RBG Movie ‘On the Basis of Sex’ Is a Hit, Even Without Awards Attention
“Mary Poppins Returns” took a worrisome 54 percent drop. Its domestic and international returns are similarly about evenly divided and around $300 million. But for a $130 million-budgeted film, and one they hope to continue as a franchise, it still is weaker than they hoped.
“Bumblebee” dropped nearly as much, and cost as much. But because of its much bigger foreign appeal, it’s in better shape. In really great shape is Clint Eastwood’s “The Mule,” which has increased in theater count each of its five weeks, to the point where it had the second biggest count this weekend. It is now over $90 million, with virtually no foreign yet.
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
20th Century Fox
Overall, however, this weekend wasn’t impressive: Grosses fell a third — about $40 million — from the same date last year. However, last year brought MLK Day six days earlier. So the cumulative result of next week and the expected strong opening of “Glass” will tell us far more than about 2019 than results so far, which are down over 11 percent.
A host of Golden Globe standouts showed in many theaters this weekend. “Vice” lost a third of its theaters, but held on to tenth place. How much a boost its Oscar nomination haul will bring remains to be seen.
But the more interesting story is how “Bohemian Rhapsody,” way late in its release, managed to go up 35 percent, placing just behind “Vice.” The film refuses to die, and with its home availability weeks away looks a good bet to surpass even “A Star Is Born” (it is now only $5 million behind.)
The Top Ten
1. The Upside (STX) NEW – Cinemascore: A; Metacritic: 44; est. budget: $37 million
$19,590,000 in 3,080 theaters; PTA (per theater average): $6,360; Cumulative: $19,590,000
2. Aquaman (Warner Bros.) Week 4 – Last weekend #1
$17,625,000 (-44%) in 3,863 theaters (-321); PTA: $4,469; Cumulative: $287,862,000
3. A Dog’s Way Home (Sony) NEW – Cinemascore: A-; Metacritic: 50; est. budget: $18 million
$11,300,000 in 3,090 theaters; PTA: $3,657; Cumulative: $11,300,000
4. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Sony) Week 5 – Last weekend #5
$9,000,000 (-31%) in 3,029 theaters (-390); PTA: $2,971; Cumulative: $147,775,000
5. Escape Room (Sony) Week 2 – Last weekend #2
$8,900,000 (-51%) in 2,717 theaters (no change); PTA: $3,276; Cumulative: $32,433,000
6. Mary Poppins Returns (Disney) Week 4 – Last weekend #3
$7,215,000 (-54%) in 3,253 theaters (-837); PTA: $2,218; Cumulative: $150,657,000
7. Bumblebee (Paramount) Week 4 – Last weekend #4
$6,775,000 (-49%) in 3,303 theaters (-294); PTA: $2,051; Cumulative: $108,470,000
8. On the Basis of Sex (Fox) Week 3 – Last weekend #
$6,227,000 (+287%) in 1,923 theaters (+1,811); PTA: $3,238; Cumulative: $10,558,000
9. The Mule (Warner Bros.) Week 5 – Last weekend #6
$5,545,000 (-39%) in 3,329 theaters (+117); PTA: $1,666; Cumulative: $90,578,000
10. Vice (Annapurna) Week 3 – Last weekend #7
$3,279,000 (-43%) in 1,724 theaters (-810); PTA: $1,902; Cumulative: $35,936,000
Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.