Box Office Report: Equalize This!

We’re in festival season right now, which means there are lots of really interesting movies to talk about. It’s just that the only people seeing them are critics. For general cinemagoers, the pickings are slim. That means that Denzel Washington had an easy journey to the top spot with The Equalizer 3. It opened with a solid $34.5 million from 3,965 theatres. Denzel is an undeniable star and he can open a movie like this. Could he have done it if the competition was heavier? Eh, maybe if it was Gran Turismo but not so much Barbie.

Speaking of the pink one, it finally did it. Last weekend, it leaped over The Super Mario Bros. Movie to become the highest-grossing film of 2023 so far! That’s $1,381,009,000 in the bank, as of the writing of this piece. Hell yeah.

Things are also good for Oppenheimer, which swerved past Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 to become the third biggest movie of 2023. Its $852.9 million intake is impressive for so many reasons. Can it get to $1 billion? I think it has potential. This is one, like Barbie, that people are returning to the cinemas to see over and over again. Unlike Barbie, however, it’s also a big money-maker on IMAX and 70mm screenings, which means higher ticket prices. Regardless, it remains super exciting that a three-hour historical drama is one of the true pop culture hits of the year.

The comedy Bottoms opened in an extra 705 theatres and saw a 552% increase in its grosses, bringing its domestic earnings to $3.7 million. Another film increased its theatre numbers this past weekend. Pixar’s Elemental seemed doomed to flop thanks to Disney’s seeming disinterest in the studio’s theatrical offerings. Yet, week after week, its numbers remained steady and good word-of-mouth brought people to the film. Three months in, Elemental came back to 1,925 theatres to add an extra $1.12 million to its total, which is now over $152.9 million.

This coming week sees the release of comedy My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, YA drama Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, indie drama Scrapper, and the 35th-anniversary re-release of They Live!

Check out the rest of the weekend box office here.