Vampire thriller ‘Abigail’ takes largest bite in quiet box office weekend

The highly anticipated clash between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk is finally on the horizon.Originally scheduled for earlier this year, Saturday, May 18 is now the date the two giants of boxing will lock horns. It's been over two decades since the heavyweight division witnessed a unified world champion, with Lennox Lewis holding that distinction back in 1999 and boxing fans will now get to see another holder of all four belts.Now, with Fury and Usyk set to collide in a major undisputed fight, the excitement among boxing enthusiasts, both casual and die-hard, is palpable in the lead-up to the huge night which is taking place in Saudi Arabia. In an interesting turn of events, there's been an inclusion of a rematch clause which ensures that, regardless of the outcome, Fury and Usyk will cross paths once again, hinting at the potential for a compelling series between the two.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Primates will rule (the box office) again! Disney’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is aiming for $50 million to $55 million from 3,700 theaters in its domestic debut, which will easily be enough to tower over the box office chart. Those ticket sales are roughly even with two of the three prior installments in 20th Century’s rebooted “Planet of the Apes” franchise: 2017’s “War for the Planet of the Apes” opened to $56.2 million and 2011’s “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” opened to $54.8 million, while 2014’s “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” notched a series-best $72 million.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “The Last Frenzy,” a comedy film about a dying man’s last hurrah, took the top spot in mainland Chinese cinemas ahead of chasing pack of new releases. It earned $30.7 million (RMB218 million) between Friday and Sunday, according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway. Over its full five-day opening session, it accumulated $55.2 million. In second place was patriotic action thriller “Formed Police Unit” which focused on Chinese peacekeeping forces.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Locally-produced crime action thriller “The Roundup: Punishment” dominated the South Korea box office for a second weekend. In contrast, Hollywood’s “The Fall Guy” opened softly in third place. Data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic), showed “The Roundup: Punishment” grossed $13.8 million between Friday and Sunday, earned from 1.92 million ticket sales. That represented a huge 83% market share over the weekend, albeit down from 92% a week earlier.

We’re already in the fifth month of 2024, but new data about the 2023 box office is still coming in and we’ve learned some interesting things!

Brace yourselves, horror fans: this upcoming project may be too juicy for its own good.

Alex Ritman Kristen Stewart and Oscar Isaac are teaming up to star in the next wild-sounding project from Panos Cosmatos, best known for soaking Nicolas Cage in blood and vodka for his trippy action-horror “Mandy.” “Flesh of the Gods,” launching in Cannes with WME Independent, CAA Media Finance and XYZ Films, packs some considerable pedigree behind the camera, having been written by Andrew Kevin Walker (“Se7en,” “The Killer”) from a story he devised with Cosmatos, and produced by Adam McKay and Betsy Koch of Hyperobject Industries. Isaac and Gena Konstantinakos also produce for Mad Gene Media, the production company Isaac set up with his wife Elvira Lind.

Paramount Global‘s CEO Bob Bakish is out. The executive who has been a presence at several iterations of the company since 1997 will exit, effective immediately. A triumvirate of division heads — Brian Robbins, George Cheeks and Chris McCarthy — will step in to lead the company for now in a new office of the CEO.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In,” a Hong Kong-produced action thriller, took the top spot at the mainland China box office over the latest weekend. But it was a quiet session and came ahead of a welter of new releases targeting the May Day public holiday. The film, which is among those that have a Wednesday (May 1) official release date, earned $5.5 million (RMB38.9 million) between Friday and Sunday, according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway. The nationwide weekend total was a slender $18.7 million.

have been on a globetrotting press tour to get the word out about Italian director Luca Guadagnino’s original film, which opened in 3,477 locations in the US and Canada.“We’re obviously very, very happy with the number,” said Kevin Wilson, who heads theatrical distribution for Amazon Studios and MGM. “Looking at the audience who showed up, it’s really encouraging.

Challengers is No. 1!

Amazon MGM Studios’ Challengers, starring Zendaya and directed by Luca Guadagnino, made $1.9M in previews, a figure $100K shy of what Universal’s Cocaine Bear did. The tennis sexy romcom is hoping to open to $15M for the weekend.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Korean comedy action film “The Roundup: Punishment” destroyed all competition in local theaters on its Wednesday opening day. The film earned $4.92 million from 821,000 ticket sales, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). That represented a crushing 97% share of the day’s theatrical market. Including a smattering of previews over the latest weekend, the film finished Wednesday with a cumulative of $5.26 million earned from 862,000 spectators. Earlier, it was reported that the film had broken the Korean record for advanced ticket sales.

remained the top film in theaters in its second week of release, according to studio estimates Sunday.The A24 election-year gamble, the indie studio’s biggest budgeted film yet, took in $11.1 million in ticket sales at 3,929 theaters over the weekend.The $50 million film, set in a near-future US in which Texas and California have joined in rebellion against a fascist president, has grossed $44.9 million in two weeks.Its provocative premise – and A24’s marketing, which included images of US cities ravaged by war – helped keep “Civil War” top of mind for moviegoers.But it was a painfully slow weekend in theaters – the kind sure to add to concern over what’s thus far been a down year for Hollywood at the box office.Year-to-date ticket sales are down almost 20% compared to last year, according to Comscore.Going into the weekend, Universal Pictures’ “Abigail,” a critically acclaimed R-rated horror film about the daughter of Dracula, had been expected to lead ticket sales.It came in second with $10.2 million in 3,384 theaters.That was still a fair result for a film that cost a modest $28 million to make.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Fantasy action movie “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” retook the top spot at the mainland China box office from Studio Ghibli animation title “The Boy and the Heron” during the latest weekend. “Godzilla x Kong” recorded earnings of $7.3 million (RMB51.5 million) between Friday and Sunday, a 32% week-on-week drop, according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway. But it returned to the top spot on the box office charts in its fourth weekend of release and overtook “The Boy and the Heron” in the process.

J. Kim Murphy It’s a close contest at the domestic box office, with the opening day gross of Universal’s ballerina vampire film “Abigail” leading Lionsgate’s fellow new release “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” and the second frame of A24’s dystopian thriller “Civil War.” “Abigail” earned $4 million from 3,384 theaters across its opening day and preview screenings, making it the top performer of the weekend so far.

Over the decades, vampire movies have made a star of many a young actor, from Kirsten Dunst to Kirsten Stewart. Soon, the same should be said of Ireland’s Alisha Weir, who at 13 years old, held Universal’s monster movie Abigail on her highly capable shoulders.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Talk about nepo babies. “Abigail,” a blood-sucking thriller about the daughter of Dracula, arguably the most famous vampire in history, is poised to lead at the domestic box office. The R-rated movie, from Universal Pictures, is aiming for $12 million to $15 million from 3,300 North American theaters in its first weekend of release.

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer The Universal horror movie “Abigail” began as a modern-day twist on “Dracula’s Daughter,” but making a film about the legendary vampire’s blood-sucking scion wasn’t the reason why the filmmaking trio Radio Silence — producer Chad Villella and directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett — wanted to make the project their follow-up to 2022’s “Scream” and 2023’s “Scream VI.” “As freeing as it is to challenge the format of what a ‘Scream’ movie is, you’re playing in a pretty specific sandbox,” Gillett says.

With spring break simmering to 8% K-12 on break, and 1% colleges off, it’s hodgepodge at the weekend box office until 20th Century Studios’ Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes arrives to a $50M+ opening during the second weekend of May.