Hot damn! Finally! The box office has started waking up after a long winter slumber. Not only has Avatar: The Way of Water finally been dethroned, but three new movies entered the Top Five with The Way of Water and Puss In Boots: The Last Wish being the only holdovers from last week.
The biggest new release was M. Night Shyamalan’s Knock at the Cabin, which stars Dave Bautista in an impressive lead performance as Leonard, the head of a cult that foresaw the end of the world, that takes a gay couple and their child, Wen (played by Kristen Cui) hostage, as the group believes that their very existence will lead to the apocalypse.
Nikki Amuka-Bird, Abby Quinn, and Rupert Grint (who leads Shyamalan’s Apple TV+ series Servant) co-star as Bautista’s cohorts Sabrina, Adriane, and Redmond, respectively. Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge play Wen’s fathers, Eric and Andrew.
While Knock at the Cabin has gotten mostly positive reactions overall, most feel that the movie, based on Paul G. Tremblay’s 2018 novel The Cabin at the End of the World, fell apart at the end. After all, Shyamalan’s movies pivot on the twist endings and it seems that this one’s didn’t deliver. That probably means that this pic won’t have legs over the coming weeks as most won’t be telling their friends to see it.
Knock at the Cabin earned a C CinemaScore from exiting audiences, and 56% positive from PostTrak. Its Rotten Tomatoes critical score is 68% and its certified audience score is 63%.
Ultimately, Knock at the Cabin took the #1 spot this week with $14.2 million.
Moving on, one of the groups that has been slowest in returning to the cinema post-pandemic is older women, but finally, a project has arrived that drew them back out. 80 for Brady landed at #2 by earning $12.5M.
This comedy was intended for streaming but was repositioned as a theatrical release, which seems to be a wise decision.
Actors of a certain age, Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Sally Field, and Rita Moreno star in this picture, which was based on a true story, and those performers have broad appeal (okay, seriously, no pun intended… really). 69% of the crowds that saw this were female and 47% were over the age of 55.
Bear in mind, 80 for Brady was marketed differently than Knock at the Cabin, with nearly all showings being sold at matinee prices. More people actually saw 80 for Brady than Knock at the Cabin, but because of those lower prices, it came in at #2.
Legendary quarterback Tom Brady actually produced this movie and appeared in it as himself, bringing in his real-life teammates Rob Gronkowski, Danny Amendola, and Julian Edelman, who have cameos.
Surprise! Critics don’t love this comedy. It has a weak 64% on Rotten Tomatoes, but its audience score is MUCH higher at 90%. Considering that this movie was preaching to the choir, it got an A- via CinemaScore, and 85% via PostTrak.
The Way of Water dropped to #3 with Puss in Boots at #4. This week’s other new entry is BTS: Yet to Come in Cinemas, featuring the biggest boyband in ages. Though they haven’t had a U.S. radio hit in quite a while, this cements the fact that the fanbase is still there and ready to consume anything they produce. Its RT audience score is 100%.
BTS: Yet to Come rounded out the Top Five with $9.1M over the weekend.
You can check out the Top Five below:
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- Knock at the Cabin (Universal) – 3-day $14.2M/Wk 1
- 80 for Brady (Paramount) – 3-day $12.5M/Wk 1
- Avatar: The Way of Water (Disney) – 3-day $10.8M (-32%), Total $636.4M /Wk 8
- Puss in Boots: Last Wish (Universal) – 3-day $7.95M (-24%) , Total $151.2M/Wk 7
- BTS: Yet to Come in Cinemas (Trafalgar) – 3-day $6.3M, Total $9.1M/Wk 1
Next weekend sees a couple of wild cards that can go either way. Oddly, Disney is re-releasing Titanic which would seemingly hurt their current cash cow Avatar: The Way of Water. It will be up against Magic Mike’s Last Dance which… I’m sure someone was asking for it. Right?
Will you be checking out either of those movies?
