NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� an action comedy starring Ryan Reynolds as a background character in a videogame, opened better than expected over the weekend, collecting an estimated $28.4 million in ticket sales despite a marketplace challenged by COVID-19.
After a few weeks of , 鈥淔ree Guy" succeeded with an old-school formula: an original, star-fronted movie with good word-of-mouth playing only in theaters. The movie directed by Shawn Levy was made by the Walt Disney Co.-owned 20th Century Fox, with a theatrical release contractually stipulated for the roughly $100 million production.
Playing in 4,165 North American theaters, 鈥淔ree Guy鈥� was expected to debut around $20 million. Its surprisingly strong opening gave further proof to what some analysts have been saying throughout the year 鈥� hybrid releases that send new movies immediately onto streaming platforms can significantly harm ticket sales. The last two No. 1 movies 鈥� Warner Bros.' 鈥淭he Suicide Squad鈥� and Disney's 鈥淛ungle Cruise" 鈥� were launched simultaneously in theaters and homes.
But however movies are being released right now, box office conditions are far from ideal. The over the last month has corresponded with diminished ticket sales at theaters. Some cities, including New York and San Francisco, are preparing to make vaccine passports required for entering movie theaters.
David A. Gross, who runs the movie consultancy Franchise Entertainment Research, estimates that new releases are selling about half the tickets they normally would.
鈥淪ince Memorial Day weekend, the domestic box office has been running at approx. 50% of 2019 levels, with several spikes from strong titles, but then returning to 50% of 2019,鈥� Gross said in an email. 鈥淯nder normal conditions, 鈥楩ree Guy鈥� would be opening 50% higher than this weekend鈥檚 number 鈥� comfortably.鈥�
But the enthusiasm for 鈥淔ree Guy鈥� was enough to lead . In the film, Reynolds' character, Guy, realizes he's a 鈥渘on playable character鈥� in a 鈥淕rand Theft Auto"-like game. It features co-stars Jodie Comer, Lil Rel Howery and Taika Waititi.
Reviews were good (82% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), and a male-heavy audience gave 鈥淔ree Guy鈥� an 鈥淎鈥� CinemaScore. (About 60% of moviegoers were male, Disney said.) 鈥淔ree Guy鈥� also added $22.5 million internationally.
鈥淔ree Guy鈥� is also the latest in . After decades of futility, Hollywood is increasingly finding success by mining videogames for intellectual property. Reynolds starred in one of the best performing videogame adaptations 鈥� 2019's 鈥淧ok茅mon: Detective Pikachu,鈥� which grossed $432 million worldwide.
鈥淔ree Guy鈥� will play exclusively in theaters for at least 45 days 鈥� and its strong performance through the weekend suggests it could buck the summer's typical trend of fast drop offs.
Last week's top film, 鈥淭he Suicide Squad," slid steeply, dropping 70% in its second weekend. After its $26.2 million debut, James Gunn's 鈥淪uicide Squad" redo pulled in just $7.8 million for Warner Bros., bringing its two-week total to $42.9 million. It's concurrently playing on HBO Max.
That film's tumble gave a few other releases more room at multiplexes. Sony Pictures' horror sequel 鈥淒on't Breathe 2鈥� opened with $10.6 million, in line with studio projections. While 鈥淒on鈥檛 Breathe 2鈥� debuted with less than half the opening of the 2016 original, the sequel was made with a modest budget of $15 million.
MGM and United Artists' Aretha Franklin biopic 鈥淩espect,鈥� starring Jennifer Hudson, debuted with $8.8 million. 鈥淩espect," which has drawn praise for Hudson's leading performance, also landed an 鈥淎鈥� CinemaScore. Its audience was 66% female and nearly half of ticket buyers were Black.
Disney's 鈥淛ungle Cruise,鈥� starring Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson, landed in third place in its third weekend with $9 million. Its worldwide total is $154.3 million. It's also playing on Disney+ for an additional $30.
Apple didn't report grosses for 鈥淐ODA,鈥� one of the company's major movie acquisitions and one seen as . The film, starring deaf actors Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur and Daniel Durant, was , where Apple plunked down a festival-record $25 million for the film. 鈥淐ODA," which stands for child of a deaf adult, debuted simultaneously in theaters and on Apple TV+.
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Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
