It’s a nail-biter at the box office.
Sony’s “Gran Turismo” is projected to narrowly outrace the competition with $17.3 million at the box office. But “Barbie” is close behind with $17.1 million, so it’s possible that when the final tally is revealed, the summer blockbuster will have reclaimed its crown.
As for “Gran Turismo,” its opening figure includes a sizable $5.3 million from preview screenings and fan events that the studio hosted over recent weeks. That’s an unusual bit of accounting. One that came about because Sony, which originally planned to open the film on Aug. 11, instead pushed back its debut by two weeks. At the same time, it orchestrated several days of special screenings for the film to generate excitement and raise its profile. So, while most studios include Thursday preview grosses in their opening numbers, folding in several weeks of grosses is taking the definition of “weekend” in creative directions. To be clear, “Gran Turismo” has company. Paramount’s “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” did the same thing, including results from multiple preview screenings into its debut weekend.
And there’s another reason that this random weekend in the dog days of summer is unusual. You see, Sunday is the second National Cinema Day, during which more than 3,000 theaters across North American will slash ticket prices to a mere $4. Exhibitors are hoping to get bargain hunters to turn out, boosting attendance and giving them a chance to sell more over-priced popcorn and Coke. Privately, studios don’t have the same enthusiasm, because of the whole making tickets cheaper thing. It’s unclear how that will impact grosses.
It’s not much of a victory for “Gran Turismo.” The film has a $60 million production budget, so it will need to generate some great word-of-mouth if it wants to make a profit. Directed by Neill Blomkamp of “District 9” fame, the film centers around Jann Mardenborough, a young man whose love of the Playstation video game, “Gran Turismo,” enables him to succeed in the world of pro auto racing. The film stars Archie Madekwe, David Harbour and Orlando Bloom, and received mixed reviews. Though not from Variety, which hailed it as “a race-car movie that gives the audience a contact high.” Audiences seemed to agree, giving it an A CinemaScore.
As for “Barbie,” the box office phenomenon is barreling towards a domestic gross of $600 million. The Warner Bros. release has surpassed “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” to become the highest-grossing domestic release of 2023.
“Blue Beetle,” tumbled 61% in its second weekend, earning $ million. The Warner Bros. and DC Films release has grossed $ million domestically — a disappointing result for a movie that cost more than $100 million to produce (plus, millions more in marketing).
Universal’s “Oppenheimer” nabbed fourth place with $9 million. The look at the life of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer has earned an extraordinary $300.1 million in North America, making it Christopher Nolan’s third highest-grossing domestic release. Only “The Dark Knight” and “The Dark Knight Rises” have done better. It is also the fifth highest-grossing stateside film of 2023, bypassing “The Little Mermaid.”
Paramount’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” rounded out the top five with $6.1 million, pushing the animated adventure’s domestic gross to $98.1 million.
In limited release, “Bottoms,” a high school comedy from “Shiva Baby” director Emma Seligman, scored with $516,254 from just ten locations. That comes out to a sterling per screen average of $51,625. The film was produced by MGM and will expand to next weekend to approximately 700 additional screens across North America.
Among other new release, Roadside Attractions’ “Retribution,” the latest chapter in Liam Neeson’s aging action hero era, earned a puny $3.3 million from 1,750 theaters. It’s the kind of film that usually does better on-demand. Then there’s Bleecker Street’s “Golda,” a biopic about former prime minister of Israel, Golda Meir, which opened to $1.7 million from a little over 800 screens. Finally, Briarcliff Entertainment’s “The Hill,” a faith-based story about a baseball player who overcomes a physical disability, earned $2.5 million from 1,570 locations.
Next weekend will see the return of Denzel Washington in “Equalizer 3,” who is back in ass-kicking style to close out the summer of 2023.
