

A considerable number of films are opening in limited release this week. The widest of these is UnFavorable Odds, which arrives on the scene in 446 theaters. The romantic comedy stars Grayson Berry as a husband of a neglected wife who finds himself in a predicament after playing a high-stakes game with Victoria (his wife) as the prize. Other films arriving in theaters this week are the documentary, The Story of Film: A New Generation available for viewing in 14 locations, and Corsicana, showing in 5 theaters. Corsicana is a fictionalized account of legendary western lawman Bass Reeves. The film stars Isaiah Washington as the prominent 1800s U.S. Marshall. Lastly, the documentary, The Bengali and French drama Hold Me Tight debut, with each film starting out in one location.

Looking ahead to next week we see a mixture of different genres making their big screen entrance. Expected to land in about 3,500 theaters, the largest of next week’s features is The Woman King, a movie about the all-female warrior unit who protected the West African kingdom of Dahomey in the 19th century. Also making its theatrical debut is the 1950s London set See How They Run. The mystery comedy which includes a collection of well known Hollywood talent will be available in around 2,200 locations. Finally, in limited release comes the biographical drama The Silent Twins, scheduled in approximately 250 theaters.

Theater Counts for September 9

Estimates for September 16

Bruce Nash

Filed under: Theater Counts, Spider-Man, Top Gun, Zach Cregger, Isaiah Washington, Georgina Campbell, Grayson Berry