‘Memory’ Fades With $1 Million As ‘Northman’ And Nic Cage Plunge

There was just a single major new release this weekend, which is both “the calm before the summer storm” and another example of a theatrical industry starved for consistent theatrical content. Open Road offered up Memory, a Liam Neeson-starring actioner, co-starring Guy Pearce in what’s essentially a two-hander, courtesy of Casino Royale/Mask of Zorro director Martin Campbell. Granted, I’m a Campbell fan going back to No Escape, but I’d still say this was Neeson’s best straight-up actioner (Cold Pursuit is more of a black comedy) since The Commuter in early 2018. The film, about a hitman suffering from Alzheimer’s trying to exact vengeance on a child trafficking ring, opened with just $1.1 million on Friday, setting the stage for a meager $3.2 million debut.

This is Open Road and Briarcliff’s fourth Covid-era Liam Neeson action movie, following Honest Thief ($14.1 million from a $4.1 million debut), The Marksman ($15.5 million from a $3.5 million MLK weekend debut) and Blacklight ($9.6 million/$3.5 million). Memory is better than those, but Blacklight is easily Neeson’s worst grindhouse actioner. I’d like to tell you that this one, boasting better production values, a larger sense of scale and the action/drama chops of Mr. Campbell (in a plot that feels like a skewed hybrid of The Foreigner and Edge of Darkness), would benefit from its superlatives, but A) it’s not getting good reviews and B) audiences have plenty of other theatrical options, which wasn’t the case for at least the late 2020 and early 2021 releases.

In holdover news, DreamWorks Animation’s The Bad Guys topped the box office again on its second Friday, earning $3.74 million. That’s a 54% drop from its opening day, setting the stage for a $14.4 million (-40%) weekend and a $42.76 million ten-day total. The $80 million toon will pass $100 million worldwide this weekend. I expect it to stick around as the next six weeks aren’t exactly drowning in explicitly kid-friendly movies. That’s also why Sonic the Hedgehog 2 will stick around, with $2.5 million (-58%) on its fourth Friday for a likely $9.7 million (-38%) weekend. That’ll give Paramount’s $110 million sequel $159 million, above any video game movie even adjusted for inflation save for Tomb Raider ($131 million in 2001/$212 million adjusted). It has also passed $300 million worldwide.

Warner Bros. may have rocked it at CinemaCon with buzzy teases of The Flash and Aquaman: The Lost Kingdom along with deep dives into Elvis (which looked spectacular) and Don’t Worry Darling (which looks quite interesting), but that’s even more reason to let Fantastic Beasts go out with some dignity. The Secrets of Dumbledore earned $2.1 million (-47%) on Friday for a $7.5 million (-46%) weekend and a miserable $79 million 17-day total. It should be past $300 million worldwide today. The Northman earned $1.8 million (-64%) on Friday for a likely $6 million (-50%) weekend and $22.5 million ten-day cume. Yes, it’s a star-free, R-rated, period piece action original, but it also cost Focus and Regency $70 million. The folks who were interested showed up last weekend.

Lionsgate’s The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent earned just $1.09 million (-62%) on Friday for a likely $3.52 million (-51%) weekend and $13.1 million ten-day total. That’s a disappointing run for the $30 million Nicolas Cage (as Nicolas Cage) comedy, but, like The Northman, those who wanted to see it theatrically mostly did so last weekend. In better news, Paramount’s The Lost City earned $1.6 million (-19%) on Friday for a likely $3.5 million (-19%) weekend and a $90.3 million 38-day total. Barring a massive loss of theaters, I’m guessing Paramount will drag this Sandra Bullock/Channing Tatum movie over the $100 million mark before the end. Mark Wahlberg and Mel Gibson’s faith-based Father Stu, courtesy of Sony, will earn $1.97 million (-41%) in weekend three for a $17.3 million cume.

Meanwhile, Jared Leto’s Morbius (also from Sony) will earn $1.38 million (-40%) for a $71.4 million 31-day cume. That’s a miserable running total even for a $75 million comic book superhero flick, and we can expect that Morbius is a one-and-done franchise. Michael Bay’s Ambulance arrived on PVOD yesterday where hopefully it will make up for a soft theatrical release. The $40 million actioner will earn $1.08 million (-40%) in weekend four for a $21 million 24-day cume. Finally, The Batman, for which WB announced a sequel this weekend in Vegas, will earn $660,000 (-55%) in weekend nine for a $369 million cume. I’m not sure the “early” HBO Max availability hurt this film’s late-stage box office performance, but it certainly didn’t help.