In a new era but not quite as sparkling as the previous one, Taylor Swift returns to conquer the box office with the $33 million debut of Release Party of a Showgirl, a film that blends music video, documentary, and watch party into a singular cinematic experience. The Hollywood Reporter‘s Pamela McClintock, who reviewed Release Party of a Showgirl, offered a succinct description of the film as an “89-minute cinematic experience — neither visual album nor concert film, and not quite a documentary — is strictly for the diehards.” Showgirl is a unique promotional and marketing effort for the upcoming 12th studio album from Taylor Swift, “The Life of a Showgirl”, which was announced on September 19th from the singer’s social media and continuing the trend of self-marketing and promotion seen previously done with the Eras Tour in 2023. Once again, Swift bypassed Hollywood Studios and worked directly with AMC Theaters for Showgirl’s release. On top of snagging an A+ Cinema score, Showgirl is unlikely to climb to the dominating world record-shattering numbers of the Eras Tour concert film.
In other news, A24’s The Smashing Machine, a biopic starring Dwayne Johnson as Mark Kerr, an MMA fighting legend, bombed in its box office debut. Netting only $6 million after an initial projected $15 million, the film is now Johnson’s worst premiere, replacing Faster’s $8.5 million from 2010. With a $50 million budget, including marketing and promotion for film festivals, such as Venice and Toronto. The Smashing Machine has a long crawl back to the black as Oscar season approaches. This uphill battle faces further challenges with mediocre and lukewarm audience responses of a B+ Cinema score, despite critical acclaim. Most are attributing this to the deviation in genre for Johnson, who’s most known for his summer blockbuster family-friendly films, in such a dramatic role, throwing people for a loop. This is also likely impacted more by the lack of available IMAX screenings than competition from Showgirl due to another promotional run of James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water in theaters in anticipation of Fire and Ash releasing this December, taking a whopping 90% of IMAX screens across the nation.
This actually landed Smashing Machine in third, with Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another starring Leonardo DiCaprio taking second with $11.12 million in its second week. One Battle After Another, despite having much more positive reviews and equal star power headlining it, is still underperforming from what its $135 million budget had hoped for. As a result, the film is receiving questionable attention on this turnout. There is some hope yet, as international revenue has helped push the film to $101.7 million from the domestic haul of $42.75 million.
Fourth went to Gabby’s Dollhouse with $5.2 million, also in its second week. 5th went to The Conjuring: Last Rites, which scared up $4 million in its 5th week. Sixth place went to Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Infinity Castle with $3.5 million in its fourth week, still hanging on to the top 10.
In 7th was Avatar: The Way of Water with $3.19 million, helped by the higher price for IMAX tickets despite the limited re-release.
Eighth went to The Strangers: Chapter 2, still fumbling in its second week with $2.8 million.
Ninth surprisingly went to Good Boy, an indie production brought to the big screen by IFC Entertainment. It is a unique horror movie told entirely from the perspective of a dog as he senses a supernatural presence in the new home. The star of the film, Indy, a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, is director Ben Leonberg’s own dog but has received much acclaim and praise for his acting chops.
Rounding off the list at the 10th spot is The Long Walk with $1.7 million in its fourth week.
Another notable box office event that occurred outside of the top 10 was the return of Daniel Day-Lewis from retirement and his first feature film in 10 years with Anemone. It made $700,000 for its opening weekend.
The weekend box office numbers are as follows:
1. Taylor Swift | The Official Release Party of a Showgirl Weekend $33M Total $33M Week 1
2. One Battle After Another Weekend $11.12M Total $42.75M Week 2
3. The Smashing Machine Weekend $6M Total $6M Week 1
4. Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie Weekend $5.2M Total $21.6M Week 2
5. The Conjuring: Last Rites Weekend $4M Total $167.8M Week 5
6. Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Infinity Castle Weekend $3.5M Total $124.63M Week 4
7. Avatar: The Way of Water $3.19M Total $687.61M Week 147
8. The Strangers: Chapter 2 Weekend $2.8M Total $10.69M Week 2
9. Good Boy Weekend $2.25M Total $2.25M Week 1
10. The Long Walk Weekend $1.7M Total $31.92M Week 4
Notables
16. Anemone Weekend $700K Total $700M Week 1
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