'No' opens at No. 1 but falls short of box office opening expectations

San Diego Comic-Con this weekend reminded exhibitors of the good times ahead with "Black Adam" (Warner Bros.) in October and "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" (Disney) in November. It's a good time for distraction. With "No" opening at $44 million, this weekend's box office total of $124 million might be the best we've seen until "Black Adam."

"No" is finding money for theaters. As a film without a franchise (although filmmaker Jordan Peele, like Quentin Tarantino, calls it an auteur franchise), it's among six original entries in this week's top 10. July.

His initial take is a little less than the expected $50 million. We'll have to see the final weekend total, but for now it's still $10,000 behind 'Uncharted' as the best non-franchise first take for any film since Peele's 'Us' in early 2019. .

The $71 million opening gross comparison for "Us" is one of three numbers that stifle the celebration of a strong result. Another is the film's $68 million pre-market budget, which means it won't be the huge revenue stream for Universal as "We" and "Get Out" (each made $255 million). dollars in the world). The third is that the initial trajectory of the film is not positive. Saturday was down 29% from the Thursday/Friday open. That compares to "Us," down the normal 12% for a horror release. "Get Out" actually improved by 17% on day two.

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A sub-$50 million opening makes "Nope" eligible under Universal's deal with theaters to move to PVOD after its third weekend. This early date will likely generate significant additional revenue.

At $124 million, it was the lowest total weekend revenue in seven weeks. The same weekend of 2019 was the best of this year, with "The Lion King" opening at $191 million for a total of $261 million.

That puts this year's result at 45%, the lowest since April. Still, the rolling four-week comparison, after a terrific three weeks, remains at 100%. With one week left in the month, July raised $960 million. This ensures that this will become the first month over $1 billion in three years and that July will be approximately 90% of the corresponding year 2019.

The weekend was enhanced by several films that continued to appeal. At the bottom of the catch ladder, "Thor: Love and Thunder" (Disney) took second place with $22 million. Its $276 million is about $70 million less than 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' after its third weekend, with a 53% drop that continues to lag many hits. from Marvel.

Once again, "Top Gun: Maverick" (Paramount) held its own. In its ninth weekend, still No. 5 with another $10 million, it fell just 19%. An additional $60 million will see it hit $700 million domestically, well over double the most optimistic pre-release forecast.