Studios haven't been reporting box office since movie theaters have been shuttered nationwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic but now that certain theaters are starting to re-open, box office stats are trickling in and TROLLS WORLD TOUR has been dominating the last 8 weeks, despite initial reports claiming THE WRETCHED led the pack.
Keep in mind that these numbers still aren't great but considering only around 600 theaters (out of the nation’s 5,000) were open over the May 29-31 frame, it shows that some moviegoers are still willing to go, even when the films are available on PVOD. TROLLS WORLD TOUR leads the charge and that has been the case since the film opened during the April 10-12 frame which was Easter Weekend. There have been reports that indie horror film THE WRETCHED has been number one for over 5 weeks and those reports aren't totally wrong based on official stats. IFC Films is the only studio officially releasing numbers so technically THE WRETCHED does get those bragging rights but when "Deadline" gathered the numbers they could get over the last few weekends, it's TROLLS WORLD TOUR that is actually dominating.
THE WRETCHED, once official numbers were tallied from the last weekend of May, actually placed fifth behind TROLLS WORLD TOUR, THE INVISIBLE MAN, THE HUNT, and JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL. All of these movies are available for home consumption but they all grossed between $337,000-$175,000 in their respective positions. Out of the 600 locations that were open last weekend, 55% were hardtop locations, while Drive-Ins repped 45% of that count. Drive-Ins are definitely making a resurgence and they will continue to do so even though 728 theaters are expected to be back open this Friday.
The raw box office for TROLLS WORLD TOUR is just $2.6 million but keep in mind the film has dominated the PVOD chart since its release and Universal reported over $100 million in revenue from that part of the release alone and that figure has most likely grown since they reported that initial figure. Keeping these movies running in the theaters that are open isn't costing much for the studios because they don't need to order new prints and money isn't being spent on promotion. The revenue is just adding to what they're making on PVOD and it's making a pretty terrible situation for the studios pretty bearable considering no money could be coming in for any of these endeavors.
Despite focusing primarily on the PVOD, THE HIGH NOTE, starring Dakota Johnson, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Ice Cube, opened in 50 locations and pulled in $87,800. According to reports, this is pretty much in line with what it made during its initial 48-hour rental period so they're calling it a strong start for the Focus Features' release.
The official box office report could return after the July 4th weekend following Solstice Studios’ opening of Russell Crowe road rage movie UNHINGED, which will be the first official new release to hit theaters wide in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. I'm thinking it will actually happen if Christopher Nolan's TENET actually keeps its release date on July 17. According to Cinemark CEO Mark Zoradi, he has spoken frequently with Warner Bros. and they seem "optimistic" that the film won't shift off its date. Could we be getting closer to a more normal box office? Only time will tell. You can view the full box office chart for the week ending May 29-31, here.