UPDATED SATURDAY AM: Refresh.. Twisters gets stronger with now a 3-day $74.6M opening after a $32.2M Friday. What’s to stop this movie from getting $80M?
Yesterday’s Friday/previews number approached Oppenheimer seismic levels, that pic doing $33M a year ago. Yes, last year was Barbenheimer when Barbie and Oppenheimer fueled the marketplace to a $311M take. This year, minus one femme appealing tentpole, will do $141.8M, still +12% over the same July weekend in 2022 when Nope opened and +55% from 2021 when the box office was trying to rebound in the first summer of business post Covid.
Audiences, a massive amount of them from the middle of the country, love Twisters which gets an A- CinemaScore and 4 1/2 stars on PostTrak. The first Michael Crichton created, co-written, produced movie received an A- CinemaScore.
How did this beautiful storm start and what’s kept it going? Mark L. Smith’s screenplay for the Amblin reboot got Universal and Warner Bros excited. Pair that with 2x Oscar nominated filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung, who was the right guy to be paired with this material: He’s from Arkansas, knows these characters well, and it’s not shocking to see the flyover states thundering to cinemas; Twisters highest grossing cinema to date is the Regal Warren in Moore, OK with more than $130K (when does that happen?).
“They sold fun” beamed one motion picture marketing maven about Universal’s campaign, that’s clearly underscored by the audience exits which cited that the No. 1 reason for buying a ticket to Twisters was that it looked fun and exciting (48%). However, there’s another halo effect that Universal is benefitting from now, one which will certainly seep into next weekend’s overdrive of Marvel Studios’ Deadpool & Wolverine, and that is people at home are seeking escapism, particularly in the aftermath of last weekend’s tragedy with Donald Trump. And escapism is what people want right now.
Also helping this movie’s play to red states: Twisters isn’t political. Not one word about climate change and the multitude of tornados that strike during its 2 hours and 2 minutes running time. That will keep this underserved part of the country when it comes to movie product coming back. That said, PostTrak shows that of those attending Twisters, 16% were registered Democrats while 7% were registered Republicans.
Let’s not forget the newfound star power of Powell. He began dropping into theaters with Sydney Sweeney to spike the ticket sales of Anyone But You back December-January, and that’s not only paying in dividends here to Universal with Twisters, but he’s still working it this weekend to stoke the pic’s potential fanbase. Powell, Anthony Ramos and Daisy Edgar-Jones showed up at last night’s Luke Combs at Jets stadium. Combs has a single in the movie “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma.” Per PostTrak last night, 24% went to Twisters because of Powell.
In terms of Twisters heading to $80M, we’ll see how that goes down tonight, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility.
Unfortunately, the hopeful hold for Apple’s star-studded Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum Fly Me to the Moon isn’t posting that rom-com hold, down 66% in weekend 2 with $3.2M. Let’s face it, it’s an oddball rom-com, largely because it’s period. And not Jane Austen period, but Moon-landing era period. Also, the movie’s running time at 2 hours and 12 minutes can be a bear for anyone expecting a feature that’s breezy, roughly a half hour longer than post Covid rom-coms, Ticket to Paradise and Anyone But You. Two-words to Apple’s feature development department if they look to stick around big screen distribution: Quality control.
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UPDATED, Friday midday: Yeah, after preview numbers like that, there’s no way that Amblin/Universal/Warner Bros’ Twisters is settling for a $50 million+ opening. More like $72 million at 4,151 theaters after a massive $31M first day including previews. By the way, that’s 76% above the start of the first 1996 movie ($41M, adjusted for inflation). This a great palette cleanser before Deadpool & Wolverine conquers the world next weekend.
If these numbers stick for Twisters, that’s the 25th-best domestic opening ever for the month of July.
Twisters‘ day one isn’t that far from the first day/previews of Dune: Part Two ($32.2M, 3-day $82.5M), but it’s under the first day/previews of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire ($36.8M, 3-day $80M).
Universal, as expected, has plenty to pump its chest about this weekend as it will also own second place with Illumination’s Despicable Me 4 at $21.5M (-51%) third weekend after a $6.5M Friday at 4,112 theaters. Combined, that spells a $93.5M weekend between the two Uni event pics. By Sunday, DM4 will stand at $257.1M.
Third goes to Disney/Pixar’s sixth frame of Inside Out 2 at 3,625 venues. It will see $11.1M, -44%,, after a $3.3M Friday and a running total of $594.6M.
Neon’s Longlegs, booked at 2,850 locations, is eyeing $3.3M in its second Friday and a second weekend that’s -54% with an estimated $10.2M, good for a $43.1M 10-day running total.
Fifth belongs to the fourth weekend of Paramount’s A Quiet Place: Day One at 2,913 sites for a $1.7M Friday and $5.5M frame, -52%. Its running total by EOD Sunday will be $127M.
Universal
PREVIOUSLY, Friday AM: This beast of a storm is at $10.7M in preview cash for both Wednesday and Thursday. In terms of total preview cash, that’s more than what Legendary/Warner Bros. Godzilla x King: New Empire did ($10M), though that was made all in one night. Still, a very good tee-off here for Amblin/Universal/Warner Bros’ Twisters. The movie before P&A cost $155M.
Last night Twisters made $8M off showtimes beginning at 5PM.
Another comp here is last summer’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts which did $8.8M on its Wednesday and Thursday, and went on to do a $25.6M Friday, $61M opening.
Among regular pics in release, here’s how they shaped up for Thursday and the week:
1.) Despicable Me 4 (Uni) 4,449 theaters, Thu $5M (-12%), Wk $69.1M, Total $235.6M/Wk 2
2.) Longlegs (NEO) 2,510 theaters, Thu $2.2M (-7%), Wk $32.9M/Wk 1
3.) Inside Out 2 (Dis) 3,815 theaters, Thu $2.4M (-11%), Wk $31.7M/Total $583.5M/Wk 5
4.) A Quiet Place: Day One (Par) 3,378 theaters, Thu $1.1M (-14%), Wk $17M, Total $121.5M/Wk 3
5.) Fly Me to the Moon (App/Sony) 3,356 theaters, Thu $595K (-25%), Wk $13M/Wk 1
PREVIOUSLY, EXCLUSIVE: Twisters, the reboot of the 1996 Amblin feature co-written by Michael Crichton, is off to a good start with around $7M in preview money from both Wednesday night’s fan Imax/PLF showtimes and previews which began at 5 p.m. Thursday.
RELATED: ‘Twisters’ Review: Disaster Movie Reboot Offers Spectacle But Little Substance
Reviews and audience response for the pic starring Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones is great at 78% certified fresh and 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, respectively. That’s better than the original movie which received drab scores at 67% critics, and 58% audience. Forecasts were at a $50M+ opening, but with this movie doing business in the heartland, it would not be shocking to see it raise to $60M.
That Wednesday and Thursday preview number, if it sticks by Friday morning, would be ahead of the $6.6M Wednesday/Thursday preview sales posted in May by 20th Century Studios/Disney’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, which debuted to a $22.1M Friday and 3-day of $58.4M. The difference here in case of any overperformance? Apes didn’t have heartthrob Powell.
RELATED: ‘Twisters’ Will Rattle The Globe With $100M+ Running Cume By Sunday – Box Office Preview
RelishMix measured a social media universe for Twisters of 341M across TikTok, Facebook, X, YouTube and Instagram combined, which is 3% above action-adventure pic comps. Social media champs are stars Anthony Ramos at 2.5M, Edgar-Jones at 1.9M and Powell with 1.8M followers.
RELATED: ‘Twisters’ Star Anthony Ramos Says Tom Cruise “Was Losing His Mind” Watching Sequel’s Premiere
Warners has overseas on the film (the studio first handled domestic on the 1996 title, while Uni took foreign). Through Monday, the Lee Isaac Chung-directed title counted close to $13M from 38 markets. Another 38 are opening this week including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK and China. The overseas cume is expected to jump to $45M+.
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Among the top openings for environmental disaster movies at the domestic B.O., that arguably would go to Roland Emmerich’s 2004 The Day After Tomorrow with a 3-day of $68.7M, and his 2009 ensemble 2012, which debuted to $65.2M.
Stateside estimates Thursday night are per industry estimates, not Universal.