MikeQ

Thanks to the December holidays and good WOM, of $40M+ openers, Aquaman will be only the third live action comic book film to hit a 4+ multiplier, and it will have the second best multiplier ever behind only Batman (1989). Live Action Comic Book Film Multipliers for $40+ million Openers (3+ multipliers in red) Best Live Action Comic Book Film Multipliers for $40+ million Friday Openers: Rank / Title (Year) / Opening Weekend Gross (Multiplier) Batman (1989) — 40.5 million (6.20) Wonder Woman (2017) — 103.3 million (4.00) Aquaman (2018) — 67.9 million (3.87)^ Batman Returns (1992) — 45.7 million (3.56) Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) — 94.3 million (3.53) Spider-Man (2002) — 114.8 million (3.52) Batman Forever (1995) — 52.8 million (3.49) Black Panther (2018) — 202.0 million (3.47) The Dark Knight (2008) — 158.4 million (3.38) MIB 3 (2012) — 54.6 million (3.28) Iron Man (2008) — 98.6 million (3.23) Ant-Man (2015) — 57.2 million (3.15) Marvel’s The Avengers (2012) — 207.4 million (3.00) ^ Run not yet complete Peace, Mike

Bohemian Rhapsody and Green Book obviously benefited the most from the Golden Globes, as the Best Picture winners, dropping only 39% and 45% on Monday. But also solid holds from Vice (-57%) and The Favourite (-54%). Peace, Mike

Yes, depending on the calendar configuration, it happens pretty frequently during the December holidays. Mary Poppins Returns will also hit 3x multiplier by the end of its second weekend, even when counting its 5-day opening gross as a 3-day opening. Last year, Jumanji and The Greatest Showman (again, even when counting the 5-day opening gross as its 3-day opening for both), as well as Pitch Perfect 3, Downsizing, and Father Figures, all hit a 3x multiplier by the end of their second weekend. The year before that, Sing and Why Him? hit 3x by the end of their second weekend. Etc. Some years this doesn’t happen as much because of the calendar configuration, but there are still other films that come very close to hitting 3x by the end of the second weekend, and still other films that technically hit 3x as well using 3-day opening, but opened on a Wednesday (which is a frequent occurrence some years, again, depending on calendar configuration). Peace, Mike

Thank you for this. I get what you're saying, it is not original in the sense that they aren't the ones that produced it originally. But, as far as their reach as a platform goes, I would still like to highlight it as an example of their Netflix Original content (whether produced originally by them or acquired) finding global audiences. The series is branded as a "Netflix Original", and released as such (acquired, edited, and released worldwide), and they are producing the third season. Peace, Mike

If Deadline's projection of $51.6M for Aquaman proves accurate, it will best Batman v Superman's second weekend despite opening nearly $100M lower. Obviously the December holiday season aids legs, so I'm not suggesting this is a directly comparable situation, but good WOM (versus what was clearly at least mixed WOM for BvS) is helping give the DCEU a leggy holiday success. Best 2nd Weekends for Live Action Comic Book Movies Title (Year) — 2nd Weekend Gross (Drop from Opening Weekend) Avengers: Infinity War — 114.8 million (-55.5%) Black Panther (2018) — 111.7 million (-44.7%) Marvel’s The Avengers (2012) — 103.1 million (-50.3%) Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) — 77.7 million (-59.4%) The Dark Knight (2008) — 75.2 million (-52.5%) Captain America: Civil War (2016) — 72.6 million (-59.5%) Iron Man 3 (2013) — 72.5 million (-58.4%) Spider-Man (2002) — 71.4 million (-37.8%) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) — 65.3 million (-55.5%) The Dark Knight Rises (2012) — 62.1 million (-61.4%) Wonder Woman (2017) — 58.5 million (-43.3%) Spider-Man 3 (2007) — 58.2 million (-61.5%) Thor: Ragnarok (2017) — 57.1 million (-53.5%) Deadpool (2016) — 56.5 million (-57.4%) Iron Man 2 (2010) — 52.0 million (-59.4%) Aquaman (2018) — 51.6 million (-23.5%)^ Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) — 51.3 million (-69.1%) Iron Man (2008) — 51.2 million (-48.1%) Spider-Man 2 (2004) — 45.2 million (-48.7%)* Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) — 44.2 million (-62.2%) Suicide Squad (2016) — 43.5 million (-67.4%) Deadpool 2 (2018) — 43.5 million (-65.4%)*** Doctor Strange (2016) — 43.0 million (-49.5%) Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) — 42.1 million (-55.3%) Man of Steel (2013) — 41.3 million (-64.6%)** *Opened on a Wednesday **Opened on Father’s Day Weekend *** Second weekend was Memorial Day weekend ^December holiday weekend Peace, Mike

Though obviously aided by the December holiday season, Aquaman could have one of the best multipliers ever for a live action comic book movie. Multipliers aren't directly comparable given summer comic book films similarly benefit from summer weekdays, higher opening weekends make a film at least somewhat more frontloaded usually (so high multipliers are generally more impressive the larger the opening weekend), etc - but still, good WOM seems to be driving a strong performance over the holidays. Also, it does seem to highlight how studios have avoided tentpole-ing a comic book film during the December holidays until now. Best Live Action Comic Book Film Multipliers for $40+ million Friday Openers: Rank / Title (Year) / Opening Weekend Gross (Multiplier) (List under spoiler tag) Peace, Mike

What is interesting about Netflix, and unlike any other video subscription service that I know of, is its global reach. Its growth internationally has been even stronger than in the US, and it still has plenty of room to grow in different markets. And it produces a lot of excellent international original content, like the Brazilian dystopian series 3% and the Spanish crime-thriller Money Heist, etc, etc. And the diverse original content that it produces is available globally. They are finding talent around the world, both within and outside Hollywood system, and producing movies and shows that become hits locally and globally. Seeing what is possible with Bird Box and a star like Sandra Bullock, it will be interesting to see what kinds of movies Netflix produces in the future that could become global cinematic hits. Netflix is creating global television, global media, in a way that no one has ever done before. Peace, Mike

Personally, I don’t see it hitting $300M. It is possible, if not likely, that Grinch will have some large drops after Christmas is done, because it fits squarely in the Christmas genre. I’m not sure how relevant Coco or Moana are as comparisons in this case. For example, ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ dropped 40% the weekend after Christmas (when all other films across the board increased that weekend), and then it had sizeable drops through most of January. Therefore, I would caution against expecting it to perform like Moana or Coco. Peace, Mike Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That is another part of the look I don’t like. Aladdin shouldn’t have an undershirt - just a vest. I genuinely hate to be negative, but the look overall of this movie so far just isn’t for me. Peace, Mike

I totally thought Genie was going to be CGI with Will Smith voicing... whoops. I don’t know about this look. I don’t think I like it. Peace, Mike

If you stand by all of your posts, then your assertion that Tele has somehow been patronizing and disrespectful toward you is bizarre, given your posts are very patronizing and disrespectful toward Tele to begin with. It is therefore not surprising that admins/mods are not sympathetic to your complaint - it doesn’t hold any weight given the comments you immediately threw at Tele for simply expressing his opinion (the tone of which was conciliatory). I’ve learned through the years that my arguments and perspectives are better heard (and ultimately more persuasive/compelling) when I truly hear others out (even if I don’t agree with them) and respond in a careful and respectful way. Otherwise, any good arguments I have to make get lost. If you truly want to strive for productive discussions on this board, I encourage you to take this to heart. Cheers. Peace, Mike

Agreed. There is a Landmark theatre in my city, among several other theatres (mostly Cineplex) and it is almost literally the only theatre I go to. Their reserved recliner seating is the best. And being able to order my tickets so easily on the Atom app, which also lets me order food ahead of time and the food will be ready when I arrive at the theatre, makes the whole experience the way I want my theatre experience to be. Peace, Mike

With the updated estimate for A Star is Born, it has dropped only 33.6% from its opening weekend (effectively a holiday weekend). Very impressive. Venom's drop is also solid, all things considered. I would have expected a 60+% drop given the circumstances, but it easily bested that. Peace, Mike

Definitely. A significant reason for the success of the original Aladdin was Robin Williams as Genie at the height of his fame. Disney used his voice in marketing everywhere, and issues with how they used him in advertising was the reason why he didn't return for the DTV sequel. I think Will Smith will have to have done something really special with Genie for this to capitalize fully at the box office, given Williams' original performance and how central it was to the original film. Peace, Mike

Why are you using Book Club as a comp? It’s a comedy that opened in May and that skewed heavily female and older (80% female with nearly 50% women-over-50). Peace, Mike

That's very true. I could be wrong here, and I'm curious to see how the teaser trailer takes off in terms of views. But I'll add that box office gross is often a moment in time, and doesn't necessarily reflect how people look back on a film any number of years later in terms of nostalgia. It's definitely a classic Disney animated film - I just wonder whether, of the films from the Disney Renaissance era, Aladdin is perceived to be on quite the same level as Beauty and the Beast or The Lion King. It's hard to say, because I'm sure those of us who lived through it have our own perspectives that are shaped by which of the animated films in this period most made an impression on us. Peace, Mike

It's hard for me to make any kind of judgement on how I think the film looks in terms of quality based on this teaser, as it shows us virtually nothing. I'm going to have to wait for the next trailer. It feels similar to the Beauty and the Beast teaser, in that if Aladdin is a childhood classic for you, the music will give you 'the feels' similar to the musical tease in the Beast teaser. The difference is that I think Beauty and the Beast is more of a classic (or, perhaps more accurately, its music is more iconic), so I don't think this teaser will inspire the same levels of nostalgia/magical feelings in the same way that Beast teaser did, on average. I could be wrong - I only say this as someone who grew up in the 90s Disney Renaissance for animation. (Additionally, the fact that Beauty and the Beast was the first animated film ever to be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar suggests to me its rather special position in history. Only two other animated films have ever been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar - Up (2009) and Toy Story 3 (2010) - and those were both in the first two years of the nominee expansion when there were actually 10 nominees and members wrote in 10 nominees when voting, unlike since then and currently where members write down 5 nominees and somewhere between 5 and 10 films are nominated. So Beauty and the Beast was it seems a pretty special animated film for its time. Anyhow, I'm getting off topic.) Peace, Mike

Huge weekend. Handily the #1 October weekend ever with the top 12 raking in nearly $168M: Row Rank Weekend Date / Wknd # Top 12 Gross Theaters / Avg. New Movies #1 Movie Gross % of Total 1 123 Oct. 5–7, 2018 40 $167,945,000 29,548 $5,684 2 Venom $80,030,000 47.7% 2 254 Oct. 2–4, 2015 40 $142,708,444 30,018 $4,754 2 The Martian $54,308,575 38.1% 3 276 Oct. 3–5, 2014 40 $139,541,021 29,825 $4,679 4 Gone Girl $37,513,109 26.9% 4 307 Oct. 10–12, 2014 41 $135,718,063 29,275 $4,636 5 Gone Girl $26,406,134 19.5% 5 332 Oct. 5–7, 2012 40 $132,743,286 28,066 $4,730 2 Taken 2 $49,514,769 37.3% And both Venom and A Star is Born open big. Venom handily captures the October weekend record and outdoes tracking by $15-20M. And A Star is Born, an R-rated musical, cracks the top 10 and outdoes tracking by $11-14M. You just don't get weekends like this at this time of year - pretty awesome. I'm now interested to see how these two films play out over the coming weeks - it has me more interested in daily tracking of the box office (usually I'm fairly "checked-out" this time of year and check in only on weekends). Rank Title (click to view) Studio Opening* % of Total Theaters Average Total Gross^ Date** 1 Venom (2018) Sony $80,030,000 100.0% 4,250 $18,831 $80,030,000 10/5/18 2 Gravity WB $55,785,112 20.4% 3,575 $15,604 $274,092,705 10/4/13 3 The Martian Fox $54,308,575 23.8% 3,831 $14,176 $228,433,663 10/2/15 4 Paranormal Activity 3 Par. $52,568,183 50.5% 3,321 $15,829 $104,028,807 10/21/11 5 Jackass 3-D Par. $50,353,641 43.0% 3,081 $16,343 $117,229,692 10/15/10 6 Taken 2 Fox $49,514,769 35.4% 3,661 $13,525 $139,854,287 10/5/12 7 Scary Movie 3 Dim. $48,113,770 43.7% 3,505 $13,727 $110,003,217 10/24/03 8 Shark Tale DW $47,604,606 29.6% 4,016 $11,853 $160,861,908 10/1/04 9 High School Musical 3: Senior Year BV $42,030,184 46.4% 3,623 $11,601 $90,559,416 10/24/08 10 A Star is Born (2018) WB $41,250,000 96.8% 3,686 $11,191 $42,600,000 10/5/18 Peace, Mike

Unless I'm mistaken, this weekend is looking to handily be the largest weekend ever in October, with $160-165+ million total gross for the top 12, besting the previous record of 142.7M when The Martian opened: Row Rank Weekend Date / Wknd # Top 12 Gross Theaters / Avg. New Movies #1 Movie Gross % of Total 1 253 Oct. 2–4, 2015 40 $142,708,444 30,018 $4,754 2 The Martian $54,308,575 38.1% 2 275 Oct. 3–5, 2014 40 $139,541,021 29,825 $4,679 4 Gone Girl $37,513,109 26.9% 3 306 Oct. 10–12, 2014 41 $135,718,063 29,275 $4,636 5 Gone Girl $26,406,134 19.5% 4 331 Oct. 5–7, 2012 40 $132,743,286 28,066 $4,730 2 Taken 2 $49,514,769 37.3% 5 387 Oct. 16–18, 2009 42 $127,600,527 27,248 $4,683 3 Where the Wild Things Are $32,695,407 25.6% This will be the largest weekend ever during the September/October period. Peace, Mike

This is a really, really strong weekend for October. Venom looks to hit its $60-65M tracking (and even have decent WOM, it appears), and A Star is Born looks to best its $28-30M tracking by ~10M+. Will be two of the biggest (with Venom being the biggest) October opening weekends of all time, both on the same weekend, making for potentially a combined $100M+ in openers this weekend. Peace, Mike

It has happened a few times already: June 27-29, 2008 Wall-E — 63.1M Wanted — 50.9M June 8-10, 2012 Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted — 60.3M Prometheus — 51.1M June 21-23, 2013 Monsters University — 82.4M World War Z — 66.4M However, this would be the fist time it happened outside of the summer season (June specifically) - it would be very impressive to happen in October of all months. I'm not sure, though, that A Star is Born will be hitting the 50M mark. I think somewhere in the 40M range is more likely. But who knows. Peace, Mike

Now both Venom and A Star is Born are on MT:1. Night School: 19.8% 2. Small Foot: 16.1%3. The House With a Clock: 8.8%4. Venom: 7.2% 5. A Star is Born: 5.2% Peace, Mike

I'm looking forward to the movie, but especially excited for the soundtrack. Shallow is terrific, and what we hear of Maybe It's Time from Bradley Cooper in the trailer sounds great too - looking forward to hearing the whole song. Lady Gaga also teased the ballad Is That Alright? which sounds beautiful: Bring on the movie and bring on the full soundtrack. Peace, Mike

Forgot to post my final update for the Summer RT Watch in the labour day weekend thread. Here it is - another similar Fresh vs Rotten ratio as the past two summers, with 13 films at 80+% (almost on par with last summer, and again clearly better than two summers ago), and three films that nabbed an 8+ average rating. Also a pretty interesting/varied top 5 in terms of the Tomatometer: an exceptionally well-crafted action film, a hard hitting Spike Lee comedy-drama, a delightful and entertaining Pixar sequel, a historic top-notch romantic comedy with an all-Asian cast, and an original and surprisingly moving thriller. I would recommend all of these films. See you all next summer! 2018 Summer Films RT Watch (Wide-Release — May/June/July/August) Mission: Impossible - Fallout — 97% — 8.3 rating BlacKkKlansman — 95% — 8.2 rating Incredibles 2 — 93% — 7.9 rating Crazy Rich Asians — 93% — 7.7 rating Searching — 91% — 7.4 rating Teen Titans Go! To the Movies — 90% — 7.1 rating Hereditary — 89% — 8.2 rating Ant-Man and the Wasp — 88% — 6.9 rating Tully — 87% — 7.7 rating Upgrade — 86% — 7.1 rating Deadpool 2 — 83% — 7.0 rating Alpha — 82% — 6.5 rating Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again — 80% — 6.3 rating Adrift — 73% — 6.2 rating Solo: A Star Wars Story — 71% — 6.4 rating Christopher Robin — 70% — 6.1 rating Ocean’s 8 — 67% — 6.2 rating Uncle Drew — 65% — 6.0 rating Sicario: Day of the Soldado — 64% — 6.4 rating Operation Finale — 60% — 5.9 rating Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation — 60% — 5.4 rating Dog Days — 60% — 5.1 rating Unfriended: Dark Web — 58% — 5.7 rating Hotel Artemis — 58% — 5.7 rating Tag — 55% — 5.4 rating The First Purge — 53% — 5.4 rating Book Club — 53% — 5.3 rating Bad Samaritan — 52% — 5.6 rating Equalizer 2 — 51% — 5.6 rating Superfly — 51% — 5.4 rating Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom — 50% — 5.6 rating The Spy Who Dumped Me — 49% — 5.3 rating Skyscraper — 48% — 5.2 rating The Meg — 46% — 5.5 rating Life of the Party — 38% — 4.9 rating Kin — 33% — 5.0 rating Breaking In — 26% — 4.3 rating Overboard — 26% — 4.2 rating A.X.L. — 25% — 3.5 rating (only 16 reviews) The Happytime Murders — 23% — 3.9 rating Mile 22 — 22% — 4.1 rating Action Point — 19% — 3.4 rating The Darkest Minds — 18% — 4.2 rating Show Dogs — 17% — 3.2 rating Slender Man — 7% — 3.3 rating 2018 — 45 wide-release films 22 fresh, 23 rotten 80% or higher: 13 films 8.0+ rating: 3 films (BlacKkKlansman, Mission: Impossible - Fallout, and Hereditary) 2017 — 42 wide-release films 18 fresh, 24 rotten 80% or higher: 14 films 8.0+ rating: 4 films (Dunkirk, The Big Sick, War for the Planet of the Apes, Baby Driver) 2016 — 42 wide-release films 20 fresh, 22 rotten 80% or higher: 9 films 8.0+ rating: 1 film (Kubo and the Two Strings) Peace, Mike

Summer RT Update: Opening this week, The Happytime Murders and A.X.L. are both very rotten (albeit, A.X.L. only has 10 reviews). On the other hand, opening wide next week, Searching looks like it will end up being one of the best reviewed wide-release films of the summer - currently sitting at 93% and a 7.8 average rating, in the top 5. One more weekend of summer to go, with three wide-release films: the aforementioned Searching (already added to our list), and Kin and Operation Finale. I'll add the remaining two films at the end of the long weekend, and see where the final list stands for Summer 2018. For the third summer in a row (i.e. since I started tracking), the summer seems to predictably have around a 50/50 split of Fresh vs Rotten films (2016: 48% / 52% split; 2017: 43% / 57%; 2018 so far: 49% / 51%), with usually somewhat more Rotten films than Fresh it seems. This is of course only a sample size of three summers, and also the designation of "Fresh" vs "Rotten" is a somewhat arbitrary one, particularly as some films end up being right near the cusp of Fresh or Rotten. (Also, while 2017 has the worst split in terms of a larger proportion of films being Rotten, it is the summer with the highest number of films 80% or higher and with an 8+ average rating). 2018 — 43 wide-release films (so far; two more films to add) 21 fresh, 22 rotten 80% or higher: 13 films 8.0+ rating: 3 films (BlacKkKlansman, Mission: Impossible - Fallout, and Hereditary) 2018 Summer Films RT Watch (Wide-Release — May/June/July/August) Mission: Impossible - Fallout — 97% — 8.3 rating BlacKkKlansman — 95% — 8.2 rating Crazy Rich Asians — 94% — 7.7 rating Incredibles 2 — 93% — 7.9 rating Searching — 93% — 7.8 rating Teen Titans Go! To the Movies — 91% — 7.1 rating Hereditary — 89% — 8.2 rating Ant-Man and the Wasp — 87% — 6.9 rating Tully — 86% — 7.6 rating Upgrade — 86% — 7.1 rating Deadpool 2 — 83% — 7.0 rating Alpha — 82% — 6.6 rating Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again — 80% — 6.3 rating Adrift — 73% — 6.2 rating Solo: A Star Wars Story — 71% — 6.4 rating Christopher Robin — 70% — 6.1 rating Ocean’s 8 — 67% — 6.2 rating Uncle Drew — 65% — 6.0 rating Sicario: Day of the Soldado — 64% — 6.4 rating Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation — 60% — 5.4 rating Dog Days — 60% — 5.1 rating Unfriended: Dark Web — 58% — 5.7 rating Hotel Artemis — 58% — 5.7 rating Tag — 55% — 5.4 rating The First Purge — 53% — 5.4 rating Book Club — 53% — 5.3 rating Bad Samaritan — 52% — 5.6 rating Equalizer 2 — 51% — 5.6 rating Superfly — 51% — 5.4 rating Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom — 50% — 5.6 rating The Spy Who Dumped Me — 49% — 5.3 rating Skyscraper — 48% — 5.2 rating The Meg — 47% — 5.5 rating Life of the Party — 38% — 4.9 rating A.X.L. — 30% — 4.2 rating (only 10 reviews) Breaking In — 26% — 4.3 rating Overboard — 26% — 4.2 rating The Happytime Murders — 22% — 3.9 rating Mile 22 — 20% — 4.0 rating Action Point — 19% — 3.4 rating The Darkest Minds — 18% — 4.2 rating Show Dogs — 17% — 3.2 rating Slender Man — 8% — 3.4 rating 2017 — 42 wide-release films 18 fresh, 24 rotten 80% or higher: 14 films 8.0+ rating: 4 films (Dunkirk, The Big Sick, War for the Planet of the Apes, Baby Driver) 2016 — 42 wide-release films 20 fresh, 22 rotten 80% or higher: 9 films 8.0+ rating: 1 film (Kubo and the Two Strings) Peace, Mike