The U.S. Box-Office is Plummeting

I haven’t posted any box-office numbers or thoughts since I left for Cannes nearly three weeks ago. A lot has happened since, but nothing too positive for the future of theatrical.

Lebron James’ “Space jam: A New Legacy” and M. Night Shyamalan’s “Old,” both opened to subpar numbers and now we have the $200 million “Jungle Cruise,” starring The Rock and Emily Blunt, opening to a paltry $32 million this weekend.

“Jungle Cruise” also picked up $27 million abroad. It is available on Disney’s Premiere Access for $30. Chances of it breaking even are slim at this point. Then again, whose idea was it to make a movie based on the Disneyland Jungle Cruise ride?

Total box-office intake this weekend was a paltry $77 million, and this represents a 53 percent decline during this same time in 2019 date. As it stands, the top-grossing movies of the year at the U.S. box-office look something like this:

F9: The Fast Saga ($168 million)
Black Widow ($167 million)
A Quiet Place Part II ($158 million)
Cruella ($85 million)
Space Jam: A New Legacy ($60 million)
Raya and the Last Dragon ($58 million)
The Boss Baby: Family Business ($53 million)
The Forever Purge ($42 million)
The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard ($37 million)
Jungle Cruise ($34 million)

The industry is in shambles. The number of COVID cases rising by the day. Another lockdown, with a reclosure of theaters nationwide, could be the final death nail in the coffin of theatrical moviegoing. Pre-pandemic, there was already the notion that people were going to the movies mostly for the big event titles, such as the Fast and Furious franchise, Marvel movies, Pixar, brainless sequels etc. but It appears that now, even more so than before, original films are going extinct.

One of the only movies for adults being released this summer is Tom McCarthy’s “Stillwater,” which had a three-day total of $5.1 million this weekend. Most adults that I know, who aren’t critics, tend to stay at home now and turn on their Netflix or Amazon Prime for content. Movie theatres may have lost the that 35 and over demographic for good, especially with the pandemic not ending anytime soon and many skeptical to return in theatres.

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