2023 At The Box Office (1 Viewer)

[Chuck Mayer]

That "not opening in China" is a pretty big deal. Avatar is making pretty mad money there, so that is a pretty huge leg up. Nonetheless, if/when Avatar climbs up to #4 on the list, that'll be an unbelievable feat for Big Jim. It'll be interesting to see how Avatar 3 does, since it could be argued that the 13 year gap HELPED the BO for Way of Water. I don't think that is the case, but 2024 will tell the tale.

 

[TravisR]

It'll be interesting to see how Avatar 3 does...

I'm obviously just guessing but I think that Avatar 3 will do quite well but it won't make more than A2. Needless to say, that would be the negative spin that the media and internet whiners are always looking for. "Oh sure, Avatar 3 made $1.9 billion but Avatar 2 made $2 billion. They probably won't even make another one now."

 

[Joe Wong]

I'm obviously just guessing but I think that Avatar 3 will do quite well but it won't make more than A2. Needless to say, that would be the negative spin that the media and internet whiners are always looking for. "Oh sure, Avatar 3 made $1.9 billion but Avatar 2 made $2 billion. They probably won't even make another one now."

If 3, 4 and 5 can make 1.5-1.8 billion each, I'd take it! That's some pretty good profit given that fixed cost items have already been paid for.

 

[TravisR]

If 3, 4 and 5 can make 1.5-1.8 billion each, I'd take it! That's some pretty good profit given that fixed cost items have already been paid for.

The cost of the third one is basically fixed but now that Cameron has another couple of massive hits under his belt, he'll probably demand a bazillion dollars for parts 4 and 5.

 

[Tino]

‘Avatar 2’ & More Putting Year’s Running Box Office Over Half Billion- Saturday Update​

By Anthony D'Alessandro
January 21, 2023 8:08am

'Avatar: The Way of Water'Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
SATURDAY AM UPDATE: Thank to the legs on Christmas holdovers Avatar: The Way of Water and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and M3GAN running to $72.6M, the 2023 box office is surging to an estimated $512M for the Jan. 1-Jan. 22 period, +38% over last year, which was at $370M per box office sources.
Avatar 2 is eyeing a sixth weekend between $17M-$20M, which could get it to become the 7th- best sixth frame ever (a detailed record which the first Avatar holds at $34.9M). A year ago at this time, it was Spider-Man: No Way Home, which was leading the chart in its sixth weekend with a take of $14M. On the high end, the 20th Century Studios/Disney/Lightstorm title gets to $598.3M by Sunday. Friday was $4.6M, -34%.

1.) Avatar 2 (Dis) 3,790 (-255) theaters Fri $4.6M (-34%) 3-day $17M-$20MM (-39%), Total $598.3M (on the high end)/Wk 6

2.) Puss in in Boots 2 (Uni) 3,611 (-76) theaters Fri $2.75M (-10%) 3-day $12.4M (-14%)/Total $127.3M/Wk 5

3.) M3GAN (Uni) 3,628 (+23) theaters Fri $2.6M (-46%)3-day $9.1M (-50%) Total $72.6M /Wk 3

4.) A Man Called Otto (Sony) 3,802 theaters, Fri $2.6M (-35%)3-day $9M (-30%)/Total $35.3M/Wk 4

5.) Missing (Sony) 3.025 theaters, Fri $3.4M, 3-day $8.5M/Wk 1

6.) Plane (LG) 3,060 theaters (+37%), Fri $1.56M (-56%) 3-day $5.3M (-50%), Total $19.5M/Wk 2

7.) House Party (NL) 1,400 theaters, Fri $520K (-63%) 3-day $1.75M (-51%), Total $7.1M/Wk 2

8.) That Time I Got…(Crunchyroll), 1,468 theaters, Fri $697,7K, 3-day $1.4M/Wk 1

9.) Wakanda Forever (Dis) 1,525 (-385) theaters Fri $335K (-36%) 3-day $1.36M (-45%), Total $451.8M/ Wk 11

10) The Whale (A24) 1,591 (+91) theaters Fri $360,9K (-14%)3 day $1.23M (-18%) Total $13.1M/Wk 7

‘Avatar 2’ & More Putting Year’s Running Box Office Over Half Billion- Saturday Update

SATURDAY AM UPDATE: Thank to the legs on Christmas holdovers Avatar: The Way of Water and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and M3GAN running to $72.6M, the 2023 box office is surging to an estimated $5…

deadline.com

 

[Tino]

‘Avatar 2’ & More Putting Year’s Running Box Office Over Half Billion- Sunday Update​

SUNDAY AM WRITETHRU after Saturday AM update:Thank to the legs on Christmas holdovers Avatar: The Way of Water and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and M3GAN running to $73.2M, the 2023 box office is surging to an estimated $514.7M for the Jan. 1-Jan. 22 period, +39% over last year, which was at $370M per box office sources.

Avatar 2 landed a sixth weekend of $19.7M, which could get it to become the 7th- best sixth frame ever (a detailed record which the first Avatar holds at $34.9M). A year ago at this time, it was Spider-Man: No Way Home, which was leading the chart in its sixth weekend with a take of $14M. On the high end, the 20th Century Studios/Disney/Lightstorm title gets to $597.9M today. Friday was $4.6M, -34%.

Chart is still updating with Sunday numbers

1.) Avatar 2 (Dis) 3,790 (-255) theaters Fri $4.6M (-34%) 3-day $19.7M (%), Total $597.9M /Wk 6

2.) Puss in in Boots 2 (Uni) 3,611 (-76) theaters Fri $2.75M (-10%) Sat $5.4M Sun $3.2M 3-day $11.5M (-21%)/Total $126.4M/Wk 5

3.) M3GAN (Uni) 3,628 (+23) theaters Fri $2.6M (-46%)3-day $9.1M (-50%) Total $72.6M /Wk 3

4.) Missing (Sony) 3.025 theaters, Fri $3.4M, Sat $3.6M Sun $2.1M 3-day $9.3M/Wk 1

5.) A Man Called Otto (Sony) 3,802 theaters, Fri $2.7M (-35%), Sat $3.8M Sun $2.4M, 3-day $9M (-30%)/Total $35.3M/Wk 4

6.) Plane (LG) 3,060 theaters (+37%), Fri $1.56M (-56%) 3-day $5.3M (-50%), Total $19.5M/Wk 2

7.) House Party (NL) 1,400 theaters, Fri $520K (-63%) 3-day $1.75M (-51%), Total $7.1M/Wk 2

8.) That Time I Got…(Crunchyroll), 1,468 theaters, Fri $697,7K, Sat $507,5K Sun $250K 3-day $1.459M/Wk 1

9.) Wakanda Forever (Dis) 1,525 (-385) theaters Fri $335K (-36%) 3-day $1.36M (-45%), Total $451.8M/ Wk 11

10) The Whale (A24) 1,591 (+91) theaters Fri $360,9K (-14%)3 day $1.23M (-18%) Total $13.1M/Wk 7

 

[Tino]

‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’ Swims Past $2B Worldwide; Chinese New Year Kicks Off & ‘Puss 2’ Nears $300M Global – International Box Office​

By Nancy Tartaglione
January 22, 2023 8:13am

Tuk, voiced by Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, takes a swim in 'Avatar: The Way of Water'Disney/Everett Collection
Refresh for latest…: It’s now official, James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water has become the sixth movie ever to cross the $2B mark worldwide. It is also the filmmaker’s third to hit the milestone, alongside Titanicand the original Avatar.
The mega-achievement was presaged ahead of the weekend with the global gross on the 20th Century Studios/Disney sequel now $2.024B through Sunday. That includes $1.426B from overseas turnstiles. This means that offshore, Way of Water has become the No. 4 title of all time, jumping past Avengers: Infinity Warand behind only Avatar, Avengers: Endgame and Titanic. This gives Cameron bragging rights to three of the top four movies ever at the international box office.

‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’ Swims Past $2B Worldwide; Chinese New Year Kicks Off & ‘Puss 2’ Nears $300M Global – International Box Office

Refresh for latest…: It’s now official, James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water has become the sixth movie ever to cross the $2B mark worldwide. It is also the filmmaker’s third to hit the milesto…

deadline.com

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

The 35 Most Anticipated Movies of 2023

My most anticipated movies from that list, from most anticipated to least anticipated:

1. The Marvels
   "Ms. Marvel" and "WandaVision" were my two favorite Disney+ MCU series, so I can't wait to see what cosmic adventures they get up to alongside Captain Marvel, who is basically the MCU's Superman.
2. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
   The first Spider-Verse movie changed the game for feature animation, so I'm really excited to see what they come up with for the follow-up. The only reason this isn't first is because the first teaser didn't really impress me that much.
3. Creed III
   The first entry in the Rocky franchise without the involvement of its creator, Sylvester Stallone, I'm interested to see how Adonis stands on his own without his mentor to guide him.
4. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
   As @Josh Steinberg said, it's Indiana Jones. And I think James Mangold was an inspired choice to take over the reins.
5. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
   The long-delayed final chapter of James Gunn's Guardians trilogy probably won't be the last Guardians of the Galaxy movie, but it will be the last one with this line-up and with Gunn behind the camera. I'm curious to see how he wraps things up.
6. Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
   The start of Phase 5, and the first MCU movie to grapple with the consequences of the Blip in a really personal way. I just hope Kang is more impactful here than he was in "Loki".
7. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
   I thought Francis Lawrence did a great job with the Hunger Games sequels, and I really liked the novel this prequel is adapting.
8. Dune: Part Two
   Part one was great. I'm glad we're getting the novel adapted in its entirety.

 

[Joe Wong]

My most anticipated movies from that list, from most anticipated to least anticipated:

1. The Marvels
   "Ms. Marvel" and "WandaVision" were my two favorite Disney+ MCU series, so I can't wait to see what cosmic adventures they get up to alongside Captain Marvel, who is basically the MCU's Superman.
2. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
   The first Spider-Verse movie changed the game for feature animation, so I'm really excited to see what they come up with for the follow-up. The only reason this isn't first is because the first teaser didn't really impress me that much.
3. Creed III
   The first entry in the Rocky franchise without the involvement of its creator, Sylvester Stallone, I'm interested to see how Adonis stands on his own without his mentor to guide him.
4. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
   As @Josh Steinberg said, it's Indiana Jones. And I think James Mangold was an inspired choice to take over the reins.
5. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
   The long-delayed final chapter of James Gunn's Guardians trilogy probably won't be the last Guardians of the Galaxy movie, but it will be the last one with this line-up and with Gunn behind the camera. I'm curious to see how he wraps things up.
6. Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
   The start of Phase 5, and the first MCU movie to grapple with the consequences of the Blip in a really personal way. I just hope Kang is more impactful here than he was in "Loki".
7. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
   I thought Francis Lawrence did a great job with the Hunger Games sequels, and I really liked the novel this prequel is adapting.
8. Dune: Part Two
   Part one was great. I'm glad we're getting the novel adapted in its entirety.

I haven't seen the Creed series and I wasn't a fan of Mockingjay (Hunger Games), but a very solid list!

 

[Jake Lipson]

I haven't seen the Creed series

I think they are definitely worth catching up with before the third one comes out if you can. I'm not a sports person and don't like boxing, but I think these are great. The boxing scenes are there and are well-executed. But they are character dramas that happen to feature boxing, and so I was able to find a way into them despite my lack of fandom for the actual sport. Ryan Coogler co-wrote and directed the first Creed before Black Panther, and you can feel his voice throughout.

Now, onto why I came into this thread and found the post of Joe's that I just quoted.

My local multiplex theater theater is bringing back Everything Everywhere All At Once, Elvis, Top Gun: Maverick and Tar this weekend. They were already playing Avatar and The Whale and both of those are continuing. The Banshees of Inisherin is returning to my arthouse, where it already had a very long original run.

Reissuing the Oscar nominees makes sense. I am going to use this opportunity to go see Tar, which I regret missing in its original run. But I honestly wonder how much of an "Oscar bump" these movies are going to get. Maverick, for example, was in the top ten for 21 weeks into October. Its most recent re-release in early December before Avatar added a little money, but not much. Although of course there is something to be said for the theatrical experience, especially on a movie like that, I'm not sure how much money there is to be made from it that hasn't already been made. It seems like most people who wanted to go see it in the theater have already done so, including many multiple times. Elvis is another one that already had a very successful theatrical window last summer.

It would seem that the smaller films might stand to gain more business, but that would require mainstream audiences to care about seeing them because they are Oscar nominees. And most of them are currently streaming. For example, The Banshees of Inisherin is on HBO Max.

I will be very curious to see what kind of Oscar bump this particular group of films gets.

 

[Malcolm R]

I think the Oscar bump is fiction unless it's a film that was legitimately overlooked in its original release. If it gains some press, people may want to check it out. But films like TG2 and Elvis and EEAAO have likely already reached their peak at the box office regardless of noms.

 

[Malcolm R]

Universal continues to beat the dead horse The Fabelmans, adding 1000 screens this weekend which will be its widest release yet.

The Banshees of Inisherin will also be adding over 1000 screens.

Seems like these are both already played out.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Seems like these are both already played out.

I actually think these are titles that could benefit from a nominations bump. As you noted, the bigger nominees have already connected with wide audiences. But Banshees and Fabelmans are smaller. The question is whether audiences still care enough about the nominations to seek them out now. I doubt that the nominations will suddenly turn these into breakout hits or anything, but I wouldn't be surprised if they got at least a little more juice out of the nominations.

Fabelmans is probably better positioned for a bump than Banshees because the latter is already on physical media and included with HBO Max. Fabelmans can only be bought digitally for $20 right now. It isn't on disc yet and hasn't launched a low-priced rental window yet, so the theater might be a cheaper option for some people, depending on individual market pricing and showtimes.

I was aware of Tar during its original run but didn't get to it, so I am planning to go to that this weekend.

I've already seen Fabelmans and own Banshees, so don't need to go to those again.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Universal continues to beat the dead horse The Fabelmans, adding 1000 screens this weekend which will be its widest release yet.

The Banshees of Inisherin will also be adding over 1000 screens.

Seems like these are both already played out.

It’s a pretty dead weekend so I think the thinking is that those titles won’t do any worse than the ones they’re replacing.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

It’s a pretty dead weekend so I think the thinking is that those titles won’t do any worse than the ones they’re replacing.

Yeah, it's essentially "free money" even if those movies don't rake in $$$.

Not like there's anything that demands the screens.

 

[Malcolm R]

Free money but not much of it. The Numbers had predicted The Fabelmans at $1.3 million this weekend, but Friday estimates seem to show it closer to $500K. Banshees will be around half that.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I just got back from seeing Tár, which was attended by there other people besides me. It was sharing the screen with Everything Everywhere, which was the next movie playing in that auditorium after Tár ended.

 

[Tino]

‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’ Moves Up To No. 4 Biggest Movie Ever Global, Leaving ‘Force Awakens’ In Its Wake​

By Nancy Tartaglione
January 28, 2023 8:41am

Avatar: The Way of WaterDisney/20th Century Studios
Earlier this week, James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water became the No. 5 highest-grossing movie ever worldwide, and, as expected, has now surfed to the No. 4 position on the all-time chart. In so doing, it leaves Star Wars: The Force Awakens in its wake with nearly $2.075B globally.
Through Friday, the worldwide gross on the 20th Century Studios/Disney/Lightstorm epic Avatar sequel is $2,074.8M, overtaking Force Awakens’ $2.071B. This means that Cameron has three of the top four movies ever globally alongside the original Avatar at No. 1 and Titanic at No. 3. Avatar: The Way of Water will top Titanic in the coming week or so on a global basis. However, Paramount is doing a Titanic domestic rerelease in time for Valentine’s Day, and Disney is also handling offshore before Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania gets going, so there could be some jockeying ahead as we noted on Thursday.

 

[Tino]

Chart is updating with Sunday numbers…

1. Avatar 2 (Dis) 3,600 (-190) theaters Fri $3.57M (-24%), 3-day $15.7M (-22%), Total $620.5M/Wk

2. Puss in Boots 2 (Uni) 3,452 (-159) theaters Fri $2.4 (-13%), Sat $4.99M, Sun $3.19M, 3-day $10.6M (-10%), Total $140.8M/Wk 6

PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH, . © Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
This Dreamworks sequel is now $8.46M from beating the original 2011 Puss in Boots film, which ended its domestic run at $149.2M. Through its 6th weekend, Puss in Boots 2 is officially ahead of Sing 2 at the same point in time by 4.8%. Sing 2 ended its domestic run at $162.7M.

3.) A Man Called Otto (Sony) 3,957 (+155) theaters, Fri $1.95M, Sat $3.1M, Sun $1.6M, 3 day $6.75M (-23%), Total $46M, Wk 5

4.) M3GAN (Uni/Blum) 3,416 (-212) theaters, Fri $1.64M (-38%), Sat $3.05M, Sun $1.68M, 3 day $6.37M(-34%), Total $82.2M/Wk 4

5.) Pathaan (Yash) 694 theaters, Fri $1.858M, Sat $2.86M Sun $1.2M 3-day $5.95M, Total $8.5M/Wk 1

6.) Missing (Sony) 3,025 theaters Fri $1.55M (-54%), Sat $2.7M Sun $1.4M 3-day $5.675M (-38%), Total $17.5M/Wk 2

7.) Plane (LG) Fri $1.06M (-32%), Sat $1.88M Sun $873k 3 day $3.8M (-28%), Total $25.3M/Wk 3

8.) Left Behind: Rise…(FATH) 1,362 theaters, Fri $1.3M, Sat $948K, Sun $712K, 3day $2.97M/Wk 1

9.) Infinity Pool (NEON) 1,835 theaters Fri $1.1M, Sat $910K, Sun $685K, 3-day $2.72M/Wk 1

10.) Wandering Earth II (Well) 142 theaters, Fri $372K, Sat $625K Sun $358K 3-day $1.355M/Total $3M (with previews)Wk 1

11.) Billie Eilish (Traf) 596 Fri $1.29M, 1-day $1.29M/Wk 1

 

[Jake Lipson]

Avatar would have been #1 this weekend with or without its Oscar nominations, so it is difficult to tell how much of that money, if any, is an Oscar bump.

The highest-grossing Best Picture nominee this weekend that is not Avatar is Everything Everywhere All At Once. It grossed an estimated $1,014,578 in 13th place. It is interesting to me that the one to do the most business upon returning to theaters is the one that already made $70 million last year, rather than one of the smaller titles. Of course, the box office doesn't track anyone who is choosing to watch these films at home, but still.

Women Talking is the only other Best Picture nominee aside from Avatar which is not already available for home viewing. That one made $1,013,000 in 15th place. That was +167% over last week, so I'm sure the distributor is happy. But that still isn't a big number.

All this is reinforcing to me that the vast majority of moviegoers probably don't care about going out to see films just because the Academy has anointed them as being among the best. The Academy has done this to themselves with years and years of nominating primarily small films, and even now that we have the two highest-grossing films of the year as Best Picture nominees, they are struggling to prove their relevance.