Weekend Box Office 9/13 - it's Not Looking Good...

[AndyDursin]

Might as well fire this up again, though with so many theaters still shut, the numbers are likely to be anemic for the forseeable future.

1 - Tenet $6,700,000 -66.8% 2,810 - $2,384 $29,500,000 2 Warner Bros.
2 2 The New Mutants $2,050,000 -32.5% 2,704 -50 $758 $15,290,368 3 Twentieth Century Fox
3 3 Unhinged $1,500,000 -17.1% 2,365 -37 $634 $13,826,556 5 Solstice Studios
4 - The Broken Hearts Gallery $1,125,000 - - - - $1,125,000 1 Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
5 4 Bill & Ted Face the Music $260,000 -66.4% 807 -146 $322 $2,774,636 3 United Artists Releasing

[AndyDursin]

Dire analysis from Indiewire:

International play was always given as the motive for this risky release. “Tenet” still looks on track for an over $300 million ultimate theatrical total. That would be likely lower than production and marketing expenses, but also only part of ultimate revenues (which, because of resistance to theaters, could be a higher part of the total).

And sadly, that might be as good as it gets from now until at least late October. Forget about any comparisons to normal times (which these certainly are not): The domestic theater total gross this weekend will fall short of $15 million. Roughly, that suggests perhaps $5,000 per theater — not enough to cover operating expenses.

For all the justified focus on “Tenet,” as important a result this weekend was the paltry $1.125 million earned by Sony’s “The Broken Hearts Gallery.” That was in 2,204 theaters, leaving a per-theater average of just over $500 and only placing fourth.

Numbers like these alleviate safety concerns about overcrowding, but they do nothing to encourage other distributors to fill in release-schedule gaps with smaller titles. At this point, it feels like money poured down the drain. Since films must observe normal theatrical windows to play top circuits , there is even less reason to go.

As the saying goes, the operation was a success but the patient is dying. Theaters are open, and operations have been smooth; it’s possible that more, and more significant, cities will reopen in the coming weeks. However, upcoming weeks will see no new major releases. With “Wonder Woman 1984” delayed until December — the sole potential blockbuster for next month — and Universal taking “Candyman” out of October 16 until next year, studios are saying it’s not worth it.

This leaves theaters in dire straits. This weekend, the average complex grossed under $5,000 (before concessions). More than half of that goes to film rentals. They have staff and other operational costs to pay, as well as rent to landlords. Theaters have a stronger hand in negotiating rent if they’re closed. Once open, they owe, and now they face weeks of operation at a significant loss.

Theaters weren’t fools in trying to reboot. They were operating from a weak position where opening gave a hope that audiences might flock to “Tenet,” and if so other top films would follow. They also feared not opening would encourage more VOD plays, which would lead to greater problems. Now, they face further financial stress.