Box Office crashing during the pandemic
Sunday, March 15, 2020 at 8:00PM By the looks of the weekend box office -- the single worst in 20 years -- you weren't at the movies this weekend. Every movie suffered a massive drop but for those which were still in the process of adding theaters and they didn't score with strong per screen averages. Here's how the current releases fared...
| Weekend Box Office March 13th-15th (ESTIMATES) 🔺 = new or expanding / ★ = recommended |
|
| WIDE RELEASE (800+ screens) |
PLATFORM TITLES |
 Onward |
 Hope Gap |
| 1 ONWARD $10.5 (60.8) --down 73% |
1 PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE $178k (cum. $3.7) - down 66% TOP TEN LIST ★ |
| 2 🔺 I STILL BELIEVE $9.5 *new* | 2 🔺 HOPE GAP $55k (cum. $99k) up 79% REVIEW |
| 3 🔺 BLOODSHOT $9.3 *new* | 3 BAAGHI 3 $52k (cum. $718K) -down 89% |
| 4 THE INVISIBLE MAN $6 (cum. $64.4) down 60% REVIEW | 4 MY BOYFRIEND'S MEDS $50k (cum. $2.9) -down 81% |
| 5 🔺 THE HUNT $5.3 *new* | 5 🔺 EXTRA ORDINARY $46k (cum. $162k) - down 43% |
 The Way Back |
 Never Rarely Sometimes Always |
| 6 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG $2.5 (cum. $145.8) -down 66% |
6 🔺 BURDEN $46k (cum. $133k) -up 13% |
| 7 THE WAY BACK $2.4 (cum. $13.4) - down 70% | 7 🔺 WENDY $44k (cum. $142k) - down 6% REVIEW |
| 8 CALL OF THE WILD $2.2 (cum. $62.1) - down 66% HARRISON FORD | 8 GREED $27k (cum. $359k) - down 86% |
| 9 EMMA. $1.3 (cum. $10) -down 71% REVIEW, EMMAS OF YORE ★ | 9 🔺 HEART OF AFRICA $24k *new* |
| 10 BAD BOYS FOR LIFE $1.1 (cum. $204.2) -down 63% | 10 🔺 NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS $18k *new* INTERVIEW ★ |
As previously discussed most wide releases are delaying their bows and many indies are cancelling which means that even if movie theaters do stay open they won't have many new films to show. We're hoping for multiple reasons -- safety and health of everyone first and foremost but our beloved movies, too, further down the list -- that the worst of the coronavirus pandemic will be behind us by mid-April when most of the currently announced closings are set to expire.
In the meantime here at TFE we'll be covering more streaming and dvd/bluray entertainments to tide us over.
box office
Reader Comments (20)
Opening weekend of the French Film Festival here, and my territory has only two diagnosed COVID-19 cases (and no deaths) so far, so I calculated the odds and decided to go to the sessions I had already purchased.
The ones I would recommend so far:
WE'LL END UP TOGETHER (NOUS FINIRONS ENSEMBLE) - a sequel to 2010's LITTLE
WHITE LIES, featuring Marion Cotillard in her usual top form
SIBYL - arthouse piece starring Virginie Efira and Adele Exarchopoulos
MATTHIAS & MAXIME - the new Xavier Dolan, starring Xavier Dolan
HOW TO BE A GOOD WIFE - the mandatory Juliette Binoche FFF appearance
Whoops, sorry, didn't notice the absence of the usual "what did you see this weekend?" question. :-)
The only thing I saw this weekend at home is Shallow Grave and the Netflix series Gentified with my mother.
Considering that many people will prefer to watch movies at home for health i'd like to recomend this page
https://zoowoman.website/wp/
Specially recomended to spanish language people because the movies are subtitled or dubbed (ugh)
As of tomorrow or Tuesday, movie theaters in LA and NYC are closed. Scary stuff and I don't think we'll know the ramifications of ALL OF THIS for awhile. Stay safe out there, all.
Yesterday I realized that there is a big chance that "Bad Boys for Life" is going to be the highest grossing movie of the year, domestic and worldwide.
Still wondering if BLACK WIDOW will announce a last minute delay
Here in Puerto Rico we are in lockdown, so movie theaters are closed. I watched Netflix: Locke and Key (good to average); I Am Not OK With This (derivative but entertaining; think 80’s teen movies with a protagonist who is a lesbian superheroe learning about her powers); Dolemite Is My Name (better than expected although way too much nudity).
I’m glad I went to see “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” last week. In a theatre with hardly anyone in it.
I watched The Lord of the Rings, all 3 extended editions. I feel like it was literally the only thing I did all weekend. Lol.
I saw Beanpole and The Traitor. Needless to say, both theaters would have been packed if it hadn't been for the lockdown.
Spent the weekend at home streaming, but watched:
The Deadly Affair directed by Sidney Lumet. A mid-60s spy thriller starring the great James Mason. It's based on the first John Le Carre novel and it's definitely minor Lumet, but still fun. Simone Signoret is great in a small role - such a strong screen presence she had.
Clouds of Sils Maria directed by Olivier Assayas. Still as magical as the first time I saw it. Binoche and Stewart should've been Oscar nominated. The last act with Moretz is derivative (and she's just not very good in the film at all, sorry), but the whole film is just wonderful. When is Assayas going to have his Oscar breakthrough? His films are more accessible than Haneke and he also works with movie stars and in English sometimes!
Monos directed by Alejandro Landes. I only watched about half of this. I'll eventually finish it, but despite the gorgeous cinematography and stunning visual landscapes (plus an evocative score by Mica Levi), I found it unremittingly bleak.
Hold the Dark directed by Jeremy Saulnier. I stuck with it because it was nice to see Jeffrey Wright in a leading role. But it was incredibly violent and nihilistic, and had so many absurd plot twists. Also, I'm totally done with seeing Alexander Sarsgaard playing psychopathic menaces.
The French Lieutenant's Woman directed by Karel Reisz. Stunning. I don't know why this film isn't mentioned more as one of Meryl's best movies. Really sharp script by Harold Pinter and the chemistry between Streep and Jeremy Irons is electric. Beautiful cinematography and score too. This one really took me by surprise, and Meryl is incandescent in it. I'm confused why she herself doesn't hold this performance of hers in high regard.
Watched Contagion and Outbreak, because I am morbid. Might use the work-from-home period to catch up on movies I should've already seen
A Hidden Life didn't make it to theatres in my city. Looking forward to watching it on streaming tomorrow.
@Aaron
The Deadly Affair is such a weird little gem! I'm not sold on James Mason as George Sm—ahem, "Charles Dobbs" but Signoret in her brief screentime is magnificent. Plus, that wonderfully muted cinematography by Freddie Young.
I guess next year's best picture nominees will be:
Bad Boys For Life
Emma
The Invisible Man
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Sonic The Hedgehog
I'm afraid theaters will not be open for some time now. At least through May, is my guess. I heard a joke somewhere that this pandemic is sponsored by Netflix, which made me laugh. Good to do in these scary times. Everyone stay well and safe. xo
Catch up on Box Sets,movies you have never seen,get out a classic and see something new in it and just try to relax,stay clean and safe,xx.
Not a bad idea for us all to share our streaming activity while we're stuck without theaters! This weekend, I watched:
Maiden - I was surprised by how much I liked this. I don't normally love sports documentaries, but this had a very compelling story that took some unexpected turns. Better than a number of the Best Documentary nominees.
Joint Security Area - Tense early Park Chan-wook thriller featuring Song Kang-ho. I don't think I've seen a Korean narrative film address the North/South divide so explicitly before, and I appreciated seeing it through Park's perspective.
Lost Girls - Disappointing. I really like Liz Garbus's documentaries, but this felt flat to me, like a 1980s movie of the week. Apart from The Office, Amy Ryan always plays the same type of role.
I also rewatched Brooklyn, for comfort, and I'm rewatching The Americans, because I couldn't justify watching another series when it exists.
I am surprised that the USA has not closed cinemas yet. We are in quarantine at our homes in Spain, and situation while still relatively small numbers for what they can reach, has already shown us the apocalyptic potential of hundred thousands victims. There is no end in sight but the lockdown will probably make way shorter the back to normality or somewhat similar.
But what is sure, is that the society, the economy and entertainment will never go back to what it was 2 months ago.