Quigley

Weekend: April 11-14, 2024 Rank Title Weekend admissions % Change Screen count / Change Total admissions Week 1 Kung Fu Panda 4 9,427 -37.4% 105 -30 118,047 4 2 Back to Black 6,786 – 73 – 6,786 1 3 Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire 6,522 – 95 – 6,522 1 4 Late Night with the Devil 3,288 – 45 – 3,288 1 5 The First Omen 3,008 -60.3% 37 -68 14,769 2 6 Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire 2,981 -57.6% 32 -36 32,819 3 7 The Canterville Ghost 2,474 – 60 – 2,474 1 8 Dune: Part Two 2,103 -46.0% 19 -11 168,529 7 9 Noah’s Ark 1,844 -39.2% 48 -22 5,137 2 10 Уроците на Блага (Blaga’s Lessons) [Bulgarian] 1,455 – 6 – 1,455 1 Sources: https://flix.gr/news/box-office-11-4-2024.html https://freecinema.gr/greek-box-office-panda-forever/ The box office doldrums are here to stay I'm afraid. With a mere 47,528 admissions, this was the quietest weekend since the 2023 Easter weekend (exactly one year ago: 26,960 admissions). Before that, we'd have to go back to the 2022 Feast of the Dormition weekend (mid-August: 30,500 admissions). Both feasts though (Easter and the Dormition) are quiet due to the religious holiday. In order to find a quieter weekend than the last one (excluding these religious holidays), one would have to go back two years, to late May 2022 (May 19-22: 35,098 admissions). That was a time when many coronavirus-related restrictions were still in place and the fear of the pandemic was probably still heightened among certain demographics. Therefore, last weekend's performance is very concerning. Furthermore, it's been an entire year (2023 Easter weekend) since the last time that no film managed to sell more than 10,000 admissions. Which is to suggest that there is widespread disinterest among Greece's moviegoers for this season's film slate. The situation is unlikely to change until after the Easter holidays. 'The 'Kung Fu Panda' fourquel topped the chart for the fourth time. It has overtaken 'Kung Fu Panda 2' and is days away from beating 'Kung Fu Panda 3'. However, the original is far out of reach (200.6K admissions). It is worth noting that 'Dune 2' still hasn't had a single weekend drop bigger than 50%; however, it will be wrapping up its run around 175,000 admissions, short of the 200K-admission blockbuster milestone. Unfortunately, there is not much else to say about the weekends newcomers or holdovers, except that they all performed abysmally.

Weekend: March 4-7, 2024 Rank Title Weekend admissions % Change Screen count / Change Total admissions Week 1 Kung Fu Panda 4 15,070 -44.0% 135 -32 106,086 3 2 The First Omen 7,586 – 105 – 7,586 1 3 Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire 7,025 -51.3% 68 -40 27,154 2 4 Dune: Part Two 3,892 -39.1% 30 -12 164,443 6 5 Noah’s Ark 3,033 – 70 – 3,033 1 6 Something in the Water 2,223 – 29 – 2,223 1 7 Immaculate 2,203 -61.2% 18 -20 31,840 3 8 The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (re-release) 2,061 – 6 – 2,061 1 9 Arthur the King 1,822 – 48 – 1,822 1 10 Perfect Days 1,231 -25.6% 19 -4 47,584 7 Sources: https://flix.gr/news/box-office-4-4-2024.html https://freecinema.gr/greek-box-office-not-even-the-antichrist-could-move-the-panda-from-the-top-spot/ With cumulative admissions barely crossing 50K admissions (54,094), this was the quietest weekend of the year so far. The latest instalment in DreamWorks Animation 'Kung Fu Panda' franchise retained its lead with a relatively big drop for an animated film. It caught up with its immediate predecessor, which had dropped by 61% to 12,547 admissions on its third weekend for a cume of 106,352 admissions. What's clear is that the fourquel will beat 'Panda 2' and has good chances of moving ahead of 'Panda 3'. Of course, the original's total is out of range (200.6K admissions). 'Godzilla x Kong' didn't hold well and won't be reaching any notable milestones. 'Dune 2' is declining slowly and steadily after having reached a decent tally. The weekend's Top 10 was met with a flurry of new releases that were no match for 'Kung Fu Panda 4'. In fact, they would barely beat the latter if we added up all their openings together. 'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire' is landing in theaters this coming week, but it is unlikely to make any meaningful impact on the overall gloomy state of the box office.

Weekend: March 28-31, 2023 Rank Title Weekend admissions % Change Screen count / Change Total admissions Week 1 Kung Fu Panda 4 26,896 -37.8% 167 +21 86,267 2 2 Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire 14,437 – 108 – 14,437 1 3 Dune: Part Two 6,389 -47.4% 42 -24 157,051 5 4 Immaculate 5,674 -56.9% 38 -36 26,346 2 5 Baghead 4,661 – 37 – 4,661 1 6 Race for Glory 2,463 – 27 – 2,463 1 7 The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug (re-release) 2,017 – 6 – 2,017 1 8 Perfect Days 1,654 -28.7% 23 -6 45,686 6 9 Rapito [Italian] 1,354 – 26 – 1,354 1 10 Oppenheimer 948 -60.0% 16 -12 439,516 32 Sources: https://flix.gr/news/box-office-28-3-2024.html https://freecinema.gr/greek-box-office-kung-fu-panda-beats-godzilla-x-kong/ This past weekend, a slew of new releases entered the market, but none of them was a match for DreamWorks Animation fourquel 'Kung Fu Panda 4'. In fact, all five newcomers added up to less than 25,000 admissions, a number that still wouldn't beat 'Panda 4's' sophomore frame. As a result, cumulative weekend admissions dropped to 75,221 and likely won't recover until the post-Easter weekend, since April has a very weak slate of films and Easter falls on May 5, meaning we can only hope for any decent box office traction from mid-May onwards. Even then, the summer period is always quieter than winter in Greece, which means that we're now entering into box office doldrums until late August. The news doesn't get any better... 'Panda 4' dropped by a decent 38%, but once you compare it to its immediate predecessor, things get bleak. 'Panda 3' dropped by a mere 9% to 32,308 admissions on its second weekend and had racked up 91,037 admissions by that time. Thus 'Panda 4' is already running behind its predecessor. 'Dune 2' had a respectable drop, given that last weekend was a holiday weekend, but the 200K-admission blockbuster milestone is almost certainly out of reach. The biggest disappointment of the weekend though was 'Godzilla x Kong', which performed quite well around the world, but was unable to motivate Greek moviegoers. Gone are the days of 2005's 'King Kong' (230K-admission total) or 2017's 'Skull Island' (107K-admission total). The crossover film will be lucky to beat 'Godzilla: King of the Monsters', which sold 32,844 admissions in 2019, after a 13,271-admission opening. Having wrapped up its first quarter, 2024 is leading 2023 by 8.3%, which is far less than the 25% lead it had at the end of January. There was a significant slowdown in the months of February and March, due mostly to underperforming high-profile Hollywood releases. If 2024 retains this lead, it will end with 8 million admissions, which is significantly less (17% less) than 2017-2019 average (9.67 million admissions).

Weekend: March 14-17, 2023 and Clean Monday Rank Title Weekend admissions % Change Screen count / Change Total admissions (by Sunday) Monday admissions Week 1 Dune: Part Two 17,366 -30.4% 89 -37 123,242 2,820 3 2 Oppenheimer 4,195 +944% 44 N/K 433,965 539 30 3 Force of Nature: The Dry 2 3,164 – 31 – 3,164 531 1 4 Perfect Days 3,051 -39.8% 34 -13 38,937 615 4 5 Poor Things 3,015 +56.7% 45 +19 419,815 303 11 6 Imaginary 2,897 -50.7% 26 -30 12,854 514 2 7 The Zone of Interest 2,582 +131% 34 Ν/Κ 59,783 441 14 8 Chien et Chat [French] 2,516 -35.7% 63 0 6,781 363 2 9 Inspector Sun y la maldición de la viuda negra [Spanish] 2,513 -21.4% 50 -20 11,830 227 3 10 Коты Эрмитажа (Cats in the Museum) [Russian] 2,499 -2.1% 29 -6 47,458 225 8 Sources: https://freecinema.gr/greek-box-office-clean-monday-won-obviously/ https://flix.gr/news/box-office-14-3-2024.html The post-Oscar weekend saw some expected boosts for Oscar winners, but in terms of cumulative admissions, it registered the worst numbers of the year so far (57,691). Interestingly, it was the three Oscar contenders that received more than one Oscar award that landed a place in the Top 10. No one thought though that 'Oppenheimer' would have made it all the way up to second place. It has now overtaken 'Murderess' to reclaim second place among 2023 films. 'Poor Things' also received a sizeable boost, being the title that grabbed the second biggest number of Oscar awards, after 'Oppenheimer'. The film's box office trajectory has met my expectations and, while it ranks fourth among 2023 films, it could very well beat 'Murderess' to conclude its run at third place. The remainder of the Top 10 saw relatively strong holds, thanks to the Monday public holiday. 'Dune 2' achieved what was obvious from the beginning: it has now sold more overall tickets than its predecessor. It had a slightly bigger drop than its predecessor's 3rd weekend, yet it is an unusually small drop for a film of its genre. Weekend: March 21-24, 2023 and Independence Day (Monday) Rank Title Weekend admissions % Change Screen count / Change Total admissions (by Sunday) Monday admissions Week 1 Kung Fu Panda 4 43,250 – 146 – 43,250 10,327 1 2 Immaculate 13,175 – 74 – 13,175 2,280 1 3 Dune: Part Two 12,142 -30.1% 66 -23 144,529 2,401 4 4 Knox Goes Away 4,254 – 47 – 4,254 682 1 5 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (re-release) 2,414 – 7 – 2,414 439 1 6 Oppenheimer 2,372 -43.5% 28 -16 437,910 269 31 7 Perfect Days 2,321 -23.9% 29 -5 42,820 675 5 8 Los colonos [Chilean–Argentinian–British] 1,716 – 9 – 1,716 423 1 9 Poor Things 1,474 -51.1% 22 -23 422,418 277 12 10 The Zone of Interest 1,370 -46.9% 17 -17 62,269 255 15 Sources: https://freecinema.gr/greek-box-office-kung-fu-panda-4-beats-the-hell-of-the-top-spot/ https://flix.gr/news/box-office-21-3-2024.html This was the second weekend in a row that was followed by a Monday public holiday. There was a decent uptick in admissions (97,279 admissions). 'Dune 2' scored another minor drop. Despite retaining momentum, there are signs that it is following a slightly more frontloaded trajectory than its predecessor. Based on these indications, it seems more likely than not that it won't make it to the 200K-admission blockbuster milestone. I wanted to get any 'Dune 2'-related news out of the way to discuss, of course, the big winner of the week: 'Kung Fu Panda 4'. The DreamWorks Animation fourquel has scored the biggest opening of the 'Kung Fu Panda' franchise and the fourth biggest opening for the troubled animation studio. It is also the biggest opening for the studio outside of the 'Madagascar' franchise. Check out the Top 10 (plus number 11, to include the entire 'Kung Fu Panda' franchise): DreamWorks Animation (since 2003) Title Opening weekend Release date Total admissions Multiple Madagascar 60,000 27/10/05 210,000 3.50 Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted 57,560 30/08/12 256,200 4.45 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa 50,360 18/12/08 323,607 6.43 Kung Fu Panda 4 43,250 21/03/24 53,577 1.24 Shrek 2 40,600 22/10/04 161,500 3.98 How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World 39,519 11/04/19 128,046 3.24 Kung Fu Panda 38,580 04/09/08 200,600 5.20 Kung Fu Panda 3 35,335 17/03/16 123,831 3.50 Penguins of Madagascar 30,637 27/11/14 128,191 4.18 Shrek the Third 28,400 06/09/07 181,250 6.38 Kung Fu Panda 2 27,040 02/06/11 110,195 4.08 'Kung Fu Panda 4' also managed to beat 'Dune 2's' opening by a few hundred admissions. Using a reasonable 4x multiple, my estimate for 'Kung Fu Panda 4's' final tally is around 170,000 admissions, but given that each chapter in the 'Kung Fu Panda' franchise has been more frontloaded than the previous one, it is possible that this instalment won't make it past 150,000 admissions. All in all, I'm sensing a close race between 'Dune 2' and 'Kung Fu Panda 4', in terms of which film sells more overall admissions. In other news, 'Oppenheimer' has moved safely ahead of 'Murderess', while 'Poor Things' is slowing down significantly and might have to remain in fourth place among 2023 titles. Check out the updated Top 10 chart here. There are three film coming out next weekend: 'Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire', motor racing film 'Race for Glory: Audi vs. Lancia' and horror film 'Baghead'. 'Godzilla x Kong' seems to be the only one that has a chance at dethroning 'Kung Fu Panda 4'.

Weekend: February 29-March 3, 2024 Rank Title Weekend admissions % Change Screen count / Change Total admissions Week 1 Dune: Part Two 42,778 – 145 – 42,778 1 2 Perfect Days 8,719 -20.0% 39 +1 24,953 2 3 Inspector Sun y la maldición de la viuda negra [Spanish] 5,370 – 75 – 5,370 1 4 Anyone but You 5,320 -30.6% 37 -9 55,675 4 5 When Evil Lurks 4,408 -40.5% 20 -35 16,118 2 6 Poor Things 3,788 -40.3% 34 -13 411,887 9 7 Коты Эрмитажа (Cats in the Museum) [Russian] 3,425 -33.2% 36 -10 41,793 6 8 The Holdovers 2,785 -38.8% 30 -11 76,384 6 9 All of Us Strangers 2,703 -43.5% 19 -13 20,920 3 10 The Zone of Interest 1,673 +8.1% 20 +1 54,653 12 Sources: https://freecinema.gr/greek-box-office-dune-part-two-tops-and-goes-stronger-with-premium-screens/ https://flix.gr/news/box-office-29-02-2024.html Weekend: March 7-10, 2024 Rank Title Weekend admissions % Change Screen count / Change Total admissions Week 1 Dune: Part Two 24,968 -41.6% 126 -19 91,245 2 2 Imaginary 5,876 – 56 – 5,876 1 3 Perfect Days 5,069 -41.9% 47 +8 33,511 3 4 Chien et Chat [French] 3,912 – 63 – 3,912 1 5 Inspector Sun y la maldición de la viuda negra [Spanish] 3,199 -40.4% 70 -5 8,993 2 6 Anyone but You 2,949 -44.6% 26 -11 60,678 5 7 Коты Эрмитажа (Cats in the Museum) [Russian] 2,553 -25.5% 35 -1 44,721 7 8 The Holdovers 2,311 -17.0% 33 +3 79,551 7 9 When Evil Lurks 2,104 -52.3% 22 +2 20,417 3 10 Poor Things 1,924 -49.2% 26 -8 415,342 10 Sources: https://flix.gr/news/box-office-07-03-2024.html https://freecinema.gr/greek-box-office-no-one-beats-grill-day/ The first two weekends of March have been quite underwhelming, mostly due to the mediocre debut of 'Dune: Part Two'. Though it wasn't a blockbuster, the sequel still opened 62% higher than its predecessor and had a similar sophomore drop. If it continues to follow the trajectory of its predecessor, it could reach 180K admissions, but it would miss the 200K-admission blockbuster mark. Interestingly, its second weekend included Barbecue Thursday or, more precisely, Smell-of-grilled-meat Thursday, which is the last Thursday when meat is consumed by those who observe Lent. Even though few people observe Lent, Barbecue Thursday is somewhat of an unofficial public holiday that most Greeks use as an excuse to (pun not intended) meet up and grill meat, one of Greeks' favorite pastimes. This had a negative impact on cinema admissions, yet the worst % drop in the Top 10 was only 52% and most were around 40%. The following two weekends are long weekends, with Monday, March 18 and Monday, March 25 being public holidays. These holidays don't generally tend to boost the box office, but they don't really hurt it either. Overall, it is basically guaranteed that 'Dune 2' will reach 150K admissions, but anything higher than that depends on word-of-mouth, which is so far quite good from what I've heard. Jumping from first to tenth place, we've seen 'Poor Things' decline steadily over the last few weeks. Having lost the Oscar Best Picture contest but still managing to garner four wins in other categories, I doubt we will see any big boost next weekend. On the other hand, we might get a re-expansion of Best Picture winner 'Oppenheimer' that could allow it overtake 'Murderess' and jump back to second place among 2023 films. 'Poor Things' will nevertheless remain in fourth place among 2023 films, with a truly impressive overall result. One can only wonder if Yorgos Lanthimos has reached the peak of his commercial success (in Greece, at least) or if he's got more surprises for us in the future. The remainder of the Top 10 (both during this weekend and the last) was quite boring and uneventful. In fact, this weekend marked the first weekend of 2024 that trailed the same weekend of 2023. It fell behind by a whopping 36%. 'Dune 2' had its chance to be the next big thing, but it is now clear that it failed. Next weekend will be even quieter, with eyes now on 'Kung Fu Panda 4'. The fourquel will be released in Greece on March 21.

'Dune' sold 114,644 admissions. You can see how it compares to other 2021 films here. 'Dune: Part Two' could reach the 200K-admission blockbuster milestone if it follows the trajectory of its predecessor, but 300K admissions sounds like way too much. We find out opening weekend results tomorrow...

'Dune: Part Two' sold approx. 8,500 admissions on its opening day (Thursday). This is almost double the opening of its predecessor (4,862 admissions), which was also a Thursday. If it follows the same trajectory, it will earn 46,000 on its opening weekend. That is about two-thirds of 'Barbie's' opening in Greece and less than half of 'Oppenheimer'. Slightly higher than 'Napoleon' and on par with 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny' and 'Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One'. Not bad but nothing outside the realm of realistic expectations.

News from GREECE 'Dune: Part Two' sold approx. 8,500 admissions on its opening day (Thursday). This is almost double the opening of its predecessor (4,862 admissions), which was also a Thursday. If it follows the same trajectory, it will earn 46,000 on its opening weekend. That is about two-thirds of 'Barbie's' opening in Greece and less than half of 'Oppenheimer'. Slightly higher than 'Napoleon' and on par with 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny' and 'Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One'. Not bad but nothing outside the realm of realistic expectations.

Weekend: February 22-25, 2024 Rank Title Weekend admissions % Change Screen count / Change Total admissions Week 1 Perfect Days 10,896 – 38 – 10,896 1 2 Anyone but You 7,662 -29.1% 46 9 47,150 3 3 When Evil Lurks 7,410 – 55 – 7,410 1 4 Poor Things 6,344 -18.7% 47 -6 405,381 8 5 Коты Эрмитажа (Cats in the Museum) [Russian] 5,130 -16.4% 46 -6 37,627 5 6 All of Us Strangers 4,784 -29.6% 32 -1 16,058 2 7 The Holdovers 4,552 -33.0% 41 -7 71,744 5 8 Madame Web 3,698 -61.1% 42 -39 17,202 2 9 Maya the Bee 3: The Golden Orb 2,435 -36.3% 54 -16 12,750 3 10 Land of Bad 2,150 – 27 – 2,150 1 Sources: https://flix.gr/news/box-office-22-02-2024.html https://freecinema.gr/greek-box-office-no-major-release-allowed-perfect-days-to-steal-the-top-spot/ February has proven a complete disaster for the box office, due to really poor scheduling and also probably inadequate marketing. This is how we ended up with two major action films with high-profile actors ('Land of Bad' and 'Red Right Hand') scoring abysmal openings on the same weekend, with the prior landing at 10th place and the latter opening outside of the Top 10! Overall, only 74,686 admissions were sold this weekend, which -believe it or not- is actually 22% higher than the same time last year, so I guess it was a... success? The unmitigated disaster was a repeat of what happened the weekend before, with a rom-com ('Beautiful Wedding') opening outside the Top 10 on a post-Valentine's Day weekend and a film about the iconic Bob Marley opening at #7. This left a void that was occupied by arthouse productions. While these films didn't really overperform, they managed to rank quite high, with Oscar contender 'Perfect Days' topping the weekend chart and 'When Evil Lurks' opening in third place. Last weekend's winner, 'Anyone but You' had a pretty decent hold, as was the case for almost all holdovers. Only one Top 10 film registered a drop bigger than 40% and that was Sony's female-led superhero film 'Madame Web'. Its precipitous drop complemented its tragic opening, resulting in one of the worst superhero-film performances of the last quarter-century. Oscar Best Picture contender 'Poor Things' had another stellar weekend, with a sub-20% drop. 'Oppenheimer' (428K admissions) is now within range, given that 'Poor Things' is bound to see an uptick on the post-Oscar weekend. The best hold of the Top 10 was achieved by Russian animated film 'Cats in the Museum', which however won't get much further than 60K admissions. All eyes are now on 'Dune: Part Two', which will need to outgross its predecessor by a significant margin in order to put the box office out of its misery (shall we call it 'the calm before the storm'?). The film will debut alongside Spanish animated film 'Inspector Sun y la maldición de la viuda negra' (Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow) and 'Joika'.

Weekend: February 15-18, 2024 Rank Title Weekend admissions % Change Screen count / Change Total admissions Week 1 Anyone but You 10,803 -17.7% 37 -34 34,316 2 2 Madame Web 9,499 – 81 – 9,499 1 3 Poor Things 7,800 -38.4% 53 -22 395,067 7 4 All of Us Strangers 6,799 – 33 – 6,799 1 5 The Holdovers 6,792 -31.8% 48 -18 64,883 4 6 Коты Эрмитажа (Cats in the Museum) [Russian] 6,139 +7.4% 52 -4 31,850 4 7 Bob Marley: One Love 5,839 – 64 – 5,839 1 8 Maya the Bee 3: The Golden Orb 3,823 -29.3% 70 -10 9,897 2 9 君たちはどう生きるか (The Boy and the Heron) [Japanese] 2,698 -45.1% 33 -4 21,945 3 10 The Beekeeper 2,625 -38.9% 19 -7 87,463 6 Sources: https://freecinema.gr/greek-box-office-last-years-sour-grapes/ https://flix.gr/news/box-office-15-02-2024.html The February box office doldrums have no end in sight, since cumulative admissions dipped further to 80,686. That is still slightly higher (2%) than the same time last year; however, if 2024 is to return to the pre-pandemic admission levels, it needs to be ahead of 2023 by 30%. The weekend's winner was last weekend's winner, summer rom-com 'Anyone but You', which, despite losing half its screens, dropped only 18%. This is undoubtedly a post-Valentine's effect, although most holdovers performed very well, with no Top 10 film decreasing by more than 50%. On the other hand, newcomers were absolute duds. Female-led superhero film 'Madame Web' recorded one of the worst comic-book openings in the genre's history. It was a far cry even from female-led 'The Marvels' (16,311-admission opening), which was itself an utter commercial failure. I am aware of only one superhero film with a smaller opening and that is 'Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance', which started off with 8,551 admissions in May 2012 and ended its run with 19,673 admissions. An even worse fate than 'Madame Web' awaited 'All of Us Strangers' and 'Bob Marley: One Love'. Good news has become the norm for 'Poor Things', which achieved another sub-40% drop. If it declines steadily by 40% from now on, it will reach 415K admissions. If it also manages to win the Oscar Best Picture contest or manages to score multiple wins in other Oscar categories, then it is bound to see an uptick that will probably propel it to more than 430K admissions. In this case, it would probably beat 'Oppenheimer' and 'Murderess' to rank as 2023's second-biggest film behind 'Barbie' (466K admissions). Winning the yearly crown would however require a significant post-Oscar uptick that is sustained for at least 2-3 weekends. Studio Ghibli & Miyazaki's 'The Boy and the Heron' never really took off and this weekend didn't change that as it scored the Top 10's worst drop, while Russian animated film 'Cats in the Museum' saw a small boost in admissions. Finally, 'The Beekeeper' reached its last milestone, after beating 'The Meg' (85.3K admissions), and now ranks as the biggest Statham-starring film since 2010, outside of the 'Fast & Furious' and 'Expendables' franchises. This coming weekend, another crowd of films will enter the market, with the first two vying for the weekend crown: Action thriller 'Land of Bad', starring Liam Hemsworth and Russell Crowe Orland Bloom-starring action thriller 'Red Right Hand' 'The End We Start From', starring Jodie Comer and Benedict Cumberbatch Japanese film and Oscar contender 'Perfect Days' Argentinian film 'When Evil Lurks'

Yes, it was released in a limited number of theaters. Only 33 screens in total. More tomorrow...

Weekend: February 8-11, 2024 Rank Title Weekend admissions % Change Screen count / Change Total admissions Week 1 Anyone but You 13,131 – 71 – 13,131 1 2 Poor Things 12,653 -38.6% 75 -19 381,419 6 3 The Holdovers 9,962 -33.5% 66 -8 53,832 3 4 Коты Эрмитажа (Cats in the Museum) [Russian] 5,714 -31.9% 56 -13 25,133 3 5 Maya the Bee 3: The Golden Orb 5,410 – 80 – 5,410 1 6 君たちはどう生きるか (The Boy and the Heron) [Japanese] 4,917 -34.6% 37 +2 16,613 2 7 The Beekeeper 4,298 -22.9% 26 -4 82,659 5 8 Argylle 4,033 -57.2% 37 -35 17,985 2 9 Priscilla 3,884 – 42 – 3,884 1 10 Ferrari 2,857 -59.4% 18 -29 33,640 3 Sources: https://flix.gr/news/box-office-08-02-2024.html https://freecinema.gr/greek-box-office-anything-but-cinema/ In a close photo finish, the long reign of 'Poor Things' finally came to an end, with the deathblow being delivered by a rom-com. Cumulative weekend admissions (86,392) sunk to new lows for 2024, but remain bigger than the same time last year. Nevertheless, the holdovers performed quite well, with most of them dropping less than 40%. Among them, 'Poor Things', which -we must bear in mind- might have not said its final word, since a Best Picture win next month could send it back to the top of the charts. The 400K-admission milestone is basically a foregone conclusion at this point and a total north of 420K admissions is not out of the question. As for the weekend's winner, 'Anyone but You' is bound to attract a lot of couples in the next few days due to Valentine's Day, but I don't expect it to become a sleeper hit. It won't be reaching 100K admissions for sure. Family products 'The Holdovers', 'Cats in the Museum' and 'The Boy and the Heron' are enjoying strong legs, but the smallest drop of the Top 10 was achieved by Statham's 'The Beekeeper', which is days away from becoming the best Statham-starring film of the last decade, outside of the 'Fast & Furious' and the 'Expendables' franchises. It's final milestone is beating 2018's 'The Meg' (85,313 admissions). 'Priscilla' failed spectacularly, while 'Maya the Bee 3' was as weak as its predecessors. 'Argylle's' drop was really bad and this can only complement the film's disappointing debut to result in an overall abysmal performance. 'Ferrari' hasn't done much better either. Next weekend, four new films are vying for the spot: Marvel's latest superhero flick 'Madame Web' Rom-com 'Beautiful Wedding' Biographical drama 'Bob Marley: One Love' Romantic fantasy 'All of Us Strangers'

Weekend: February 1-4, 2024 Rank Title Weekend admissions % Change Screen count / Change Total admissions Week 1 Poor Things 20,624 -34.8% 94 -2 360,453 5 2 The Holdovers 14,976 -10.7% 74 18 38,010 2 3 Argylle 9,415 – 72 – 9,415 1 4 Коты Эрмитажа (Cats in the Museum) [Russian] 8,394 -12.2% 69 -2 18,764 2 5 君たちはどう生きるか (The Boy and the Heron) [Japanese] 7,513 – 35 – 7,513 1 6 Ferrari 7,038 -53.6% 47 -28 28,140 2 7 The Beekeeper 5,572 -27.7% 30 -10 75,739 4 8 The Bricklayer 2,949 -44.1% 18 -8 11,631 2 9 Migration 2,501 -21.3% 35 +1 61,351 9 10 Wish 2,355 -20.4% 33 -3 92,736 11 Sources: https://flix.gr/news/box-office-01-02-2024.html https://freecinema.gr/greek-box-office-poor-things-got-stuck-at-the-top/ February 2024 debuted with a relatively soft weekend (98,841 admissions) that still managed to beat February 2023's first weekend by 38%. The top spot went to 'Poor Things' for a fifth consecutive time, meaning that 'Poor Things' joins an elite club of six films that have scored at least five first-place finishes (in the last 15 years - that is, in the period since weekend records have been available). The club also includes 'The Hangover', 'Joker', 'Man of God', 'Avatar: The Way of the Water' and 'Barbie'. All of them remained in the top spot for five weekends. 'Poor Things' remains on course for at least 410K admissions, although it is not clear yet if it can beat 2023's second and third biggest films, 'Murderess' or 'Oppenheimer'. Speaking of which, 'Murderess' dropped out of the Top 10, but has now reached 422,811 admissions. It sold slightly more than 5K admissions over the last 7 days and is less than 5K admissions away from topping 'Oppenheimer' (427,536 admissions), which now seems to be a virtually guaranteed outcome. Newcomers failed miserably, but to be fair, not much could be expected (statistically speaking) of a female-led action film and a Japanese animated film. Hayao Miyazaki's 'The Boy and the Heron' is his first film released in Greece since 'Howl's Moving Castle' (released in October 2005). No information is available about the box office performance of his other films. On the other hand, 'Argylle' fared far worse than all comparable titles, including 'The Marvels' and 'Spy'. The best hold among the Top 10 was achieved by a film called... 'The Holdovers' (oh the irony), followed by a trio of animated films: 'Cats in the Museum', 'Wish' and 'Migration'. The remaining holdovers ('Ferrari', 'The Beekeeper' and 'The Bricklayer') haven't really lived up to expectations. Next weekend, four films will be released: animated film 'Maya the Bee 3: The Golden Orb', Elvis Presley-related biographical drama 'Priscilla', rom-com 'Anyone but You' which has arrived just in time for Valentine's Day and Zac Efron-starring biographical sports drama 'The Iron Claw'. Among these titles, I think 'Anyone but You' has the best chances at pushing 'Poor Things' out of the way.

Weekend: January 25-28, 2024 Rank Title Weekend admissions % Change Screen count / Change Total admissions Week 1 Poor Things 31,616 -22.2% 96 -29 328,866 4 2 The Holdovers 16,773 – 56 – 16,773 1 3 Ferrari 15,164 – 75 – 15,164 1 4 Koty Ermitazha (Cats in the Museum) [Russian] 9,563 – 71 – 9,563 1 5 The Beekeeper 7,706 -46.0% 40 -13 65,557 3 6 The Bricklayer 5,277 – 26 – 5,277 1 7 Φόνισσα (Murderess) [GR] 3,498 -38.7% 26 -22 417,584 9 8 Migration 3,179 -11.4% 34 -6 58,473 8 9 Wonka 3,001 -12.3% 28 -2 100,700 7 10 Wish 2,960 -12.9% 36 -9 90,229 10 Sources: https://flix.gr/news/box-office-25-1-2024.html https://freecinema.gr/greek-box-office-and-the-lanthimiad-goes-on/ Overall, 118,286 admissions were sold during the weekend, which is 40% higher than last year and an improvement over last weekend. Based on weekend admissions, January 2024 was 25% ahead January 2023. That is a significant improvement which bodes well for the year as a whole. Undoubtedly, January's splendid results were mostly attributed to the success of 'Poor Things'. Predictably, the announcement of more than 10 Oscar nominations propelled the film to another first-place finish on the weekend chart. We've got another one-and-a-half months until the awards ceremony, so the film is bound to slow down significantly by then. Nevertheless, with 40% drops from now on, 'Poor Things' would earn at least 410K admissions. Even topping 2023 winner 'Barbie's' 465.9K-admission total is not out of the question at this point, although it would need sub-30% drops for several weekends to achieve this. As for newcomers, while none of them were a match for Lanthimos's 'Poor Things', cumulatively they still managed to garner enough attention to boost weekend earnings above the previous weekend. Christmas comedy-drama 'The Holdovers' led the race, despite being released after the Christmas holiday period, but 'Ferrari' was hot on its heels. Animated film 'Cats in the Museum' finished in a distant fourth place on the weekend chart, while 'The Bricklayer' was the worst newcomer, mostly due to its limited release (only 26 screens). That was despite being filmed in Greece, which didn't seem to interest general audiences. It probably isn't a surprise though that nearly half of the film's admissions came from the city where it was filmed (Thessaloniki). Its per-screen average was also nothing exceptional or noteworthy. Jason Statham-starring 'Beekeeper' had a bigger drop than last weekend, but nothing too bad. Other than the (far more successful) 'Fast & Furious' and the 'Expendables' franchises, 'Beekeeper' has overtaken a series of Statham action films released since 2010. It's got 2 more to beat: 2015's 'Spy' (76,006 admissions) and 2018's 'The Meg' (85,313 admissions). Unfortunately, the 100K-admission milestone is out of reach. 'Murderess' had another solid hold as it gets closer and closer to overtaking 'Oppenheimer', to become 2023's second biggest film. Thanks to its small drops and strong weekdays, weekly drops of 45% will suffice to beat the Nolan-directed WWII biopic's total (426.7K admissions). Finally, a trio of family films completed the Top 10, with impressive sub-15% drops: 'Migration' had the smallest drop among the Top 10, 'Wonka' crossed the 100K-admission milestone and 'Wish' is trying hard to get there. Next weekend, spy action comedy 'Argylle' and Studio Ghibli's animated 'The Boy and the Heron' are pinned against each other. I am not convinced that either film could knock 'Poor Things' off its perch, but that also depends on how well 'Poor Things' holds.

Weekend: January 18-21, 2024 Rank Title Weekend admissions % Change Screen count / Change Total admissions (by Sunday) Week 1 Poor Things 40,534 -35.2% 125 +2 276,799 3 2 The Beekeeper 14,261 -41.6% 53 -14 50,323 2 3 Sound of Freedom 6,915 – 60 – 6,915 1 4 Φόνισσα (Murderess) [GR] 5,705 -39.5% 48 -11 410,322 8 5 Κουραμπιέδες στο χιόνι (Shortbread Made of Snow) [GR] 4,638 -42.1% 50 -19 163,077 5 6 Folk og røvere i Kardemomme by (Three Robbers and a Lion) [Norwegian] 4,280 – 54 – 4,280 1 7 One Life 4,017 – 30 – 4,017 1 8 Migration 3,590 -13.3% 40 -1 54,430 7 9 Wonka 3,423 -25.6% 30 -13 97,312 6 10 Wish 3,398 -14.2% 45 +7 87,201 9 Sources: https://flix.gr/news/box-office-18-1-2024.html https://freecinema.gr/greek-box-office-poor-triumph/ We witnessed another strong January weekend with 111,096 admissions, which was 16.6% higher than last year. 'Poor Things' scored a hat trick and has now officially become the most commercially successful film for its Greek director, Yorgos Lanthimos. The film is now looking to capitalise on Oscar hype throughout the next month and a half, with Oscar nominations being announced tomorrow. It is almost guaranteed that 'Poor Things' will win a Best Picture nomination among others, but on the other hand, of the Greeks who would be persuaded to watch a film due to its receiving an Oscar Best Picture nominations, is there anyone who hasn't seen 'Poor Things' already? Has this demographic run out of members who haven't seen the movie yet or not? We'll find out soon enough. With 35% drops from now on, 'Poor Things' could reach 400K admissions by the end of its run. All holdovers in the Top 10 had a pretty decent weekend. 'The Beekeeper' held well, but probably won't approach any significant milestones. 'Murderess' still poses a threat to 'Oppenheimer'. 'Shortbread Made of Snow' finally entered the 2023's Top 10. 'Wonka' will soon reach 100K admissions and 'Wish' could easily cross that milestone based on its current trajectory. As for newcomers, no film reached five-digit figures. Child-trafficking crime thriller 'Sound of Freedom' led the pack. Next weekend, historical drama 'Ferrari' and action thriller 'The Bricklayer' will try to steal the top spot from 'Poor Things'. 'Ferrari' has a recognizable title and some well-known actors that could draw audiences. On the other hand, what 'The Bricklayer' lacks in acting talent, it can make up for thanks to having been filmed in Greece. We'll see if either generates enough business to maintain January's strong performance.