DESPITE MY MUSINGS LAST WEEK, SEPTEMBER TURNED OUT TO BE A HORRIBLE MONTH FOR HOLLYWOOD
So it seems I spoke too soon.
In last week’s Box Office Roundup, I wrote that September was looking like a strong rebound following a disappointing summer. A few thirty million dollar plus openings slapped just enough lipstick on the pig to distract from the fact that, if you dug a little deeper, the numbers were a little troubling. The fact is most of the movies that opened in September opened below expectations or severely under performed.
I also speculated that either Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children or Deepwater Horizon would open with over thirty million this weekend as well, giving September three thirty million dollar debuts. I wasn’t alone. Industry insiders expected Miss Peregrine to open well above thirty million and anticipated that the two newcomers would collect 60 million between them. Miss Peregrine did indeed open number one, but with an underwhelming 28.5 million. For a Tim Burton film based on a bestselling young adult book and made for 110 million dollars, this is a serious disappointment and it looks like Fox has yet another bomb on its hands. And while Deepwater opened in the number two spot as expected, it did so with only 20.6 million and will come nowhere close to justifying its 100 million plus dollar investment. The two newcomers couldn’t even gross 50 million combined.
The Magnificent Seven, last weeks’ champ with a 35 million dollar opening, fell to third with a sharp 54% drop. Storks meanwhile, fell from second to fourth, and while its drop was much less significant, the fact that it opened well below its own expectations last week won’t have anyone at Warner’s Animation Group doing cartwheels.
In fact a quick look at last weekend’s top six reveals everything you need to know about how poor September went for Hollywood this year. You had Miss Peregrine, Deepwater Horizon, The Magnificent Seven (15.7 million), Storks (13.8 million), Sully (8.4 million) and this week’s other newcomer Masterminds (6.6 million). Of those six titles, only Sully can be considered a genuine success and may be the only one to turn a profit.
Of the other titles in the top ten, only Don’t Breathe can be considered a success (earning 83.4 million domestically on a 9.9 million dollar budget). The remaining films-Queen of Katwe (7th), Bridget Jones Baby (9th) and Snowden (10th)-are all box office failures that will cost their studios dearly. In fact, Blair Witch, which only opened two weeks ago, has already fallen out of the top ten (it currently sits 12th, one spot behind Suicide Squad, which came out two months ago).
In short, Hollywood is bidding September a very big, less than fond farewell and is clinging to cautious hope that October will be kinder to its bottom line. With a little luck, the dramas (Girl on the Train, Birth of a Nation, The Accountant), sequels (Jack Reacher, Inferno) and Halloween themed films (Ouija: Origin of Evil, Rings) will resuscitate the box office until November when the holiday tent pole releases arrive to save the day.
Photo: 20th Century Fox
