LOS ANGELES -- The Super Bowl weekend box office is known as a dead zone for new releases and last weekend's newcomers Gretel & Hansel and The Rhythm Section -- which underwhelmed both critically and commercially -- were no exceptions.
The domestic Super Bowl weekend box office has remained under $100 million for the last four years, with last year's haul totaling a meager $75 million.
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore, said box office numbers are typically lower during football's championship weekend. But he said Hollywood is banking on Super Bowl commercials of films to help increase numbers moving forward.
"It's a longer-term benefit for Hollywood to have trailers presented to a massive worldwide audience," Dergarabedian said. "Studios bet big during the telecast by dropping trailers, which they're doing for the first time. They are hoping to build media buzz and get people talking."
Last weekend, Columbia's Bad Boys for Life continued its winning streak into a third consecutive weekend, maintaining the top spot and adding $17.7 million for a cumulative $148 million, according to estimates from measurement firm Comscore. The film's strong showing boosted the total weekend gross to $83.1 million, keeping the year-to-date 10.8% ahead of 2019.
"It does get increasingly difficult for films that don't over-perform on Super Bowl weekend to build any head of steam going forward," Dergarabedian said. "Particularly if they don't have good reviews."
In second place, Universal's 1917 added $9.7 million in its sixth weekend for a cumulative $119.2 million. The film is up for 10 Academy Awards at the Sunday night ceremony and recently won the top prizes from the Directors Guild and Producers Guild.
Each week, 1917 has been holding on strong since receiving 10 Oscar nominations including best picture.
Dergarabedian called the war film's surge a "dream scenario."
"It's a winner all day long," he said. "It's had this picture-perfect platform release on its road to the Oscar telecast."
At No. 3, the studio's Dolittle added $7.7 million in its third weekend for a cumulative $55.2 million.
In fourth place, United Artists/Orion's Gretel & Hansel opened with $6.1 million, well below analyst projections of $10 million.
The $5 million horror fantasy stars Sophia Lillis as Gretel in a dark update to the classic fairy tale. It was poorly received with a C-minus CinemaScore and a 56% rotten score on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.
Rounding out the top five, STX Entertainment's The Gentlemen added $6 million in its second weekend (a 44% drop) for a cumulative $20.4 million.
At No. 6, Columbia's Jumanji: The Next Level added $6 million in its eighth weekend for a cumulative $291.2 million.
In seventh place, Disney's Star Wars: Episode IX -- The Rise of Skywalker added $3.2 million in its seventh weekend for a cumulative $507 million.
At No. 8, Universal's The Turning added $3.1 million in its second weekend (a 56% drop) for a cumulative $11.7 million.
In ninth place, Columbia's Little Women added $3 million in its sixth weekend for a cumulative $98.8 million.
Barely cracking the top 10, Paramount's The Rhythm Section opened with a disappointing $2.8 million, below analyst projections of $4 million to $8 million.
The Blake Lively spy thriller is about a prostitute-turned-assassin investigating a plane crash that killed her family. The $50 million film received a C-plus CinemaScore and a 33% rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes and set a record for the lowest gross among films opening in more than 3,000 theaters.
In limited release, Bleecker Street opened The Assistant in four locations to $84,702 for a per-screen average of $21,176.
The film stars Julia Garner of Netflix's Ozark as an assistant to a powerful entertainment executive and tackles themes of sexual assault and predatory behavior. It was reviewed with an 84% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Netflix granted Taylor Swift: Miss Americana a limited theatrical release but does not disclose box office grosses. The film earned a 90% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes.
ShortsTV and Magnolia Pictures' three programs of Oscar-nominated Short Films opened on 460 screens to $1.1 million for a per-screen average of $2,413.
This week, Warner Bros. opens Birds of Prey: (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), starring Margot Robbie.
MovieStyle on 02/07/2020