Warner Bros. Discovery delays box office reports of 'Magic Mike's Last Dance' even though it's #1

"Magic Mike's Last Dance" (Warner Bros. Discovery) is No. 1 in the historically weak Super Bowl weekend. As distributors shun top new releases and avoid next week's debut of "Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania" (Disney), the $51 million total for all movies is expected to be the low point for 2023. p>

This is the first weekend this year to fall below the same date in 2022 ($54 million). The year has gotten much better so far, and the momentum should return next weekend with the new Marvel movie on vacation.

The third outing in the male stripper franchise, again starring Channing Tatum in the title role and returning original director Steven Soderbergh, grossed $8.2 million. Like last month's "House Party," it was the theatrical debut of a title originally slated for HBO Max. It opened in 1,500 theaters in prime locations. This is a smaller version than a large spread, but enough to capture 80-90% of its potential.

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Without too much competition, it achieved high per room averages of around $5,500. This is a steep drop from 2015's sequel "Magic Mike XXLL", which grossed $28 million in five days (at current ticket prices, over $35 million).

WBD has been very, very slow to release results: no preview estimates on Thursday and no initial estimates on Saturday morning - unprecedented for a full-scale studio release. And, to the continued irritation of rival studios and other industry insiders, the studio blocked initial reports on Comscore — just as it did with “House Party,” another title that used theaters mainly to market its future on streaming.

Why? We reached out to WBD, who didn't respond for comment, but one assessment (if we were to look at this from a studio perspective) might be: Why bother? This weekend's results are no bragging rights; last year, two films for older audiences opened against the Super Bowl with 'Death on the Nile' grossing nearly $13 million, while 'Marry Me' - even with a simulcast on Peacock - took grossed $8 million. And when a studio releases a movie in what you might call Wide-Release Lite - "Magic Mike" has opened in 1,500 theaters in the best locations, enough to capture 80-90% of its potential - there's no there is no rush to share data that might be against more robust publishing strategies.

Counterprogramming took three of the top four spots. A 25th anniversary re-release of “Titanic” (Paramount) ranked No. 3, with $6.4 million added to its domestic (adjusted) total of over $1.5 billion. That's more than double the other James Cameron film in the top 10: "Avatar: The Way of Water" is No. 2. It fell 39%, to a national total of $647 million.

Give credit to the "Avatar" reissue last September; it benefited from 3D screenings and grossed $10.5 million. "Titanic" has been available on every platform imaginable for over two decades.