Box Office: ‘Old’ Drops 70% On Friday While ‘Snake Eyes’ Plunges 79%

In holdover news for Friday, M. Night Shyamalan’s Old earned $2.09 million (-70%) for a likely $6.67 million (-60%) weekend and $30.523 million ten-day cume. That’s right between the 65% drop for The Happening (from a $30 million launch in summer 2008) and the 55% drop for The Visit (from a $25 million debut in late 2015). As such, we may see a domestic finish between $38 million and $45 million, an okay but not superlative finish for Shyamalan’s $18 million, self-financed chiller. Yes, it took a Covid-specific hit, but it’s still likely that this star-free “folks go to a beach that makes them age a lifetime in a day” horror flick might have ended up with grosses far closer to The Visit ($65 million domestic) than Split ($137 million domestic).

Walt Disney’s Black Widow, which even Scarlett Johansson seems to think was a box office bomb, earned another $1.934 million (-46%) on Friday number four, setting the stage for a $5.8 million (-50%) weekend and $166.5 million 24-day total. It’ll end the weekend still $2 million behind F9, but the MCU flick should finally catch up domestically sometime next week to be, by default, the year’s biggest domestic earner. Yes, this is a disappointment by MCU standards. It’s probably going to be Marvel’s third-lowest-grossing flick save behind Captain America: The First Avenger ($376 million cume in 2011) and The Incredible Hulk ($267 million gross in 2008).

Warner Bros.’ Space Jam: A New Legacy earned $1.305 million (-57%) as it lost 501 theaters in weekend three. We can expect a $4.11 million (-57%) weekend and $60.584 million 17-day domestic total for the $150 million LeBron James/Bugs Bunny sequel. Likewise, Paramount’s Snake Eyes earned $1.16 million (-79%) on its second Friday for a likely $3.7 million (-72%) weekend gross and miserable $22 million ten-day cume. Both of these films would have been commercial long shots even in non-Covid times. Likewise, The Suicide Squad (rave reviews aside) was also a coin toss due to the mixed/poor reception of the first film. Blame, if need be, the five-year gap between installments and the lack of Will Smith as a lead and much-hyped cameos from Jared Leto’s Joker and Ben Affleck’s Batman, all of which helped make Suicide Squad a smash.

F9 sped onto PVOD yesterday following the promised 31-day theatrical window for any Universal flick opening above $50 million. F9 earned $740,000 (-46%) for a likely $2.59 million (-46%) sixth-weekend gross. That’ll give it a $168.5 million 38-day total. The flick should have around $635 million worldwide, including $216 million in China, making it the year’s third-biggest grosser behind only China’s Detective Chinatown 3 ($685 million) and China’s Hi, Mom ($825 million). Sony’s Escape Room: Tournament of Champions earned $630,000 (-42%) on Friday for a likely $2.01 million (-42%) third-weekend gross and $20.4 million 17-day total. Boss Baby: Family Business will gross $1.32 million (-54%) in weekend five for a $53.5 million total as The Forever Purge will earn $1.1 million (-54%) for a $42.68 million 31-day cume.

Paramount’s A Quiet Place part II will gross $500,000 (-59%) in weekend ten for a $158.7 million domestic cume. It won’t reach the $188 million total of A Quiet Place, but it’ll come a lot closer than most of us were expecting, even with a shortened 45-day theatrical window. F9 and A Quiet Place part II show that shortened windows don’t yet dramatically affect the domestic cumes. For that matter, Emma Stone’s Cruella will have $85.3 million tomorrow from a $26.5 million Fri-Mon Memorial Day weekend debut despite being concurrently available on Disney+ “Premier Access” and eventually ordinary PVOD over the last two months. While Disney+ surely cost it money, we weren’t otherwise looking at a $150 million grosser. Roadrunner will have $4.56 million after day 17, while Pig will have $2.65 million after 17 days.