‘Nobody’ Tops Box Office This Weekend, but ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ Is the Real Test

This was a strong box-office weekend, by current 2021 standards. “Nobody,” an R-rated thriller starring Bob Odenkirk, from the director of “Hardcore Henry,” grossed $6.7 million — about one third of the weekend’s $19 million overall total. (Theaters were closied this time last year; in 2019 “Us” opened to $71 million.)

“Nobody” is good news for Universal, which acquired the film from STX for about $10 million. The film’s A- Cinemascore is particularly strong for its genre and may suggest staying power that could bleed over to its likely Premium VOD debut in about three weeks. It benefits from New York and Los Angeles theater openings; perhaps an even greater benefit for the low-budget title is it had virtually no competition.

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A more meaningful test for “Nobody,” and for the industry, comes Wednesday with “Godzilla vs. Kong,” the year’s first five-day opening for a holiday weekend. It’s the kind of highly anticipated, seat-shaking spectacle that’s designed to draw audiences out of their homes and into the theaters; it will also be available at home for HBO Max subscribers. There are so many permutations as to how that performance could play out, and none of them are business as usual.

This weekend, Legendary’s monster mashup opened in 38 territories (non-European, except for Russia) to $122 million, with China contributing $70 million of that. Mexico and Australia were next best with each around $6.3 million.

As a gauge of the film’s appeal: Australia has about seven percent of the combined U.S./Canada population, and minimal COVID-19 impact or restrictions. That makes its gross the per-capita equivalent of $90 million. (Its release also doesn’t compete with HBO Max.)

Holdovers in the top five, which represent the remaining films that grossed over $1 million, all dropped 30-40 percent. That seems excessive when there’s potential for audience growth and only one new wide release.

The Indian Telugu language rom-com “Rang de” may have sneaked into the top 10. No gross was reported, but some industry estimates showed up to $250,000 in 127 theaters. In any event, it had a PTA of around $2,000.

Among Oscar titles showing in theaters in 600 theaters or more, only “Minari” grossed more than $165,000, and dropped 30 percent. “The Father” added Premium VOD this weekend, become the final top nominee to have parallel access for viewers.

The Top 10

1. Nobody (Universal) – $ in theaters; Cinemascore: A-; Metacritic: 65; Acquisition price: $10 million

$6,700,000 in 2,460 theaters; PTA (per theater average): $2,724; Cumulative: $28,400,000

2. Raya and the Last Dragon (Disney) Week 4; Last weekend #1; also available as PVOD via Disney+

$3,500,000 (-32%) in 2,212 theaters (-49); PTA: $1,582; Cumulative: $28,390,000

3. Tom and Jerry (Warner Bros.) Week 5; Last weekend #2; also available through March 28 on HBO Max

$2,510,000 (-34%) in 2,464 theaters (-44); PTA: $1,019; Cumulative: $37,067,000

4. Chaos Walking (Lionsgate) Week 4; Last weekend #3

$1,185,000 (-38%) in 2,036 theaters (-94); PTA: $582; Cumulative: $11,468,000

5. The Courier (Roadside Attractions) Week 2; Last weekend #4

$1,044,000 (-37%) in 1,641 theaters (+208); PTA: $636; Cumulative: $3,481,000

6. The Croods: A New Age (Universal) Week 18; Last weekend #5; also available on VOD

$540,000 (-14%) in 1,319 theaters (-92); PTA: $409; Cumulative: $55,970,000

7. The Marksman (Open Road) Week 11; Last weekend #7

$375,000 (-20%) in 851 theaters (-151); PTA: $441; Cumulative: $14,796,000

8. Boogie (Focus) Week 4; Last weekend #6; also available on Premium VOD

$327,000 (-45%) in 1,028 theaters (-156); PTA: $318; Cumulative: $3,808,000

9. Minari (A24) Week 7; Last weekend #11; also available on PVOD

$275,000 (-10%) in 912 theaters (+126); PTA: $302; Cumulative: $1,841,000

10. Wonder Woman 1984 (Warner Bros.) Week 14; Last weekend # 8; also available on PVOD

$245,000 (-39%) in 1,128 theaters (-30); PTA: $217; Cumulative: $46,857,000

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