The number one movie of the weekend was never in question. With the summer box office almost over, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” took in another $22 million for $891 million in the U.S. and $2.3 billion so far. The Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios blockbuster has now surpassed “Titanic” and “Avatar: The Way of Water” for the No. 3 ranking on the all-time global box office chart. The bigger question this weekend was what movie would take the second spot.
Rising like a phoenix from the literal ashes, “Coyote vs. Acme” is a film Warner Bros. almost sent to the dustbin of history as a tax write-off before bowing to pressure to release it. Distributed by indie outfit Ketchup Entertainment, the live-action animation hybrid pulled in $15.4 million domestic. Worldwide grosses are unclear as of publication.
“Coyote” cost a reported $70 million. It won’t make that up, especially with this release date and a comparatively tiny $10 million marketing budget. Still, there is now enough evidence proving it could have been profitable if a traditional WB release. Not only was the Dave Green-directed comedy critically acclaimed (77 on Metacritic, 95% on RT), but it earned an A CinemaScore. Plus, post-screening research indicates that a massive 38% of the audience was 25-34. That is a demo studios covet right now. A strategic mistake from WB, but perhaps they will reap the benefits on HBO Max.
The other major new wide release was not as lucky. Ridley Scott’s “The Dog Stars” debuted to just $8 million in 3,330 theaters. Globally, its box office currently sits at $19.3 million. At a reported production budget over $100 million, this is on track to be one of the biggest box office misfires this year. That being said, Disney and 20th Century Studios dating it for August 29 was a dead giveaway they had little faith the Jacob Elordi sci-fi thriller would do much. And with terrible reviews and a C+ CinemaScore, they clearly did their due diligence. It may have been based on a bestselling book, but similar post-apocalyptic storylines have been played out since its publication in 2012, including the “A Quiet Place” film franchise, “The Last of Us,” and a slew of other television series. Scott’s film gave Disney marketing nothing new to sell that viewers hadn’t seen before.
“The Odyssey” dropped to No. 3 with $14.3 million and $563 million domestic. Worldwide, the Christopher Nolan Oscar contender has earned $1.5 billion.
Surprising in just 1,258 theaters was Roadside Attractions and Saban Pictures’ “Buddy.” Casper Kelly’s surreal horror movie used an effective word of mouth and stunt-driven marketing campaign to take in $5.3 million or a sweet $4,261 per screen. It’s unclear what the Sundance world premiere cost, but this is a fine start for a film that should have life for weeks on VOD beyond any theatrical success.
Focus Features dropped “Finding Emily” in just 681 theaters for $680,000, or $999 per screen. The UK set romantic comedy has disappointed somewhat globally, taking in just $2.1 million worldwide in five territories. Faring worse was Sundance standout “The Idiots” (originally titled “The S**theads”). Despite mostly positive reviews overall, the R-rated comedy earned just $700,000 on 1,110 screens for a weak $631 per. A disappointing result for IFC after the Dave Franco and O’Shea Jackson, Jr. flick was once considered a potential breakout boy distributors on the ground in Park City.
In regard to other releases, “Insidious: Out of the Further” reached $43 million domestic and $110 million worldwide. “Paw Patrol: Dino Movie” is a nice single for Paramount at $43.3 million domestic and $124 million global. Warner Bros. “The End of Oak Street” is now at $46 million stateside and $105 million global. A24’s “Tony” has slowed down a tad, earning $11 million stateside and $12.7 million worldwide.
Lionsgate’s “Mutiny,” which suffered an accidental streaming breach on Amazon Prime Video a few days before release last week, dropped 64% in its second weekend for just $2.75 million and $13.2 million U.S. so far. Worldwide its earned just over $16 million and is one of the worst-performing Jason Statham thrillers this decade, partially due to high-quality pirated links all over the internet.
New films on Friday include A24’s horror flick “Onslaught” and Paramount’s “By Any Means” with Mark Wahlberg and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.
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Editor-at-Large Gregory Ellwood is one of the entertainment industry's most respected journalists and critics. Based in Los Angeles, he's the only current awards expert who previously worked on Oscar campaigns at a major movie studio. Over the years, he has written for the LA Times, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and Vox, among others. He also co-founded the entertainment news site HitFix, which spawned a legion of influential Emmy and WGA Award-winning alumni.
