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.
Although COVID restrictions have loosened worldwide, cases have been rapidly increasing in certain areas. Theatres have been beginning to slowly open in certain areas with restrictions in place, turning primarily to classics and VOD releases to test the waters before studios resume theatrical releases. Mulan and Tenet were set to release on July 24th and July 31st respectively, marking the first wave of theatrical releases, but they have been tentatively postponed to August 21st and August 12th respectively. It’s unclear whether these films will be postponed again, but studios and theatre companies desperately want to provide some theatrical releases before the end of the summer. For now, we will continue to analyze the trajectory of VOD releases.
This was a relatively slow week for new releases, in fact there is only one high profile VOD release to discuss. Talk show host, comedian, actor and writer/director Jon Stewart’s sophomore directorial effort Irresistible is a political comedy with an absolutely stacked cast including Steve Carell, Chris Cooper, Mackenzie Davis, Topher Grace and Rose Byrne. Despite the talent involved, the film received mostly negative reviews. However, it has been faring very well commercially and is currently sitting at #3 on the iTunes Charts.
It was a much busier week for streaming, as both Netflix and Amazon launched high profile releases. Eurovision Song Contest: A Story of Fire Saga has gained quite a bit of traction on Netflix. Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams star in this eccentric comedy that explores the titular European singing contest. The film received mixed reviews from critics, but audiences seem to be amused by its unusual style of comedy.
Amazon released the long-delayed family comedy My Spy, which stars Dave Bautista as a CIA agent who teaches his nine-year-old daughter how to be a spy after she catches him in action. The film received mixed to negative reviews, but is gaining traction due to the limited amount of family friendly new releases.
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:
9. Bloodshot
8. Twister (1996)
5. Midway
3. Irresistible
1. Little Women
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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