Box Office Recap: January 27-29, 2023
Avatar enters the top five all-time, while Puss in Boots crosses $300 million.
It was a quiet opening for the new theatrical releases this past weekend, as most of the box office’s top five were holdovers from the previous weekend. That should change this upcoming weekend with M. Night Shyamalan’s Knock at the Cabin receiving its opening, but in the meantime, Avatar: The Way of Water enjoyed a weekend run that saw it finally entering the top five all-time worldwide box office earners, and is not that far behind from entering the top ten for all-time domestic earners. Elsewhere, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish surpassed the $300 million mark worldwide.
In first place for the seventh consecutive weekend, 20th Century Studios’s Avatar: The Way of Water earned $15.7 million domestically for a domestic cume of $620.6 million. This marks only a -22.0% drop from its prior weekend frame, earning a per-theater average of $4,361 at 3,600 locations. Internationally, the sci-fi actioner has earned $1.5 billion for a worldwide total that currently stands at $2.1 billion, which now moves it past Avengers: Infinity War ($2.05 billion) and Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens ($2.07 billion) for fourth-place on the all-time worldwide box office chart. Next milestone for The Way of Water will be coming up very soon when it passes 2012’s The Avengers ($623.4 million) and enters the top ten all-time domestic earners.
With Shyamalan’s highly anticipated flick opening this Friday, it’s all but certain that Avatar will finally see its reign atop the box office come to an end, but I’m also certain no one at 20th Century Studios is grieving that inevitable fate.
Landing in the runner-spot for the second straight weekend, Universal and DreamWorks’s Puss in Boots: The Last Wish continues to hold on strong since its release over the Christmas holiday. Grossing $10.6 million domestically over its sixth weekend in release, the animated adventure sequel’s domestic run now stands at $140.8 million. With an additional $193.3 million earned internationally, the film’s total worldwide performance is $334.1 million against a reported production budget of $90 million. For comparison, the first Puss in Boots film’s worldwide performance finished at $555.0 million. While that is significantly more than its successor, by over $200 million, one silver lining here is that The Last Wish’s domestic run is actually only under $10 million away from surpassing the first film’s domestic run of $149.3 million.
Coming in third, Columbia Pictures’s A Man Called Otto grossed $6.8 million domestically over its fifth weekend in release for a domestic cume of $46.1 million. Overseas, the dramedy, starring Academy Award winner Tom Hanks, brought in an additional $24.9 million, which its total worldwide box office to $71.0 million against a reported production budget of $50 million.
In fourth place, Universal’s M3GAN continues its strong run with a fourth weekend pull of $6.4 million domestically. This pushes its total domestic run to $82.3 million. Internationally, the film has added $63.7 million to bring its total global box office to $146.0 million against a reported $12 million production budget. With the killer doll-themed sci-fi horror film now also available on streaming platforms, it’s safe to say it won’t match the success of last year’s horror film Smile ($216.1 million), but it’s even safer to say the only tears being shed at Universal over M3GAN’s performance are tears of joy.
Rounding out the top five, the Indian Hindi-language action thriller Pathaan had its domestic opening and grossed $5.9 million, earning an impressive per-theater average of $8,557 at just 695 locations. The film’s overall run currently stands at $8.5 million.
Outside the top five, in eighth place, Brandon Cronenberg’s sci-fi horror flick Infinity Pool earned a domestic opening of $2.7 million. Despite a strong critical response, moviegoers weren’t as receptive, giving the film a CinemaScore of “C-“, which could have an affect on its overall run.
Opening this weekend, Paramount debuts their sports comedy 80 for Brady, starring Academy Award winners Jane Fonda, Sally Field, Rita Moreno, Academy Award nominee Lily Tomlin and NFL superstar quarterback Tom Brady; and Universal Pictures will open M. Night Shyamalan’s new apocalyptic psychological horror film Knock at the Cabin.
* Total worldwide gross listed in parenthesis.
1) Avatar: The Way of Water – $15.7 million, Week 7 ($2.1 billion)
2) Puss in Boots: The Last Wish – $10.6 million, Week 6 ($334.1 million)
3) A Man Called Otto – $6.8 million, Week 5 ($71.0 million)
4) M3GAN – $6.4 million, Week 4 ($146.0 million)
5) Pathaan – $5.9 million, Week 1 ($8.5 million)
6) Missing – $5.7 million, Week 2 ($17.6 million)
7) Plane – $3.8 million, Week 3 ($29.8 million)
8) Infinity Pool – $2.7 million, Week 1 ($2.7 million)
9) Left Behind: Rise of the Antichrist – $2.4 million, Week 1 ($2.9 million)
10) The Wandering Earth II – $1.4 million, Week 2 ($1.5 million)
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