| Title | Weekend Gross | Total Gross | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tenet | $3,400,000 | $41,200,000 |
| 2 | The New Mutants | $1,100,000 | $19,400,000 |
| 3 | Unhinged | $1,000,000 | $17,100,000 |
| 4 | Break the Silence | $980,000 | $980,000 |
| 5 | Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back |
$908,000 | $292,600,000 |
| 6 | Infidel | $745,000 | $2,670,000 |
| 7 | Broken Hearts Gallery | $470,000 | $3,200,000 |
| 8 | Shortcut | $305,000 | $305,000 |
| 9 | Akira | $270,000 | $270,000 |
| 10 | The Last Shift | $235,000 | $235,000 |
There is going to come a day — maybe someday soon — when I’m going to put Weekend Wrap-Up on the back burner for awhile. It’s not because I don’t like writing about box office business. It’s because I do like writing about box office business and, well, there just isn’t much of it lately.
Take this weekend for example: Christopher Nolan’s Tenet was number one, again. And it was a painfully weak number one, again. The time-twisting, mind-melting thriller brought in $3,400,000 this weekend, raising its stateside total to $41,200,000. I never thought I’d see the day that a Nolan film would only have earned $41 million after multiple weeks but, then again, I never thought I’d see the day that a global pandemic had shut down theaters across the entire globe for half-a-year. Strange times, my friends. Strange times.
Warner Bros is still saying they’re happy with Tenet’s gross. They point to the global tally for the movie ($283.2 million) and the fact that many major markets in the U.S. are still closed. There is talk of certain lucrative areas of L.A. and New York opening soon, meaning a lot more cash could be coming into WB’s pockets.
However, that’s only half the story. Yes, the governors of both states may ease some COVID restrictions in those states shortly, allowing theaters to re-open. But those gubernatorial proclamations would only allow theaters to open, the choice would still be up to individual companies. And, honestly, would you want to open a movie theater right now? Tenet is playing, along with a bunch of older films too. Aside from that? The market is going to be pretty damn quiet for awhile since so many studios have pushed back their releases. I would guess that many cineplexes stay shuttered even after Governors Cuomo and Newsom allow them to re-open because there is no business to be had and it’s still not entirely safe to operate their locations right now.
We are all coming to terms with the fact that there isn’t an on-off switch to this situation. There isn’t going to be a certain weekend when movies suddenly start bringing in $50-60 million in three days again. This will take time, it’s not happening overnight. People will slowly go back to theaters when it’s truly safe and possible. Tenet wasn’t the savior of cinema, there’s a good chance that Soul and No Time to Die won’t be either. This is going to be a long, long process.
Until then? Until then you can watch some old favorites like The Empire Strikes Back and Akira. Theaters that are open will surely be bringing in other classics in the weeks ahead too because there ain’t a whole lot else to show right now.
I’ll probably be back next weekend just because I am fascinated by this stuff and I truly do feel like we are at an important moment in history that needs to be documented and examined. However, I don’t know how much exciting, new information I will have next weekend. Maybe I’ll turn this column into a re-occurring feature about my favorite Bruce Springsteen songs or dream casts for Stephen King adaptations!