TWISTERS opening | Sequel films and layoffs between episodes | July 19 to 21, 2024 weekend

Opening weekend box office, charts and commentary

Jul 21, 2024

1) Twisters opening

- This is an outstanding opening for an action adventure episode 2, at well above average levels for the genre. The weekend figure is nearly double the first film’s start, with very good critics' reviews and audience scores (an A- CinemaScore).

Disaster movies rarely come back for a sequel. This is essentially the same havoc we saw the first time, but it's 28 years later, and the spectacle, the special effects and the set pieces are bigger and better. It's perfect summer entertainment:

Length of layoff between episodes

- 28 years since the first Twister in 1996 is a particularly long layoff between episodes (the average layoff is just over three years — 37.5 months).

Historically, sequels with a longer layoff are smaller pictures to begin with than those with a shorter layoff, but they come back stronger — they grow their audience. Here are the numbers:

- We recently had strong performances from Top Gun: Maverick after a 35-year layoff, and from Bad Boys 3 after 16.5 years. Beetlejuice 2 is returning in September after 36 years. Each has the same lead actors. When the layoffs run this long, the films have the opportunity to add a younger generation of moviegoers. All of these movies are benefiting.

2) Sequel films update

- The box office has been on solid footing since mid-May, driven by the big series titles: Planet of the Apes 10, Garfield 3, Bad Boys 4, Inside Out 2, A Quiet Place 3, and Despicable Me 4. The sequels are doing well by any standard, including by pre-pandemic standards. Only Furiosa and Horizon Chapter 1 have missed:

- At this time last year, it was the original material that broke through (Barbie, Oppenheimer, Sound of Freedom). Right now, the most ambitious original production on the schedule is Here — Robert Zemeckis directing Tom Hanks and Robin Wright in a drama co-written by Eric Roth, on November 15.

**Here, Tom Hanks and Robin Wright de-aged and shot from a fixed camera in one house, a story about the generations of families that lived there, on Nov. 15 from Sony**

- This year, the franchise releases are carrying the box office, not the original stories, and the lineup through the end of the year is strong. The key dates are:

Deadpool 3 (next weekend), Alien: Romulus (8/16), Beetlejuice 2 (9/6), Transformers 8 (9/20), Joker 2 (10/4), Smile 2 (10/18), Venom 3 (10/25), Wicked Part 1 (11/22), Gladiator 2 (11/22), Moana 2 (11/27), Lord of the Rings 4 (12/14), Mufasa: The Lion King 3 (12/20), and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (12/20).

Overall

- July is going to finish very well, including in comparison with last year's record-breaking titles. Deadpool 3 will add to the momentum next weekend, before the summer starts to slow down in August, as it always does.