US Theaters are Re-Opening with Some Big Films
as “the new mutants” and “tenet” debut in theaters, where does film business stand?
By: Keaton Marcus
Movie theaters in the US are finally beginning to re-open, but with COVID-19 cases still surging, can the debuting films do any real business? Not really, though the box office doesn’t actually look terrible considering the situation.
After the many films we got on streaming services, whether it was Netflix originals or theatrical releases on Prime Video Cinema, going back to the theater is slowly becoming a national pastime once again. Albeit, with masks and very limited capacity. Nevertheless, AMC has opened several of their theaters, taking in 40% or less capacity, and limiting the concession stands to $5 popcorn, $5 fountain drinks, $4 candy and $4 water bottles.
Safety measures for the biggest theater chain in America are of normal standards. requiring employees and guests to wear masks, and stay six feet apart when possible. Otherwise, Showplace opened to about 50% capacity, and played classics over the weekend until new releases such as Unhinged and Tenet arrive. Masks, of course, may be removed to eat or drink.
So what to make of all this. It’s certainly not the greatest idea to race back to the theaters after such a pandemic, although film addicts do deserve it after waiting around half-a-year just to return to their favorite place in the world. AMC even gave audiences a huge deal on their opening day, August 20. They reduced ticket prices to just 15 cents!
AMC also announced that 200 of their theaters should be open before Christopher Nolan’s anticipated Tenet hits the block, which has already received largely positive reviews from critics who got early access. A couple other blockbusters opened in these troubled times too, and not on streaming platforms. What films am I talking about?
Well, last weekend, animated sequel The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run debuted in 300 theaters with over 865,000 dollars, making for a per-screen average of just $2,886. Normally, that type of PSA would be terrible, but considering the conditions, it isn’t bad at all, even if the 60M cost will prevent it from being a hit. Following the colorful kids adventure was Russell Crowe’s new road-rage thriller, which opened to mixed reception from critics, and about 601,000 dollars in 299 theaters, accompanied by a PSA of $2,010.
This weekend, Unhinged expanded its fronts to 1,823 locations, the widest release since the pandemic hit. For the three-day, it earned over four million dollars for a PSA of about $2,194. It was already a brave choice to release this thing in theaters, and I respect that decision. Unfortunately, it won’t give Solstice Studios any profit with that 33 million dollar budget.
Think that cost is expensive? Look at the Wikipedia page for Tenet, which reportedly carries a production budget of 200-225 million dollars, the most expensive movie of 2020. Considering that, I’d have to estimate the gross to break even to be about 600M+ worldwide, which just doesn’t seem possible right now. If you can believe it, The New Mutants is also opening in some theaters on the 27th. Yep, the film that was supposedly “cursed” is debuting in a couple days amidst the pandemic.
Despite having a 100 million budget, I still think enough people will go see The New Mutants if the reviews are positive. X-Men and superhero fans have been waiting years for this thing to arrive in cinemas, and with such a cool concept and talented cast, it has become one of the most anticipated projects in the decade. Hey, it could also completely bomb…it just depends on the general public’s willingness to exit the comfort of their homes.
Obviously Tenet and The New Mutants won’t break even immediately. Their budgets require a lot of money to render the films hits. But after a while, when more and more cinemas start to re-open, in the US and internationally, they will slowly but surely gain popularity. That’s the studios’ hope, at least…if that means anything. Disney didn’t get the memo on that one, and instead shoved Mulan onto Disney+ for 30 dollars, which could be a smart decision…I just can’t imagine a large audience paying that kind of money to stare at a screen for two hours.
I will definitely do an article on both of these film’s box office numbers for the weekend. Until then, head to the theaters, or sit and watch some Netflix, your choice.
