Mark Wahlberg Canine Pic ‘Arthur The King’ Gets Scraps At The Box Office: Here’s Why
17.03.2024 - 19:37
/ deadline.com
How does an A CinemaScore and 4 1/2 star PostTrak movie with a major star and a dog underdeliver at the box office?
The adventure sports charged, doggie-with-a-heart title Arthur the King from Lionsgate had no chance of winning a crown this weekend with an $8M-$10M projection, however, many were expecting this well received movie to come in at the top of expectations. It did not with a $7.5M opening.
Also, the misfiring of A CinemaScore, mid-budget movies at the box office is becoming something of a trend. Read on.
Arthur the King‘s underperformance had to do with the fact that it looked ripe for streaming by today’s standards, and not theatrical, right? That’s why people didn’t show up? Yeah, but that’s not 100% of the reason.
True, stars need to have a come-to-Jesus with themselves when making streaming movies in conjunction with theatrical titles: Do you water down your marquee image by making yourself available for free at home? Wahlberg’s action title The Family Plan was AppleTV+’s most watched movie ever reportedly. To paraphrase/quote Sidney Poitier’s advice to Denzel Washington, “If they see you for free all week, they won’t pay to see you on the weekend”. Hollywood stars should get tattoos of that.
However, dog movies are a business on the big screen — and still are, going all the way back to Rin Tin Tin, Benji and Old Yeller. This despite various genres (i.e. comedies, romcoms, middle budget movies, which Arthur the King is) being gobbled up by streaming, thus conditioning audiences to stay home, and avoid theaters.
Case in point: A recent doggie feature success is MGM’s Channing Tatum movie Dog which was made for $15M, opened to $14.9M and legged its way to $61M stateside, $84.8M global. A definite bow