A 2019 film won the weekend and the 100 per cent animation finished fifth
A film from 2019 won the American box office this weekend, beating three new wide releases. And the animated film that opened at 100 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes finished fifth with 12.8 million dollars — the lowest number any tracker had it at.
Avengers: Endgame Encore took $26 million from 3,060 locations over 25–27 September and finished first. It is a seven-year-old film with about four minutes of new footage attached.
Behind it: Resident Evil at $23.3 million in its second weekend, down only 10 per cent, for a $103.4 million cume. Then two brand-new wide releases — Paramount's Heart of the Beast at $20 million and A24's Primetime at $19.2 million. Then, fifth, Forgotten Island at $12.8 million.
Four films above $19 million and none of them won.
The 100 per cent became 95 per cent, exactly on schedule
On Wednesday Forgotten Island was at 100 per cent on 46 reviews and being sold as the best-reviewed film DreamWorks Animation has ever made. It is now Certified Fresh at 95 per cent on 91 reviews, with a 96 per cent audience score from more than 500 verified ratings.
Both of those are excellent numbers. Neither is a perfect score, and the move from 46 reviews to 91 cost five points — which is what a small sample does when it doubles.
The money did not follow the reviews. Boxoffice Pro's August projection was $20–30 million. By release week, Boxoffice Theory had it at $14–19 million and independent tracker Todd Thatcher at $18.2 million. The actual figure came in below all three.
The weekend, in order
- 1. Avengers: Endgame Encore (Disney) — $26.0M, 3,060 theatres. Re-release with a new ending and three post-credits scenes.
- 2. Resident Evil (Sony) — $23.3M, 3,684 theatres, down 10 per cent. Cume $103.4M.
- 3. Heart of the Beast (Paramount) — $20.0M, 3,120 theatres. New.
- 4. Primetime (A24) — $19.2M, 2,850 theatres. New.
- 5. Forgotten Island (Universal/DreamWorks) — $12.8M, 3,210 theatres. New.
- 6. Practical Magic 2 (Warner Bros.) — $5.4M, 3,500 theatres.
- 7. Spider-Man: Brand New Day (Sony) — $4.1M, 2,400 theatres.
- 8. The Odyssey (Universal) — $3.7M, 1,400 theatres.
- 9. Coyote vs. Acme (Ketchup) — $1.9M, 2,100 theatres.
- 10. Daniel and the Fiery Furnace (Emick) — $1.5M, 1,350 theatres.
A 10 per cent second-weekend hold is the real story here
Resident Evil dropped ten per cent. For a horror opening of $60 million, against three new wide releases and a Marvel re-release taking premium screens, that is a genuinely unusual number — front-loaded horror normally sheds 55 to 65 per cent in weekend two.
It is also $2.7 million behind a film nobody had to make. Endgame Encore needed no principal photography, no new cast deals and no marketing campaign beyond a trailer, and it converted a December release date into a September number one.
Heart of the Beast landed inside its forecast, Primetime above its
Heart of the Beast opened at $20 million against a Boxoffice Pro range of $15–25 million and a release-week narrowing to $14–19 million. It cleared the top of the narrower range. The 92 per cent Tomatometer that was being sold on Wednesday as an all-time record turned into a solid opening, which is roughly what a 92 per cent should do.
Primetime opened at $19.2 million, above the $10–15 million Boxoffice Pro had in August and at the top of the $17–20 million circulating this week.
What is still unknown
Whether these are estimates or actuals — Sunday figures get revised on Monday, and the gap between third and fourth place this weekend is under a million dollars. What Forgotten Island cost, since Universal has published nothing. And whether a 96 per cent audience score converts into the second-weekend hold that animation usually gets, which is the only number that can still rescue it.
The best-reviewed film of the weekend finished fifth. The film with no new footage to speak of finished first. Whatever theatrical taught studios this year, that is the lesson on the board this morning.