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.
Last week we decided to take a break from this segment due to the lack of new VOD releases and news regarding upcoming films. However, that was fortunately not the case this past weekend. A few weeks ago, Universal made the bold decision to release Trolls World Tour exclusively on VOD, instead of postponing the release date and waiting for theatres to reopen. This decision was met with criticism, but it proved to be a very smart move financially, as the film shattered multiple records and dominated the VOD market for weeks.
Competing studios quickly took notice, including Warner Bros., who released Scoob on VOD this past weekend. Similar to Trolls World Tour, Scoob is an animated film targeting family audiences. Serving as the latest incarnation of one of the most successful and widely beloved cartoon franchises of all time, it’s no surprise that the film absolutely dominated, claiming the number one spot on practically every VOD platform. Warner Bros. haven’t released the numbers yet, so there’s no way to tell how it compares to Trolls World Tour‘s debut weekend. However, it’s safe to say that the VOD release strategy works especially well for family oriented releases.
Opening alongside Scoob was Josh Trank’s high profile mob-drama Capone, starring Tom Hardy. While the film received mostly negative critical reception, it seems to be doing quite well financially, as it has been floating around the top 5 on the iTunes Charts. However, due to its weak critical reception, it’s unclear whether the film will continue to find an audience in the weeks to come.
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 Assistant
4. Capone
3. Bloodshot
2. 21 Bridges
1. Scoob
While certain retail stores and workplaces are beginning to slowly open back up for business in some capacity, the quarantine is still largely in effect so it remains unclear when theatres will reopen. Christopher Nolan’s Tenet still remains in the July 17th slot, but many films that were scheduled to release shortly after have been postponed indefinitely. Edgar Wright’s highly anticipated horror film, Last Night in Soho was initially scheduled to release on September 25th, 2020, but has been pushed back to an indefinite date in 2021. The same goes for A24’s medieval drama The Green Knight, which was initially set to premiere at SXSW preceding its May 29th release date. The film was pushed to August, but has now been delayed indefinitely. Lastly, the Tom Hanks WWII drama Greyhound has been acquired by Apple TV+ though no official date has been set at this time.
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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