Magic Mike’s Last Dance looks set to win Super Bowl weekend at the domestic box office with an opening in the $8 million to $10 million range. The third title in the Channing Tatum franchise is running in 1,500 theaters — a modest number for a high-profile studio release — because it was made for streaming, not the big screen.
The box office always gets a hit because of the Super Bowl on Sunday. Hollywood studios generally avoid releasing photos of events or movies that target men.
Warner Bros. reports no figures for Magic Mike’s Last Dance until Sunday, a practice it also worked for House party, which also ran and opened in theaters versus on HBO Max. In case of Last dance, sources speculate the studio wants to minimize comparisons to the previous films. A theatrical release puts more pressure on Tatum and director Steven Soderbergh, as the box office figures are made public, while HBO Max’s viewing statistics generally are not.
In 2012 the first of Soderbergh magical mike stunned when it debuted to $39.1 million domestically from 3,920 theaters en route to a staggering $167.3 million worldwide. But the one from 2016 Magic Mike XXL, which the filmmaker did not direct, opened to much less, or $12.8 million from 3,355 theaters, before reaching just under $118 million worldwide. The notable drop could help explain why the third movie was conceived for streaming.
During the heart of the pandemic, former parent company Warner Media caused a stir when it announced that the full lineup of 2021 films would open simultaneously on HBO Max and in theaters. The importance of theatrical was one of the first things Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav stressed as he took over. Like it Magic Mike 3the one devised by HBO Max House party reboot also flipped and got a theatrical release last month.
All three magical mike movie star Tatum in the titular role. In the new movie, his character is hired by a wealthy divorcee, played by Salma Hayek, to help with a London stage production.
The other headline at the box office this weekend is the showdown between James Cameron’s two blockbusters, Avatar: the way of the water And Titanic.
The way of the water is still a formidable player at the box office, while a remastered 3D version of Titanic comes out in time for Valentine’s Day. Thanks to the re-release of Titanic, it’s still a few days or weeks away The way of the water to take over Titanic at the global box office in an embarrassment of wealth for Cameron.
Titanic currently ranks #3 on the list of highest-grossing films in history Avengers: endgame and Cameron’s avatarwhich ranks number 1, unadjusted for inflation. way of water is currently number 4.
Based on Friday grosss, estimates show Titanic And The way of the water each made somewhere between $6 million and $7 million this weekend. Paramount and Fifth Season’s Super Bowl-themed sports comedy 80 for Bradynow in its second weekend, is also in the mix.
Figures will be updated on Sunday.
