Three new wide releases entered the marketplace this weekend amid increasing concerns about the coronavirus Delta variant, which has thrown a bit of cold water on the summer box office’s latter half. Among the trio of debuts, 20th Century Studios’ Free Guy managed the largest opening with an estimated $28.4M, 29% of which came from premium formats, including IMAX and 3D. The relatively strong opening serves as a testament to star Ryan Reynolds’ strong appeal with moviegoers.
Debuting in 4,165 locations – by far the widest footprint of the weekend’s three new releases – Free Guy came in slightly above expectations, partially owing to an exclusive theatrical release (the film is slated for a 45-day exclusive run in theaters) in an era when day-and-date streaming releases are becoming increasingly common. Encouragingly, the studio reports that the action-comedy increased 24% from Friday to Saturday, which could bode well for its long-term playability, particularly as the summer season winds down and provides a runway for Free Guy to perform without any tentpole releases on the near horizon.
Falling in Free Guy’s favor were fairly strong reviews (it boasts an 82% “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes) and an even better reception from moviegoers, who have lifted its Audience Score on the review aggregator to 95%. It also has an “A” Cinemascore and 4.5/5 overall rating on PostTrak – another encouraging sign for its long-term prospects. This weekend the film did particularly well with men, who made up 59% of the audience, as well young adults, with half of the opening-weekend crowd falling between the ages of 18 and 34.
Sony/Columbia’s Don’t Breathe 2 debuted at the high of expectations in second place with an estimated $10.6M — a testament both to its theatrical exclusivity and leftover audience goodwill from the first film, which debuted with $26.41M in August 2016 before ending its run with an impressive $89.22M domestically off a $10M budget. While nowhere near the opening weekend of the first movie, it’s essentially impossible to compare the theatrical performance of sequels during the pandemic with their pre-COVID predecessors. As it is, this is a decently good if not spectacular start for the film, particularly given the studio’s rather subdued marketing campaign and its appearance at the tail end of a long run of horror films at the summer box office.
Disney’s Jungle Cruise boasted another strong hold in its third weekend of release, dropping just 43% to third place with an estimated $9M. The Dwayne Johnson-Emily Blunt adventure has proven to be a solid four-quadrant performer and bright spot in the summer’s latter half, with a cume to date of $82.1M.
Aretha Franklin biopic Respect opened in fourth place with an estimated $8.8M, putting it at the higher end of expectations heading into the weekend. The UA/MGM title, which stars Jennifer Hudson as the Queen of Soul, benefitted from buzz around Hudson’s performance, perhaps accelerated by Fandango’s special sneak previews of the film last Sunday. [Ed. Note: As of press time, the studio did not provide clarification on whether the opening weekend number included grosses from last Sunday’s Fandango previews.]
Respect received a mixed reception from critics but has been largely embraced by audiences, as evidenced by its “A” Cinemascore and PostTrak ratings of 92% in the top two boxes, including a 77% “recommend” score. The audience was largely female (66% to 34% men) and skewed older, with two-thirds of the opening-weekend crowd over the age of 35, 45% over the age of 45 and 26% over age 55. The film was a particular hit among Black moviegoers, who made up 48% of this weekend’s audience.
After opening at No. 1 with a disappointing $26.21M last weekend, The Suicide Squad plummeted 70% to fifth place in its sophomore frame with an estimated $7.75M. That’s an even sharper drop than the first film in 2016, which fell 67% in its second weekend (albeit after a debuting to a massive $133.68M). The new iteration’s day-and-date release on HBO Max is clearly a factor in its theatrical underperformance, particularly with more and more moviegoers choosing to stay home due to the widespread Delta variant. The Suicide Squad has $42.89M after 10 days of release.
Universal’s Old dropped to sixth place in its fourth weekend with an estimated $2.4M, bringing the total for the M. Night Shyamalan horror film to $42.95M.
Seventh place went to Disney/Marvel’s Black Widow, which grossed an estimated $2M in its sixth weekend. That brings the domestic total for the MCU entry to $178.2M.
Focus Features’ Stillwater came in eighth place with an estimated $1.3M in its third frame, bringing the Matt Damon drama to $12.5M so far.
The Green Knight finished in ninth with an estimated $1.16M, bringing the total for the A24 fantasy to $14.74M through the end of its third weekend.
Rounding out the top 10 was Warner Bros.’ Space Jam: A New Legacy, which took in an estimated $1.11M in its fifth weekend for a domestic total of $68.08M.
OVERSEAS
Free Guy opened to an estimated $22.5M from 14 territories, including $3.4M in the U.K., $2.9M in Russia, $1.4M in Korea and $1.3M in Japan. It’s slated to open in a handful of other markets next weekend, including Spain and Brazil, and also has a Chinese release on the horizon, though the exact date is TBD.
The Suicide Squad grossed an estimated $17M from 70 territories, including a $1.9M opening in Japan, bringing the international total for the reboot to $75.2M and the global cume to $118.1M. The top overseas markets to date including the U.K. ($14.9M), Russia ($7.3M), France ($4.3M), Germany ($3.8M), Korea and Mexico (both $3.5M).
Universal’s F9 grossed an estimated $8.1M in 61 territories, including a $1.77M opening in Taiwan, upping its international tally to $509.34M and its global total to $681.4M.
Jungle Cruise took in an estimated $6.7M from 49 markets. Its international total is now $72.2M and its global total is $154.3M. Top markets to date include the U.K. ($11.7M), Russia ($7.4M), Japan ($6M) and France ($5.1M).
Paramount’s Paw Patrol: The Movie debuted in 6 markets and brought in $5.8M from territories including the U.K. ($3.2M) and France ($2.3M). It’s slated to expand to 33 territories next weekend, including Germany, Mexico, Korea, Japan and the Middle East. The kid-friendly pic opens in U.S. theaters next weekend, with a day-and-date release on the Paramount+ streaming platform.
Don’t Breathe 2 grossed an estimated $3.4M from 23 markets, including $1.5M in Latin America and $650k in Russia. The sequel is slated for release in Germany (August 19), Brazil (September 16), Mexico (September 16), Italy (September 23) and Russia (October 7).
Studio Weekend Estimates: August 13 – August 15, 2021
| Title | Estimated weekend | % change | Locations | Location change | Average | Total | Weekend | Distributor |
| Free Guy | $28,400,000 | 4,165 | $6,819 | $28,400,000 | 1 | 20th Century Studios | ||
| Don’t Breathe 2 | $10,600,000 | 3,005 | $3,527 | $10,600,000 | 1 | Sony Pictures | ||
| Jungle Cruise | $9,000,000 | -43% | 3,900 | -410 | $2,308 | $82,142,554 | 3 | Walt Disney |
| Respect | $8,805,105 | 3,207 | $2,746 | $8,805,105 | 1 | United Artists Releasing | ||
| The Suicide Squad | $7,500,000 | -71% | 4,019 | 17 | $1,866 | $42,634,747 | 2 | Warner Bros. |
| Old | $2,400,000 | -42% | 2,631 | -507 | $912 | $42,957,640 | 4 | Universal |
| Black Widow | $2,000,000 | -49% | 2,060 | -1,040 | $971 | $178,199,531 | 6 | Walt Disney |
| Stillwater | $1,300,000 | -54% | 2,179 | -432 | $597 | $12,542,695 | 3 | Focus Features |
| The Green Knight | $1,163,401 | -55% | 1,784 | -1,014 | $652 | $14,738,256 | 3 | A24 |
| Space Jam: A New Legacy | $1,115,000 | -54% | 2,869 | n/c | $389 | $68,172,738 | 5 | Warner Bros. |
| Escape Room: Tournament of Champions | $670,000 | -49% | 776 | -527 | $863 | $24,492,838 | 5 | Sony Pictures |
| Snake Eyes | $600,000 | -64% | 1,035 | -1,045 | $580 | $27,504,205 | 4 | Paramount |
| F9 | $510,000 | -58% | 1,160 | -555 | $440 | $172,059,065 | 8 | Universal |
| The Boss Baby: Family Business | $420,000 | -44% | 1,184 | -221 | $355 | $56,056,295 | 7 | Universal |
| The Forever Purge | $205,000 | -61% | 516 | -263 | $397 | $44,192,280 | 7 | Universal |
| A Quiet Place Part II | $173,000 | -47% | 419 | -101 | $413 | $159,786,039 | 12 | Paramount |
| Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain | $70,000 | -60% | 126 | -142 | $556 | $5,137,960 | 5 | Focus Features |
| Cruella | $47,000 | -65% | 95 | -53 | $495 | $8,612,094 | 12 | Walt Disney |
| The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard | $34,500 | -58% | 88 | -91 | $392 | $38,001,444 | 9 | Lionsgate |
| Summer of Soul | $14,000 | -41% | 26 | -16 | $538 | $2,287,651 | 7 | Searchlight |
| Raya and the Last Dragon | $3,000 | -79% | 10 | -14 | $300 | $54,724,194 | 24 | Walt Disney |
| Le cercle rouge | $190 | 79% | 1 | n/c | $190 | $58,203 | 971 | Rialto |
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