Eclectic movie mix wrestles for attention on Super Bowl weekend
It took something old - and something new - at the box office to knock Avatar: The Way of Water (NYSE:DIS) off its No. 1 perch, a position that sequel held for seven weeks - and the new leaders might have a chance to thrive on a weekend when America's eyes turn to TV football.
The Avatar sequel dropped off to third place with a respectable $11.3M; on a cumulative basis, it's stacked up $639.4M domestically (10th best of all time) and a worldwide total of $2.18B (No. 4 all-time, and just $16M behind the No. 3, Titanic).
The "something new" that grabbed attention was M. Night Shyamalan's apocalyptic horror Knock at the Cabin (NASDAQ:CMCSA), which took first place with $14.2M and is pacing toward profitability on a relatively low budget.
As for "something old," that came via 80 for Brady (NASDAQ:PARA) (PARAA), which narrowly missed topping Knock at the Cabin by pulling $12.7M. That - despite some downbeat critical reviews, and a decidedly blockbuster-unfriendly approach of casting four older female leads, in a comedy, courting a largely female audience that doesn't traditionally shell out for movie tickets with the same enthusiasm as teenage boys.
Will a Paramount film about (and also starring) prominent NFL quarterback Tom Brady get an extra bump on Super Bowl weekend? Can't hurt.
Paramount (PARA) (PARAA) is hedging its bets by also going full James Cameron this weekend, with a re-release of 1997's Titanic (the film just ahead of Avatar 2 on the all-time charts).
Also getting something of a back-door entry into movie theaters for the weekend is sequel Magic Mike's Last Dance (WBD), an HBO Max movie that Warner Bros. decided to place in 1,500 locations.
Cinema tickers: AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC); Cineworld (OTCPK:CNNWQ); Cinemark (CNK); (IMAX); Marcus (MCS); Reading International (RDI); Cineplex (CGX:CA); National CineMedia (NCMI).