Welcome back to Box Office Breakdown, the weekly segment where I analyze the top ten highest grossing films of the past weekend.
Unfortunately, since most theatres are still closed down due to the COVID-19 and will continue to be for a while, we are unable to analyze the box office as studios are not reporting weekend projections. Due to this situation, studios are prematurely pulling films from theatres and releasing them on VOD, allowing audiences to watch them within the comfort of their own home. While theatres are temporarily shut down for an indefinite amount of time, we are dedicating this segment to analyzing how each film fares on VOD.
Similar to last week, there isn’t much in the way of new VOD releases. Due to the recent success of Trolls World Tour, studios are preparing to release certain films that initially were scheduled for a theatrical run, on VOD. These films include Scoob (May 15th), The High Note (May 29th). and The King of Staten Island (June 12th), among others. The VOD market is going to be fascinating to watch within the next few weeks as it should determine whether the VOD release model will be turned to more often moving forward.
However, this week there wasn’t much to analyze. Arkansas was the most buzz worthy new release, being the directorial debut of actor Clark Duke and starring a impressive cast featuring the likes of Liam Hemsworth, John Malkovich and Vince Vaughn. The film is a heist thriller following a drug deal gone wrong that leads to a deadly collision between two local criminals and a dangerous drug kingpin. The film has received generally mixed reviews and doesn’t seem to be a major player on the iTunes or Amazon charts.
The other notable new VOD release this week was Tammy’s Always Dying, starring Felicity Huffman. The film follows the titular character as her life turns upside down when her troubled mother becomes terminally ill. The film has received generally mixed to positive reviews, but has failed to chart on iTunes and Amazon. However, the film is slowly building buzz, so it may begin to chart in the coming weeks.
Aside from new releases, we wanted to report which films have been generating the most sales on the iTunes Charts. Apple doesn’t release statistics or a weekly chart, so these are the top 10 films on iTunes based on the moment this article was being written:
10. The Way Back
5. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
2. Parasite
In the coming weeks, we will continue to analyze the state of VOD releases and will provide updates regarding upcoming films.
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