By @HolocronJosh and @HolocronGeorge for @FilmCodex
Bob Odenkirk’s ‘Nobody’, an action movie about a timid father who unleashes his inner rage on a group of Russian enemies who wronged him and his family, debuted to top of the domestic box office this weekend, heavily boosted by the reopening of Los Angeles theaters. In its opening weekend, Nobody took in $6.7 million from 2,460 theaters. Of that total, $1.1 million came from L.A. theaters, a market that was up 5% from last weekend. Directed by Ilya Naishuller, Nobody was received well by critics and audiences, receiving an A- CinemaScore and currently holding a solid 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film is being praised for the performance of its unlikely star, comedian Bob Odenkirk, and not taking itself too seriously.
Raya and the Last Dragon came in second place domestically, taking in $3.5 million to add to its $28.4 million running total. The numbers for this film are bound to be higher when adding in the Disney+ premier access rentals, which cost $30 each and numbers for which have yet to be released by the studio. Tom and Jerry, Chaos Walking, and The Courier rounded out the top 5.
Another big talking point at the box office this weekend is the overseas performance of Godzilla vs. Kong, the latest chapter in the Monster-verse that pits two iconic characters against each other. Although it doesn’t come out in U.S. theaters till next week, this film took in $121 million overseas from Friday-Sunday, a pandemic high total that shows that cinemas are starting to return to normalcy. China contributed the most to this total, with $70.3 million.
This is good news for studious that are looking for hope at the box office. Regardless of what happens domestically, overseas theaters are seemingly becoming much more reliable once again. Still, there is reason for optimism in the U.S., especially as films such as Fast 9 and Black Widow seem to have landed on what will be their final release dates. Although Black Widow will premiere on streaming at the same time, Disney doesn’t seem to be in the mood for making a habit of this hybrid model, which is welcome news for the theater chains worried by Warner Bros and HBO Max’s 2021 release plan.
Stay tuned to @FilmCodex for next week’s box office numbers, more reviews of all the latest films, news, and more.
Images courtesy of Universal, Warner Bros, and Disney