411 Box Office Report: Knock At the Cabin Dethrones Avatar For Top Spot

Avatar: The Way Of Water’s reign atop the box office ended thanks to Knock At the Cabin, which took the top spot this weekend. M. Night Shyamalan’s latest film claimed the #1 position with $14.2 million, ending The Way of Water’s seven-week run at in the pole position. Knock came in a bit below expectations heading into the weekend, which had predicted a $17 million to $20 million start. It is below Shyamalan’s last film Old, which started with $16.9 million in July of 2021.

Knock At the Cabin’s relative underperformance comes down to a few factors here, notably a relative lack of buzz. While Shyamalan’s reputation has improved since the days of The Happening and The Last Airbender, Old was not one of his more well-received films and its predecessor Glass was similarly less-well received by both audiences and critics. Shyamalan’s receipts tend to suffer when he’s coming off his lesser entries, and that seems to be the case here.

The good news for the director is two-fold. First off, Knock is more well-liked than his past two entries, at least for critics where it sits at a mild but acceptable 68% aggregated score on Rotten Tomatoes. (Audiences are more split with a C+ CinemaScore and a 64% audience score on RT.) The second factor in his favor is the low cost. Knock At the Cabin cost $20 million to produce and that’s a number that it shouldn’t have an issue making back. The film has added $7 million in overseas number for a $21 million worldwide total. Knock should be able to gross around $35 million to $40 million in the US, which will combine with overseas numbers for a profit when it’s all said and done.

Coming in at #2 was 80 For Brady, which scored a respectable $12.5 million. The sports comedy about a group of senior women who attend the 2017 Super Bowl may have grossed less than Knock at the Cabin, but it actually had higher attendance as the film partnered with theaters for matinee pricing for all screenings. The promotion worked and pushed the film to very solid results, bringing in the older audience that has been resistant to returning to theaters since the pandemic.

80 For Brady came into the weekend with moderately good word of mouth at a 64% RT average. That’s similar to Knock’s critic scores; however, 80 For Brady has much stronger audience reactions at a 90% RT audience score and an A- CinemaScore. Those will bode well for the film, which could manage to top $40 million in theaters. Against a $28 million budget, it will need any potential international grosses to make a profit but it’s not in awful shape.

While The Way Of Water ceded the #1 spot, it still delivered well with $10.8 million in its eighth weekend, down 32%. The sci-fi blockbuster is now up to $636.4 million domestically and $2.174 billion worldwide. The latter is enough to surpass Titanic as the #3 grossing film in terms of worldwide grosses, but that may not last as Titanic gets a 25th anniversary re-release next weekend. Either way, it’s a mega-hit and should be able to top $650 million domestically with ease.

Puss In Boots: The Last Wish eased just 24% in its seventh weekend, bringing in $8 million. The animated sequel has grossed $151.3 million domestically – a stellar nine times its opening weekend – and $368.6 million worldwide. That makes it a hit for the studio against its $90 million budget plus marketing. The film is carrying on strong and will top $160 million by the end of its run.

Opening at #5 was BTS: Yet to Come in Cinemas. The concert pic grossed $6.3 million for the weekend, a solid if not spectacular result for the K-Pop band. The film opened on February 1st and has $9.1 million total since then. It is likely to drop quickly – most concert films doo – but will at least approach $20 million which is a good result.

A Man Called Otto slipped 37% in its sixth weekend, tallying another $4.2 million. The Tom Hanks-starring dramedy has now totaled $55 million domestically and $83.4 million worldwide, pushing toward a potential profit against its $50 million budget. It should be able to top $63 million domestically, and its continued expansion overseas will get it into the black.

M3GAN was down 39% in its fifth weekend to $3.8 million. That horror flick is a big hit for Universal with $87.6 million domestically and $158.6 million worldwide against a budget of just $12 million. The film should be able to finish out around $95 million.

Missing continued its decent holds, down just 34% in its third weekend to bring in $3.7 million. The ScreenLife thriller has brought its total to $23 million, making it a profit for Sony Pictures against a budget of just $7 million. Missing is still tracking ahead of Searching and should end close to $30 million domestically, with international releases coming next month.

Fathom Events’ The Chosen Season 3 Finale brought in $3.6 million, off significantly from the $8.8 million opening that the combined first two episodes had in November. The faith-based drama has totaled $5.3 million since opening on Thursday. It will drop off the charts next weekend.

Pathaan kept its spot in the top 10, down an expected 61% in its second weekend with $2.7 million. That is par for the course with Indian films, which tend to be frontloaded. The Siddharth Anand-directed action-thriller is in great shape because (as usual) the US numbers are just extra bonuses; it has $14.3 million domestically and $95.1 million worldwide making it a big hit for Raj Films.

Next weekend will see the aforementioned re-release of Titanic for its 25th anniversary. The film is expected to bring in around $10 million. The likely #1 however will be Magic Mike’s Last Dance which should be able to shimmy its way to around $16 million or so.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Knock At the Cabin – $14.2 million ($14.2 million total, $21.2 million WW)
2. 80 For Brady – $12.5 million ($12.5 million total, $12.5 million WW)
3. Avatar: The Way Of Water – $10.8 million ($636.4 million total, $2.174 billion WW)
4. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish – $8 million ($151.3 million total, $368.6 million WW)
5. BTS: Yet to Come in Cinemas – $6.3 million ($9.1 million total, $9.1 million WW)
6. A Man Called Otto – $4.2 million ($55 million total, $83.4 million WW)
7. M3GAN – $3.8 million ($87.6 million total, $158.6 million WW)
8. Missing – $3.7 million ($23 million total, $23 million WW)
9. The Chosen Season 3 Finale – $3.6 million ($5.3 million total, $5.3 million WW)
10. Pathaan – $2.7 million ($14.3 million total, $95.1 million WW)