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 "These are the films of bean counters' dreams," said Paul
Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at ComScore. "They are
profit machines and even when they're poorly reviewed, people
line up for them."
"Don't Breathe" was backed by Sony's Screen Gems and Steve
Bersch's Stage 6 Films, and cost less than $10 million to
produce. It more than doubled its production budget in a single
weekend, after rolling out across 3,051 locations. The film
follows a gang of thieves who find out that the blind man whose
house they've targeted isn't as helpless as he appears. Instead
of making off with loot, they are pitted in a deadly
cat-and-mouse game.
Sony screened the film at SXSW and Comic-Con in order to build
buzz. It also relied heavily on digital platforms to drive
enthusiasm for the picture, debuting spots on Snapchat, crafting
animated gifs for Twitter and Facebook, and launching
interactive mobile apps.
"This film is going to be a big moneymaker for us," said Rory
Bruer, Sony's distribution chief. "We knew we had something
special here. This is a film that's all about keeping people
jumping out of their seats and holding on to the person next to
them."
"Don't Breathe" displaced "Suicide Squad" from its perch atop
charts. After finishing in first for three consecutive weekends,
the super villain mash-up had to settle for second place this
weekend with about $12.1 million at 3,582 locations. The Warner
Bros. release has earned $282.9 million.
Among new releases, Lionsgate bowed "Mechanic: Resurrection," a
follow-up to the 2011 cult hit "The Mechanic," in 2,258
locations, where it earned $7.5 million. That's less than the
first "Mechanic's" $11.4 million domestic debut. The sequel
centers on an assassin (Jason Statham) who is lured out of
retirement for a series of hits. It co-stars Tommy Lee Jones,
Michelle Yeoh, and Jessica Alba.
Fans of the 44th president got a tour down memory lane with
"Southside with You" from Roadside Attractions and Miramax. The
romantic drama looks at Barack and Michelle Obama's first date,
debuting to $3.1 million from 813 sites. It will have a modest
increase in screens next weekend. The film hits theaters as
popular opinion of the Obama administration continues to rise,
but the improvement in the president's standing didn't factor
into release plans, the studios say.
"It helps, but we weren't banking on it," said Howard Cohen,
Roadside Attractions' co-president. "If it had been the reverse,
it might have given us pause, but it's not like we read the
approval ratings and said, 'ok, let's go to 800 screens."
The Weinstein Company countered with the boxing drama "Hands of
Stone," a biopic about Panamanian fighter Roberto Duran, that
opened to $1.7 million at 810 locations. The indie label plans
to expand the film to roughly 2,500 locations over Labor Day.
Executives at the company said they were particularly pleased by
the film's A CinemaScore rating; a sign that the film is being
embraced by those who see it.
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"People love the movie," said David Glasser, the Weinstein Company's
COO and president. "The conversation around the movie has begun and
we think it's going to continue to keep building."
In third place, Focus Features' "Kubo and the Two Strings" added
$7.8 million to its $24.8 million domestic haul. Sony's "Sausage
Party" nabbed fourth position, picking up roughly $7.7 million to
bring its total to just under $80 million. Rounding out the top
five, Disney's "Pete's Dragon" snagged $7.3 million driving its
stateside gross to $76.2 million.
In limited release, Sony Pictures Classics bowed "The Hollars," a
family dramedy that marks "The Office" star John Krasinski's feature
film directorial debut, on four screens where it made $46,068, for a
per-theater average of $11,517.
Paramount and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's "Ben-Hur" solidified its status
as one of the year's biggest bombs joining the likes of
"Ghostbusters" and "The Huntsman: Winter's War." The biblical epic
dropped 60% to $4.5 million, bringing its total to $19.6 million.
Rival studios estimate that the film could lose $100 million, while
sources close to the film peg that figure as between $60 million to
$75 million. MGM put up 80% of the film's cost.
Overall revenues were up 31% from the year-ago period; a weekend
that saw the debut of the religious drama "War Room" and the Owen
Wilson thriller "No Escape." After a sluggish start and a series of
high-profile bombs such as "The BFG" and "Alice Through the Looking
Glass," ticket sales have rebounded. Receipts are running
neck-in-neck with last year and some think that this summer's
revenues could be the second highest in history when not factoring
in inflation.
That's somewhat deceptive, however. Ticket prices have hit record
highs, which are helping to boost revenues. As it currently stands,
ticket sales could be the lowest in roughly two decades, according
to Box Office Mojo.
"These films have no longevity," said Jeff Bock, a box office
analyst with Exhibitor Relations. "Hollywood gave audiences what it
thought they wanted -- a bunch of sequels and reboots -- and guess
what, it didn't work. So they have to ask themselves, what can we
offer now?"
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