Topline
The Nun II took the No. 1 spot at the box office for the third week in a row, Variety reported Sunday, but moviegoers continued to drop off, resulting in what reports say could be the worst weekend for theaters all year.
Actors dressed as nuns pose on the red carpet for a special screening of “The Nun II” at the Regal … [+]
Key Facts
The Nun II brought in about $8.4 million for its third weekend in theaters, Variety reported, which was a continued decrease from its last two weekends but enough to take the top spot.
The Expendables 4, a Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham action-thriller movie, brought in just $8.3 million during its debut weekend—the lowest debut weekend for the franchise—according to Variety.
Low moviegoing numbers continued for a second week, naturally coinciding with summer’s end, as Deadline reported theaters brought in an estimated $52 million, which would be the lowest weekend in 2023.
Big Number
16%. That’s The Expendables 4 critics score on Rotten Tomatoes after its opening weekend, with more critics than not calling it “rotten” rather than “fresh.” The audience score was also low—at 69%—but, as of Sunday, it was the highest audience score of the The Expendables franchise.
Tangent
Though numbers were lower than ever, there could be a bright side to the weekend: Some expect the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers could come to a deal Sunday. There were reports Saturday that, on the fourth day of reopened negotiations, AMPTP made its final offer to the WGA, and a decision could be expected later Sunday.
Key Background
It’s normal for the box office to drop off a bit at summer’s end—last summer, the box office totaled about $3.3 billion, while the fall brought in just $734 million, according to data from BoxOfficeMojo. But, predictions for this fall are looking especially poor as striking writers and actors have led to some heavily-anticipated movies being pushed to 2024, CNBC reported, which isn’t helping theaters try to draw people back from the Covid-19 slump. This year had a strong summer, though, seeing a 19% increase compared to last summer, with many thanks to Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, which became the highest-grossing movie of all-time—and movies have already grossed almost $7 billion, surpassing totals from both 2020 and 2021, according to BoxOfficeMojo data.
Further Reading
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2023/09/24/box-office-may-see-its-worst-weekend-of-the-year-as-nun-ii-takes-no-1-spot-for-third-week/