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411 Box Office Report: Spiral Opens At Mild #1 With $8.7 Million

May 16, 2021 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas
Spiral: From the Book of Saw Chris Rock

There’s no better sign that things are returning to normal at the box office than a franchise revival opening at middling numbers, which is what we got this weekend with Spiral. The Chris Rock-led Saw revival film opened at #1 with $8.7 million, a touch below the $10 million to $15 million estimates that most analysts had it pegged at (and Lionsgate was hoping for). It’s not an awful start for the horror film considering the current state of movie theaters — we’re still at only about 37% capacity around the nation — but it’s also not quite the encouraging sign for the series that the studio was hoping for.

Spiral had a lot of factors working against it, to be fair. The film is an attempted revival of a money-making but critically-derided franchise that ran out of steam years ago, for one. The last film in the series, 2017’s Jigsaw, opened at $16.6 million which was a very disappointing start at that time, and finished with only $38.1 million domestically. However, the $104.2 million worldwide take was still wildly profitable for a series that has always kept its costs low. And while Spiral had some mainstream star power in Rock as well as Samuel L. Jackson, those are also names that had people regarding this film curiously in terms of what it was going to be. Critics were not sold on the film, with a 39% Rotten Tomatoes aggregate score, and while that’s actually upper-tier for a Saw film it wasn’t enough to bring many lapsed or casual fans back as theaters are still opening up. Nor was the B- CinemaScore, which is on the lower half of audience ratings for the series.

Still, Lionsgate shouldn’t be too worried about this one. While it’s the most expensive Saw film to date at a reported $20 million budget, it should benefit from having no new releases opening next weekend. The film has added $3.3 million overseas so far for a $12 million worldwide start, and should it be able to hit $25 million or so in the US — eminently doable if it doesn’t follow the typical hefty drops for this series — it should be considered a success by the studio.

Jason Statham’s Wrath of Man slipped a spot to make way for Spiral, down to #2 in its second weekend with $3.7 million. That is an expected 55% drop from its opening weekend, which is pretty on par for what action films drop. The Guy Ritchie-directed movie is now at $14.6 million domestically and $41.8 million worldwide, both solid numbers. The film looks like it is set to perform like a typical action film would of its caliber, and that would suggest a $25 million to $30 million final domestic take. No word on the budget yet, but United Artists will be satisfied here.

Warner Bros’ Angelina Jolie-starring action thriller Those Who Wish Me Dead got off to an okay start with $2.8 million for the #3 spot. The film, which comes from director Taylor Sheridan and follows a firefighter who protects a young boy from two assassins after him, was expected to open in this lower spot as it is a somewhat lesser-tier entry in Warner Bros. 2021 slate that is arriving day-and-date on HBO Max. This isn’t a big tentpole blockbuster for Warner Bros like Godzilla vs. Kong or Mortal Kombat were, so it wasn’t promoted nearly as heavily. And without it feeling like an event film, audiences were far more likely to stay at home to watch it than go out to theaters.

The movie does have some signs that it may have a bit of legs for its run. It has received solid marks from critics, with a 65% RT score, and audiences have given it an B CinemaScore which is decent for action thrillers. Action-thrillers have held up well at the box office so far in 2021, with films like The Marksman, Nobody, and The Little Things all showing week-to-week strength. Those Who Wish Me Dead added an encouraging $4.3 million overseas for a $7.1 million worldwide start. It may be able to hit $10 million in the US if it holds very well. No word on the budget, though it doesn’t seem likely to hit any sort of profit in theaters.

Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train continues to look good, dropping 39% to take in $1.9 million in its fourth weekend. The Funimation anime film now has $42 million domestically and $477 million worldwide, making it an enormous hit. Again, no word on the budget on this one but it’s a big profit for the studio, marking its highest domestic gross for a film to date.

Raya and the Last Dragon’s box office legs continue to shine, slipping just 11% in its eleventh weekend with $1.7 million. The Disney animated film is up to $46.1 million domestically and $107.3 million worldwide, in addition to whatever it has brought in via Disney+ Premier Access. The film remains likely to end its theatrical run at around $50 million and will be profitable when all the tallies from its different platforms hit against its $100 million production budget.

Godzilla vs. Kong eased 27% in its seventh weekend, pulling in $1.5 million. The MonsterVerse smackdown now stands at $95 million domestically and $427.1 million worldwide, registering as quite the hit for Warner Bros. and Legendary. The film remains the top-grossing movie of 2021 to date and should be able to hit the tripe digits mark by the time it leaves theaters. The budget was $155 million and even by that measure it’s a big success.

Mortal Kombat is continuing to slide down the charts, falling 45% in its fourth weekend to take in $1.3 million. The video game adaptation has grossed $39.9 million domestically and $76.7 million worldwide so far against a $55 million budget. It will still be considered a profitable film thanks to its HBO Max simultaneous release and should be able to end its domestic run close to $45 million.

Romantic drama Finding You opened quietly, taking in $954,000 in its first weekend. That’s not a great start for the ensemble adaptation of the 2011 young adult novel, but not disastrous considering the lack of star power, the pandemic opening, and the general lack of marketing that it has received. This genre tends to market itself toward much younger female crowds, and those are not demographics that are yet returning to the theaters in much force. The film’s 61% RT score didn’t do much to imply this would be a must-see movie, and its mere 1,312 theater count pretty much guaranteed a low gross. No word on its budget, but this one should exit the top 10 moderately quickly.

Timur Bekmambetov’s latest “ScreenLife” thriller Profile had a rough start, with just $670,000 in its first weekend. The film, about an undercover British journalist who tries to expose a terrorist recruiter through social media, follows the format of Unfriended and Searching by taking place entirely on computer screens within the film. Critic scores for the movie have been mildly positive (60% on RT) and fans enjoyed it well enough with a B CinemaScore, but the film didn’t get enough traction in marketing to make much of a splash. This also feels very much like a film that would have worked well in a streaming release, and perhaps audiences didn’t want to go out to theaters just to watch things on a computer screen when they can stay home and do the same. These movies are inexpensive to produce, but even then it doesn’t feel like Profile will be considered a success by any measure.

Closing out the top 10 was the Billy Crystal/Tiffany Haddish dramedy Here Today, which was down 49% in its second weekend to $530,000. That’s not a good hold for a movie that didn’t open well to start. It now has $1.9 million domestically and will be unlikely to get as high as even $5 million by the end of its run..

Next weekend is empty for new wide releases, which should allow Spiral to claim a second week at #1 unless it falls ridiculously hard and Wrath of Man holds incredibly well. The next big openings are in two weeks with A Quiet Place: Part II and Disney’s Cruella, the latter of which will also hit Disney+ Premier Access.

BOX OFFICE TOP THREE (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Spiral – $8.7 million ($8.7 million total)
2. Wrath of Man – $3.7 million ($14.6 million total)
3. Those Who Wish Me Dead – $2.8 million ($2.8 million total)
4. Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train – $1.9 million ($42 million total)
5. Raya & The Last Dragon – $1.7 million ($46.1 million total)
6. Godzilla vs. Kong – $1.5 million ($95 million total)
7. Mortal Kombat – $1.3 million ($39.9 million total)
8. Finding You – $954,000 ($954,000 total)
9. Profile – $670,000 ($670,000 total)
10. Here Today – $530,000 ($1.9 million total)