What’s up, Geeks + Gamers? It’s ODIN!
If it seemed like Madame Web was likely to be a flop, the numbers from today indicate just how badly this film is really doing. Making only about $49,055,000 worldwide after six days of an extended Ash Wednesday (St. Valentine’s Day) release, it trails the nearly $80,000,000 that was made by Morbius worldwide after its traditional 3-day opening back in 2022. In ticket sale estimates, that would mean about 7.2 million for Morbius to Madame Web’s 3.5 million… yikes. If this trend continues for the Sonyverse film, it will mean that Madame Web won’t reach $100 million at the global box office, which would be a first amongst all modern comic book films. Based on the current numbers, the film is roughly $90 million in the red and will likely not even get close to making that back.
According to the-numbers.com, the top 5 this weekend were:
Coming from new director Zelda Williams (daughter of Robin Williams) and indie darling screenwriter Diablo Cody, Lisa Frankenstein was expected to do well with female audiences, especially in the teenage demographic. Coming out over Super Bowl weekend last week and failing to get any word of mouth (good or bad) ultimately means that this film, which only cost about $13.4 million, is likely going to be losing between $10-$13 million by the end of its run. When a studio releases a movie like this, the expectation is to at least break even or hopefully have a surprise hit on your hands and be able to make some profit. While this is not going to be a death knell for Focus Features, one can say this is not what they were hoping for.
The fact that Migration came out BEFORE Christmas and is still showing up in the Top 5 is beyond amazing. Following a similar trajectory to another impressive Christmas release in Wonka, Migration actually saw a 28% increase in its 9th weekend in release, which is incredibly rare. Though Wonka is much more 2023’s version of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish in terms of legs at the box office (and actually more, with Wonka passing $600 million worldwide to Puss in Boots’ $485 million), Migration has been able to easily carry its weight as it crosses $254 million at the global box office. Despite its impressive run, however, compared to the other films in Illumination’s filmography, it is currently the lowest in terms of box office, only losing to 2011’s Hop, which, when adjusted for inflation, sits at $259 million… which, I suspect, Migration should easily pass as its run continues. A film doesn’t need to be a franchise starter to make a mark on the box office, as Migration clearly shows.
If you want further analysis on these or any other films, check out the full charting I do over at my website. Have a wonderful rest of your day, and, as always, God bless!
(If you ever want further insight into my methodology, see my previous articles HERE and HERE.)