LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – As the domestic box office revenue for August reaches $92 million over the weekend, the possibility of matching or surpassing the revenue from 2023 seems promising for the first time since March. The success is attributed to the performance of holdover films, as three new wide releases combined only brought in $19 million, accounting for about 20 percent of the weekend’s total revenue.
“Blink Twice,” directed by Zoë Kravitz and featuring Channing Tatum, made its debut over the weekend and secured the fourth spot with a somewhat underwhelming $7.3 million in earnings. Despite the lukewarm start at the box office, the $20 million production garnered enough attention, with Amazon streaming the film, to generate interest among viewers.
Last week’s top two Disney titles, “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Alien: Romulus,” exchanged positions on the box office chart. “Deadpool & Wolverine” saw a minimal 39 percent drop in its fifth week, raking in $18.3 million for a domestic total of $577 million, exceeding expectations and becoming the most successful Marvel title since “Avengers: Endgame.”
“It Ends with Us,” a sleeper hit of the summer, secured the third spot with earnings just under $12 million in its third weekend. Surpassing expectations, the film has accumulated $121 million domestically, appealing predominantly to a female audience.
Sony’s faith-based film “The Forge” directed by Alex Kendrick emerged as the second-best opener, grossing $6.6 million in 1,818 theaters. Despite showing in significantly fewer theaters than other releases, the film’s compelling narrative of a high-school graduate finding transformation through faith resonated with audiences, reflected in its A+ Cinemascore.
“The Crow,” a remake of a comic book adaptation, did not perform as well as expected, landing at the eighth spot with $4.6 million in earnings. The film, costing $50 million to produce, faces the challenge of turning profits in the future as it fell short compared to other releases in its opening weekend.
With the box office showing a 14 percent decline annually, the upcoming release of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” on September 6 offers hope for a successful string of post-summer releases, aiming to reach a total revenue of $8 billion in 2024.