All you need to know about this very strange ecosystem shift in moviegoing is that an Icelandic language film (Lamb) made the overall top 10 despite having a per screen average of just $1,715. These are odd times we're living in when only blockbusters are making bank and even those aren't operating at close to full strength. There used to be 25-30 movies in wide release at any given time but there were literally only 8 in release this weekend here in the US. One wonders how the economics will all play in the future decade since streaming isn't as profitable as the traditional theatrical market and films have always been budgeted for pre-COVID realities. Will we see production values decrease in the next decade as Hollywood starts trying to make things on the cheap or just much higher subscription prices for streaming services? What did you see this past week/weekend? More notes are after the jump.
| Weekend Box Office October 8th-10th 🔺 = new or expanding / ★ = recommended |
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| WIDE RELEASE |
PLATFORM TITLES |
 No Time To Die |
 Lamb |
| 1 NO TIME TO DIE 🔺 $56 Deborah's Review |
1 LAMB 🔺 $1.0 in 583 theaters Cannes Capsule |
| 2 VENOM LET THERE BE CARNAGE $32 (cum. $141.6) | 2 THE JESUS MUSIC [DOC] $150K in 270 theaters (cum. $857k)... |
| 3 THE ADDAMS FAMILY 2 🔺 $10 (cum. $31.1) | 3 I'M YOUR MAN $50k in 122 theaters (cum. $169k) Matt's Review, Oscar Race International |
| 4 SHANG-CHI $4.2 (cum. $212.4) Nathaniel's Review | 4 MASS $14k in 4 theaters Abe's Review |
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5 MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK $1.4 (cum. $7.4) also streaming on HBOMax The only other wide releases currently were Free Guy ($1.3), Dear Evan Hansen ($1.0), and Candyman ($700k). |
5 THE ALPINIST [DOC] $318k (cum. $806k) Numbers weren't released for TITANE yet but it made $533k at 562 theaters last weekend which is a decent showing but not as strong as Lamb this weekend. |
No Time To Die had a solid opening but we think it would have made probably slightly under Spectre numbers in 2020 if the pandemic hadn't happened. This is tied for the longest wait after between Bond pictures with six years passing since the last one (the only other time the wait was as long was between Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan's run).
OPENINGS OF 10 MOST RECENT BOND PICTURES, RANKED
- SKYFALL (2012) $88.3 Craig
- SPECTRE (2015) $70.4 Craig
- QUANTUM OF SOLACE (2008) $67.5 Craig
- NO TIME TO DIE (2021) $56 Craig's finale
- DIE ANOTHER DAY (2002) $47 Brosnan's finale
- CASINO ROYALE (2006) $40.8 Craig's debut
- THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH (1999) $35.5 Brosnan
- GOLDENEYE (1995) $26.2 Brosnan's debut
- TOMORROW NEVER DIES (1997) $25.1 Brosnan
- LICENSE TO KILL (1989) $8.7 Dalton's finale
Sean Connery's third and second outing as 007 Thunderball (1965) and Goldfinger (1964) remain the highest grossing Bond films in the US when you adjust for inflation, both earning over $600 million in today's dollars. But in the modern era Skyfall (2012) was the biggest Bond success earning $1.1 billion globally ($304 million at the US box office).
TOP TEN OF 2021 (THUS FAR AS OF 10/10/21) AT THE US BOX OFFICE
† available for extra $ at home during first month of theatrical
* available with regular streaming subscription at home during its theatrical release
∆ only available in theaters
- Shang Chi $212.4 ∆
- Black Widow $183.6 †
- F9: The Fast Saga $173 ∆
- A Quiet Place Part 2 $160 ∆
- Venom: Let There Be Carnage $141.6 ∆
- Free Guy $119.6 ∆
- Jungle Cruise $116.5 †
- Godzilla vs Kong $99.2*
- CruelLa $86.1†
- Space Jam: A New Legacy $67.4*
No Time To Die will obviously join this list. You'll notice immediately that Scarlett Johansson's lawsuit against Disney (since resolved) was not without merit. Of the top six theatrical grossers of the year, Black Widow was the only one that accomplished those dollars that had to contend with a "watch at home" option in order to make that money... so it was a much bigger hit than it's gotten credit for.