Being simultaneously released on HBO Max didn’t hurt the theatrical performance of Space Jam: A New Legacy. Taking in $31.65 million, this film had Warner Brothers’ best opening post-pandemic, squeaking by Godzilla Vs. Kong which made $31.62M in its opening weekend. This also marks a career-best opening for director Malcolm D. Lee, whose previous high-mark was Girls Trip which opened to $31.2M in 2017.
Warner Bros. domestic theatrical distribution chief Jeff Goldstein stated:
“It’s the family movie of the summer, and it’s exciting to see audiences come back in big numbers.”
The HBO Max release probably impacted Space Jam: A New Legacy harder than Disney’s release of Black Widow, as that film is a Premiere Access title, requiring subscribers to pay an extra $30. Space Jam is free to HBO Max subscribers for one month, then it will be pulled and only be accessible in theaters until its eventual home video release. On the other hand, Disney+ subscribers that do pay the $30 for Black Widow have unlimited access to it for the duration of their subscription.
Due to the difference between these two release plans, there is some question as to whether Space Jam will make over $100M in theaters.
As for Black Widow, going into the weekend, some were predicting it would remain in the #1 spot and hold off Space Jam. However, unfortunately, the Scarlett Johansson-starring solo pic saw the biggest drop from its first weekend to second for any Marvel movie. Black Widow fell 67% down to $26.25M down from $80.3M.
Once again, this could be because it was released as a Disney+ Premiere Access title. Or it could be from the less-than-gushing audience reactions. Bear in mind, at least in my opinion, Black Widow isn’t a BAD film. It just wasn’t the across-the-board crowd-pleaser that other Marvel movies have been.
But, not everything lives up to Avengers: Endgame standards. F9 also experienced a 67% drop in its sophomore weekend and that wasn’t available to stream on any platform.
Disney has announced that only one more title will be released day-and-date as Premiere Access– Jungle Cruise. BUT considering that audiences simply are not rushing back to theaters in full force may foretell that a few more flicks may also see this release at least for the remainder of this year.
Here’s the Top Five:
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Paramount Space Jam: A New Legacy (Warner Bros.) $31.65M
- Black Widow (Disney) $26.25M
- Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (Sony) $8.8M
- F9 (Universal) $7.6M
- Boss Baby: Family Business (Universal) $4.7M
The potentially biggest movie opening next weekend is Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins. But the G.I. Joe franchise hasn’t really done well at the box office, even with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in one of them. And this new pic features a race-swap for the uber-popular lead character, which may turn some viewers off. Also opening is M. Night Shyamalan’s newest thriller, Old.
Will you be headed to the multiplex next weekend? If so, what will you be checking out?
