*As we reported yesterday (01-14-17) the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend isn’t looking too good as far as new films debuting. That’s the lesson that Ben Affleck’s “Live by Night” and Martin Scorsese’s “Silence” are finding out.
“Sleepless,” an action-thriller top lined by Jamie Foxx, was also a victim, so to speak, of being a new release new at the box office.
“There’s almost an unprecedented number of films out there,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at comScore told Variety. “It’s got to be somewhat daunting and overwhelming for moviegoers.”
On the other hand, Fox and Chernin Entertainment’s ”Hidden Figures” retained its box office crown in its second weekend of wide release, earning $20.5 million for the weekend and a projected $25.3 million for the long weekend. That means its total is now $59.7 million and growing.
The historical drama about African-American NASA workers during the early days of the space program has been one of the biggest breakouts of awards season.
Variety notes that “Hidden Figures” faced stiff competition from Lionsgate’s “La La Land,” riding high after sweeping the Golden Globe Awards, and STX’s “The Bye Bye Man,” which earned $14.5 million and $13.4 million, respectively. “La La Land” is widely expected to dominate the Oscar nominations. The musical about lovestruck Angelenos should finish the four-day weekend with another $17.5 million in domestic receipts, which would bring its stateside total to more than $77 million.
As far as Open Road’s “Sleepless” starring Jamie Foxx and Gabrielle Union, it didn’t fare too well either, as we alluded to up top. The $30 million production kicked off with a not so exciting $8.5 million and should end the long weekend with $10.1 million. But not to worry as far as the bottom line is concerned. “Sleepless” will end up profitable because Open Road covered its financial exposure by selling foreign distribution rights and through tax rebates.
“Given our economics, this $10 million opening on ‘Sleepless’ will certainly become profitable for Open Road,” said a spokeswoman.
If you’d like MORE info on the this weekend’s box office activity, check out Variety.
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