Barbarian
The 20th Century Studios and New Regency horror-thriller Barbarian debuted in first place with an estimated $10.0M, slightly above pre-release projections which had it closer to $8M.
Notably, with only 2,340 theaters, the film managed to capture first place despite only notching the seventh-widest screen count of any film in the marketplace. That’s behind:
- Spider-Man: No Way Home 2022 re-release (3,215)
- The Invitation (3,117)
- Bullet Train (3,056)
- DC League of Super-Pets (3,043)
- Top Gun: Maverick (3,005)
- Beast (2,793)
Relative to some other comparable horror titles of the post-pandemic era, Barbarian opened:
- -5% below 2021’s Don’t Breathe 2 ($10.6M)
- +13% above 2021’s Escape Room: Tournament of Champions ($8.8M)
- +14% above 2021’s Spiral ($8.7M)
- +46% above August’s The Invitation ($6.8M)
- +84% above 2021’s Malignant ($5.4M, debuting day-and-date simultaneously in cinemas and on HBO Max)
The estimated audience for Barbarian was 58% male and 61% ages 25+.
Overseas, the film debuted in only seven markets (primarily smaller Latin American territories) to only $0.5M.
Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva
The Hindi-language action-adventure Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva started in second place with an estimated $4.4M, on the slightly higher end of pre-release projections which were around $3.5M.
The release from Star Studios began in only 810 theaters, only about 25% the reach of the widest films in the marketplace. Accordingly, Its $5,432 per-theater average ranks first among this weekend’s titles.
Compared to other prominent Indian films of recent years, that debut is:
- -53% below March’s RRR ($9.5M in 1,200 theaters)
- -57% below 2017’s Baahubali 2: The Conclusion ($10.4M in 419 theaters)
- +23% above 2014’s P.K. ($3.5M in 272 theaters)
- +35% above 2016’s Dangal ($3.2M in 331 theaters)
- +36% above 2015’s Baahubali: The Beginning ($3.2M in 236 theaters)
The estimated audience for Shiva was 58% male and skewed older at 70% ages 25+.
Overseas, Shiva’s India debut this weekend led the box office there with $18.9M, marking the #8 opening weekend of all time and the #2 opening for an Indian film.
Top Gun: Maverick
Thanks in part to a boost in screen count, Paramount’s Top Gun: Maverick improbably returned to a third nonconsecutive appearance at #1 last weekend, with $6.0M in its 15th weekend.
Now on its 16th weekend, it falls to fourth place with a -47% decline, marking its steepest drop to date. Its previous steepest came on its third weekend, when it fell -42% against the massive $145M debut of Jurassic World: Dominion.
After earning “only” the #41 opening weekend of all time ($126.7M), it has remained near the top of all time for every frame since – and usually top 10:
- #8 second weekend of all time ($90.0M)
- #10 third weekend ($51.8M)
- #3 fourth weekend ($44.6M)
- #4 fifth weekend ($29.6M)
- #4 sixth weekend ($25.5M)
- #7 seventh weekend ($15.5M)
- #8 eighth weekend ($12.3M)
- #6 ninth weekend ($10.2M)
- #10 tenth weekend ($8.4M)
- #17 eleventh weekend ($7.0M)
- #9 twelfth weekend ($7.0M again)
- #13 thirteenth weekend ($5.8M)
- #13 fourteenth weekend ($4.7M)
- #7 fifteenth weekend ($6.0M)
- Now, the #29 sixteenth weekend ($3.1M)
Overseas, Maverick stands at $747.8M, for $1.45B globally – the top film of 2022 both globally and domestically. The top five overseas market totals to date include:
- U.K. ($101.5M)
- Japan ($92.0M)
- South Korea ($66.8M)
- Australia ($64.0M)
- France ($57.4M)
Lifemark
Fathom Events’ faith-based Lifemark debuted in seventh place with $2.2M.
Compared to some other pandemic-era faith-based films, that opening box office is:
- -62% behind 2021’s American Underdog ($5.8M)
- -37% behind January’s Redeeming Love ($3.5M)
- -59% behind April’s Father Stu ($5.4M)
- +58% above May’s Family Camp ($1.4M)
Playing in 1,531 theaters, it commanded less than half the reach of this weekend’s widest releases.
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Sony Pictures’ re-release of December 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home took third place with $5.4M. This frame, it falls a steep -76% to $1.3M and 10th place.
That’s steeper than the sophomore drops for all of the other highest-grossing theatrical re-releases in recent memory:
- 2011’s re-release of 1993’s The Lion King (-27%)
- 2012’s re-release of 1997’s Titanic (-31%)
- 2009’s re-release of 1995’s Toy Story (-38%)
- 2010’s re-release of 2009’s Avatar (-44%)
- 2012’s re-release of 1991’s Beauty and the Beast (-51%)
- 2013’s re-release of 1993’s Jurassic Park (-52%)
- 2012’s re-release of 1999’s Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (-65%)
- August’s re-release of 1982’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (-69%)
Universal’s re-release of 1975’s Jaws also took ninth place last weekend with $2.6M. Universal does not appear to have reported a Sunday morning studio estimate for this frame, though actual data should come out Monday afternoon.
Interviews
Boxoffice PRO has interviewed the directors behind four films which earned $1M+ this weekend.
- Read Boxoffice PRO’s interview with Bullet Train director David Leitch here.
- Read Boxoffice PRO’s interview with Beast director Baltasar Kormákur here.
- Read Boxoffice PRO’s interview with The Invitation director Jessica M. Thompson here.
- Read Boxoffice PRO’s interview with Where the Crawdads Sing director Olivia Newman here.
Weekend comparisons
Total box office this weekend came in around $38.5M, which is:
- -30% below last weekend’s total ($55.1M), when Top Gun: Maverick led for a third nonconsecutive frame with $6.0M.
- -65% below the equivalent weekend in 2021 ($110.4M), when Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings led with $75.3M.
- -72% below the equivalent weekend in the last pre-pandemic year 2019 ($138.4M), when It: Chapter Two led with $91.0M.
This weekend marks the second-lowest total weekend of 2022, behind only the January 28 frame, when Spider-Man: No Way Home (still during its original run) led with $11.0M on its seventh frame.
This also marks the third consecutive weekend in which the top film fell at or below $10M.
For context, the last time that happened at all was May 21-23, 2021, when Spiral led with $4.5M in its sophomore frame. At that point, the box office was only just starting to make the first tentative steps of its post-pandemic recovery.
YTD comparisons
Year-to-date box office stands around $5.39B. That’s:
- 2.40x this same point in the pandemic recovery year of 2021 ($2.24B), down from 2.46x after last weekend.
- -32.4% behind this same point in 2019, the last pre-pandemic year ($7.99B), down from -31.8% last weekend. The peak was around -29.5%, set in mid-July.
Top distributors
- Universal ($1.25B)
- Paramount ($1.16B)
- Disney ($879.9M)
- Warner Bros. ($712.0M)
- Sony Pictures ($695.4M)
Sunday’s Studio Weekend Estimates:
| Title | Estimated weekend | % change | Locations | Location change | Average | Total | Weekend | Distributor |
| Barbarian | $10,000,000 | 2,340 | $4,274 | $10,000,000 | 1 | 20th Century Studios | ||
| Brahmastra Part 1: Shiva | $4,400,000 | 810 | $5,432 | $4,400,000 | 1 | Star Studios | ||
| Bullet Train | $3,250,000 | -44% | 3,056 | -61 | $1,063 | $92,543,738 | 6 | Sony Pictures |
| Top Gun: Maverick | $3,170,000 | -47% | 3,005 | -108 | $1,055 | $705,650,344 | 16 | Paramount |
| DC League of Super Pets | $2,835,000 | -44% | 3,043 | -72 | $932 | $85,421,285 | 7 | Warner Bros. |
| The Invitation | $2,620,000 | -46% | 3,117 | 3 | $841 | $18,845,563 | 3 | Sony Pictures |
| Lifemark | $2,212,288 | 1,531 | $1,445 | $2,212,288 | 1 | Fathom Events | ||
| Beast | $1,800,000 | -55% | 2,793 | -424 | $644 | $29,375,780 | 4 | Universal |
| Minions: The Rise of Gru | $1,650,000 | -53% | 2,274 | -183 | $726 | $362,331,415 | 11 | Universal |
| Spider-Man: No Way Home | $1,300,000 | -76% | 3,215 | -720 | $404 | $813,348,862 | Sony Pictures | |
| Where the Crawdads Sing | $1,200,000 | -41% | 1,990 | -84 | $603 | $87,588,924 | 9 | Sony Pictures |
| Thor: Love and Thunder | $1,000,000 | -63% | 1,850 | -240 | $541 | $342,270,791 | 10 | Walt Disney |
| Nope | $830,000 | -53% | 1,142 | -376 | $727 | $122,007,805 | 8 | Universal |
| Medieval | $810,000 | 1,311 | $618 | $810,000 | 1 | The Avenue Entertainment | ||
| Elvis | $500,000 | -55% | 1,104 | -327 | $453 | $150,287,493 | 12 | Warner Bros. |
| Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. | $365,000 | -74% | 1,870 | -12 | $195 | $2,399,225 | 2 | Focus Features |
| Orphan: First Kill | $300,000 | -59% | 428 | -101 | $701 | $5,083,460 | 4 | Paramount |
| Breaking | $225,754 | -66% | 616 | -293 | $366 | $2,646,465 | 3 | Bleecker Street |
| Jurassic World: Dominion | $157,000 | -67% | 448 | -322 | $350 | $375,859,130 | 14 | Universal |
| Fall | $155,000 | -46% | 267 | -151 | $581 | $6,708,832 | 5 | Lionsgate |
| Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris | $112,000 | -26% | 341 | 74 | $328 | $10,166,715 | 9 | Focus Features |
| The Black Phone | $101,000 | -59% | 185 | -68 | $546 | $89,751,845 | 12 | Universal |
| UnFavorable Odds | $58,184 | 445 | $131 | $58,184 | 1 | Atlas Distribution | ||
| Easter Sunday | $50,000 | -71% | 135 | -196 | $370 | $12,970,050 | 6 | Universal |
| Hockeyland | $49,500 | 64 | $773 | $49,500 | 1 | Greenwich | ||
| Hold Me Tight | $15,051 | 5 | $3,010 | $15,051 | 1 | Kino Lorber |
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