Weekend Box Office Predictions
September 18 - September 20, 2020
Published on September 17, 2020 at 2:15PM Pacific |
| Warner's Tenet will look to lead the domestic box office for a third consecutive frame this weekend. And with no new wide releases now scheduled for September 25 and October 2
(after STXfilms' fairly last-minute decision to push back Greenland), the Christopher Nolan directed film is highly likely to eventually lead the domestic box office for five consecutive frames. Last weekend Tenet grossed
an estimated $6.7 million; and while a weekend actual has yet to be released, revised global totals on Monday would put the film's domestic weekend performance at closer to $6.4 million. Tenet may open in at least a few more
locations this weekend, as more theatres continue to re-open throughout parts of the United States. However, it also appears that Tenet won't be getting quite as many showings per theatre this weekend as it did last weekend
(and the weekend before that). The marketplace as a whole could also get a small boost this weekend from the opening week of the NFL season now behind us. A decline in the neighborhood of 22 to 25 percent
(depending on last weekend's actual gross), would put Tenet on course for $5.0 million this weekend. |
| After stabilizing nicely last weekend, Disney and 20th Century's The New Mutants and Solstice Studio's Unhinged should both continue to hold up well this weekend.
Both films will be helped out by not losing many locations this weekend, as The New Mutants will be playing in 2,518 locations (down 186 from last weekend), while Unhinged will be playing in 2,324 locations (down 41 from last weekend).
After declining 31 percent last weekend to gross $2.09 million, a fairly similar 28 percent decline this weekend would give The New Mutants a second place take of $1.5 million. Unhinged decreased by only 16 percent last
weekend to gross $1.52 million and an even slimmer decrease of 14 percent this weekend would transfer into a $1.3 million third place take. |
| New distributor Cloudburst Entertainment will release its first theatrical film this weekend, with Infidel arriving in theatres. The Cyrus Nowrasteh directed action thriller stars Jim Caviezel, while
Dinesh D’Souza was an executive producer of the film. Cloudburst Entertainment was created in part by former executives from Pure Flix and the new distributor will look to appeal to the same audience base as Pure Flix. Infidel
will have Thursday night 7PM preview shows and will be playing in 1,724 locations this weekend. In comparison to last weekend's debut for The Broken Hearts Gallery, Infidel is arriving in 480 fewer locations and looks like
it will also have fewer screenings per location. However, at the same time in comparison to The Broken Hearts Gallery, Infidel could get a boost from the film appealing more to moviegoers from areas of the United States
where theatres have re-opened at greater percentages (similar to Unhinged). A debut of $1.1 million would place Infidel in fourth place for the weekend and give the film a per-location average of roughly $640 for the frame. |
| As for Sony's The Broken Hearts Gallery, the low-budget romantic comedy will look to round out this weekend's top five. After debuting with a modest $1.13 million last weekend, The Broken Hearts Gallery
has been holding up relatively well during the midweek. That is a good sign for the well-received film as it enters its second weekend of release. Potential for this weekend's hold will be limited somewhat from the film not getting as
many screenings per location as it did last weekend. The Broken Hearts Gallery will be playing in 2,221 locations this weekend (up 12 from last weekend) and could take in $750,000 for the frame (which would represent a very solid 33 percent decline). |
| While there won't be an opening weekend prediction for either film, also of note this weekend is that Bleecker Street's The Secrets We Keep (starring Noomi Rapace and Joel Kinnaman) and Focus'
The Way I See It (a documentary on Obama era Chief Official White House Photographer Pete Souza) are both opening in limited / moderate release this weekend. The Secrets We Keep will be playing in 472 locations over the
weekend (after opening in 256 locations on Wednesday), while The Way I See It will be playing in 124 locations. MSNBC will be airing The Way I See It on Friday, October 9. |
| IFC Films will also be launching The Nest (starring Jude Law and Carrie Coon) in limited / moderate release this weekend. The thriller, which has received good critical reviews, will be playing in 301 locations. |
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Predictions for this weekend's top 5 films at the domestic box office.
| Rank | Film (Distributor) | Weekend Gross |
Total Gross |
% Change |
Week # |
| 1 | Tenet (Warner Bros.) |
$5.0 M | $37.3 M | N/A | 4 |
| 2 | The New Mutants (Disney / 20th Century) |
$1.5 M | $17.6 M | -28% | 4 |
| 3 | Unhinged (Solstice Studios) |
$1.3 M | $15.7 M | -14% | 6 |
| 4 | Infidel (Cloudburst Entertainment) |
$1.1 M | $1.1 M | NEW | 1 |
| 5 | The Broken Hearts Gallery (Sony / TriStar) |
$0.75 M | $2.3 M | -33% | 2 |
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