Monday Final: Disney has made it official: Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi is definitely the second best opening ever at the domestic B.O. with $220M after its previous installment Force Awakens two years ago with $247.966M. This now put 2017 on a course to hit $11 billion at the domestic box office for a third year in a row per ComScore.
Last year at this time with Rogue One in the market, we only had $785.6M left to clear $11 billion and with $702M left to go this year and Sony’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle in the mix (expected to gross $60M through six days starting Wednesday), there’s no reason why we can’t hit $11 billion. At this point in time, 2017 would rank as the third best box office year behind last year’s record $11.4B, and 2015’s $11.1 billion. Currently, through this past weekend, domestic B.O. is at $10.3 billion, 3% behind the same Jan.-Dec. period last year. All in, this weekend grossed $277.7M, +31% over last year.
Broken out, Last Jedi owns the 2nd best Thursday night at $45M after Force Awakens‘ $57M, 2nd best opening day ever at the domestic B.O. with $104.8M behind Force Awakens’ $119M, fourth best Saturday of all-time with $64M and fourth best Sunday with $51.3M. Last Jedi‘s near $25M Imax ticket sales are the best this year to date for the large format exhibitor and the 2nd bet ever after Force Awakens. Regal theatres equipped with the motion 4DX seats and environmental effects such as water, wind, scent and more, saw exceptionally high occupancy rates across the U.S. with downtown Los Angeles and Union Square, NYC, selling out every show from Thursday night until Sunday and near 85% occupancy rates in Seattle, Orlando and Times Square venues equipped with the cinema seat technology.
ComScore’s final figures for Dec. 15-17:
1.) Star Wars: The Last Jedi (DIS), 4,232 theaters /3-day cume: $220M/Wk 1
2.) Ferdinand (FOX), 3,621 theaters / 3-day cume: $13.4M/Wk 1
3.) Coco(DIS), 3,155 theaters (-593) / 3-day cume: $9.9M(-46%)/Total: $150.7M / Wk 4
4.) Wonder (Lionsgate), 3,047 theaters (-472) /3-day cume: $5.2M (-38%)/ Total: $109M/Wk 5
5.) Justice League (WB), 2,702 theaters (-806)/ 3-day cume: $4.3M (-55%)/Total: $219.6M/ Wk 5
6) Daddy’s Home 2 (PAR), 2,493 theaters (-770) / 3-day cume: $3.8M (-36%)/ Total: $96.5M/Wk 6
7). Thor: Ragnarok (DIS), 1,895 theaters (-1,152) / 3-day cume: $3.1M (-50%) / Total cume: $306.5M / Wk 7
8.) The Disaster Artist (A24), 1,010 theaters (+170) / 3-day cume: $2.7M (-57%)/Total: $13M/Wk 3
9) Murder on the Orient Express (FOX), 1,923 theaters (-1,116)/ /3-day cume: $2.5M (-51%)/Total: $97.3M/ Wk 6
10). Lady Bird (A24), 947 theaters (-610) /3-day cume: $2.1M (-52%)/ Total cume: $26M / Wk 7
Notables:
The Shape of Water (FSL), 158 theaters (+117) / /3-day cume: $1.7M (+52%) /PTA: $10,8k /Total: $3.6M/Wk 3
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, MO (FSL), 944 theaters (-676) / 3-day cume: $1.6M (-43%) /Total: $21.3M /Wk 6
Just Getting Started (BG), 1,840 theaters (-321)/ /3-day cume: $1M (-69%)/Total: $5.5M/Wk 2
Darkest Hour (FOC), 84 theaters (+31)/ 3-day cume: $848K (+13%) /PTA: $10K/ Total: $2.3M/ Wk 4
Call Me By Your Name (SPC), 30 theaters (+21)/ 3-day cume: $479k (+68%) /PTA: $16K /Total: $2M/Wk 4
I, Tonya (NEON), 5 theaters (+1) / 3-day cume: $171k (-35%)/PTA $34K/Total: $548K/Wk 2
Sunday AM Writethru/following Saturday 11:41 PM post: Disney’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi had a fantastic Saturday, drawing an estimated $64M per industry figures as of this morning, which ranks as the fourth-best ever after Jurassic World ($69.6M), The Avengers ($69.55M), and Star Wars:The Force Awakens ($68.3M).
Technically speaking, Last Jedi‘s business isn’t front-loaded: If you back out the $45M out of Friday’s $104.8M, Saturday’s ticket sales are actually up over Friday ($59.8M) by 7%, and that speaks to the want-to-see. This puts the Rian Johnson-directed sequel at a weekend opening of $220M, according to Disney, which is still the second-best ever behind Force Awakens’ $247.966M. Matinees aren’t slowing down one bit, but the real business will also be tonight, thanks to 68% colleges out and 17% K-12. By Friday, these figures will be, respectively, at 89% and 61%. Currently, we’re hearing that Last Jedi gets to $223M-$224M potentially. That holiday vacation schedule goes longer than it did when Force Awakens was in theaters, with essentially four more days off during the second week of January. Analysts peg the end result for Last Jedi at $750M stateside, which would put it behind Force Awakens ($936M) and Avatar ($760M).
The anomaly here is that despite advance tickets being 15% behind Force Awakens at an estimated $85M, there’s been a significant amount of walk-up business at 39%. That figure was at 24% for Force Awakens during its opening weekend, per PostTrak, and grew to 72% by weekend two.
Disney president of theatrical distribution Dave Hollis attributes the consistent surge in daily grosses to a fueling word-of-mouth between ardent Star Wars fans and new ones. “There’s something in Star Wars in how it speaks universally. There’s a rabid nature to the fan base, especially when they see a Star Wars film that’s great.” To be part of the conversation, people need to see it.
Pushing these figures higher and higher are 416 Imax runs of 2D and 3D, which earned $24.6M, making Last Jedi the biggest opening for the large format exhibitor this year and second-best ever after Force Awakens. Imax screens generated an average of $59K, with 26 Imax sites enjoying their biggest opening weekend ever. That’s an enormous per-screen, and what it says is that when moviegoers want to see a blockbuster in Imax, they do not spare any expense. $25 is certainly worth it. Eight of the top ten grossing locations in U.S./Canada included an IMAX screen. Roughly a third of Last Jedi‘s opening came from 3D locations, including RealD.
ComScore is reporting overall ticket sales over three-days at $280M, easily the best weekend of this year, and the third-best three-day at the domestic box office ever, following after Dec. 18-20, 2015 with $313M (when Force Awakens opened) and the following Christmas weekend that year, which grossed $296.4M. Last Jedi accounts for 79% of that figure.
Updated PostTrak audience polls show men over 25 repping the majority of attendees at 42% (with an overall 89% positive score), followed by men under 25 at 25% (90% positive), females over 25 at 23% (94% positive), and females under 25 at 10% (81% positive score). Definite recommend is now at a high 79%. Caucasians represented 62% of all ticket buyers, followed by 15% Hispanic, 10% Asian and 9% African-American. A rare five out five star audience rating on PostTrak.
RelishMix observes that fans are going wild on social as they leave the theater. “While YouTube views have added another 22M views in the last 48 hours, the most striking metric with Last Jedi is its Twitter hashtags, for #StarWars, #LastJedi, #TheLastJedi and @StarWars, hit an earth-shattering 438K individual user tags and posts on Friday. That’s more than twice the hash-tagging single day activity of any film over the last five years, including Avengers, Fast and Furious, Despicable Me, Beauty and the Beast, Spider-Man, Batman or even The Force Awakens.”
20th Century Fox/Blue Sky Studios’ Ferdinand popped on Saturday with $5.5M, +53% over Friday, with a three-day opening of $13.3M. Production cost before P&A is reportedly at $111M. Twenty-three percent parents attended, with 52% kids. Females were in heavy attendance at 54%. Ferdinand over-indexed in the middle of the country and under-indexed on both coasts. Top 20 markets that over-indexed include Dallas, Houston, SLC, Minneapolis, San Antonio, and Austin. Top 20 markets that under-indexed were LA, NY, Phil, Boston, and Seattle. Top grossing theaters came from NY, SF, LA, Denver, Miami, San Antonio, Wash DC, Salt Lake City, and Sacramento.
The top 10 chart an notables for the weekend of Dec. 15-17
1.) Star Wars: The Last Jedi (DIS), 4,232 theaters / $104.78M Fri (includes $45M previews)/$64M Sat /$50.22M Sun /3-day cume: $220M/Wk 1 (industry estimate)
2.) Ferdinand (FOX), 3,621 theaters / $3.6M Fri (includes $350k previews)/$5.5M Sat/ $4.2M Sun/ 3-day cume: $13.3M/Wk 1
3.) Coco(DIS), 3,155 theaters (-593) / Fri: $2.2M /$4.2M Sat/ $3.5M Sun/ 3-day cume: $10M(-46%)/Total: $150.8M / Wk 4
4.) Wonder (Lionsgate), 3,047 theaters (-472) /$1.4M Fri /$2.2M Sat/ $1.66M Sun/3-day cume: $5.4M (-36%)/ Total: $109.2M/Wk 5
5.) Justice League (WB), 2,702 theaters (-806)/$1M Fri / $1.88M Sat/ $1.2M Sun/ 3-day cume: $4.1M (-57%)/Total: $219.45M/ Wk 5
6) Daddy’s Home 2 (PAR), 2,493 theaters (-770) /$915K Fri /$1.7M Sat/ $1.1M Sun/ 3-day cume: $3.8M (-36%)/ Total: $96.5M/Wk 6
7). Thor: Ragnarok (DIS), 1,895 theaters (-1,152) / $780K Fri/$1.35M Sat/$849K Sun/ 3-day cume: $2.98M (-52%) / Total cume: $306.3M / Wk 7
8.) The Disaster Artist (A24), 1,010 theaters (+170) / $756K Fri/$1M Sat/$800K Sun/ 3-day cume: $2.63M (-58%)/Total: $12.9M/Wk 3
9) Murder on the Orient Express (FOX), 1,923 theaters (-1,116)/ $652K Fri / $1M Sat /$818K Sun/3-day cume: $2.47M (-52%)/Total: $97.3M/ Wk 6
10). Lady Bird (A24), 947 theaters (-610) /$549K Fri /$881K Sat/ $678K Sun/3-day cume: $2.1M (-52%)/ Total cume: $26M / Wk 7
Notables:
The Shape of Water (FSL), 158 theaters (+117) / $493K Fri /$680K Sat/ $527K Sun/3-day cume: $1.7M (+52%) /PTA: $11k /Total: $3.6M/Wk 3
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, MO (FSL), 944 theaters (-676) / $416K Fri /$700K Sat /$484K Sun/ 3-day cume: $1.6M (-43%) /Total: $21.3M /Wk 6
Just Getting Started (BG), 1,840 theaters (-321)/ $309K Fri/$413K Sat/$257K Sun/3-day cume: $979K (-69%)/Total: $5.4M/Wk 2
Darkest Hour (FOC), 84 theaters (+31)/ $212K Fri /$366K Sat/ $272K Sun/3-day cume: $850K (+15%) /PTA: $10K/ Total: $2.3M/ Wk 4
Call Me By Your Name (SPC), 30 theaters (+21)/ $149K Fri/$179K Sat/$163K Sun/ 3-day cume: $491k (+81%) /PTA: $16,3K /Total: $2M/Wk 4
I, Tonya (NEON), 5 theaters (+1) / $41k Fri/$72K Sat/ $63k Sun/PTA: $35,2k/3-day cume: $176k (-33%)/Total: $553,5K/Wk 2
Previous Saturday AM writethru/Friday PM post: Disney’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi earned its third straight A CinemaScore for the franchise since the Burbank, CA studio took ownership of Lucasfilm five years ago for $4.06 billion. Industry estimates are even higher this morning for Rian Johnson’s Episode VIII, now having earned $104M-$105M on Friday, easily the second-best opening day after Force Awakens‘ $119M, and a three-day that’s between $216M-$220M, the second- best ever behind 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($247.966). PLF is driving just under 15% for Last Jedi, while 3D screens rep close to a third of the weekend. Per-theater average for Last Jedi is a whopping $52K. What’s the end game stateside for Last Jedi? Analysts are predicting $750M, which would rank behind Force Awakens ($936M) and Avatar ($760.5M) on the all-time domestic list.
At that level, it becomes too wild for box office analysts to pinpoint exactly where the Last Jedi opening will finally land: When the grosses are this high, there’s a small sampling of statistical evidence to support projections. Given the momentum here, it’s conceivable that Last Jedi goes even higher by Monday morning.
Still, anyone who thinks that there’s waning interest in Star Wars or that sequelitis is in full force here with Last Jedi needs to get their heads examined. While Last Jedi is off some 11% at the high end of its estimate from Force Awakens three-day (an organic and very good ease for a sequel) the movie is +42% over the opening of last December’s Star Wars spinoff Rogue One ($155M). After the worst summer in 11 years, exhibitors have been praying for this type of overcrowding at multiplexes. Rival studios are green with envy. Last Jedi is in rare air: As many point to streaming services eroding the theatrical business, here’s Last Jedi, the third title in two years to mint north of $200M. Proof that when the picture resonates in spectacle fashion, many will certainly leave their living rooms on a Friday night.
For those looking for a philosophical business explanation of what the LastJedi‘s success signifies in the immediate wake of the Disney-Fox merger, it simply means that the pressure is on the new conglomerate to continue to raise the bar with the brands they own, film-by-film. Is quality traded-in for quantity, especially if Disney-Fox plans to open 26 titles a year (which is the title count between the two studios for 2018)? Case in point, without spoiling anything, for those who’ve already seen Last Jedi, they’re likely asking, “So, what’s next?” It’s up to J.J. Abrams to build that anticipation. Or does Disney break George Lucas’ original plan and go for 10 movies in the Skywalker saga or more? We already know that Johnson is planning a brand-new trilogy, and there’s a number of spinoffs based on the classic characters in the works.
Granted, rival studios will have a tough time in the face of the Disney-Fox merger finding dates on the calendar and landing the best release dates with exhibition. In addition, as we wrote following the merger, Disney-Fox will have the leverage to determine pricing across several distribution channels, including TV deals, merchandising and ad spots (given the amount of product). One distribution chief isn’t daunted by the Disney-Fox merger brand supply line: “There’s still room for other studios to thrive theatrically. This merger won’t hurt them. Other studios are in trouble because of their own bad decisions about movies, not because of Disney-Fox.”
Also opening this weekend is a movie from the studio that Disney acquired yesterday in a $66 billion deal: 20th Century Fox. They have a Blue Studios animated movie Ferdinand. Much like Fox counter-programmed Force Awakens with a movie skewing to the much younger kids two years ago, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip, they’re doing so again with an eye on the long-term results of the Christmas holiday season. Ferdinand kicked up $3.6M on Friday, with an eye at a $12.3M weekend off a solid A CinemaScore. As Disney absorbs 20th Century Fox further into its fold over the next two years, it will be interesting to see if they’d ever counter-program against one of their event movies again; or let a big giant like a Star Wars title breath alone on an opening weekend.
Overall, audiences love Last Jedi (despite any cynical legacy fans griping out there) and critics, too, at 93% Rotten Tomatoes certified fresh. This how Disney works: They make sure that their event films appeal to both masses and critics alike. This isn’t a DC Justice League situation where estimates start high then drop greatly. Since we first reported weekend projections for Last Jedi on Friday morning, the numbers continue to swell. Last night, Last Jedi earned the second best preview night ever with $45M, ranking behind Force Awakens‘ $57M. Last Jedi per CinemaScore drew mostly females last night at 59%, who gave the film an A+. Those under 18 repped 42% of the audience, and they also gave the movie an A+. The under-25 bunch came out at 52%, and they gave it an A grade. Even those over 50 adored the film with an A+, despite the fact that they made up 9% of all ticket buyers. Forty-three percent said they bought tickets for the type of movie that Last Jedi was, (A+), while 39% said they came out for the movie’s subject matter (A).