Oscar Weekend Box Office Report

A Disappointing Weekend for Box Office Earnings

This year’s Oscar weekend was not kind to the box office. According to ComScore, the overall revenue for the domestic market is expected to be around $56 million to $57 million. This amount is strikingly low and marks the worst performance in at least ten years—excluding the year when the Oscars were postponed to April due to the pandemic. To give some perspective, during the 2021 Oscar weekend, earnings were notably higher, reaching $57.2 million.

Reasons for Low Earnings

Several factors contributed to this year’s disappointing box office performance. Firstly, there was a noticeable lack of new, exciting films to draw audiences into theaters. Moreover, the much-discussed performance of Marvel’s Captain America: Brave New World also played a role. Most of the movies nominated for Oscars this year are already available at home, or they have completed their theater runs.

The Performance of Captain America: Brave New World

Despite these broader challenges, Captain America: Brave New World managed to hold onto the top spot at the box office during its third weekend, earning $15 million. This brings its total domestic earnings to $163.7 million, while its global earnings stand at $341.8 million. However, there remains a question regarding its long-term success: Will it be able to maintain its momentum like Mufasa: The Lion King did, or will it ultimately be seen as a disappointment?

When the franchise was relaunched with a new cast led by Anthony Mackie, Brave New World experienced a significant 69% drop in earnings during its second weekend. Fortunately, it has shown more resilience this weekend, only dropping 47%. Although $15 million in its third weekend is considered lower than what is typical for Marvel films, it’s still not in the same category as massive failures like The Marvels or Eternals. The film is appealing to a broad audience, particularly to boys and fathers, as well as to a diverse ethnic audience.

New Releases and Their Performance

The only new film to debut this weekend was Focus Features’ deep-sea survival thriller, Last Breath. It opened with $7.8 million, which is on the higher end of expectations, after receiving good reviews and a B+ CinemaScore. The film also boasts a 90% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, showing that it resonated well with viewers. However, being a smaller genre title limits its overall impact at the box office.

Last Breath features a cast that includes Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu, Finn Cole, and Cliff Curtis. The film was developed by Longshot Films and produced by Dark Castle Entertainment with Focus acquiring North American rights. Directed by Alex Parkinson, the movie’s script was written by Mitchell LaFortune, Alex Parkinson, and David Brooks.

Other Films in the Top Five

Following Captain America: Brave New World and Last Breath, the box office saw relative success from other films. Neon’s The Monkey ranked third with $6.4 million, bringing its total to $24.6 million against a $10 million budget. StudioCanal and Sony’s Paddington in Peru earned $4.5 million, giving it a total of $31.4 million. Lastly, DreamWorks and Universal’s Dog Man earned $4.2 million in its fifth weekend, surpassing the $100 million mark globally with a total of $113.1 million.

In comparison, last year’s Oscar weekend was significantly more successful, with Kung Fu Panda 4 opening to nearly $60 million alone. Some notable films that performed well during previous Oscar weekends include Scream VI ($44 million) and Get Out ($33.7 million).

Oscar Contenders and Their Box Office Boost

In terms of films vying for the Best Picture award, those still showing in theaters saw some increases this weekend. Even though their box office gains weren’t huge, it is worth noting that almost all of these films are also available for digital rentals or purchases, which may have affected theater attendance.

Notably, Neon’s Anora saw an impressive 137% increase in revenue, while A24’s The Brutalist enjoyed a 24% bump as well. Among the leading contenders for the top prize, Anora has earned $15.9 million domestically and $14.2 million internationally, totaling approximately $30.1 million. The Brutalist has a comparable domestic total of $15.8 million, and its foreign earnings bring it to a combined total of $41.4 million. Focus Features’ Conclave has performed even better with $32.5 million domestically, and its global earnings are $101.4 million.

Notably, Searchlight’s A Complete Unknown has also crossed the $100 million mark, tallying $119 million overall with $73.8 million earned domestically and $46.2 million internationally.

The two strongest contenders for the Best Picture award, however, are Universal’s Wicked and Legendary/Warner Bros.’ Dune: Part Two, which have grossed a remarkable $730 million and $716.4 million at the global box office, respectively.

In summary, this year’s Oscar weekend has proven to be a slow one for box office sales. While Captain America: Brave New World continues to perform reasonably well, the lack of new blockbuster films and the availability of contenders through home viewing options have left theaters struggling to attract audiences.