Summer moviegoing season looks to end on a soft note. Labor Day should bring another quiet weekend for the film industry, closing out an August that lacked some much needed luster.
With a shortage of high-profile releases, last weekend’s champ ‘Angel Has Fallen’ is likely to remain victorious on domestic box office charts. The third chapter in Lionsgate and Millennium’s action franchise starring Gerard Butler beat opening weekend expectations with its $21.25 million debut. If it holds like its predecessors, 2016’s ‘London Has Fallen’ and 2013’s ‘Olympus Has Fallen’, the film could earn another $10 million in its sophomore outing.
Also opening this weekend is Forrest Film’s drama ‘Bennett’s War’, which is anticipating a single-digit launch from around 800 venues. The movie follows a young soldier who gets discharged from service after an IED explosion in combat damages his back and leg. Upon returning home from overseas, he trains to become a motocross racer to support his family.
At the specialty box office, China’s mega-hit ‘Ne Zha’ is bowing in limited release. The animated film has earned $640 million to date, making it China’s third-biggest movie of all time.
For now, exhibitors and studios are hoping that a robust fall film calendar — one that includes buzzy titles like ‘It: Chapter Two’, ‘Joker’ and ‘Hustlers’— will help offset damages from a disappointing summer session. Popcorn season should end up almost 2% behind last year, according to Comscore, driving the box office down more than 6%. —Variety
