By Casey Lee Clark
We’re back with another “Best Of The Week” article, where we check in with not only the new physical media releases of the week but also a list of the top 10 results from the box office this past weekend, plus the top 10 streaming titles of the week on both film and television. We hope that this new weekly snapshot provides you with all of the information you want for movies currently playing in theaters, movies arriving on physical media, and movies available to stream. Please send us your feedback as this is a new weekly column for the site. Thank you!
Now, let’s take a look and see where the industry is at today!
July 16th – 18th Weekend Box Office (Top 10)
1. Space Jam: A New Legacy – $31,650,000 (NEW)
2. Black Widow – $26,251,000 (v)
3. Escape Room: Tournament Of Champions – $8,800,000 (NEW)
4. F9 – $7,620,000 (v)
5. The Boss Baby: Family Business – $4,720,000 (v)
6. The Forever Purge – $4,160,000 (v)
7. A Quiet Place Part II – $2,300,000 (v)
8. Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain – $1,900,000 (NEW)
9. Cruella – $1,112,000 (v)
10. Pig – $945,000 (NEW)
Dropped Out Of The Top 10 (Total To Date)
Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway ($39,297,319)
Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard ($36,673,131)
In The Heights ($29,083,518)
Zola ($4,275,638)
New release “Space Jam: A New Legacy” topped the box office this week, bringing in $31,650,000. The film also premiered day-and-date on HBO Max, which was likely why the film didn’t earn even more. Still, it was enough to dethrone last week’s number 1 film, “Black Widow,” which came in at number 2, dropping down to $26,251,000 but still placed very high in the top 10, accumulating $132,012,671 to date.
The new horror sequel “Escape Room: Tournament Of Champions” took the number 3 spot with $8,800,000, which was just under $10 million from what the original opened up to in 2019. Other sequels still holding on in the top 10 were “F9,” “The Boss Baby: Family Business,” “The Forever Purge,” and “A Quiet Place Part II” (which premiered this week on the Paramounnt+ streaming service). Meanwhile, “Cruella” is still hanging on in the top 10 at the number 9 spot with $1,112,000.
The new but somewhat controversial documentary “Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain” came in at number 8 with $1,900,000, which is very good for a documentary. Finally, the new Nicolas Cage indie film “Pig” debuted in the number 10 spot with $945,000. Hopefully, good word of mouth in the arthouse crowd will help that one in the weeks to come.
New Physical Media Releases
***ALL IMAGES BELOW ARE DIRECT LINKS TO PURCHASE THE MOVIES THROUGH AMAZON***
The biggest release of the week is the newest entry in the “Saw” franchise, 2021’s “Spiral: From the Book of Saw.” The film is available on Blu-ray, 4K UHD, and a 4K Steelbook. A couple of other new movies arriving on Blu-ray this week include “Die In A Gunfight,” “Jakob’s Wife,” and “Held.” The Criterion Collection is releasing the 1969 French film “La Piscine” directed by Jacques Deray, following an arthouse theatrical run of this new restoration. There are new 4K upgrades for the movies “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” and “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” in anticipation of this week’s latest theatrical release in the franchise, “Snake Eyes.” Blue Underground is putting out a 4K upgrade of “Dead & Buried” with three cover design options. Finally, Shout Factory has a couple of releases with 1982’s “A Stranger Is Watching” and 2002’s “Eight Legged Freaks,” as well as “Little Big League” from their Shout Select label.
Top 10 Streaming Titles (Provided By JustWatch)
“A Quiet Place Part II” and “A Quiet Place” both landed in the top 5 this week, no doubt because of the latest film’s debut on Paramount+. “Space Jam: A New Legacy” had strong numbers on HBO Max in its debut week while the original “Escape Room” was very popular due to the sequel’s release in theaters. “Black Widow” slid considerably down the list, mainly because many audience members probably already saw it in a theater and don’t want to pay the $30 to stream it one time on Disney+. “The Tomorrow War’s” popularity on Amazon Prime continued while Netflix’s “Gunpowder Milkshake” made its debut in the top 10. “Wrath Of Man” had a surge in popularity after its release on physical media last week and Tarantino’s book promotion for his Oscar-winning “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood” is still keeping it in the top 10.
What do you think of this new format? Your feedback is greatly appreciated as we attempt to give you a snapshot of where the industry is at every week. We will be updating this every Monday. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section down below or on our Twitter account. Thank you!
You can follow Casey and hear more of her thoughts on the Oscars and Film on Twitter at @CaseyLeeClark