by admin | Apr 26, 2025 | Hollywood Reporter News, News
The weekend box office is on fire, with ticket sales up more than 100 percent over the same frame last year.
The blaze is led by Warner Bros.’ Sinners, directed by Ryan Coogler and starring Michael B. Jordan. Heading into its sophomore outing, the film was expected to compete with Ben Affleck-starrer The Accountant 2 for the top spot with anywhere from $20 million to $25 million.
But the supernatural period vampire pic continues to defy all the odds and is now on course to easily stay No. 1 domestically with a phenomenal $42 million to $44 million after earning $13 million on Friday (rival studios all are betting on the higher number). Either way, Sinners — which opened to $48 million a week ago — could enjoy one of the smallest drops in history for a movie playing outside of the year-end holidays.
Graced with virtually perfect audience scores and the best reviews of filmmaker Coogler‘s already acclaimed career, Sinners has transformed into the rare title that has become a runaway water-cooler sensation. It’s expected to finish Sunday with a 10-day cume hovering around $120 million in a major victory for Warners’ movie chiefs Pamela Abdy and Michael De Luca.
Amazon MGM Studios’ new action-thriller The Accountant 2 and Disney’s 20th anniversary release of Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith are also fueling the boom (ditto for Warners’ A Minecraft Movie, which remains high up on the chart in its fourth weekend). Depending upon who you ask, the order of those three movies varies and won’t be determined until Sunday or even Monday.
The Accountant 2 is hoping for a second-place finish with a promising $23 million-$25 million after scoring strong reviews and exit scores, including an A- CinemaScore. That would be a win as Amazon MGM ramps up its theatrical ambitions (it’s now home of the James Bond franchise).
The first Accountant, released by Warners, opened to $24.7 million in 2016 on its way to grossing $155.5 million globally and becoming the most-rented digital film in 2017.
Reuniting Affleck and director Gavin O’Connor, Accountant 2 currently sports a fresh 76 percent critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to a rotten 53 percent for the first film. Consumers are far more entranced, judging by the sequel’s current 93 percent audience Rotten Tomatoes score.
Affleck produced the sequel via his and Matt Damon’s Artists Equity, alongside Lynette Howell Taylor for 51 Entertainment and Mark Williams for Zero Gravity Management. The film made its world premiere at SXSW last month, winning the audience award for the Headliners section.
Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Daniella Pineda, Allison Robertson and J.K. Simmons co-star in Accountant 2, which sees Affleck’s character compelled to step in and help solve the murder of an old acquaintance with the help of his estranged brother and a U.S. Treasury agent. Together, they uncover a deadly conspiracy, becoming targets of a ruthless network of killers who will stop at nothing to keep their secrets buried.
Revenge of the Sith is looking at a weekend haul of anywhere from $21 million to $23 million, which would be one of the top openings ever for a rerelease (one rival shows the film earning $25 million). The crownholder belongs to 1977’s Star Wars, which grossed $35.9 million when it hit theaters again in 1997, not adjusted for inflation, according to Comscore.
The Star Wars rerelease comes amid the 20th anniversary of the final of George Lucas’ prequel films. The prequels, while divisive at the time, have only grown more appreciated in recent years, with a generation of kids who grew up with them considering the films their preferred Star Wars trilogy. Star Hayden Christensen received a rock star-esque greeting last week at the Star Wars Celebration in Tokyo, while he and Sith star Ewan McGregor reprised their roles for the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi in 2022, returning their versions of the characters Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi to the zeitgeist.
In terms of more recent rereleases in the franchise, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace earned $8.7 million on its opening weekend in May 2024, while the rerelease of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi grossed $5.1 million in late April 2023.
Both Accountant 2 and Sinners are R-rated and are competing with Revenge of the Sith for male attention, although the latter has the advantage of also playing to families.
Screen Gem and Sony’s new horror offering Until Dawn looks to round out the top five with a forgettable opening in the $7 million to $8 million range.
by admin | Apr 25, 2025 | Hollywood Reporter News, News
Talk about a blast from the past.
Lucasfilm and Disney’s 20th Anniversary rerelease of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith soared to $3.4 million in Thursday previews ahead of its limited one-week engagement, enough to beat the $2.5 million earned in previews by Ben Affleck’s new action-thriller The Accountant 2 (the $2.5 million includes “tax day” screenings held April 15).
However, based on early Friday returns, the Accountant is making gains and should come in second with an opening in the $23 million to $25 million range, according to rival studio executives with access to grosses.
Not that Revenge of the Sith isn’t a force of nature. It could earn as much as $20 million to $23 million, making it one of the top openings ever for a rerelease (Disney is remaining more conservative and suggesting $20 million-plus). The crownholder belongs to 1977’s Star Wars, which grossed $35.9 million when rereleased in 1997, not adjusted for inflation, according to Comscore.
In terms of more recent rereleases in the franchise, Star Wars: The Phanom Menace earned $8.7 million on its opening weekend in May 2024, while the rerelease of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi grossed $5.1 million in late April 2023. There were no preview screenings for either of those titles. The big question is how frontloaded Sith is.
The re-release comes amid the 20th anniversary of the final of George Lucas’ prequel films. The prequels, while divisive at the time, have only grown more appreciated in recent years, with a generation of kids who grew up with them considering them their preferred Star Wars trilogy. Star Hayden Christensen received a rock star-esque greeting last week at Star Wars Celebration in Tokyo, while he and Sith star Ewan McGregor reprised their roles for the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi in 2022, returning their versions of the characters to the zeitgeist.
And then there is Warner Bros.’ Sinners. Heading into the weekend, it was expected to compete with The Accountant 2 for the top spot with anywhere from $20 million to $25 million. If early modeling is correct, it could earn as much as $40 million in its second weekend, a scant drop of 17 percent.
Projections for all three movies could change by Saturday morning, of course.
Graced with virtually perfect audience scores and the best reviews of filmmaker Ryan oogler‘s already acclaimed career, Sinners has transformed into the rare title that has become a runaway water-cooler sensation.
On Thursday, Sinners bested the competition with a sizeable $6.1 million for an impressive seven-day domestic cume of $77.5 million. The period supernatural vampire pic starring Michael B. Jordan opened to a better-than-expected $48 million over Easter weekend to topple fellow Warners’ event pic A Minecraft Movie after the former ruled the roost for two consecutive weekends.
The first Accountant, released by Warners, opened to $24.7 million in 2016 on its way to grossing $155.5 million globally and becoming the most-rented digital film in 2017, according to Amazon MGM.
Reuniting Affleck and director Gavin O’Connor, Accountant 2 currently sports a fresh 76 percent critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to a rotten 53 percent for the first film. Consumers are far more entranced, judging the by the sequel’s current 93 percent audience Rotten Tomatoes score.
Affleck produced the sequel via his and Matt Damon’s Artists Equity, alongside Lynette Howell Taylor for 51 Entertainment and Mark Williams for Zero Gravity Management. The film made its world premiere at SXSW last month, winning the audience Award for the Headliners section.
Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Daniella Pineda, Allison Robertson and J.K. Simmons co-star in Accountant 2, which sees Affleck’s character compelled to step in and help solve the murder of an old acquaintance with the help of his estranged brother and a U.S. Treasury agent. Together, they uncover a deadly conspiracy, becoming targets of a ruthless network of killers who will stop at nothing to keep their secrets buried.
Both Accountant 2 and Sinners are R-rated and will compete alongside Revenge of the Sith for male attention, although the latter has the advantage of also playing to families.
Warners’ blockbuster A Minecraft Movie is holding steady in fourth place as it approaches the $400 million mark domestically.
Screen Gem and Sony’s new horror offering Until Dawn took in $1 million in Thursday previews for a forgettable weekend opening in the $7 million range. It is likewise rated R.
April 25, 1:00 p.m.: Updated with revised weekend estimates
by admin | Apr 23, 2025 | Hollywood Reporter News, News
The box office recovery at Imax continued during the first quarter amid a record-breaking box office performance in China and a strong slate of “Filmed for Imax” titles released into theaters, including Captain America: Brave New World and Ryan Coogler’s Sinners opening strongly last weekend.
Overall revenue at the cinema technologies company came to $86.7 million, up 10 percent from a year-earlier $79.1 million. That beat a Wall Street analyst projection of Imax posting Q1 revenues at $84.23 million.
Imax posted net income at $8.2 million, up 52 percent from a year-earlier $5.4 million. The adjusted net income per share in Q1 came to 13 cents, which fell 13 percent from a per-share loss of 15 cents in the same year-ago period.
Technology Products and Services revenues, or the proceeds from the sale, lease and maintenance of Imax’s theater systems network, rose 17 percent to $51 million. During the latest quarter, Imax installed 21 theater systems, compared to 15 systems in the same period of last year.
Content Solutions revenues — or business from agreements with the major studios and filmmakers — at $34 million, was up 1 percent from a year-earlier $32.1 million, on the strength of strong box office growth worldwide. Other big screen performers for Imax include Mickey and the Interstellar re-release.
The first quarter global box office at $298 million, up 12 percent year-on-year, was lifted by a record-breaking Chinese New Year holiday, which delivered $182 million in box office in China. Here the big performer was Ne Zha 2, which earned over $164 million on Imax screens in China, which marked the company’s highest ever grossing local language animated release in that market.
During an after-market analyst call, Imax CEO Rich Gelfond said China signaling it will reduce the number of Hollywood tentpoles screening in that market to retaliate against U.S. tariffs was not expected to greatly impact his company. “We’re highly confident that the ‘moderate reduction’ in Hollywood imports announced by the China Film Administration will largely target films with limited box office potential in the market and with smaller budgets, not the kind of films that drives Imax’s business,” he argued after talks with the Hollywood studios and exhibition partners in China.
The China Film Administration, the body that handles film releases and quotas in the country, recently said it would “moderately reduce” the number of American films the country imports in response to U.S.President Donald Trump’s tariffs, and will look to increase film imports from other countries.
“So we’re not letting the noise distract us from the opportunity ahead,” Gelfond added, as Imax also looks to screen more local language movie titles in China, Japan and India. The popularity of Hollywood films in China has eroded drastically in the past several years, but top U.S. tentpoles on which Imax depends to drive its release slate can still occasionally bring in substantial revenue.
Gelfond said Hollywood studios he had spoken to reported they expect all their buzzy tentpoles with top directors and stars to get into China, including Thunderbolts set to open in that Asian market next week. “I remain very confident about China in a lot of ways. And I don’t think that the moderate film reduction will have a material impact on Imax,” he added.
“If China suffered from small films, it’s of very little concern to me,” a bullish Gelfond argued as he appeared at one point during the conference call to get frustrated with a slew of questions from analysts over his company’s prospects in China. “I’m not even being ambiguous or covering myself. I just couldn’t be clearer about this.”
Gelfond also touted an increased supply of Hollywood movies on his screens that were shot with Imax cameras. Coogler’s Sinners, shot in Imax’s premium format, bowed in its own and standard theaters last weekend and blew past industry expectations by earnings $45.6 million domestically during the Easter box office race. Other Filmed for Imax releases set for this summer include Thunderbolts, Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, How to Train Your Dragon, F1 and The Fantastic Four.
“As we open our content aperture, we continue to drive incremental box office with our growing slate of events and experiences,” Gelfond told analysts. He also weighed in on the evolving theatrical movie release windowing debate in Hollywood to help boost the recovery of North American exhibitors.
Gelfond argued endorsing exclusive windows of 30 to 45 days or longer had little or no impact on Imax, which typically plays movies on its screens for one or two week runs. “I know this is going to be controversial, but I think they (exhibitors) should really focus on the kind of content, and getting more content, which we’re trying to do with foreign language film and alternate things, and less on whether the window is 30 or 45 days,” he told analysts.
“I think way too much has been made of it. I don’t think that’s going to save the industry. I think more good content and more diversified content is much more important,” Gelfond added.
by admin | Apr 20, 2025 | Hollywood Reporter News, News
Tom Cruise’s longest-running role on the big screen is playing Ethan Hunt, a rogue spy who works for a shadowy government agency. His character has more in common with CinemaCon than might meet the eye. For decades, rival studios have used the Las Vegas convention of theater owners to see what the competition has coming down the pike. Executives and their minions aren’t barred from attending each other’s studio presentations. They slip in and out without any interference or hassle.
“It’s incredibly important,” says one veteran studio executive, who like many of his compatriots has attended the show for years. Imagine if automakers were allowed to obtain an early peek of a competitor’s line-up and even prototypes. “We are all jockeying for position,” continues the exec. “I find it very beneficial, especially as you are looking down the road. Something may come out of CinemaCon that you didn’t expect to pop, so it can help inform how you date your films.”
To get the goods, check out this one rival report on Sony’s session, which kicked off this year’s convention. “Everyone loved the Karate Kid: Legends stage performance and The Beatles, which introduced Paul Mescal, Joseph Quinn, Barry Keoghan, and Harris Dickinson as the Fab Four. However, the presentation felt a bit disjointed at times.” One person who wasn’t in anyway disjointed was Sony movie chief Tom Rothman, who prompted applause when bringing Sam Mendes on stage and revealing the cast of four separate movies on each of the Beatles. He and Mendes then went on to reveal that the movies will hit theaters in April 2028.
If anything, this year there was more sleuthing to do, thanks to the return of Sony and the debut of Amazon MGM Studios on stage inside the cavernous Colosseum Theater at Caesars Palace where the presentations take place before armies of exhibitors from around the world. (The Colosseum seats more than 4,100.)
When compiling dossiers, studios are known to include exhibitor reactions, including this one, “Pretty good! Tom Rothman was wild and might be attempting a second career as a comedian,” wrote one cinema operator regarding Sony, which was the first studio to present during CinemaCon, which ran March 31-April 4.
Competitors also want to see how their counterparts come off on stage, as underscored by this overall summary from a rival studio regarding Universal: “Unlike Warner Brothers, executives didn’t linger long on stage, instead they allowed the talent to shine. The clear standouts of Universal’s afternoon in terms of audience reaction were: Jurassic World Rebirth, Shrek 5 and Wicked: For Good.”
Speaking of Warners, Brad Pitt-starrer F1, from Apple Original Films, was among the darlings of CinemaCon during the WB session. “It stood out as the highlight of the presentation, and people were wowed,” read one memo. The audience was treated to 10 minutes of footage of the film, which is directed by Top Gun: Maverick’s Joseph Kosinski and Jerry Bruckheimer, both of whom were on hand.
Warners’ other high-profile summer tentpole is James Gunn’s highly anticipated Superman, the first movie greenlit by Gunn and Peter Safran since they were put in charge of DC Studios. Despite many exhibitors feeling uncertain about Superman headed into CinemaCon, several were won over, though some remain wary. Many exhibitors were also annoyed by how long Safran and Gunn questioned Superman actor David Corenswet, co-star Rachel Brosnahan, who plays Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult, who stars as Lex Luther on stage. “Superman would have looked better without 25 minutes of talk,” one exhibitor told a rival. “New Line’s Final Destination: Bloodlines was a surprise standout and got one of the biggest reactions out of the crowd,” wrote one studio in its CinemaCon wrap of Warners’ presentation.
This year, there was a new studio to add to the list of those to spy on: Amazon MGM Studios, which made its CinemaCon debut. One Amazon MGM title that is now on everyone’s radar after seeing footage is Project Hail Mary, a space epic based on Peter Weir’s bestseller starring Ryan Gosling and directed by dynamic duo Christopher Miller and Phil Lord. Described as a true cinematic spectacle, Gosling’s character is asked to go on a solo space mission to save the sun and other dying stars. The film is set to premiere March 20, 2026, and the crowd’s reaction made it clear — “they loved it,” wrote one Amazon MGM rival. Another rival noted that while Amazon MGM’s first CinemaCon presentation was full of star power, it likewise felt a bit disjointed. “It was nice, but they have to do something to connect their movies to the theatrical experience. They are trying but something lacks, like their presentation,” said one exhibitor.
Paramount — the king of stunts at CinemaCon — was bolstered this year by Cruise appearing in person. He was more on the somber side as he paid tribute to his late Top Gun: Maverick co-star Val Kilmer before giving top CinemaCon honors to his Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning director Christopher McQuarrie. Virtually every rival stdio only had positive things to say about Cruise.
Rivals may be grumbling, but Universal and Disney got the highest marks from rivals.
As summed up by one studio, “Reactions were out of this world for Disney. The titles that stood out the most with positive audience reactions were Lilo & Stitch, Zootopia 2, Thunderbolts*, and Avatar: Fire and Ash. Surprisingly, The Roses … had the most laughs, cheers, and claps. The audience was ablaze to see multiple scenes of Avatar: Fire and Ash (in 3D), showcasing the visual spectacle that it is. Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan of Freakier Friday were the fan favorites.” That doesn’t mean every Disney title was admired. Elio is questionable, according to another rival. At the same time, “Fantastic Four looked good, and I am sure Avatar will deliver.”
Adds another executive of the dueling dossiers at CinemaCon, “It’s a weird thing, right, that they let in the competitors? We’re not the customers.”
A version of this story first appeared in the April 16 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
by admin | Apr 19, 2025 | Hollywood Reporter News, News
Ryan Googler’s highly anticipated new movie Sinners, starring Michael B. Jordan, is finding redemption at the Easter weekend box office. Ditto for Warner Bros.
The critical — and audience darling — topped Friday’s chart with $19.2 million from 3,308 theaters, including Imax screens. That put the supernatural period vampire pic ahead of fellow Warner’ release A Minecraft Movie, although the latter is expected to pull ahead of Sinners sometime on Saturday.
Based on Friday numbers, Minecraft is expected to stay atop the chart for its third consecutive weekend with $45 million from 4,032 locations as it nears the $350 million mark domestically and approaches $700 million globally.
Sinners is pacing to earn $40 million to $42 million, a strong start for an R-rated, original genre pic. Including early overseas grosses, its global total through Friday was north $26 million.
All eyes are on how Coogler’s Sinners performs, since the $90 million movie was made entirely by Warner Bros. movie chiefs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy from start to finish. If Sinners continues to impress, the duo can now boast two wins in a row after several high-profile misses that reportedly made Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav unhappy, even if some of those misses were inherited projects.
Sinners boasts the best Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score of Coogler’s career at 97 percent. It was also graced with an impressive A CinemaScore from audiences and perfect scores on PostTrak. The male-skewing movie is playing to an ethnically diverse audience, with Black moviegoers making up nearly half of all ticket buyers so far. White moviegoers made up 27 percent, followed by Latinos (14 percent), Asians (6 percent) and Native American/Other (4 percent), according to PostTrak.
A period pic, the 1932-set Sinners stars Jordan in dual roles as identical twin entrepreneurs known as Smoke and Stack. Having survived the World War I trenches and Chicago gangland, the brothers return after seven years to their segregated Mississippi Delta hometown, Clarksdale. They are flush with cash and have a truckload of liquor and a plan to open a juke joint. However, they encounter unexpected horrors.
“Sinners is the gifted writer-director’s first entirely original feature, not based on real-life events or existing IP, and he packs it with enough thematic layers and genre fluidity to fuel at least three movies,” writes David Rooney in The Hollywood Reporter‘s review.
Coogler burst onto the scene with the indie hit Fruitvale Station before going on to direct Creed and the Black Panther franchise (the latter two both starred Jordan). Sinners cost $90 million to make before marketing, a relatively hefty price tag for a genre movie (Creed‘s budget was $50 million).
Elsewhere, Angel Studios‘ Easter-themed The King of Kings is perched in third place. The animated pic about the life of Jesus is expected to earn $17 million to $18 million in its second weekend for a narrow drop of 12 percen or so after adding 335 theaters to its count. The film, now playing in a total of 3,535 theaters, boasts a coveted A+ CinemaScore and is playing best in middle America and the south.
Disney and 20th Century’s Rami Malek spy drama The Amateur is holding in fourth place with an expected second-weekend gross of $7 million to $8 million from 3,400 theaters.
A24’s gritty U.S. Navy Seal drama Warfare will round out the top five with an estimated $4.8 million to $5 million from 2,670 sites (in honor of Easter weekend, A24 is discounting ticket prices for military members.) The Iraqi war pic was co-directed by Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza, a former SEAL.
by admin | Apr 18, 2025 | Hollywood Reporter News, News
In times of financial upheaval, the thinking goes, movie theaters weather the storm as the cheapest form of live entertainment stretching back nearly a century to the Great Depression. People may be putting the brakes on exotic vacations, pricey sporting events or concerts, but a trip to see a film costs far less than other out-of-the-house offerings. “The staycation effect has proved itself over the years” says Wall Street analyst Eric Handler of Roth MKM.
Look no further than the astounding performance of A Minecraft Movie, which opened over the April 4-6 weekend to an astounding $162 million — $100 million ahead of projections — after the markets suffered their worst two-day loss in history as $4 trillion vanished amid the crisis over the Trump administration’s see-sawing tariff’s policies. An anomaly? Apparently not. In its second weekend — after another week of dire economic news and volatility, along with Trump hitting the pause button on tariffs — the pic grossed a huge $78.5 million over the April 11-13 frame in North America. Also worthy of note: year-to-date domestic revenue caught up with 2024 for the first time in months as Minecraft heads for the $1 billion mark globally.
However, others worry that the landscape has changed dramatically since COVID-19, which coincided with the rise of premium video-on-demand and streaming. Some Hollywood executives insist that as much as 15 percent of regular moviegoers have not returned to their old habits. Tentpoles and event pics such as Minecraft might work, but what about midrange movies and original properties?
At CinemaCon in April, Sony Pictures movie chief Tom Rothman and other top studio execs declared that rising ticket prices and shrinking windows are endangering theatrical. “Cost and windows can work for us or against us. Theaters can be smart about both, and Sony will work with you on both,” he added. “If theaters and studios manage for the long term and do the right thing, the future will be grand.”
Sony shared a study showing that one in three Americans now believe they can see a movie in the home within a month of its release even though many studios wait until 40 or 45 days before making a title available on premium video on-demand (Disney adheres to 60 days). The cost of a rental title PVOD title can be $20 to $30.
Of further concern is the growing reliance on premium offerings, such as Imax, which are driving more of a film’s bottom line. In cities such as Los Angeles and New York, it can cost upwards of $25 to see a title in a premium format. Depending upon whom you ask, the average movie ticket price for a general seat ranged from $11 to $13 in 2024. According to the newly branded Cinema United, the largest trade organization for theater owners, the average adult ticket price in 2024 was $11.51.
Steve Buck’s research firm EntTelligence puts the average price of a general seat at $13.82 in the first quarter of this year, compared with $13.02 in Q1 of 2024. Then there are premium screens. The average Imax adult seat jumped from $18.31 in the first quarter of 2024 to $19.51 in Q1 this year. Splitting the difference between a general seat and a premium seat, the average ticket for a standard seat rose from $12.14 in 2024 to $12.93 in Q1 of 2025.
For Minecraft, the cost of a general seat shot up to $15.15, according to EntTelligence. For those who believe moviegoing will persevere during the current economic downturn, it’s further proof that the box office could actually see a boost.
Notes Comscore chief box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian, “that the movie theater comeback — after a dismal month of March — should come at a time when global financial news is dominating the headlines should come as no surprise since people looking for an escape that doesn’t break the bank have historically gone to the movies.”
According to Handler, the domestic box office saw a revenue increase in seven out of the past eight recessions, including double-digit growth in three of those periods. On average, revenue rose 7.3 percent during the last eight economic contractions. And in 2009, domestic box office revenue cleared $10 billion for the first time.
The staycation effect will be crucial to the success of the 2025 summer box office, which kicks off May 2 with Marvel’s Thunderbolts*. Memorial Day could be a monster. That’s when Disney’s live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch and Paramount’s Mission: Impossible — A Final Reckoning debut. Other marquee summer tentpoles include Universal’s Jurassic World reboot and live-action update How to Train Your Dragon.
A version of this story first appeared in the April 16 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
