Weekend Estimates: Spider-Man: No Way Home Logs 6th Weekend at No. 1 w/ $11M, Most for Any Superhero Title; MCU Pic Crosses $1B Overseas

Over a weekend with no new wide releases, Spider-Man: No Way Home easily retained the No. 1 spot at the North American box office with an estimated $11M, down just 21% from last weekend. The domestic total for the Marvel franchise pic now stands at a jaw-dropping $735.89M. The web-slinger sequel has now spent a total of six weeks at the top of the chart, surpassing Black Panther’s five-week run at No. 1 in 2018 to give No Way Home the honor of most weekends at No. 1 for any superhero film or comic-book adaptation. In terms of 21st-century releases, Avatar holds the record for most weeks at the top of the domestic box office with a total of seven weekends – a total No Way Home doesn’t appear likely to surpass given that two major new studio films, Jackass Forever and Moonfall, are slated to drop next weekend. No Way Home’s six-week run at No. 1 is undeniably impressive,...

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Spider-Man: No Way Home Crosses $1B Overseas, First Since 2019’s Lion King

Sony Pictures’ and Marvel Studios’ superhero sequel Spider-Man: No Way Home reached $1B overseas this weekend, the first film to do so during the pandemic era and the first since 2019’s The Lion King. The film’s top 10 overseas markets so far are: U.K. ($120.1M) Mexico ($74.4M) South Korea ($61.5M) France ($61.2M) Australia ($55.2M) Brazil ($53.8M) Russia ($46.0M) Germany ($45.1M) India ($36.2M) Japan ($29.7M) The title has now earned $1.003B overseas, in addition to $735.8M domestically, for a $1.74B total. The film has not yet been released in the world’s biggest overseas market, China. No release date there has been officially announced, either, leading to speculation that it might not receive one at all.  The other nine films to previously reach $1B overseas are: Avatar: $2.08B in 2009 Avengers: Endgame with $1.93B in 2019 Titanic: $1.54B in 1997 Avengers:...

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UDITOA 2022: How Drive-In Cinemas Have Endured the Pandemic

Interview with United Drive-In Theatre Owners Association President John Vincent Jr. A popular narrative emerged during the first phase of cinema reopenings in the summer of 2020: drive-ins—purportedly unaffected by most Covid-19 restrictions—were enjoying a land-office business. The reality was significantly bleaker than the rosy picture painted in those reports. Boxoffice Pro spoke with United Drive-In Theatre Owners Association (UDITOA) president John Vincent Jr. ahead of the association’s first convention since the onset of the pandemic to get a sense of how Covid-19 did, in fact, affect the drive-in business—and why he believes the sector’s recovery will carry on unabated, despite the hardships of recent years. Drive-ins led the reopening process for cinemas in the United States in 2020, and although there were many headlines heralding a renaissance for the sector,...

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Weekend Box Office Forecast: Spider-Man: No Way Home Goes for Sixth #1 Finish, Will Surpass Black Panther‘s Comic Book Movie Record

The industry’s long trudge through January approaches its final hurdle this weekend as — yet again — no major releases will hit theaters, leaving the door wide open for Spider-Man: No Way Home to set another record. Since bowing before Christmas, the Marvel Cinematic Universe phenom has soared beyond even the most optimistic of expectations throughout its domestic and international run. On the home front, the pic reclaimed first place last weekend after a brief interlude for the debut of Scream over MLK weekend. It was Spidey’s fifth turn atop the box office, which tied it with Black Panther for the most in history by any comic book adaptation or superhero film. Various market relevancies make it an apples-and-oranges comparison to many of history’s biggest films, but said record will easily fall this weekend as No Way Home is on a competition-less trajectory for a sixth...

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Focus Features Release Date Shuffle: Downton Abbey: A New Era Moves to May 20, 2022; The Outfit Moves to March 18, 2022

Focus Features, Universal Pictures International and Carnival Films have announced that the global release of date Downton Abbey: A New Era has moved from March 18, 2022 to May 20, 2022 in the U.S. In the U.K., the sequel will now hit theaters on April 29, 2022. Additionally, Focus has moved the release date of The Outfit, the directorial debut of Oscar-winning screenwriter Graham Moore, from February 25, 2022 to March 18, 2022, taking Downton’s spot on the calendar. You can find full breakdowns of each film below. Downton Abbey: A New Era: From award-winning creator Julian Fellowes comes the motion picture event DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA. The much-anticipated cinematic return of the global phenomenon reunites the beloved cast as they go on a grand journey to the South of France to uncover the mystery of the Dowager Countess’ newly inherited villa. The original principal...

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Arts Alliance Media Launches Screenwriter TMS Update with Additional Automated Features

Arts Alliance Media has launched a new version of Screenwriter’s theater management system (TMS) software. Available exclusively to Arts Alliance Media customers, the update allows exhibitors to further fine-tune their daily operations by simplifying tasks, reducing costs, and increasing automation. The flagship feature of the Screenwriter update is all-new smart transfer technology, which allows exhibitors to transfer data simultaneously from multiple sources. This allows them to ensure that content is delivered more quickly ahead of playback, optimized for theaters with seven or more auditoriums. The new version of Screenwriter boasts several automatic functions, including determining the priority of transfers based on an exhibitor’s upcoming schedule; initiating transfers after the last screening ends; and canceling and restarting stagnant transfers to help ease peak...

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Back to the Big Screen: Industry Leaders on In-Cinema Advertising’s Pandemic Journey

The recovery of the cinema sector—the ebbs and flows, the changes from market to market, and its eventual return to prepandemic levels—is mirrored by the community of companies that work with cinemas to make their operation possible. Included in this, of course, is the cinema advertising community, which was hit by downturns not only in exhibition, but in myriad other industries that buy ads to put on cinema screens, from restaurants to travel. Below, Boxoffice Pro speaks to representatives from leading cinema advertising agencies—including international outfits Pearl & Dean (U.K.) and Val Morgan (Australia and New Zealand)—to get their take on how their corner of the exhibition industry has weathered the pandemic storm. Pearl & Dean – Kathryn Jacob, CEO National CineMedia – Tom Lesinski, CEO Screenvision Media – John Partilla, CEO Spotlight Cinema Networks –...

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France’s VEO Cinémas Selects Globecast, in Partnership With EasyBroadcast, to Create a Live Cinema B2B OTT Platform

PRESS RELEASE Paris, 25th January 2022 — Globecast, the global solutions provider for media and content management, has announced that VEO Cinémas, based in the south of France, has selected Globecast, in partnership with EasyBroadcast, a France-based, patented hybrid streaming technology supplier, to provide a B2B OTT service for distributing value-added live content to cinemas around France. For some years now, François Aymé, Director of Cinéma Jean Eustache in Pessac, near Bordeaux, has been offering live pre- and post-screening presentations, conferences, panels and Q&A audience participation sessions to accompany screenings of selected films. The service, called Unipop, had proven to be very popular with cinemagoers at Cinéma Jean Eustache, so VEO Cinémas wanted to bring the same live content to any cinema wishing to take part around France. Pierre...

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Harkness Donates Two Screens to BAFTA’s Redeveloped Headquarters

Cinema screen manufacturer Harkness has donated two screens to BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) for the independent arts charity’s redeveloped headquarters at 195 Piccadilly in London. The screens, both mini perforated, are a Matt Plus at 10.4m x 4.70m in the BAFTA headquarters’ Princess Anne Theatre, which has also been upgraded to a Dolby Theatre, and a High Contrast Grey Preview at 4.70m x 2.02m in the Run Run Shaw Theatre. “Harkness have very kindly gifted two cinema screens to the redevelopment of our headquarters which will create some fabulous spaces to enable us to take to the next level our programme of support for...

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AMC Theatres Signs Exclusive Cinema Screen Supply Agreement with STRONG/MDI Screen Systems

STRONG/MDI Screen Systems, a subsidiary of Ballantyne Strong, has signed an exclusive cinema screen supply agreement with AMC Theatres for its U.S.-based locations. Mark Roberson, CEO of Ballantyne Strong, said in a statement, “AMC is a true industry leader focused on the consumer and on providing a premium cinema experience, and we’re pleased to have been selected to meet all of their projection screen needs. We are proud to build on our legacy as the industry leader helping AMC bring consumers the best theatrical viewing experience.”     “We are excited to continue our long relationship with AMC Theatres, which dates back decades,” added Ray Boegner, president of Strong Entertainment. “AMC is the largest movie exhibition company with more than 10,000 screens, and we believe this exclusive agreement reflects the focus that STRONG/MDI places on quality...

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Star Cinema Grill Acquires Two Chicago Area IPIC Locations

Dine-in cinema company Star Cinema Grill has purchased two former iPic locations in the Chicago suburbs of Chicago suburbs of South Barrington and Bolingbrook, with plans to reopen them both by March, the company announced Monday. Star Cinema Grill will add premium recliner seats with seat heaters and seat-side food and beverage service to all seats, in all auditoriums. The menus will also be updated to include items like “Everything But The Bagel Hummus,” Southwest Eggrolls, Hand Battered Chicken Tenders, and Strawberry Chicken & Walnut Salad. Houston-based Star Cinema Grill currently operates nine cinemas in Texas and Illinois. “We are so excited to add two more fantastic theaters to our chain, and give our Hollywood Palms Cinema brand some sister locations in the Chicago market,” Star Cinema Grill’s Vice President of Development Jason Ostrow said in a press release....

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Weekend Estimates: Spider-Man: No Way Home ($14.13M) Reclaims No. 1 Spot From Scream ($12.4M); Webslinger Sequel is Now 6th-Highest-Grossing Film Globally at $1.69B

It was a neck-and-neck race for the top spot at the box office this weekend, with two holdovers – last weekend’s No. 1 film Scream and the six-week-old Spider-Man: No Way Home – vying for bragging rights over a slow frame in which two wide openers failed to make much of an impression. Emerging victorious was Spider-Man: No Way Home, which took in an estimated $14.13M, a drop of just 30% from last weekend. That brings the Marvel blockbuster to $721.01M, putting it in fourth place all-time domestically (the No. 3 spot is held by Avatar, which has a lifetime gross of $760.5M in North America). Globally, Spider-Man: No Way Home reached a new milestone, surpassing the lifetime grosses of both The Lion King ($1.66B) and Jurassic World ($1.67B) to become the No. 6 all-time grosser at the worldwide box office. No Way Home brought in an estimated $27.7M from 63 markets this weekend...

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Paramount Pushes Mission: Impossible 7 to 2023, Mission: Impossible 8 to 2024

Audiences around the world will have to wait an additional year to see Tom Cruise ride a motorcycle off a cliff in Mission: Impossible 7. Paramount has pushed back the release of the next two installments of the Mission: Impossible franchise by a year. The seventh entry in the series, previously set for a September 30 debut, has been rescheduled to July 14, 2023. The eight film in the franchise has been pushed from July 7, 2023 to June 28, 2024. Paramount has also moved the release of its animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles feature, previously dated for August 11, 2023, to August 4, 2023. The upcoming A Quiet Place sequel, as yet untitled, is moving from March 31, 2023 to September 22, 2023. The post Paramount Pushes <em>Mission: Impossible 7</em> to 2023, <em>Mission: Impossible 8</em> to 2024 appeared first on Boxoffice. from Boxoffi...

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Long Range Box Office Forecast: Uncharted, Death on the Nile, Jackass Forever, and Q1 Prospects through Presidents’ Day Frame

Although the new year has begun rather slowly in terms of new releases, the late winter and early spring movie calendar isn’t far off as we reach the back end of January. It will still be a few more weeks before the box office truly ramps up to consistent levels again, but February will at least begin an upward progression that — as usual, pending the state of the pandemic — should see a steadier state of mainstream films bring in valuable business for exhibitors. This week’s return of the Long Range report looks four weeks out with an eye on major releases through Presidents’ Day weekend. Based on early January trends and projections for the next month, it should be around that time frame when domestic box office approaches the $500 million threshold for 2022 — a feat which didn’t occur until the middle of May last year due to the prolonged impact of pandemic closures...

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