Box Office: ‘Captain America’ Leads Slowest Oscar Weekend in Years, ‘Last Breath’ Opens to $7.8M – Hollywood Reporter
4244_D006_00179_RCC(l-r.) Finn Cole stars as Chris Lemons, Woody Harrelson as Duncan Allcock and Simu Liu as Dave Yuasa LAST BREATH, a Focus Features release.Credit: Mark Cassar / © 2024 FOCUS FEATURES LLC
Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood ReporterSubscribe for full access to The Hollywood ReporterWith no new big titles on the marque and most of the top nominated pictures now available in the home, Marvel’s superhero pic easily stayed atop the chart in its third outing with $15 million.
By
Pamela McClintock
Senior Film Writer
Oscar weekend was a bust at the box office this year.
Overall domestic revenue is estimated to come in between $56 million and $57 million, the lowest by a long shot in at least a decade, according to ComScore. This excludes the year the awards show was delayed to early April because of the pandemic and as theaters were still struggling to come back online. Over Oscar weekend in 2021, combined revenue hit $57.2 million over the April 4-6 frame.
The reason for this year’s drought? A lack of new event product and the much-debatad performance of Marvel’s Captain America: Brave New World. And nearly all of the top Oscar nominees are now available in the home, or long done with their theatrical runs.
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Brave New World had no trouble staying atop the chart in its third outing with $15 million for a domestic total of $163.7 million $341.8 million globally. The lingering question — can it hold on like Mufasa: The Lion King, or will it ultimately be deemed a disappointment?
Relaunching the franchise with a new cast led by Anthony Mackie, Brave New World pic fell a steep 69 percent in its second weekend but dropped far less, or 47 percent, this time out. And while $15 million puts the movie on the lower end of third-weekend earnings for a Marvel Cinematic Universal title, it’s hardly in the same place as all-out bombs The Marvels or Eternals. It’s also showing more staying power than Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantamania, which tumbled 60 percent in its third outing. Captain America has the advantage of being a favorite among boys and dads, as well as playing to an ethnically diverse audience.
The weekend’s only new film was Focus Features’ deep-sea survival thriller Last Breath. The specialty pic opened on the higher end of expectations with $7.8 million domestically after receiving solid reviews and a B+ CinemaScore. It also boasts a 90 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. However, it’s still a smaller genre title.
Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu, Finn Cole and Cliff Curtis star in Last Breath, which was developed by Longshot Films and produced alongside Dark Castle Entertainment with Focus acquiring North American rights.
Alex Parkinson directed from a script by Mitchell LaFortune, Alex Parkinson and David Brooks.
Neon’s The Monkey came in No. 3 with $6.4 million for a pleasing domestic total of $24.6 million against a $10 million budget, followed by StudioCanal and Sony’s Paddington in Peru with $4.5 million for subdued domestic tally of $31.4 million. DreamWorks and Universal’s Dog Man rounded out the top five with $4.2 million in its fifth outing as it jumped the $100 million mark globally to finish Sunday with a worldwide total of $113.1 million.
Last year on Oscar weekend, Kung Fu Panda 4 opened to nearly $60 million alone. Other notable Oscar weekend openers in prior years include Scream VI ($44 million), The Lost City ($30.5 million) and Get Out ($33.7 million).
In terms of films competing for best picture this weekend, those movies that are still in theaters saw a significant bump this weekend, even if the grosses themselves were nominal since almost every film is also available for digital rental or purchase.
Neon’s front-runner Anora was up 137 percent, while A24’s The Brutalist saw a 24 percent uptick.
Among the front-runners for the top prize, Anora has grossed $15.9 domestically and $14.2 million overseas for an estimated global tally of $30.1 million through Sunday. The Brutalist‘s domestic total is on par at $15.8 million, while it’s foreign haul is $25.6 million for a global cume of $41.4 million through Sunday. Focus Features’ Conclave has earned $32.5 million domestically and $68.9 million for a worldwide haul of $101.4 million. Searchlight’s A Complete Unknown, which has also cleared the century mark, has earned $73.8 million to date domestically and $46.2 million overseas for a global haul of $119 million.
The two biggest best-picture earners are, of course, Universal’s Wicked and Legendary/Warner Bros.’ Dune: Part Two, which have earned $730 million and $716.4 million, respectively, at the global box office.Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every daySign up for THR news straight to your inbox every daySubscribe for full access to The Hollywood ReporterSend us a tip using our anonymous form.
