US Cinema Attendance Lowest Since WWII This Weekend
After a tumultuous summer for the US film industry, and with the huge Chinese release Wolf Warrior 2 illustrating the ever-growing threat of China to America’s dominance at the worldwide box office, studios mustn’t have been happy to receive their latest piece of bad news: less people visited movie theaters this weekend than the weekend following 9/11. Ouch.
The weekend figures have marked the time period of August 25th-27th 2017 as the worst in the 21st century, with the North American box office taking $65million total, a figure that equates to around 7 million ticket sales.
The Top Ten
1. The Hitman’s Bodyguard (Lionsgate) Week 2; Last weekend #1
$10,050,000 (-53%) in 3,377 theaters (no change); PTA (per theater average): $2,976; Cumulative: $39,614,000
2. Annabelle: Creation (Warner Bros.) Week 3; Last weekend #2
$7,350,000 (-%) in 3,565 theaters (+23); PTA: $2,062; Cumulative: $77,880,000
3. Leap! (Weinstein) NEW – Cinemascore: A; Metacritic: 49; Est. budget: $30 million
$5,016,000 in 2,575 theaters; PTA: $2,575; Cumulative: $5,016,000
4. Wind River (Weinstein) Week 4; Last weekend #10
$4,411,000 (+48%) in 2,905 theaters (+1,401); PTA: $2,105; Cumulative: $9,841,000
5. Logan Lucky (Bleecker Street) Week 2; Last weekend #3
$4,367,000 (-42%) in 3,031 theaters (no change); PTA: $1,441; Cumulative: $15,034,000
6. Dunkirk (Warner Bros.) Week; Last weekend #4
$3,950,000 (-40%) in 2,774 theaters (-497); PTA: $1,424; Cumulative: $172,479,000
7. Spider-Man: Homecoming (Sony) Week 8; Last weekend #7
$2,725,000 (-36%) in 2,122 theaters (-219); PTA: $1,284; Cumulative: $318,843,000
8. Birth of the Dragon (BH Tilt) NEW – Cinemascore: B; Metacritic: 37; Est. budget: (unknown)
$2,501,000 in 1,618 theaters; PTA: $1,546; Cumulative: $2,501,000
9. The Emoji Movie (Sony) Week 5; Last weekend #6
$2,350,000 (-47%) in 2,374 theaters (-417); PTA: $990; Cumulative: $76,432,000
10. Girls Trip (Universal) Week 6; Last weekend #8
$2,267,000 (-42%) in 1,777 theaters (-233); PTA: $1,276; Cumulative: $108,072,000
Stats: indiewire
Regular seasonal factors such as extreme weather conditions, the start of the high school football season and the big pay per view fight were clear factors in this weekend’s disastrous return, though the industry has stood up to that test throughout history until this point. And it gets worse…
With no new releases expected to challenge current number 1 movie The Hitman’s Bodyguard next weekend, industry professionals have predicted a further fall in box office figures (attendance and takings) for what will be the September 1st-3rd period. This would tank figures below what is already the worst attendance number since World War II.
Lacklustre showings in the region by ordinarily trusted franchises – Pirates; Transformers; The Mummy; to name just a few – seemingly offered the industry strong indicators as to the potential of massive failure at the box office this summer, but few could’ve foreseen this weekend’s monumentally low turnout. With films slated years ahead of release, it was an impossibility for any of the studios to battle this lull with a fresh and more financially viable release too, ending thoughts of a quick fix to this seemingly worsening situation.
Stick with us for more updates on this developing story through the coming days and weeks.