FINAL UPDATE, Monday: As studios misfire with reboots and sequels this summer and scratch their heads as to why certain formulas didn’t work, along comes Sony/Annapurna’s Sausage Party, a risky, R-rated animated film –a genre which doesn’t really have a history at the B.O. — and blows away its weekend projections with a final $34.3M. Ganging up with Disney’s Pete’s Dragon, which made $21.5M, both new entries forced Warner Bros.’ Suicide Squad to its knees with 67% decline in its second weekend of $43.5M.
Given its A- CinemaScore among the under-35 demo, many expected a better hold from Suicide Squad. And while a “How do we fix the DC cinema empire?” debate rages on with box office analysts and fanboys, Suicide Squad still posted the second-best weekend for an August release, inching out Guardians of the Galaxy’s sophomore FSS of $42.1M. Some question whether Suicide Squad will beat GotG at the domestic B.O. ($333.1M), however; through 10 days, the David Ayer movie is outstripping the James Gunn Marvel pic by 26%. Also, let’s not forget that Suicide Squad is driving this sleepy summer month to an all-time record, with a pinnacle hit for August weekend ticket sales (August 5-7) of $228.7M. Suicide Squad will top the box office again this weekend with an estimated $20M, down 54%. Its box office story isn’t finished yet: In addition, Suicide Squad has pushed Warner Bros.’ summer B.O. up 30% over last year and 43% over 2014.
Elsewhere, Paramount’s Florence Foster Jenkins, which played to upscale adults in metropolitan markets, rested at $6.6M. Also much higher: CBS/Lionsgate’s Texas thriller Hell or High Water at a fantastic $621K from 32 sites for a hefty per-theater of $19,417. The David Mackenzie-directed feature will expand to about 400 locations this Friday.
According to iSpotTV, out of the three wide entries, Disney spent the most in TV spots, shelling out an estimated $24M on Pete’s Dragon with commercials running during such programming as the Rio Olympics, America’s Got Talent and SpongeBob SquarePants. Paramount has spent an estimated $11.8M on TV spots that aired on ABC, NBC and CBS as well as female-skewing cable networks Bravo and E!.
Sony, despite relegating 50% of its Sausage Party marketing spend on digital, spent an estimated $16.4M on spots that ran during the NBA Finals, Family Guy, ESPN’s SportsCenter and AMC’s Preacher, which is produced by Sausage Party stars Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and Sony Television. There also were custom PSA-style spots that aired during Independence Day weekend featuring Sausage Party characters speaking out about the dangers of grilling and encouraging viewers to destroy their grills. Essentially, the studio was after young moviegoers here.
Sony partnered with Comedy Central and MTV 2 to create custom, behind-the-scenes bits about Sausage Party featuring Rogen and Goldberg. There also was a humorous vignette on Adult Swim and TruTV that introduced viewers to one of the film’s supporting characters, Gum. Longform sneak peeks also aired across TBS E-League, Preacher, FXX and TBS.
In addition to launching the film at SXSW, with another boost at Comic-Con, Sony engaged popular foodie personalities and influencers and invited them to tastemaker screenings. Partnerships with popular food press included Bon Appetit, Vice Munchies, Food & Wine, Infatuation and Food Beast.
Sausage Party‘s redband content was viewed 224M times, while the first redband trailer cleared over 182MM, becoming Sony’s most viewed redband of all-time. Other digital promos included Rogen providing commentary on BuzzFeed Foods cuisine-creation videos. Sony celebrated National Hot Dog Day by partnering with Snapchat, with the lens product permitting fans to turn themselves into Sausage Party protagonist Frank the Sausage.
August is going to slow down this weekend as more students head back to school. On Friday, 58% of K-12 will be off, with college at 86% off. Six films will clear $13M. After Suicide Squad, there’s Sausage Party ($17M-$18M, -49%), Warner Bros.’ War Dogs ($16M-$17M), Paramount’s Ben-Hur ($14M), Focus Features’ Kubo and the Two Strings ($13M) and Pete’s Dragon ($13M, -40%).
Final actuals for the weekend of August 12-14 from comScore as assembled by Amanda N’Duka:
1). Suicide Squad (WB), 4,255 theaters (0) / 3-day cume: $43.5M (-67%) / Per screen avg.: $10,232 /Total cume: $222.6M/ Wk 2
2). Sausage Party (SONY/APP), 3,103 theaters / 3-day cume: $34.3M / Per screen: $11,042 / Wk 1
3). Pete’s Dragon (DIS), 3,702 theaters / 3-day cume: $21.5M / Per screen: $5,811 / Wk 1
4). Jason Bourne (UNI), 3,528 theaters (-511) / 3-day cume: $13.8M (-38%)/ Per screen: $3,925 / Total cume: $127M/ Wk 3
5). Bad Moms (STX), 3,188 theaters (-27)/ 3-day cume: $11.4M (-19%)/ Per screen: $3,564 / Total cume: $71.4M/ Wk 3
6). The Secret Life of Pets (ILL/UNI), 2,958 theaters (-459) /3-day: $9.06M (-21%)/ Per screen: $3,064 / Total cume: $336.2M / Wk 6
7). Star Trek Beyond (PAR), 2,577 theaters (-686) / 3-day cume: $6.9M (-31%) / Per screen: $2,675 / Total cume: $139.8M / Wk 4
8.) Florence Foster Jenkins (PAR), 1,528 theaters / 3-day cume: $6.6M / Per screen: $4,320 / Wk 1
9). Nine Lives (EUR), 2,264 theaters / 3-day cume: $3.5M (-44%)/ Per screen: $1,557 / Total cume: $13.6M/ Wk 2
10). Lights Out (WB/NL), 1,652 theaters (-929) / 3-day cume: $3.2M (-46%) / Per screen: $1,946 / Total cume: $61.1M / Wk 4
11). Nerve (LGF), 1,777 theaters (-761)/ 3-day cume: $2.6M (-46%) / Per screen: $1,485 / Total cume: $33.1M / Wk 3
12). Ghostbusters (SONY), 1,437 theaters (-1,108) / 3-day cume: $2.3M (-51)/ Per screen: $1, 581/ Total: $121.7M / Wk 5
13). Ice Age: Collision Course (FOX), 1,548 theaters (-1,190) / 3-day cume: $2.05M (-53)/ Per screen: $1,327 / Total cume: $58.7M / Wk 4
14). Finding Dory (DIS), 631 theaters (-491) / 3-day cume: $1.3M (-33)/ Per screen: $2,080 / Total cume: $476.7M / Wk 9
15). Anthropoid (BST), 452 theaters /3-day cume: $1.2M / Per screen: $2,729 / Wk 1
16). Cafe Society (LGF), 455 theaters (-176) / 3-day cume: $938K (-42%) / Per screen: $2,061/ Total cume: $8.5M / Wk 5
17). Rustom (IND), 133 theaters /3-day cume: $774K/ Per screen: $5,817 / Wk 1
18). Indignation (RSA), 267 theaters (+212) / 3-day cume: $755K (+80%) / Per screen: $2,829 / Total cume: $1.5M / Wk 3
19). Mohenjo Daro (UTV), 246 theaters /3-day cume: $748K/ Per screen: $3,040 / Wk 1
20). Hell or High Water (CBS/Lionsgate), 32 theaters /3-day cume: $621K/ Per screen: $19,417 / Wk 1
NOTABLES:
Ghost Team (THE ORCH), 10 theaters /3-day cume: $8K/ Per screen: $807 / Wk 1
My King (FM), 1 theaters /3-day cume: $6K/ Per screen: $807 / Wk 1
The Last Lonely Place (INDICAN), 2 theaters /3-day cume: $6K/ Per screen: $3,044 / Wk 1
5TH UPDATE: Sunday AM Final Sony/Annapurna’s Sausage Party opening has risen to $33.6M, and could potentially hit $34M by the end of today. That’s the biggest debut ever for an animated movie in August, beating the $22.2M made by Disney’s 2013 title Planes.
Non-Warner Bros. box office analysts had Suicide Squad in the low $50M range heading into this weekend, but Sausage Party stole a big chunk of the DC villain’s holdover crowd during the late-night hours. In addition, Gold-medalist Michael Phelps’ swan song in swimming last night didn’t help business either. Suicide Squad is looking at $43.77M weekend, down a steep 67%, which isn’t that far from Batman v. Superman‘s -69% freefall in its second go-round. Sausage drew mostly guys at 57% with an even split in the over/under 25 demo. Suicide Squad rose 34% between Friday and Saturday to $17.9M, while Sausage Party, because of its front-loaded nature as a raunchy title eased -15% from $13.48M on Friday to $11.4M.
Josh Greenstein, Sony’s president of worldwide marketing and distribution, beamed this morning, “This shows that by taking risks with smart original concepts in the marketplace, it can pay off big-time. We couldn’t be more excited with this phenomenal result from our partners at Annapurna and Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and James Weaver.”
While Caucasians made up 54% of Sausage Party‘s ticket buyers, Hispanic moviegoers represented 21%, while African Americans made up 13%. Nearly 50% of Sony’s marketing budget for Sausage Party was spent on digital, which is the highest ever spent in that sector by the Culver City, CA-based studio following The Shallows. What does that mean? Essentially digital marketing spends are significantly lower than traditional broadcast, and it emphasizes that Sony got the biggest bang for its marketing buck.
Disney’s Pete’s Dragon is opening in third with $21.5M. It was the only movie to receive a solid A CinemaScore this weekend with families accounting for 66% of this reboot’s business. At 53% women, 54% under 25, young females were the stronger demo here. Particularly in regards to the under 25 crowd, B.O. analysts believe that Pete’s Dragon also cut into Suicide Squad as well. Disney has launched family fare in the mid-August frame before and turned around a 4x-plus multiple at the domestic B.O, and that’s what seems to be the hope here. Everything is in place here for Pete’s Dragon to leg out: great reviews and audience response. The project wasn’t built to be a $100M-plus production in the vein of The Jungle Book, rather a cash cow that would be a classically-crafted single or a double for the Burbank, CA-based studio. While a final $80M domestic take would be great for Disney on Pete’s Dragon, it has the potential to do more abroad where it still has 75% of all foreign territories to go. Russia, Italy and the United Kingdom drove Pete’s business to $5.1M.
Paramount’s Florence Foster Jenkins is also coming in a tad ahead of where it planned to be with $6.58M. According to ComScore’s PostTrak, 42% of the audience bought tickets to the New York period movie because they’re Meryl Streep fans. Older women turned up in a big way with 67% female, 96% over 25. CinemaScore shows similar demos with 61% female, 97% over 25. The Stephen Frears-directed movie landed an 81% positive score, and as we mentioned earlier, Florence Foster Jenkins will be part of Paramount’s awards season push. There was an Academy as well as a number of SAG screenings. While Streep’s film Rikki and the Flash was used as a B.O. comp, word of mouth wise, Florence Fosters Jenkins is in a better position with an A- CinemaScore and 86% fresh Rotten Tomatoes score. Rikki earned a middling B and 65% review rating. Florence was also +27% between Friday and Saturday, while Rikki only grew 13% over that span. Florence Foster Jenkins was acquired by Paramount at the Toronto International Film Festival for an estimated seven figures.
Outside of Sausage Party, which 25-34 year olds also gave an 80% positive score, women continued to take in their own form of raunch as STX ‘s Bad Moms rang up $11.45M, an -18% hold in its third weekend for a running cume of $71.46M. That’s excellent for a comedy that cost an estimated $20M. The Mila Kunis-Kristen Bell-Jada Pinkett Smith-Christina Applegate-Kathryn Hahn combo will ultimately become STX’s first $100M grosser.
Bleecker Street is reporting $1.2M at 452 sites for its World War II Cillian Murphy-Jamie Dornan thriller Anthropoid. Brian Brooks will have more on the specialty side later.
CBS/Lionsgate’s Texas thriller Hell or High Water drew an amazing $592K at 32 sites along with snagging the weekend’s best theater average with $18,500. This is a great start to a critically acclaimed movie in what is a very crowded August marketplace, both for mainstream movies and arthouse titles. The David Mackenzie movie was co-financed and produced by Odd Lot Entertainment and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment.
Studio-reported figures as compiled by Deadline’s Amanda N’Duka for the weekend of Aug. 12-14
1). Suicide Squad (WB), 4,255 theaters (0) / $13.3M Fri./ $17.9M Sat (+34%) / $12.5M Sun. (-30%) / 3-day cume: $43.8M (-67%) /Total cume: $222.9M/ Wk 2
2). Sausage Party (SONY/APP), 3,103 theaters / $13.6M Fri (includes $3.25M previews)/ $11.4M Sat (-16%) / $8.7M Sun. (-24%) / 3-day cume: $33.6M / Wk 1
3). Pete’s Dragon (DIS), 3,702 theaters / $7M Fri. / $8.4M Sat (+20%) / $6.2M Sun. (-26%) / 3-day cume: $21.5M / Wk 1
4). Jason Bourne (UNI), 3,528 theaters (-511) / $3.9M Fri. /$5.9M Sat (+53%) / $3.8K Sun. (-35%) / 3-day cume: $13.6M (-39%)/Total cume: $126.9M/ Wk 3
5). Bad Moms (STX), 3,188 theaters (-27)/ $3.6M Fri. /$4.5M Sat (+26%) / $3.4M Sun. (-25%) / 3-day cume: $11.45M (-18%)/Total cume: $71.5M/ Wk 3
6). The Secret Life of Pets (ILL/UNI), 2,958 theaters (-459) / $2.5M Fri. / $3.7M Sat (+46%) / $2.6M Sun. (-30%) / 3-day: $8.8M(-23%)/Total cume: $335.9M / Wk 6
7). Star Trek Beyond (PAR), 2,577 theaters (-686) / $1.8M Fri./ $3M Sat (+62%) / $2M Sun. (-32%) / 3-day cume: $6.8M (-32%) / Total cume: $139.7M / Wk 4
8.) Florence Foster Jenkins (PAR), 1,528 theaters / $2.1M Fri. (includes $190K previews) /$2.65M Sat (+27%) / $1.85M Sun. (-30%) / 3-day cume: $6.58M / Wk 1
9).Nine Lives (EUR), 2,264 theaters / $1.1M Fri./ $1.4M Sat (+31%) / $990K Sun. (-31%) / 3-day cume: $3.5M (-44%)/Total cume: $13.55M/ Wk 2
10). Lights Out (WB/NL), 1,652 theaters (-929) / $985K Fri. / $1.4M Sat (+38%) / $880K Sun. (-35%) / 3-day cume: $3.2M (-46%) / Total cume: $61.1M / Wk 4
NOTABLES:
Anthropoid (BST), 452 theaters / $365K Fri. / $479K Sat (+31%) / $356K Sun. (-26%) /3-day cume: $1.2M / Wk 1
Mohenjo Daro (UTV), 250 theaters / $236K Fri. /$305K Sat (+29%) / $183K Sun. (-40%) /3-day cume: $724K/ Wk 1
Rustom (IND), 135 theaters / $207K Fri. /$317K Sat (+53%) / $189K Sun. (-40%) /3-day cume: $713K/ Wk 1
Hell or High Water (CBS/Lionsgate), 32 theaters / $194K Fri. /$237K Sat (+22%) / $162K Sun. (-32%) / PTA: $19K/3-day cume: $592K/ Wk 1
4TH Writethru, Saturday AM after 9:45PM Friday: The biggest threat facing Suicide Squad this weekend isn’t Batman or Superman, but raunchy Sausages, and even Pete’s Dragon.
Based on updated industry figures this morning, the Warner Bros/DC pic is headed toward a -67% second weekend drop that’s quite close to the -69% free fall of Batman v. Superman. That was one of the worst second frame declines for a superhero movie, tying with 20th Century Fox’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine. And it looked like Disney/Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy would hold the record for best second weekend in August with $42.1M, though Suicide Squad looks like it’s headed toward a $44.4M weekend. Many reports show the film spiking today in ticket sales. Earlier this week, it appeared that the under 35 bunch who gave this movie an A- were bound to keep Suicide Squad‘s legs going, but stuff happens when a superhero movie is universally panned by critics and gets a ho-hum overall CinemaScore of B+.
In order to fly, as Marvel banks on every time with its movies, a superhero movie needs to win over both intellects and fanboys. But the other thing that’s going on with DC movies, especially for critics, is that everyone still has a crush on Christopher Nolan. The Dark Knight director stacked the deck for DC’s storytelling, making it difficult for other filmmakers to rival or emulate. On the bright side, Suicide Squad will clear the $200M this weekend stateside, on its way to $400M global.
Sony/Annapurna’s Sausage Party is simply hot. It’s winning Friday with $13.48M (that includes its $3.25M Thursday), ahead of Suicide Squad with $13M. The Seth Rogen-Evan Goldberg production is set to hit $32.7M. There’s been good word of mouth for this movie despite its B CinemaScore. It’s directed by Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon whose respective previous credits include wholesome family fare Thomas & Friends and DreamWorks’ Monsters vs. Aliens. Rogen’s films typically land a B+ CinemaScore (The Green Hornet, This is the End, Knocked Up, Pineapple Express) or a B (The Neighbors franchise). B and B+ CinemaScores aren’t blemishes on Rogen’s B.O. traction; they don’t effect him in the same way that they impact a superhero movie like Suicide Squad. Not to spoil anything, but the ending is worth the price of admission all its own.
Should Sausage Party continue cooking, it will rep a win for adult-animated fare on the big screen, which has been scant and niche previously: Adam Sandler’s PG-13 holiday pic Eight Crazy Nights didn’t really amaze with a final stateside take of $23.6M, Paramount’s Trey Parker and Matt Stone puppet parody Team America: World Police had a lot of heat prior to opening but ultimately had its strings cut with $32.8M back in 2004. Still, that duo’s South Park – Bigger, Longer and Uncut was a cash cow with a $83M worldwide take, off a $21M production budget.
Speaking of bawdy, it’s a fever: STX’s Bad Moms is only set to decline 19% in its third outing with $11.4M, rising to an estimated $71.4M by Sunday in fifth place.
Many also believe that despite its play for families, Disney’s Pete’s Dragon is biting into Suicide Squad‘s hold with an opening of $20.8M in third. It’s an OK debut in relation to its $65M cost, but it doesn’t scream future potential franchise like The Jungle Book or Maleficent. Said one rival studio B.O. analyst this weekend, “I find it amazing that an R-rated animated CG movie is beating a Disney film in the marketplace.” Those who turned up for the David Lowery-directed movie gave it a solid A.
Paramount’s adult-demo Florence Foster Jenkins is arriving on mark with an estimated $6.1M opening at 1,528 theaters in eighth place. The Melrose Lot picked up the Pathe/BBC Films/Canal+/Cine+ movie at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival. The socialite opera singer that Meryl Streep plays might have been criticized in her day, but CinemaScore audiences adored her with an A-. With all this wattage, word is there will be an awards push for this Stephen Frears-directed movie. EuropaCorp’s talking cat movie Nine Lives is bound to land in ninth place with a $3.5M second weekend, -44% for a 10-day take by Sunday of $13.5M.
Among specialty offerings, Bleecker Street’s Anthropoid at 56% rotten will clear $1M at 452 sites this weekend. Pic tells the story of two soldiers from the Czechoslovakian army-in-exile, who in 1941 parachute into their homeland with a mission to assassinate Nazi SS officer Reinhard Heydrich. CBS Films/Lionsgate’s western Hell or High Water, embraced at Cannes and hugged here in the U.S. with a 99% fresh Rotten Tomatoes score is blowing away the distributor’s high $100K-$200K expectations with a $600K $400K-plus weekend, outstanding even by rivals’ standards. The Chris Pine-Jeff Bridges-Ben Foster movie is looking to post the weekend’s best per theater average with close to $19K per site.
The top 10 films per industry estimates for the weekend Aug. 12-14 as of Saturday morning:
1). Suicide Squad (UNI), 4,255 theaters (0) / $13.3M Fri. (-80%)/ 3-day cume: $44.4M (-67%) /Total cume: $223.5M/ Wk 2
2). Sausage Party (SONY/APP), 3,103 theaters / $13.48M Fri (includes $3.25M previews)/ 3-day cume: $32.7M / Wk 1
3). Pete’s Dragon (DIS), 3,702 theaters / $6.9M Fri. / 3-day cume: $20.8M / Wk 1
4). Jason Bourne (UNI), 3,528 theaters (-511) / $3.87M Fri. (-41%) / 3-day cume: $13.1M (-42%)/Total cume: $126.1M/ Wk 3
5). Bad Moms (STX), 3,188 theaters (-27)/ $3.6M Fri. (-20%)/ 3-day cume: $11.4M (-19%)/Total cume: $71.4M/ Wk 3
6). The Secret Life of Pets (ILL/UNI), 2,958 theaters (-459) / $2.5M Fri. (-24%) / 3-day: $8.7M (-24%)/Total cume: $335.8M / Wk 6
7). Star Trek Beyond (PAR), 2,577 theaters (-686) / $1.8M Fri. (-31%)/ 3-day cume: $6.8M (-32%) / Total cume: $139.7M / Wk 4
8.) Florence Foster Jenkins (PAR), 1,528 theaters / $2.1M Fri. (includes $190K previews) /3-day cume: $6.1M / Wk 1
9).Nine Lives (EUR), 2,264 theaters / $1.1M Fri.(-52%)/ 3-day cume: $3.5M (-44%)/Total cume: $13.5M/ Wk 2
10). Lights Out (WB/NL), 1,652 theaters (-929) / $994K Fri. (-50%) /3-day cume: $3M (-50%) / Total cume: $60.9M / Wk 4
NOTABLES:
Notables:
Anthropoid (BST), 452 theaters / $364k Fri. /3-day cume: $1.16M / Wk 1
Mohenjo Daro (UTV), 250 theaters / $237K Fri. /3-day cume: $794K/ Wk 1
Rustom (IND), 135 theaters / $207k Fri. /3-day cume: $696k/ Wk 1
Hell or High Water (CBS/Lionsgate), 32 theaters / $194k Fri. /PTA: $19K/3-day cume: $618k/ Wk 1
My Best Friend’s Wedding (SPC), 61 theaters / $25k Fri. /3-day cume: $82k / Wk 1
2ND UPDATE, 12:30PM: Crowds are showing up to Sony/Annapurna’s Sausage Party. Based off of Friday matinees, the Seth Rogen-Evan Goldberg production is pulling in an estimated $13M Friday, and good sources believe that the film is on its way to $30M-$32M. Excellent for this film which cost an estimated $19M. Sausage Party is also the No. 1 seller on Fandango today. However, it’s still early, and as we saw with Bad Moms two weekends ago, there was a lot of pent-up energy, and that pic cooled down from its Friday. There’s a chance that Sausage Party could simmer to mid-$20M, and still that would be fine for this movie.
Looks like Sausage Party‘s festivities are cutting into Suicide Squad‘s business. While that film will pull in just over $13M for Friday, industry estimates have it at a $44M. If that figure holds, that’s a 67% drop, which is 2% higher than Batman v. Superman‘s -69% sophomore weekend drop. I hear matinees on Suicide Squad are down 93% and that doesn’t account for the $20.5M business the DC villain film did on Thursday.
Disney’s Pete’s Dragon looks to fly in with $7.5M estimated Friday on track for a $21M-$23M weekend. The film cost an estimated $65M before P&A. Paramount’s Florence Foster Jenkins looks to be coming in at projections with a $2.5M Friday, $5.5M-$6M opening weekend.
1ST UPDATE, 7:43AM: Sony/Annapurna’s R-rated Seth Rogen-Evan Goldberg animated production Sausage Party generated $3.25M last night at 2,632 locations. Some are comping Sausage Party to other Rogen raunchy comedies, and already Sausage Party has blown away the Thursday night preview money of Neighbors ($2.56M) and Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising ($1.67M). Sausage Party‘s first evening also bests that of Ted 2 ($2.6M) and Trainwreck ($1.8M).
B.O. analysts say though that there’s no correlation between Thursday night previews and the weekend, hence the naughty toon is looking to tip $20M in the face of Warner Bros.’ August behemoth Suicide Squad which is eyeing $51M-$54M. With a film like Sausage Party, late night showtimes are lucrative.
Last night among the regular films in play, Suicide Squad was the top title drawing $8.2M and raising its first week’s cume to $179.1M.
Paramount’s Meryl Streep-Hugh Grant New York City period film Florence Foster Jenkins about a talentless socialite who pursues her dream to be an opera singer, made $190K in Thursday night cash at 1,158 sites. Studio is comping this to the preview money for Streep’s movie Ricki and the Flash last summer which made $200K in its preview night and a $6.6M opening, $26.8M final cume. Disney did not preview Pete’s Dragon last night due to the Olympics. The live action-CGI reboot is looking to make $25M this weekend. Rotten Tomatoes for Florence is 89% fresh, which is higher than Ricki and the Flash‘s 65% fresh. That good critical word of mouth goes a long way with older audiences who read reviews.
The good news here for distributors is that a majority of kids are still out of school, but they’re creeping back. ComScore reports 77% K-12 schools out and 96% college. Those figures by Monday respectively fall to 66% and 90% and then by next Friday, Aug. 19, they’ll be at 58% K-12 and 86% college in regards to those still on vacation.
Sony started to generate word of mouth on Sausage Party early with an early cut version at the SXSW back in the spring, and kept the laughter rolling with a Comic-Con screening where Rogen hysterically declared ,”We want to make sausage-talking movies for the rest of our lives.”
Out of the three wide entries this weekend, RelishMix reports that Sausage Party has the loudest amount of buzz, which makes sense because it hits that millennial funny bone. Sausage Party also carries decent rapport with critics who marked it as 84% fresh. With a great social media universe of 149M, Relish Mix notices that the online chatter for Sausage Party is definitely highly positive with fans calling each other out to go see it in theaters, and already referencing lines and scenes from the materials available across social. Relish Mix names James Franco, Rogen and Jonah Hill as the big drivers on social with a combined social reach for the trio that’s close to 40M. Rogen’s Lip Synch Battle on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon has racked up 5.4M. The R-rated Australian trailer has clocked a massive 20.4M with 80-100K views daily. The Sausage Party YouTube playlist on the Sony Entertainment Channel counts 11.7M total views with two clips over 1M. One of the clips is this zany trailer tubthumping the Oscar and award-lauded voice-over talent in the movie:
Follow Anthony D’Alessandro on Twitter at @AwardsTony
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