Box Office: ‘Cinema Day’ Helped But Theaters Still Need More Big Movies

Tom Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick roared back to the top of the domestic box office charts, almost ending the summer at #1 for the Labor Day weekend behind Sony’s reissue of Spider-Man: No Way Home . Of course, it and all the movies in play were aided by ‘national cinema day,’ whereby every ticket at most theaters was $3 in all formats. As a result, the raw grosses for Saturday doubled from Friday despite the deeply discounted tickets, with around 8.

2 million tickets sold theatrically yesterday. And while I’m guessing theaters didn’t make much from the ticket sales, I’m assuming they made bank from concession sales. There’s a more extended conversation to be had about comping ticket sales to boost concessions (which is where the real profit comes from).

Yes, it plays into the long-term value of MoviePass, AMC A-List and related subscription services. Condensed version: If my ticket is free, I’m much more likely to drop $15 on popcorn, soda and/or a menu item. If taking a family of five to see DC Super Pets in theaters costs closer to $25 than $50, more families will make the trip and will almost certainly make up the difference in snack sales.

Spider-Man: No Way Home and Top Gun: Maverick were the weekend’s biggest grossers because there are essentially no big newbies in the marketplace, a problem we’ve had here and there since the theatrical recovery. There were six weeks between Godzilla Vs. Kong and A Quiet Place part II way back in early 2021, and some months were held up by a single big-deal tentpole ( Shang-Chi last September, The Batman this past March, Bullet Train last month, etc.

). As I (and others) have said a bazillion times, movie theaters need big or bigger movies to thrive. We know the demand is there because Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness outgrossed Captain America: Civil War in North America while Top Gun: Maverick is flirting with $1.

5 billion without a penny from China. We know this because Elvis is the second-biggest musical biopic ever in global grosses and The Black Phone is Blumhouse’s fourth or fifth (if you count Split as an original) biggest non-sequel horror flick domestically. We know this because Where the Crawdads Sing is passing $80 million domestic from a $17 million debut on a $24 million budget.

The films that were treated like big-deal theatrical releases save for Lightyear (whose reception was complicated by the last three Pixar films being released on Disney+ instead of theaters), either performed to par or massively overperformed. And yet, Cineworld is filing for bankruptcy protection. The top movies of the weekend are a 15-week-old summer release and a reissue of a 38-week-old MCU flick.

The moviegoers are there, but the movies are not. Maybe Barbarian , The Woman King and Don’t Worry Darling will all break out. Let’s get to the one new release and the high-profile reissues.

Focus Features’ Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul debuted in theaters and on Peacock concurrently. Adamma Ebo’s modestly budgeted mocumentary, starring Sterling K. Brown as a disgraced megachurch pastor trying to make a comeback and Regina Hall as his long-suffering wife, is closer to a dark dramedy than a Christopher Guest-style farce.

That’s probably part of why it pulled a C- Cinemascore grade. Regardless, it was never going to break out theatrically, so its $1. 75 million Fri-Mon weekend isn’t much of a surprise.

Maybe those decrying a lack of big screen comedies in theaters should try seeing one in a theater. Sony’s Spider-Man: No Way Home – The More Fun Stuff Edition earned $6 million over its Fri-Mon portion of an estimated $7. 6 million Labor Day weekend.

It’s technically the top-performing opener of the weekend. That brings its lifetime domestic total up to $812. 4 million.

Steven Spielberg’s Jaws returned to 3-D and/or IMAX screens, another bitterly ironic way to close the summer. Its $2. 73 million Fri-Mon gross brings its unadjusted lifetime domestic total to $266.

6 million ($1. 2 billion adjusted for inflation). When you’re nostalgic for the $9.

4 million Fri-Sun/$20 million week-long debut of Chris Nolan’s Tenet , the studios need to step up. .