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Monday Mixer: 'Deadpool' destroys box office records

Posted Monday, February 22, 2016 at 11:35 AM Central

by John Couture

It's the week that studios wait the entire year for, no not the Oscars. It's the week of our National Sales Summit and we are able to meet with the studios and discuss the future of home entertainment.

OK, maybe it's more the week I wait for every year, but still it should be a fun week. It also means that I will be a bit more out of pocket this week, but if you're looking for the updates, check out our twitter feed. Will we get a sneak peek of Rogue One or perhaps the first look at Ghostbusters?

Are studios as excited about the new UHD Blu-ray format as we are? Answers to these questions and more will come your way soon. In the meantime, we have another Deadpool weekend to dissect. Oh, and what about those Oscars? Well, it is Oscars week, so that means that our birthday and Christmas are all the same week this year.

For now, let's sit back and Mix.

Box Office 411

At the top of the box office, there was little movement as Deadpool and Kung Fu Panda finished 1-2 for the second weekend in a row. As the biggest R-rated opening of all time, Deadpool's second weekend number is going to be analyzed with a microscope. The early returns are impressive as it avoided a 60%+ drop to hold on with a $55 million weekend.

So far, the Marvel Merc with a mouth has earned north of $235 million at the box office and looks set for a nice run. Looking ahead, there isn't much competition until late March, so Deadpool could conceivably end up with $400 million, but I think that's a bit of a stretch. I think it will end its run with between $350-$375 million which will put it smack dab in the running for the highest grossing R-rated film ever with The Passion of The Christ.

Somewhere Ryan Reynolds is probably chuckling over the fact that Deadpool and Jesus could be battling for the top spot in history. Actually, that's perfect, isn't it?

Kung Fu Panda continued to strike while the iron is hot and the competition is light. Its success in the family sphere should continue for at least another week. Zootopia is set to open on March 4 and Kung Fu Panda will see a drastic drop. This weekend, Kung Fu Panda added another $12.5 million to its coffers, bringing its total up to $117 million. The film is still on target for over $150 million and might even inch up to $175 million.

Not only was the box office heavy up top, but a few newcomers enjoyed a better than expected opening. Risen, the spiritual follow-up to The Passion of The Christ, opened up with $11.8 million. Yes, that's two The Passion of The Christ mentions in as many paragraphs. With Easter looming in late March this film looks to continue its success to the tune of $60 or even $75 million.

In fourth place, The Witch became the highest-grossing opening film ever for A24 with $8.7 million. The psychological thriller/horror film is one that I'm really looking forward to seeing and the early returns from those whose opinions I trust suggest that the film lives up to its hype. With a decent push, the film should be able to make it to $25 million.

Just outside the top five, Race opened up with $7.3 million in sixth place. The true story of Jesse Owens and his remarkable performance at the 1936 Olympics looks to strike a chord with fans of the Olympics just as hype begins to build for the Rio games later this year. A $20 million total would be a nice performance for this smaller film.

Quick Hitters

  • Leonardo DiCaprio could should be an Oscar-winning actor by the next time we chat, but in case that elusive award continues to avoid Leo, we will always have Red Carpet Rampage. Yes, it's an 8-bit videogame in which you attempt to navigate the actor to his first Oscar win. Here's a trailer for the game.

    RedCarpetRampage.com Gameplay from The Line on Vimeo.

  • We talk on here periodically about how important it is for you to get out and embrace your local video store and in light of this article in Variety, now is the time to get reacquainted with your video store. The gist of the article is that Redbox is on the way out and with Blockbuster already shuttered, local independent video stores will be your last bastion of physical home media. Hopefully with the advent of Ultra HD Blu-ray this year, we will see a nice renaissance with local video stores.

  • Chewbacca himself Peter Mayhew has taken to social media to keep Star Wars at the forefront of our minds while we await Rogue One later this year and Episode VIII next year. He is using his twitter feed to release pics of his copy of an early script of A New Hope. Just in the first few posts, we've seen a couple of famous deleted scenes and a Darth Vader cup trick that was, thankfully, omitted from the final cut of the film.

I feel the need, the need for Mixer!