2019 At The Box Office (2 Viewers)

[Bryan^H]

I would really love to know where these mythic “average” places are where the standard 2D adult ticket price is $9. I’ve read that reported plenty of times so I don’t immediately discount it, and yet...

3 miles from my house (Michigan)
https://www.harborshowtimes.com/ticket-prices
$9.50 Adult non matinee(which are $7.50)
Tuesday $5 all day long
plus a free small popcorn after 6, and I still can't bring myself to go more often.

$17 for a standard 2D showing is insane.

I'm still upset my local drive in jumped their price to $11 a ticket. Sure you get to see two movies, but it is a drive in.

 

[Jake Lipson]

At my local Cinemark in the southwest, a standard 2D matinee ticket is $8.15.

A year ago, it was $7.61, and had been that since I moved here in late 2016. Last Thanksgiving, when Ralph Breaks the Internet and Creed II opened, they increased that to $7.88. Then, the jump to its current cost of $8.15 coincided with the opening of Captain Marvel in March. Of course, they roll out the increases in tandem with a big movie that they know everybody wants to see so that we'll accept it rather than miss the big new title.

Evening rate is currently $11.14, although I had to look that up since I rarely go in the evening (only for major event openings like Endgame.) The others I knew off the top of my head. This is why the Cinemark Movie Club plan doesn't make sense for me, because one ticket for $8.95 is more than I spend on a typical showing.

 

[Malcolm R]

Standard admission in the local small town theater is $9.75. The bigger theaters in more urban areas are around $10.50. All the theaters in Vermont are independents, we have no chains. None of them (at least the ones I visit) offer any "discount days" so if you want a discount, you have to attend a matinee which is usually about $2 less than standard admission. Our one large-ish format theater (not IMAX) has an upcharge of $1.50. 3D films generally have an upcharge of around $2.

I saw a matinee of Godzilla 2 on Monday and paid $8.75.

 

[Sean Bryan]

I would really love to know where these mythic “average” places are where the standard 2D adult ticket price is $9. I’ve read that reported plenty of times so I don’t immediately discount it, and yet...

I live in NYC and standard 2D is $17. Adam lives hours away upstate and his is only $3 less. My parents live on Long Island and it’s about $14 there. Neither of those areas have median incomes approaching NYC, but they’re priced as if they did.

For a more direct comparison - when I was home from college on Long Island on my summer breaks about 15 years ago, a movie ticket was about $7. At those same theaters which I still occasionally visit when I see my parents, it’s now $14 or more. So just in the same neighborhood, the price at least doubled in less than 20 years. That’s not the incremental charge that Colin describes. That’s a tremendous increase compared to wage growth and cost of living in that area in that period. The nationwide averages aren’t lying but they’re not telling the full story.

$9 seems “roughly” accurate for the regular 2D ticket at Cinemark near Scranton PA.

The XD showing I’m going to on Tuesday night was $12.50. I think the New York area is simply more expensive than the national average.

 

[Patrick Sun]

The Regal theaters are usually a tad more than the AMC theaters in Atlanta.

Nearest AMC is charging $12.19 for evening (non-matinee) showing of Toy Story 4 (2D)
Nearest Regal is charging $15 for evening (non-matinee) showing of Toy Story 4 (2D)

There's a reason why AMC A-List is a no-brainer for me since I can manage at least 2-3 movies a month (and sometimes more if the release slate is appealing).

 

[Malcolm R]

Looks like Endgame got quite a boost this weekend with the addition of the bonus features. Friday estimate of $1.86 million is an increase of 251% over last Friday, and may end up with a weekend of $4-$5 million (BO Mojo had predicted a weekend of $2.5m total).

 

[Tino]

Top 20

1 1 Toy Story 4 BV $57,932,000 -52.1% 4,575 - $12,663 $236,921,809 - 2
2 N Annabelle Comes Home WB (NL) $20,370,000 - 3,613 - $5,638 $31,204,459 - 1
3 N Yesterday Uni. $17,000,000 - 2,603 - $6,531 $17,000,000 $26 1
4 3 Aladdin (2019) BV $9,344,000 -29.4% 3,235 -200 $2,888 $305,861,946 $183 6
5 5 The Secret Life of Pets 2 Uni. $7,090,000 -31.0% 3,349 -455 $2,117 $131,202,000 $80 4
6 4 Men in Black International Sony $6,550,000 -38.8% 3,663 -561 $1,788 $65,030,511 $110 3
7 13 Avengers: Endgame BV $5,537,000 +178.5% 2,025 +1,040 $2,734 $841,318,161 $356 10
8 2 Child's Play (2019) UAR $4,276,607 -69.7% 3,007 - $1,422 $23,405,006 $10 2
9 6 Rocketman Par. $3,870,000 -31.0% 2,003 -411 $1,932 $84,173,960 $40 5
10 7 John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum LG/S $3,175,000 -22.3% 1,550 -57 $2,048 $161,315,088 - 7
11 8 Godzilla: King of the Monsters WB $2,000,000 -48.1% 1,370 -998 $1,460 $106,530,951 $170 5
13 10 Dark Phoenix Fox $1,692,000 -52.1% 1,187 -867 $1,425 $63,576,878 - 4
12 22 Dumbo (2019) BV $1,692,000 +1,320.1% 120 -20 $14,100 $115,569,069 $170 14
14 9 Anna (2019) LG/S $1,425,000 -60.4% 2,114 - $674 $6,656,309 - 2
15 11 Shaft (2019) WB (NL) $1,415,000 -59.8% 947 -2,005 $1,494 $18,839,833 - 3
16 12 Late Night Amazon $1,074,083 -57.9% 871 -1,301 $1,233 $13,052,037 - 4
17 16 Pavarotti CBS $532,000 +23.4% 288 +153 $1,847 $1,800,633 - 4
18 14 The Dead Don't Die Focus $520,000 -55.3% 552 -138 $942 $5,879,180 - 3
19 15 Ma (2019) Uni. $510,000 -55.6% 458 -404 $1,114 $44,707,700 $5 5
20 N The Other Side of Heaven 2: Fire of Faith AAE $425,000 - 205 - $2,073 $425,000 - 1

Nice hold for TS4

Avengers back in the top 10
Will it catch Avatar WW?

 

[Wayne_j]

Box Office mojo messed up Endgames International numbers. Instead of showing it as $1.9 billion, it is showing it as making $1.9 million internationally. The all time worldwide chart still shows it as being #2 all time but it is being displayed between numbers 71 and 72.

68 Inside Out BV $857.6 $356.5 41.6% $501.1 58.4% 2015
69 Venom (2018) Sony $855.0 $213.5 25.0% $641.5 75.0% 2018
70 Thor: Ragnarok BV $854.0 $315.1 36.9% $538.9 63.1% 2017
71 Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith Fox $848.8 $380.3 44.8% $468.5 55.2% 2005^
2 Avengers: Endgame BV $843.2 $841.3 99.8% $1.9 0.2% 2019
72 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen P/DW $836.3 $402.1 48.1% $434.2 51.9% 2009
74 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 LG/S $829.7 $292.3 35.2% $537.4 64.8% 2012


Total Lifetime Grosses
Domestic: $841,318,161 99.8%
+ Foreign: $1,920,000 0.2%
= Worldwide: $843,238,161

 

[Tino]

Box Office mojo messed up Endgames International numbers. Instead of showing it as $1.9 billion, it is showing it as making $1.9 million internationally. The all time worldwide chart still shows it as being #2 all time but it is being displayed between numbers 71 and 72.

68 Inside Out BV $857.6 $356.5 41.6% $501.1 58.4% 2015
69 Venom (2018) Sony $855.0 $213.5 25.0% $641.5 75.0% 2018
70 Thor: Ragnarok BV $854.0 $315.1 36.9% $538.9 63.1% 2017
71 Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith Fox $848.8 $380.3 44.8% $468.5 55.2% 2005^
2 Avengers: Endgame BV $843.2 $841.3 99.8% $1.9 0.2% 2019
72 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen P/DW $836.3 $402.1 48.1% $434.2 51.9% 2009
74 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 LG/S $829.7 $292.3 35.2% $537.4 64.8% 2012


Total Lifetime Grosses
Domestic: $841,318,161 99.8%
+ Foreign: $1,920,000 0.2%
= Worldwide: $843,238,161

That’s because they added $1.9 million instead of Billion.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Because it was cheap, the new "Child's Play" will turn a profit, but it's still done pretty poorly for a wide release reboot of a famous franchise.

The original only made $33 million in 1988 but the 2019 version seems unlikely to match that!

 

[Malcolm R]

Another unnecessary, unasked-for remake. Basically just MGM/UA strip-mining any property they control for crumbs.

Don Mancini is probably having a laugh, while also hoping the remake didn't damage his creation too much. I believe he was hoping to launch a TV series and possibly another sequel film.

I believe MGM owns the original, so they only have rights to remake the first film. Mancini owns the Chucky character so he's free to make sequels and other media.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Another unnecessary, unasked-for remake. Basically just MGM/UA strip-mining any property they control for crumbs.

Don Mancini is probably having a laugh, while also hoping the remake didn't damage his creation too much. I believe he was hoping to launch a TV series and possibly another sequel film.

I believe MGM owns the original, so they only have rights to remake the first film. Mancini owns the Chucky character so he's free to make sequels and other media.

Interesting.

Do you think it's possible that MGM will claim that the character in sequels isn't Chucky and that'll allow for more?

Given the movie's less than spectacular box office, I'm not convinced there'll be more - but on the other hand, plenty of flop horror movies still had sequels. Like I said, this one will turn a profit, and with another low budget, I could see a sequel or 12.

The movie's ending

Spoiler

clearly points to more adventures in the "Child's Play" universe, and the fact that Chucky is no longer a real person in a doll's body allows for them to continue with a different doll that's not specifically Chucky.[/quote]

Again, not saying this will occur, but I think the 2019 movie leaves open the door for a sequel that doesn't specifically feature Chucky and that might fly legally...

 

[Jake Lipson]

On a related note, the troubles continue for United Artists Releasing.

Since the launch of the combined banner to handle MGM & Annapurna titles, they have released four films. So far, the grosses stand as:

1) The Hustle - $35.1 million
2) Child's Play - $23.4 million
3) Booksmart - $20.9 million
4) Missing Link - $16.6 million

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/studio/chart/?studio=uareleasing.htm

If $35 million is your highest grossing movie, that's...not great.

 

[Malcolm R]

Interesting.

Do you think it's possible that MGM will claim that the character in sequels isn't Chucky and that'll allow for more?

Given the movie's less than spectacular box office, I'm not convinced there'll be more - but on the other hand, plenty of flop horror movies still had sequels. Like I said, this one will turn a profit, and with another low budget, I could see a sequel or 12.

I wondered if it was their intent to create a loophole when I heard of some of the changes they were making (such as related to your spoiler). They could claim that beyond the title, it's actually a different character and story. Mancini might call his lawyer about that, though I'm not sure there's enough profit in this film to warrant a legal fight.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I wondered if it was their intent to create a loophole when I heard of some of the changes they were making (such as related to your spoiler). They could claim that beyond the title, it's actually a different character and story. Mancini might call his lawyer about that, though I'm not sure there's enough profit in this film to warrant a legal fight.

Perhaps not, though the fact the original franchise continued for nearly 30 years says there's enough money to be made by these movies to generate more.

None of the first 5 made more than $33 million, so it's not like the series was ever a true cash cow.

Inexpensive horror movies make money - not a ton, but they make money. Are moderate future profits worth a potential court battle? Maybe not - perhaps we'll see!

 

[Malcolm R]

After doing some reading, I guess MGM is OK to make sequels to this film if they want. I think they just cannot incorporate things from the six sequels, which were produced by Mancini and other studios, mostly Universal.

 

[Sean Bryan]

Spider-Man: Far From Home looks to be off to a great start in China.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Charting With Dan for this week:

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Looks like Far From Home is going to make $40+ million domestic today alone, which is more than 10 percent of Homecoming's lifetime gross.

The opening weekend numbers won't be as meaningful for this one, since Friday will be its fourth day, including a national holiday.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I went and saw it at midnight, and I really enjoyed getting to go to a genuine midnight opening again. I don't think I've seen a major studio release actual debut at midnight since the end of 2013.

The audience for an opening night midnight showing is vastly different from a 7pm Thursday opening and always has been in my experience. When you go to a midnight show where that is the first opportunity an audience has to see a film, you get people who are genuinely interested in the material and who care both about seeing the movie first and having a good experience doing so. When the first showing is Thursday at 7pm, you get people who may care a little more but also plenty of people who are either going just to post a selfie on social media who aren't interested in the movie itself, or people who just aren't as invested in the material. Unlike the vast majority of 7pm-ish Thursday openings I've been to, there was not a single issue with audience behavior during the show. The room felt a bit more electric than it does for a regular evening showing. That's the kind of movie-going experience that I truly love.