The Box Office Buzz, Tracking, and Pre-Sale Thread

[Krissykins]

5 minutes ago, redfirebird2008 said:

 

The biggest movies ever were not about the creation of the nuclear bomb, which is a subject that is bound to turn off a massive chunk of the audience who are looking for escapism at the movie theater. They already tried a movie similar to this in 1989 with Paul Newman and it was a gigantic flop. $30 million budget, less than $4 million of total revenue at the box office. Oppenheimer has a pretty steep hill to climb and should not be lumped in with the likes of Inception or Interstellar in terms of the potential audience. 

I’m not saying it should, but thinking more like Dunkirk but with more stars, inflation and all of the PLF’s. 

[redfirebird2008]

1 minute ago, Krissykins said:

I’m not saying it should, but thinking more like Dunkirk but with more stars, inflation and all of the PLF’s. 

 

That's a better comparison for sure. Dunkirk had a steep hill to climb as a British story that was not very familiar to the American audience. That said, I think Dunkirk had a pretty big advantage with PLF screens and showtimes/screen count in general. At my local theater, Oppenheimer has a very limited screen count. Barbie is dominating the screens in a major way, whereas Dunkirk did not have that type of situation to limit performance in 2017.

 

There's also the fact COVID seems to have permanently changed movie audience behavior (more streaming at home), so that was probably an advantage for any of the movies like Dunkirk that came out before COVID. Dunkirk was also pretty action-packed, whereas it seems possible that Oppenheimer has very little action. Time will tell if that's a problem for the movie's legs. 

[Porthos]

23 hours ago, Porthos said:

 

 

Oppenheimer Greater Sacramento Area Premiere Night Seat Report: T-4 days and counting

 

	Capped	Sellouts	Showings	Seats left	Total Seats	Seats Sold	Perct Sold
TOTALS	0	0	77	8096	10556	2460	23.30%

 

Total Seats Sold Today

259

 

T-4 Comps:

	%		Sold T-4	Total Sold		Sellouts Shows	Seats Left Total Seats	Perct Sold		Final Sold	% of Final		Comp
NTTD	144.45		157	1703		0/145	20757/22460	7.58%		3737	65.83%		8.96m
Dune	184.41		130	1334		0/79	10936/12270	10.87%		2915	84.39%		9.40m
JWD	46.70		649	5268		0/224	22664/27932	18.86%		10966	22.43%		8.41m
BP2	24.27		618	10134		2/308	27930/38064	26.62%		16800	14.64%		6.80m
Ava 2	48.29		408	5094		0/204	22706/27800	18.32%		8986	27.38%		8.21m
Wick 4	106.72		241	2305		0/119	14274/16579	13.90%		5448	45.15%		9.50m
FX	137.12		159	1794		0/179	26350/28144	6.37%		4122	59.68%		10.28m
Indy 5	108.51		230	2267		0/134	18442/20709	10.95%		4767	51.60%		7.81m

FINAL SOLD NOTES: "Final sold" is the number of tickets sold for the movie in question at stop of tracking while "% of final" is the percentage of Oppenheimer's current tickets sold versus that final number.

Regal:      574/3390  [16.93% sold]
Matinee:          15/81  [18.52% | 0.61% of all tickets sold]
----    
70mm:                    681/776 [+11 tickets] [27.68% of all tickets sold]
All other PLF:    1216/4494 [+134 tickets] [49.43% of all tickets sold]
Standard:           563/5286 [+114 tickets] [22.89% of all tickets sold]

 

Oppenheimer Greater Sacramento Area Premiere Night Seat Report: T-3 days and counting

 

	Capped	Sellouts	Showings	Seats left	Total Seats	Seats Sold	Perct Sold
TOTALS	0	0	78	7745	10556	2811	26.63%

 

Total Showings Added Today	1
Total Seats Added Today	n/a
Total Seats Sold Today	351

*NOTE: The only showtime added in the region was the local drive-in, which has non-reserved seating, finally adding one showing of Oppenheimer.

 

T-3 Comps:

	%		Sold T-3	Total Sold		Sellouts Shows	Seats Left Total Seats	Perct Sold		Final Sold	% of Final		Comp
NTTD	149.44		178	1881		0/157	21272/23153	8.12%		3737	75.22%		9.27m
Dune	186.53		173	1507		0/92	11672/13179	11.43%		2915	96.43%		9.51m
JWD	46.36		795	6063		0/281	26773/32836	18.46%		10966	25.63%		8.35m
BP2	25.44		914	11048		2/355	30945/41993	26.31%		16800	16.73%		7.12m
Ava 2	50.68		453	5547		0/277	27377/32924	16.85%		8986	31.28%		8.61m
Wick 4	106.20		342	2647		0/152	16697/19344	13.68%		5448	51.60%		9.45m
FX	136.72		262	2056		0/228	30813/32869	6.26%		4122	68.20%		10.25m
Indy 5	111.33		258	2525		0/158	21009/23534	10.73%		4767	58.97%		8.02m

FINAL SOLD NOTES: "Final sold" is the number of tickets sold for the movie in question at stop of tracking while "% of final" is the percentage of Oppenheimer's current tickets sold versus that final number.

Regal:      661/3390  [19.50% sold]
Matinee:          17/81  [20.99% | 0.60% of all tickets sold]
----    
70mm:                   698/776 [+17 tickets] [24.83% of all tickets sold]
All other PLF:    1399/4494 [+183 tickets] [49.77% of all tickets sold]
Standard:             714/5286 [+151 tickets] [25.40% of all tickets sold]

 

===

 

So on the one hand, had a good enough Sun --> Mon jump to either more or less keep pace or rise slightly with most comps (were a couple that fell slightly), which given the in-built fanbase for Nolan is no small thing.

 

On the other hand, it got absolutely screwed on screen expansion locally as it expanded exactly no screens that I track at the seat level (SPOILER ALERT: Barbie expanded quite a bit tonight — again).

 

Might still be room for it to squeeze in some more screens in the next couple of days as I don't know if theaters have all of their final sets up.  But there was a major wave of expansion for Barbie today and there... wasn't for Oppenheimer.

 

Not that that is a hugely terrible thing as it could very easily translate to legs in a mini-version of Ava 2.  But for all of the worries that Barbie might run screen issues, looks like it's Oppenheimer which has to worry more on that score.

[Porthos]

On 7/17/2023 at 1:01 AM, Porthos said:

 

Barbie Greater Sacramento Area Premiere Night Seat Report: T-4 days and counting

 

	Capped	Sellouts	Showings	Seats left	Total Seats	Seats Sold	Perct Sold
TOTALS	0	1	180	16083	21748	5665	26.05%

 

Total Seats Sold Today

625

 

T-4 Comps:

	%		Sold T-4	Total Sold		Sellouts Shows	Seats Left Total Seats	Perct Sold		Final Sold	% of Final		Comp
TGM	79.45		476	7130		0/271	30179/37309	19.11%		11474	49.37%		15.30m
JWD	107.54		649	5268		0/224	22664/27932	18.86%		10966	51.66%		19.36m
BA	300.37		216	1886		0/169	22425/24311	7.76%		4494	126.06%		22.53m
Ava 2	111.21		408	5094		0/204	22706/27800	18.32%		8986	63.04%		18.91m
Scream 6	448.89		115	1262		0/78	8602/9864	12.79%		3134	180.76%		25.59m
Wick 4	245.77		241	2305		0/119	14274/16579	13.90%		5448	103.98%		21.87m
GOTG3	99.06		506	5719		0/227	26231/31950	17.90%		10750	52.70%		17.33m
FX	315.77		159	1794		0/179	26350/28144	6.37%		4122	137.43%		23.68m
TLM	185.43		358	3055		0/177	22304/25359	12.05%		6561	86.34%		19.10m
AtSV	143.67		370	3943		0/142	18531/22474	17.54%		9744	58.14%		24.93m

FINAL SOLD NOTES: "Final sold" is the number of tickets sold for the movie in question at stop of tracking while "% of final" is the percentage of Barbie's current tickets sold versus that final number.

 

Regal:       1143/5862  [19.50% sold]
Matinee:    488/2439  [20.01% | 8.61% of all tickets sold]
------------    
Wed:        388/422 [91.94% sold] [+3 tickets sold]
Thr:    5277/21326 [24.74% sold] [+622 tickets sold]

 

 

Barbie Greater Sacramento Area Premiere Night Seat Report: T-3 days and counting

 

	Capped	Sellouts	Showings	Seats left	Total Seats	Seats Sold	Perct Sold
TOTALS	0	1	231	19138	25711	6573	25.56%

 

Total Showings Added Today	51
Total Seats Added Today	3963
Total Seats Sold Today	908

 

T-3 Comps:

	%		Sold T-3	Total Sold		Sellouts Shows	Seats Left Total Seats	Perct Sold		Final Sold	% of Final		Comp
TGM	84.77		624	7754		1/324	33685/41439	18.71%		11474	57.29%		16.33m
JWD	108.41		795	6063		0/281	26773/32836	18.46%		10966	59.94%		19.51m
BA	302.62		286	2172		0/223	27742/29914	7.26%		4494	146.26%		22.70m
Ava 2	118.50		453	5547		0/277	27377/32924	16.85%		8986	73.15%		20.14m
Scream 6	434.43		251	1513		0/102	10725/12238	12.36%		3134	209.73%		24.76m
Wick 4	248.32		342	2647		0/152	16697/19344	13.68%		5448	120.65%		22.10m
GOTG3	104.23		587	6306		0/273	29558/35864	17.58%		10750	61.14%		18.24m
FX	319.70		262	2056		0/228	30813/32869	6.26%		4122	159.46%		23.98m
TLM	185.84		482	3537		0/201	24221/27758	12.74%		6561	100.18%		19.14m
AtSV	147.41		516	4459		0/142	18015/22474	19.84%		9744	67.46%		25.58m

FINAL SOLD NOTES: "Final sold" is the number of tickets sold for the movie in question at stop of tracking while "% of final" is the percentage of Barbie's current tickets sold versus that final number.

 

Regal:     1409/8492  [16.59% sold]
Matinee:    670/3335  [20.09% | 10.19% of all tickets sold]
------------    
Wed:    391/422 [92.65% sold] [+3 tickets sold]
Thr:    6182/25289 [24.45% sold] [+905 tickets sold]

 

==

 

(already talked about screen expansion in the Oppen post directly above)

 

This is a bit more of what I was looking for last night, but I still find it interesting that it didn't outsell Jurassic World Dominion by all that much.  Last night it was 24 tickets behind it and tonight it was 52 tickets ahead of it.  Now "52 seats sold" ahead is not nothing, but it's not "aiming for 25m in previews" ahead of it, either.

 

(since this was shorted by 61 tickets, the actual difference was 113 tickets which absolutely is meaningful — I'll leave the rest of the comments for posterity)

 

At the same time, review bounce hasn't hit yet and that could very well super charge it.  Also, there is an extreme danger in putting too much weight/discussion/thought behind just one comp.  Then again, most of the other comps (outside of CBMs and TGM) aren't moving up much, either, and the one that did (Across the Spider-Verse) was still dealing with Memorial Day Weekend.

 

All that being said, still an great day.  But put a gun to my head and I'm probably somewhere between 19m and 22m in previews.  There is a very likely strong review bounce coming, but there's also a downward adjustment that has to come for utter lack of PLFs.  Won't be as strong a hit as MI7 got, no.  But it won't be nothing, either.  So it's possible for those two factors to either cancel each other out.  Find out soon enuf.

Edited July 20, 2023 by Porthos
Accidently shorted by 61 tickets - all fields fixed

[eeetooki]

3 minutes ago, Porthos said:

 

Oppenheimer Greater Sacramento Area Premiere Night Seat Report: T-3 days and counting

 

	Capped	Sellouts	Showings	Seats left	Total Seats	Seats Sold	Perct Sold
TOTALS	0	0	78	7745	10556	2811	26.63%

 

Total Showings Added Today	1
Total Seats Added Today	n/a
Total Seats Sold Today	351

*NOTE: The only showtime added in the region was the local drive-in, which has non-reserved seating, finally adding one showing of Oppenheimer.

 

T-3 Comps:

	%		Sold T-3	Total Sold		Sellouts Shows	Seats Left Total Seats	Perct Sold		Final Sold	% of Final		Comp
NTTD	149.44		178	1881		0/157	21272/23153	8.12%		3737	75.22%		9.27m
Dune	186.53		173	1507		0/92	11672/13179	11.43%		2915	96.43%		9.51m
JWD	46.36		795	6063		0/281	26773/32836	18.46%		10966	25.63%		8.35m
BP2	25.44		914	11048		2/355	30945/41993	26.31%		16800	16.73%		7.12m
Ava 2	50.68		453	5547		0/277	27377/32924	16.85%		8986	31.28%		8.61m
Wick 4	106.20		342	2647		0/152	16697/19344	13.68%		5448	51.60%		9.45m
FX	136.72		262	2056		0/228	30813/32869	6.26%		4122	68.20%		10.25m
Indy 5	111.33		258	2525		0/158	21009/23534	10.73%		4767	58.97%		8.02m

FINAL SOLD NOTES: "Final sold" is the number of tickets sold for the movie in question at stop of tracking while "% of final" is the percentage of Oppenheimer's current tickets sold versus that final number.

Regal:      661/3390  [19.50% sold]
Matinee:          17/81  [20.99% | 0.60% of all tickets sold]
----    
70mm:                   698/776 [+17 tickets] [24.83% of all tickets sold]
All other PLF:    1399/4494 [+183 tickets] [49.77% of all tickets sold]
Standard:             714/5286 [+151 tickets] [25.40% of all tickets sold]

 

===

 

So on the one hand, had a good enough Sun --> Mon jump to either more or less keep pace or rise slightly with most comps (were a couple that fell slightly), which given the in-built fanbase for Nolan is no small thing.

 

On the other hand, it got absolutely screwed on screen expansion locally as it expanded exactly no screens that I track at the seat level (SPOILER ALERT: Barbie expanded quite a bit tonight — again).

 

Might still be room for it to squeeze in some more screens in the next couple of days as I don't know if theaters have all of their final sets up.  But there was a major wave of expansion for Barbie today and there... wasn't for Oppenheimer.

 

Not that that is a hugely terrible thing as it could very easily translate to legs in a mini-version of Ava 2.  But for all of the worries that Barbie might run screen issues, looks like it's Oppenheimer which has to worry more on that score.

 

So Barbenheimer is kind of a double edged sword for sure.

[Cmasterclay]

Both of these films would open 40%+ lower than whatever they actually hit if they weren't opening on same weekend, dead serious. Maybe more.

[redfirebird2008]

8 minutes ago, Porthos said:

 

 

Not that that is a hugely terrible thing as it could very easily translate to legs in a mini-version of Ava 2.  But for all of the worries that Barbie might run into screen issues, looks like it's Oppenheimer which has to worry more on that score.

 

 

Yes, this is exactly what I'm seeing with my local theater. Oppenheimer has 1 decent screen and 2 very small screens. Barbie has a bunch of large screens and plenty of small ones. 3X more showtimes for Barbie compared to Oppenheimer. Time will tell how much of a problem that will be for Oppenheimer as the weeks play out. 

[Porthos]

18 minutes ago, eeetooki said:

 

So Barbenheimer is kind of a double edged sword for sure.

 

 

A bit glib, yes.  Okay, more than a bit glib.  Guilty as charged.

 

I mean, I highly highly highly doubt it would be sniffing the level of buzz it's getting without the Barbenheimer phenomenon.

 

More to the point, I think when it comes right down to it, Oppenheimer is exactly the kind of movie to benefit from legs, as there really isn't that much of a spoiler component to it.  That is, the rush/FOMO/worried-about-getting-spoiled factor really shouldn't be as much of a problem.

 

Yes, it probably would have had more screens if it was by its lonesome.  But I don't think the buzz nearly would have been the same so the overall tickets sold very likely would have been less.

 

I mean, to give an example of the legs argument (and this is the 15/70mm print we're talking about, so it's an edge case), but this is a look at the Saturday 7pm showing after the OW [i.e. T+9 — July 29th] over at Esquire IMAX:

 

 

That's 169 seats sold (approx 43.6% capacity) ***NINE DAYS AFTER RELEASE***!!!

 

Oppenheimer should be fine, in other words.

Edited July 18, 2023 by Porthos

[redfirebird2008]

3 minutes ago, Porthos said:

 

 

A bit glib, yes.  Okay, more than a bit glib.  Guilty as charged.

 

I mean, I highly highly highly doubt it would be sniffing the level of buzz it's getting without the Barbenheimer phenomenon.

 

More to the point, I think when it comes right down to it, Oppenheimer is exactly the kind of movie to benefit from legs, as there really isn't that much of a spoiler component to it.  That is, the rush/FOMO/worried-about-getting-spoiled factor really shouldn't be as much of a problem.

 

Yes, it probably would have had more screens if it was by its lonesome.  But I don't think the buzz nearly would have been the same so the overall tickets sold very likely would have been less.

 

I mean, to give an example of the legs argument (and this is the 70mm print we're talking about, so it's an edge case), but this is a look the Saturday 7pm showing after the OW [i.e. T+9 — July 30th] over at Esquire IMAX:

 

 

That's 169 seats sold (approx 43.6% capacity) ***NINE DAYS AFTER RELEASE***!!!

 

Oppenheimer should be fine, in other words.

 

 

59 feet tall, 75 feet wide with the proper 70mm projection. That's pretty damn nice for Sacramento.

 

Your graphic shows how stupid Paramount was to schedule Mission Impossible right in front of Oppenheimer. Paramount has zero excuse on this. They worked with Nolan on Interstellar's IMAX release. They had to know that when he locked in July 21 for Oppenheimer, there was no way Mission Impossible was going to be able to swoop in and screw up Nolan's arrangement with IMAX. Not gonna happen in a million years. 

[charlie Jatinder]

36 minutes ago, Cmasterclay said:

Both of these films would open 40%+ lower than whatever they actually hit if they weren't opening on same weekend, dead serious. Maybe more.

I wonder if less than what they would now.

Edited July 18, 2023 by across the Jat verse

[eeetooki]

36 minutes ago, redfirebird2008 said:

 

 

59 feet tall, 75 feet wide with the proper 70mm projection. That's pretty damn nice for Sacramento.

 

Your graphic shows how stupid Paramount was to schedule Mission Impossible right in front of Oppenheimer. Paramount has zero excuse on this. They worked with Nolan on Interstellar's IMAX release. They had to know that when he locked in July 21 for Oppenheimer, there was no way Mission Impossible was going to be able to swoop in and screw up Nolan's arrangement with IMAX. Not gonna happen in a million years. 

 

They probably thought Cruise is invincible after TGM so it wouldn't have mattered. In all honesty I didn't think it would've mattered either until data proved me wrong.

[vale9001]

57 minutes ago, Cmasterclay said:

Both of these films would open 40%+ lower than whatever they actually hit if they weren't opening on same weekend, dead serious. Maybe more.

 

Not that much for Barbie doesn't have any IMAX because of the other movie.

It's pushing both but more Oppenheimer. Barbie has been bigger in pop culture even if not related to the other movie.

 

Oppenheimer once out could impact pop culture too but before the movie everything viral about It was just barbeinhmer. 

 

Edited July 18, 2023 by vale9001

[vafrow]

23 hours ago, vafrow said:

 

Barbie T-4, Milton, ON

 

Sales at 214, up 20% from yesterday. Just stable, steady growth. Its probably a day or two away from exceeding GOTG3 final sales figure.

 

Anecdotally, I bought Oppenheimer tickets for myself and some family members yesterday, as well as Barbie tickets for my wife and some friends yesterday.  Ticket availability is now becoming scarce, that it's pushing people to buy earlier. I had others tell me to make sure we buy right away, because they could see tickets were going fast for the peak shows.

 

9.727x of TLM for $100.2M

1.476x of ATSV for $25.6M

1.814x of MI7 for $12.7M

 

Barbie T-3, Milton, ON

 

Sales at 242, which is only a 13% increase over yesterday, which is the lowest daily increase of the past week. Auditorium isn't at capacity, so, it's not that. Not sure if it's an anomaly, or calm before the storm, with full review embargo coming and EA shows tomorrow.

 

ATSV jumped huge at same point of time, so it lost a lot against that comp.

 

11.00x of TLM for $113.3M

1.308x of ATSV for $22.7M

1.582x of MI7 for $11.1M

[DisposedData]

3 hours ago, Cmasterclay said:

Both of these films would open 40%+ lower than whatever they actually hit if they weren't opening on same weekend, dead serious. Maybe more.

I really think that's just the case for Oppenheimer 

Edited July 18, 2023 by DisposedData

[vafrow]

On 7/17/2023 at 7:20 AM, vafrow said:

T-4 Oppenheimer, Milton, ON

 

I wasn't going to bother tracking this for my theatre, since it wasn't released for sale with other pre-sales in the area. Only when showtimes released for the week ahead last Tuesday. I assumed I wouldn't be able to get much read on it because hardcore fans would go to the nearby IMAX screens.

 

But, sales over the weekend were strong, and it's tracking ahead of what I would assume would be decent comps for it.

 

1.905x of Fast X for $14.3M

0.552x of ATSV for $9.6M

2.105x of Flash for $20.4M

0.374x of Barbie for ???

 

 

 

T-3 Oppenheimer, Milton, ON

 

So, not sure what's happening with Oppenheimer, but it's on fire at my local theatre. Up 68% to get to 134 tickets sold. It's now surpassed final sales for films liks John Wick and Flash, and just shy of Fast X final. All films I would have held as closest comps.

 

Oppenheimer isn't really available for pre-sales for my theatre. It only has showtimes for Thursday, so maybe it's pushed people to get seats for the only showtimes available. Also, every Dbox seat is sold for the early show, and I can't really understand the appeal of watching a three hour historical drama in a moving seat.

 

2.577x of Fast X for $19.3M

0.724x of ATSV for $12.6M

2.913x of Flash for $28.3M

0.554x of Barbie for ???

 

 

Edited July 18, 2023 by vafrow

[TwoMisfits]

1st local set (PLF 14) - VERY little expansion after Sunday in favor of keeping BOTH Disney holdovers.  So here's the set...

 

Barbie - 26 showings (5+ screens) - 5 PLF, 21 Not - 1 showing expansion from Sunday - 16 from starting presales 

Oppy - 11 showings (3 screens) - 4 PLF, 7 Not - NO SHOWING EXPASION from starting presales

 

Holdovers

SoF - 1 full screen (dropped from 2 last week)

MI7 - 2 screens (dropped from 4 last week)

Indy - 1 screen (same as last week)

Insidious - 1 screen (same as last week)

Elemental - .6 screen (2 late shows gone) - Barbie booked for the 7pm on it, but nothing after, so Barbie could fit an 11pm if they want

 

Dropped - Spidey, Joy Ride, Flash, all foreign films

 

They held 7 - and Disney has some power to keep both their movies on full screens and give nothing to Oppy (at least Barbie got the Sunday expansion)...

 

26 is gonna be rough for $150M

11 is gonna be rough for anything over $75M

Keep expectations lower unless this Cinemark is not the norm (aka, it saved holdovers vs going all in)...

[TwoMisfits]

2nd theater - non PLF12

 

Barbie - 4 screens/ 19 showings - No expansion from Sunday - 9 more from starting preset

Oppy - 3 screens / 11 showings - NO EXPANSION from starting presets - it seems the big loser now for space

 

SoF - 1 screen (lost 1)

Mi7 - 1.6 screens (lost 2+) - it skips and early and late show

Indy - 1 screen (same as last week)

Insidious - 1 screen (same as last week)

 

There is a held showing early and at night unbooked.

 

Dropped - Spidey, Elemental (NO KID MOVIE saved here - a shock, since we have another month of summer), Joy Ride, Transformers, Foreign Films

 

They really held only 6 films and picked the top in order.

 

Sticking with my "it's gonna be rough to blow past huge numbers if holdovers are being kept on full screens - the ones kept will presell a few tickets and be unable to have showings stolen"...

 

Big losers from SoF breakout - for holdovers - Spidey (and Elemental) b/c they were last ones out, for openers, it's probably Oppy b/c no more space at either place is a surprise...

Edited July 18, 2023 by TwoMisfits

[katnisscinnaplex]

Planning on doing a little more in-depth showtimes report this week.  May take a look today or tomorrow once things have settled in a bit.

[abracadabra1998]

58 minutes ago, TwoMisfits said:

2nd theater - non PLF12

 

Barbie - 4 screens/ 19 showings - No expansion from Sunday - 9 more from starting preset

Oppy - 3 screens / 11 showings - NO EXPANSION from starting presets - it seems the big loser now for space

 

SoF - 1 screen (lost 1)

Mi7 - 1.6 screens (lost 2+) - it skips and early and late show

Indy - 1 screen (same as last week)

Insidious - 1 screen (same as last week)

 

There is a held showing early and at night unbooked.

 

Dropped - Spidey, Elemental (NO KID MOVIE saved here - a shock, since we have another month of summer), Joy Ride, Transformers, Foreign Films

 

They really held only 6 films and picked the top in order.

 

Sticking with my "it's gonna be rough to blow past huge numbers if holdovers are being kept on full screens - the ones kept will presell a few tickets and be unable to have showings stolen"...

 

Big losers from SoF breakout - for holdovers - Spidey (and Elemental) b/c they were last ones out, for openers, it's probably Oppy b/c no more space at either place is a surprise...

This is why I have been hesitating to join the bandwagon that many people are clamoring for, that “this will get studios to bring back multiple big releases in the same weekend”. Of course, this time, this trend has helped Oppenheimer, and maybe Barbie to a lesser extent. But big releases will always fight for screens, and usually both lose. This time Oppy seems to be the loser (surely aided by screen time too). I’ve been very frustrated with the stagnant screening numbers in the MSP theaters I track  

[TwoMisfits]

PS - And with SoF dropping a screen each at my locals, without some theater expansion, I don't see it staying flat, but looking like it did OW (when it had single screens) - about $19-20M...it just won't have the space without theatrical expansion for more...