Yes, last week the film had the biggest box office opening for any August opening ever, and it’s made, to date, over $465 million worldwide; but let’s look underneath. Of course, I’m referring to Warners “Suicide Squad” which the studio is already touting as a success. But is it?
First of all, though the film was No. 1 again this weekend, it took a massive box office drop of 67%. And despite last weekend’s opening numbers, the truth is that the film could have made even more; but between last Friday and Saturday, it took a surprising 41% drop, and an over 60% drop between last Sat to Sunday, meaning that word was getting around early that the film was far from good.
On top of that, during this week, it dropped some 56% on Monday, and a stunning 79% this past Friday (Aug 12). What this all means is that the film is going to struggle to make $750 million worldwide, which is the break even mark. Look at it this way – “Batman vs. Superman” has made nearly $874 million worldwide, but Warners is just beginning to see a slight profit on the film. And expect “Squad” to drop even more in the following weeks.
Coming up in second place was a film that took an old concept that hadn’t been seen in nearly 30 years, and made it new again. I’m talking about the adult, R-rated animated film, and Sony’s “Sausage Party” – the brainchild of Seth Rogen and the guys who made “This is The End” – hit pay-dirt with $33.6 million. And with a budget of only $19 million – practically low budget for the typical family friendly PG animated film – it looks good to be a box office hit and will most likely be the No.1 film next weekend.
The acclaimed Disney film “Pete’s Dragon” – their re-imagined reboot of the not-so-beloved earlier 1977 film – came in third, with $21 million. Despite rave reviews and very positive word-of-mouth, that figure may seem a disappointment. But when you consider that the film cost a modest (by Hollywood standards) $65 million to make , much less that most special effects-heavy children’s movies usually cost, it’s not bad. “The BFG” – Steven Spielberg’s film, which came and went in a flash this summer, cost $140 million to make. So look for “Pete’s Dragon” to be a substantial hit for Disney.
In the meantime, SFX’s comedy, “Bad Moms,” is looking like a genuine summer sleeper hit, with over $71 million so far, making it SFX’s biggest grosser to date.
But what’s been overlooked is that Sony Pictures’ tentpole summer film, the all-female reboot of “Ghostbusters,” is a flat out box office bust. Not only is it one of the biggest flops of the summer, but of the year as well.
The film, which cost a reported $150 million to make, has grossed $184 million worldwide so far, which means, not only did the film flop domestically, it flopped overseas as well. Sony won’t come remotely close to breaking even on the film, and stands to lose anywhere upwards from $150 million.
So what happened? Here are a few theories.
— The fanboy boycott – As soon as the project was announced, thousands of immature fanboys screamed bloody murder because their sainted boyhood favorite movie was being defiled by a bunch of girls, and they swore to boycott the film. Though it was mostly laughed off as a bunch of crybabies pouting, it’s possible that their boycott actually had an effect on the box office more than anyone expected.
— Lousy trailers – Sony did itself no favors by releasing an unfunny mess of a first trailer for the film, which might have help diminish interest in the film. But the studio, seemingly not realizing their mistake, compounded their error by releasing a second unfunny trailer, which did even more damage.
— Not good enough – The film was simply not funny or good enough. Though it got some very positive reviews and some favorable word-of-mouth, it also received some fairly bad reviews. Needless to say, word of mouth simply wasn’t string enough to keep the film going at the box office.
— The “so what?” factor – Audiences seemingly just weren’t interested in seeing another “Ghostbusters” film (with still sour memories of “Ghostbusters 2”) despite an all-female cast. One could argue that, if the cast had been all male, it still would have done just as badly, or even worse.
— The no name factor – Melissa McCarthy is maybe the biggest name among the film’s main cast, which comprises of mostly “Saturday Night Live” alums, who one could argue weren’t well known especially in middle America. With a budget that huge, the studio should maybe have gone after bigger names to join McCarthy to protect their investment. For example, why not Wanda Sykes, who’s definitely a bigger name than the other three in the film, and her patented laid back cynical persona would have counterbalanced well with the crazy going-ons in the film.
What do you say?
The top 12 box office films this weekend follow below:
1) Suicide Squad WB $43,770,000 Total: $222,874,728
2) Sausage Party Sony $33,600,000
3) Pete’s Dragon BV $21,501,000
4) Jason Bourne Uni. $13,620,000 Total: $126,782,345
5) Bad Moms STX $11,450,000 Total: $71,461,293
6) The Secret Life of Pets Uni. $8,840,000 Total: $335,942,075
7) Star Trek Beyond Par. $6,800,000 Total: $139,679,949
8) Florence Foster Jenkins Par. $6,580,000
9) Nine Lives EC $3,500,000 Total: $13,550,825
10) Lights Out WB (NL) $3,220,000 Total: $61,134,818
11) Nerve LGF $2,650,000 Total: $33,098,395
12) Ghostbusters Sony $2,315,000 Total: $121,724,002