Movies snooze toward 2022 low point before 'Avatar' sequel arrives
Movie industry watchers are bracing themselves for what may be the very calmest before the storm, with what may be the year's worst weekend on tap.
That comes with some lackluster "new" releases and Marvel's (NYSE:DIS) Black Panther: Wakanda Forever likely to lead for a fifth weekend despite some typically declining business.
That is, if seasonally themed action-comedy Violent Night (NASDAQ:CMCSA) - about Santa Claus foiling a mansion heist - doesn't step up and elbow Black Panther aside. Violent Night was narrowly in second place last weekend, with $13.5M to Wakanda Forever's $17.5M.
In any case, the weekend grosses seem likely to set a new low-water mark for 2022, with a few awards contenders rolling out in limited release. The key new offering is romantic drama Empire of Light, from Disney's (DIS) Searchlight; also arriving is a re-cut of April's R-rated faith-based offering Father Stu (NYSE:SONY), in a new PG-13 rated cut that's being called Father Stu: Reborn. That film opened to a modest $5.4M in April and is available in digital form, so the re-release may have a similarly light reception.
Cinema names are holding their breath for next weekend's Avatar: The Way of Water (DIS), the 13-years-later follow-up to the all-time cinema box office champion: AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC); Cineworld (OTCPK:CNNWQ); Cinemark (CNK); (IMAX); Marcus (MCS); Reading International (RDI); Cineplex (CGX:CA); National CineMedia (NCMI).