Nothing says summer like an R-rated Guy Ritchie/Jason Statham action flick, right? Well, that’s where we are in the first week of May, a weekend typically boasting films such as Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2, J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, Mission: Impossible III, Kingdom of Heaven, and Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, among many others.
This year, to kick off the summer movie season, we have Wrath of Man, a, by all accounts, entertaining actioner in the vein of The Gentleman, Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, but a far cry from the large-scale blockbuster release we’ve come to expect at this time of year.
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As such, Wrath of Man pulled in $8M from 2,875 theaters over the Mother’s Day holiday, enough to land it atop Demon Slayer ($3.05M in Week 3, $39.6M total) and Mortal Kombat ($2.375M in Week 3, $37.8M total) and claim the No. 1 spot on the domestic box office Top 10, per Deadline.
Audiences clearly dug Ritchie’s latest flick, giving it an A- Cinemascore, compared to the B+ awarded to The Gentleman, which bodes well for its long-term box office prospects, though upcoming weekends present stiffer competition overall.
Next week, for example, sees the theatrical release of the long-delayed Spiral: From the Book of Saw, starring Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson, the theatrical/HBO Max release of the Angelina Jolie thriller Those Who Wish Me Dead, and the Netflix release of The Woman in the Window starring Amy Adams and Gary Oldman.
Shortly thereafter, Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead hits Netflix and in limited theaters on May 21, followed by A Quiet Place Part II and Disney’s Cruella on May 28.
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In other words, things are reverting back to normalcy, though it may be a long while before the box office returns anything resembling the astronomical opening-weekend grosses hauled in by films like Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War. However, at least this year will give us more than last year’s paltry May lineup, which was dominated by IFC Films’ horror film The Wretched. Yikes!
BOX OFFICE TOP 10
1.) Wrath of Man (UAR) 2,875 theaters/Fri $3M/Sat $3M/Sun $2.1M, 3-day: $8M/Wk 1
2.) Demon Slayer (Fun/Ani) 2,088 theaters (+183)/Fri $851K/Sat $1.26M/Sun $942,5K, 3-day: $3.05M (-52%); Total: $39.6M/Wk 3
3.) Mortal Kombat (New Line/WB), 2,973 locations (-141) /Fri, $700K, 3-day: $2.375M (-62%); Total: $37.8M/Wk 3
4.) Godzilla vs. Kong (WB/Leg) 2,705 theaters (-48),/ Fri $505K, 3-day: $1.93M (-32%); Total: $92.96M/Wk 6
5.) Raya and the Last Dragon (Dis) 2,315 theaters (+505), Fri $420K/Sat $775K/Sun $670k 3-day: $1.865M (+35%); Total: $43.8M/Wk 10
6.) Separation (OR) 1,911 theaters (+160), Fri $315K, Sat $450K, Sun $310K, 3-day: $1.075M (-40%); Total: $3.37M/Wk 2
7.) Here Today (Sony) 1,200 theaters, Fri $257K/Sat $366K/Sun $277K, 3-day: $900K/Wk 1
8.) Nobody (Uni) 1,931 theaters (-125) Fri $220K/Sat $330K/Sun $210K, 3-day: $760K (-41%); Total: $24.6M/Wk 7
9.) The Unholy (Sony) 1,390 theaters (-148) /Fri $220K/Sat $315K/Sun $195K/$730K (-31%); Total: $14.1M/Wk 6
10.) Tom & Jerry (WB) 1,831 theaters (+30), 3-day: $426K (-20%); Total: $44.7M/Wk 11
