After last weekend’s holiday heights, the box office went back to sleep ahead of the release of Scream 7 next Friday. We really only had one major newcomer joining the competition, and it’s a faith-based sequel to a film that came out eight years ago (I’m…not comfortable with how fast time is going by for me).
Our number one movie, though, is GOAT, which (predictably) dethrones Wuthering Heights from its oh-so-scandalous throne. It saw a drop of only 38%, which is pretty great considering America was facing yet another major snowstorm on Sunday which kept a good portion of potential moviegoers at home (mind you, whenever those actuals come in, that number could shrink a little). GOAT was an easy sell which Sony handled well by marketing to a younger audience, as well as showing frequent spots during NBA games over the past few months. It has a current total of $58 million, and another weekend to itself until Pixar’s Hoppers hopes to dominate the family crowd in March.
Wuthering Heights isn’t quite enjoying the same level of legs as GOAT, which was inevitable for a romance as “divisive” as this one supposedly is. Fortunately, international grosses are coming to its rescue, as the movie already has $150 million in the bank yesterday. Warner Bros. should enjoy this success while they can, as my gut is telling me The Bride! is potentially going to flop hard when it opens in a few weeks. I’m just not sure what audience it’s even aiming for.
And speaking of flops, the “biggest” story of our newcomers isn’t even in the top ten. Psycho Killer wasn’t screened for critics, but once reviews came in, they were more brutal than the movie’s titular psycho killer. As I write this, it has a “freshness” rating of only 10% (not that we should put too much stock in such things), and audiences are hating it too. Mind you, this only makes me want to watch it more, but it sounds like the theater would be empty if I do. Psycho Killer could only manage $1.6 million for 11th place.
The only new release to make money is I Can Only Imagine 2 (which currently has a “freshness” rating higher than Wuthering Heights, so take that however you will). For what it’s worth, I saw the original in theaters and actually quite liked it, so maybe the sequel is good too. But that delay is impacting it. $8 million is a fraction of what the original opened to back in 2018, and it gets worse when you consider that includes “early access screenings” last week for Valentine’s Day. There’s a possibility this one could leg out, but no chance in heaven of it reaching the $83 million the first film finalized at.
Lastly, at least as far as the movies I’m taking the time to talk about goes, we have How to Make a Killing, the dark comedy from A24 which failed to make…well, a killing. As I’ve said before, A24 is usually good at getting the buzz ball rolling online for their releases, to the point where it’s notable when they don’t. Where was the marketing for this? How many people even knew what it was about? With less than $4 million in inheritance so far, this one is dead on arrival.
Anyway, the top ten, via Deadline
- GOAT (Sony) 3,863 theaters, Fri $3.86M (-45%) Sat $8M Sun $5.1M 3-day $17M (-38%), Total $58.3M/Wk 2
- Wuthering Heights (WB) 3,682 theaters, Fri $4.65M (-57%) Sat $5.7M Sun $3.8M 3-day $14.2M (-57%), Total $60M/Wk 2
- I Can Only Imagine 2 (LG) 3,105 theaters, Fri $3.75M, Sat $2.4M Sun $1.85M 3-day $8M/Wk 1
- Crime 101 (AMZ MGM) 3,161 theaters, Fri $1.5M (-61%) Sat $2.5M Sun $1.66M 3-day $5.77M (-59%), total $24.7M/Wk 2
- Send Help (20th) 2,800 (-175) theaters Fri $1.2M (-33%), Sat $2.1M Sun $1.2M 3-day $4.5M (-49%), Total $55.5M/Wk 4
- How to Make a Killing (A24) 1,625, Fri $1.66M, Sat $1.1M Sun $760K 3-day $3.56M/Wk 1
- EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert (NEON) 325 theaters, Fri $1.4M, Sat $1M Sun $770K 3-day $3.25M/Wk 1
- Solo Mio (Angel) 2,300 (-700) theaters, Fri $700K (-51%), Sat $1M Sun $800K 3-day $2.5M (-61%) Total $21.7M/Wk 3
- Zootopia 2 (Dis) 1,820 (-380) theaters, Fri $485K (-20%) Sat $1.1M Sun $715K 3-day $2.3M (-39%), Total $423.9M/Wk 13
- Avatar: Fire and Ash (20th) 1,335 (-315) theaters, Fri $395K (-28%) Sat $830K Sun $575K 3-day $1.8M (-49%), Total $399.4M/Wk 10
- Psycho Killer (20th) 1,100 theaters, Fri $710K, Sat $550K Sun $340K 3-day $1.6M/Wk 1