The domestic box office has slumped to a remarkable low in the final week of summer as big budget releases dry up.
The weekend box office takings for Aug. 26-28 fell to a meager $41.7 million, according to box office pundit Gitesh Pandya, founder of BoxOfficeGuru. He compared the takings to 2022's worst weekend on record, Jan. 28-30, when Spider-Man: No Way Home topped the box office charts despite being in its seventh week of release. Pandya explained the reason behind the slump in simple terms, saying, "No exciting new films, no audiences."
According to BoxOfficeGuru figures, Sony's haunting thriller The Invitation took the number one spot over the Aug. 26-28 weekend, bringing in an underwhelming $7 million in earnings after debuting in over 3,000 theatres in the United States. The star-studded cast of Bullet Train still seemed to attract audiences, with the film climbing back up to second place and earning $5.6 million four weeks into its release. The record-breaking Top Gun: Maverick also held strong in fourth place, taking $4.75 million despite debuting on May 28, 2022.
The year has seen a wave of blockbuster movies, with many long-delayed films such as Thor: Love and Thunder finally seeing release following the dropping of domestic COVID restrictions. However, the number of big hitters has shrunk as autumn nears and theatergoers have mostly stayed away due to the lack of appealing options. The drought seems unlikely to let up until at least late September and early October, when the Harry Styles and Florence Pugh-fronted Don’t Worry Darling and highly-anticipated Halloween Ends hit screens.
Larger blockbusters await nearer to the end of this year, such as James Cameron's Avatar: The Way of Water, due for release on Dec. 16, 2022. It will serve as the long-awaited sequel to 2009's Avatar, which topped box office charts around the world upon its release and has since reigned as the highest-grossing film ever released. The Avatar sequel will reportedly bring more groundbreaking special effects, utilizing breathtaking new CGI techniques that exceed even its predecessor in quality.
Avatar's worldwide gross of $2.8 billion currently dominates box office records, though its place was briefly taken by Avengers: Endgame. The film retook the top spot thanks to several re-releases. One more of these re-releases is on the way, with Avatar's 4K remaster scheduled to screen in September.
Source: Twitter, BoxOfficeGuru