Monday Mixer: 'Don't Breathe' opened up a bunch of eyes
Posted Monday, August 29, 2016 at 10:48 AM Central
Last updated Monday, August 29, 2016 at 10:50 AM Central
by John Couture
So, as you probably noticed, we were dark last week here at the Monday Mixer. That was a necessary side effect of spending the weekend in Chicago. I apologize for the lack of a Mixer last week, but I won't apologize for the awesome weekend I had in the Windy City.
I live in Nashville and while it is a city on the rise and sort of a nouveau destination spot, it's not even on the same playing field as Chicago. Of course, it didn't hurt that the greatest band of all time, Pearl Jam, was playing Wrigley Field.
The concert was phenomenal and Chicago was hospitable as always which wasn't the case at the box office last week. None of the new releases were able to crack the top two spots and Ben-Hur, in particular, failed so spectacularly that I don't we'll see another swords and sandals flick for a long time.
Who am I kidding? Hollywood loves to keep going to the well, especially when that well is bone dry. So, I wouldn't be surprised to see other remakes get the proverbial green light in coming weeks.
But, I'm back and I'll do my best to make up for last week's departure. But, we both know that it will only disappoint.
Box Office 411
The last shocker of the Summer season was the horror film Don't Breathe. We were long overdue for a breakout horror performer and this one stepped in to fill that void. There really isn't much star power here, although Jane Levy is a rising star that should ride this success to more widespread acclaim, but that didn't stop the film from bringing in a nice $26 million opening.
For its studio Sony, this win was long overdue and will help to stave off the bleeding that its big budget films did for most of the Summer. While it wasn't on par with Fox's shortcomings this Summer, Sony has been reeling since the whole hacking incident, so it's good to see Sony get a bit of good news for a change.
Horror films historically have a steep drop-off, but the upcoming holiday weekend and relatively weak slate of newcomers could help Don't Breathe to a rare second week on top of the box office for a horror film. I think that it will die off (no pun intended) quickly after that, but it should hold on for a decent $80 million box office.
Mechanic: Resurrection opened up in fifth place with $7.5 million. The Jason Statham sequel to the 2011 remake of the 1972 Charles Bronson film performed better than expected, but still brought in about $4 million less than its predecessor. Have audiences finally reached their saturation point with Jason Statham? One can only hope so, but I fear that he'll continue to make films as he has sort of become the de facto action leading man playing basically the same character in each film.
Suicide Squad is up to $282 million and should finally top $300 million over the holiday weekend. So, Warner Bros. was able to take two separate DC films over the $300 million mark and yet, many feel that both films were a failure. I haven't seen either film, but I would wager that Warner Bros. has to be happy with this sustained level of performance. Sure, it's a notch or two below Marvel (for now), but it's a step in the right direction and one that they hope to build off of with next year's Wonder Woman and Justice League.
Quick Hitters
I don't really have much for quick hitters this week, but I hope to have some when we return in two weeks. That's right, next week will be another Mixer vacation as we celebrate Labor Day. Go out and see a film at the theater with us!