COCAINE BEAR opening | JESUS REVOLUTION opening | Where we are now | February 24 to 26, 2023 weekend
COCAINE BEAR opening | JESUS REVOLUTION opening | Where we are now | February 24 to 26, 2023 weekend
Opening weekend box office, charts and commentary
The current weekend: February 24 to 26, 2023
1) Cocaine Bear opening
- This is a very good opening for a horror comedy, well above average for the genre. Horror comedies benefit from the outrageous, and this story of an accidentally cocaine-crazed bear is wacko. It’s also based on a true story — perfect. Critics reviews are good, while audience scores are fair (audiences tend to be tough after being grossed-out).
International business should be solid. With a production cost of around $30m, Cocaine Bear is going to be profitable after it plays through all ancillary windows:
2) Jesus Revolution opening
- This is a very good opening for a Christian drama. Critics are generally lukewarm about these movies, but when they work, audiences are enthusiastic, and Jesus Revolution is working.
Christian dramas do not perform well overseas — each country has its own religious experience. Still, at a cost of approx. $15m, foreign doesn’t need to be part of the equation; the film is going to make money:
3) Where we are now
- Thus far in January and February, domestic business has been solid across a variety of movies. This weekend is another good example. The highlights are:
The big franchise film opened very well: Ant-Man;
The genre pics are connecting with audiences, including with older audiences: A Man Called Otto and 80 for Brady;
A Man Called Otto More horror hits: M3gan and Cocaine Bear;
Healthy holdover family business: Puss in Boots 2 is over $426m worldwide now, and still counting in its 10th week;
Two vibrant Christian movies: Jesus Revolution and The Chosen;
Several releases, which could’ve gone directly to streaming but opened first in theaters, are doing what they’re supposed to do: raising their profile among audiences for significantly better ancillary value later.
- Year-to-date, 2023 has been much better than 2022, but 2022 dug itself into an early hole with a thin release schedule, so that’s a hollow victory. The real comparison is with 2018/2019/2020, before the pandemic. We'll have complete February numbers next week.