Universal looks to dominate the July 4th holiday weekend as the studio opens two new wide releases to go along with the current number one film F9: The Fast Saga [FAST9]. The last chapter The Fate of the Furious tumbled 61% in its second weekend, while the spinoff Hobbs & Shaw declined 58%. The holiday weekend may lessen the fall a tad. A 57% drop-off would put F9: The Fast Saga at $30 million through Sunday.
Universal targets the family audience with the animated sequel The Boss Baby: Family Business [BOSS2]. The Boss Baby debuted at a whopping $50.2 million during April 2017. However, some parents are reluctant to bring their unvaccinated kids to theaters, so Universal is also making the PG-rated sequel available to stream on Peacock+. Reviews for the film are as mixed as the original. Playing in 3640 theaters, The Boss Baby: Family Business could bank just $18 million.
Universal debuts another new sequel with The Forever Purge [PURG5], the fifth installment in the dystopian series. Set on the US-Mexican border, the R-rated actioner courts the Latino audience. The last film, The First Purge opened three years ago with $17.4 million, which was down from The Purge: Election Year’s $31.5 million. The franchise is trending downward and The Forever Purge may end up with $13 million from 3051 locations.
The drama Zola [ZOLA] is based on the life of a stripper who told her story in a series of viral tweets. The buzz has been strong since its Sundance debut in 2020. A24 opened the R-rated film on Wednesday and grossed $505K. Zola could net another $2 million over the weekend from 1400 theaters.
After playing a single theater each in LA and NY last weekend, Summer of Soul [SUMOS] expands wide to 752 theaters. With the musical documentary also available on Hulu, Summer of Soul may tally $500K through Sunday.
That’s the whisper from the virtual trading floor.
Tag(s): FAST9, BOSS2, PURG5, ZOLA, SUMOS