Sony Equator 3 – The reunion of director Anthony Fuqua and Denzel Washington – concludes the summer on a high note at the box office.
The film’s opening provides the final boost needed to push the summer’s domestic box office above $4 billion for the first time in the post-pandemic era, a much-needed boost for Hollywood studios and theater owners. Equator 3The estimated $42 million opening over four days also makes it the second-biggest Labor Day launch behind Marvel’s Shang Qi and the Legend of the Ten Rings ($94.7 million). The holiday isn’t usually home to big props, but 2021 is Shang-chi It was an exception as the box office was struggling to emerge from the pandemic.
The industry appeared to hit a $4 billion goal on Friday in a major win for studios and theater owners. The final figure for summer 2023 could reach nearly $4.1 billion by the end of the four-day Labor Day weekend, a 16 percent increase from 2022 but still lagging 2019 by 5.7 percent. (Before Barbenheimer, the deficit through 2019 was a whopping 15 percent.)
“For the industry, after a three-year hiatus, generating enough heat at the summer box office to once again reach the $4 billion benchmark for the season is a remarkable accomplishment made all the more interesting by the unexpected and often confusing trajectory that has led.” to this major milestone,” says Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “From Barbenheimer to Freedom’s voice And a host of other hits and somewhat inexplicable flops, the unpredictable nature of this momentous 18-week passage was on full display. Equator 3 It takes us out on a high note!
Heading to the weekend, Equator 3 It was tracking to take in $30 million for four days, but strong word-of-mouth began when audiences gave the trilogy a glowing cinematic score. The film benefits from being shown to an ethnically diverse audience. Caucasians make up 33% of Friday ticket buyers, followed by Blacks (31%), Latinos (20%) and Asian/other (15%), according to PostTrak.
Equator 3 The highest start of the series has been confirmed by the time the final weekend numbers are tallied, despite the first two debuting during the traditional three-day weekends. The first picture opened with $34.1 million, followed by $36 million for the sequel, not adjusted for inflation. The estimated three-day cost of the film is about $35 million.
Greta Gerwig Barbie It easily holds on to No. 2 in its seventh weekend with a projected four-day domestic gross of over $13 million. Warner Bros. pic hit another milestone on Friday when it jumped the $600 million mark domestically and surpassed the $1.359 billion achieved by Universal and Illumination’s Super Mario Bros movie at the worldwide box office to become the highest-grossing picture of 2023 so far Barbie It has now grossed $763.4 million overseas for a cume of $1.365 billion.
Elsewhere in the top five is the capital Blue beetle It’s on track to take third place at the Labor Day box office with an estimated total of $9 million to $10 million over four days for a domestic total approaching $60 million by the end of Sunday. The film remains better than expected after a soft opening.
Sony Gran Turismo: Based on a true story It plummets by 62 percent in its second weekend. The four-day Labor Day pic is estimated at $8.5 million on a $30.4 million cume as of Monday.
Oppenheimer, like Barbie , continues to make headlines in its seventh weekend. The film will cross the $850 million mark at the global box office to become Christopher Nolan’s third biggest film of all time. In North America, it’s looking to take fifth place with $7.2 million for the four-day weekend for a domestic total of $310.3 million through Monday.
More is coming.
September 3, 7:45 AM: Updated with revised estimates.
A version of this story was originally published on September 2 at 7:57 a.m
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