Box Office Report: Liam Neeson Wins a Quiet Weekend
BY SCOTTIE KNOLLIN
For the second weekend in a row, Liam Neeson’s “Honest Thief” nabbed the top spot at the box office. Playing in 2,502 locations, the thriller added $2.4 million to its overall box office total. Yes, just $3.4 million. With Regal Cinemas theaters continuing to be closed and a number of other chains opting to only operate a select few locations (like Marcus Theatres, which only has one of its Fargo cinemas running), we should continue to see low-earning weekends for the rest of the year.
Add to that the lack of guaranteed blockbusters and we’re officially beginning to see the end of wide releases as we know it. Just this week, it was revealed that “No Time to Die” was being shopped to streaming services for a hefty price tag of $600 million. The James Bond film was expected to be one of the films to usher audiences back into theaters. After the failed release of “Tenet”, all bets are off when it comes to when we’ll see the next wide release of that caliber.
“Honest Thief” dropped 44% in its second weekend based on its opening weekend. In total, the film has earned $75. million in North America. It’s $2.4 million haul ranks among one of the lowest-ever first place finishes. That’s a similar feat the film earned last weekend.
The Robert De Niro-starrer “The War with Grandpa” finished in second place, again, with $1.9 million.
The weekend’s largest debut was Disney’s “The Empty Man”. The horror film earned just $1.3 million from over 2,027 locations in North America.
Delays abound for studio releases. Along with the news of “No Time to Die” looking for other avenues of release, MGM also shared “Legally Blonde 3” was being pushed further in the release calendar. Also delayed this week were “Candyman” and “Ghostbusters: Afterlife”. Warner Bros. still plans to release “Wonder Woman 1984” on Christmas Day.
TOP TEN OF THE WEEK:
HONEST THIEF - $2.4 million
THE WAR WITH GRANDPA - $1.9 million
TENET - $1.3 million
THE EMPTY MAN - $1.26 million
THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS - $577,000
HOCUS POCUS - $530,000
MONSTERS, INC. - $494,000
AFTER WE COLLIDED - $420,000
2 HEARTS - $320,000
THE NEW MUTANTS - $286,000
