The Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to shake the money tree as the summertime gives way to Labor Day. And, for the fifth time in the last six weekends, Deadpool & Wolverine is the No. 1 movie at the box office. With the exception of Alien: Romulus debuting at No. 1 during its own respective premiere, Marvel Jesus has walked on water and dominated alongside Inside Out 2 in what will go down in history as one of the most disappointing summer movie seasons since 2005! And newcomers like Reagan, AfrAId, 1992 and Slingshot contributed very little to a summer that will end with an estimated total of $3.6 billion when the four-day holiday comes to a close.
So, with the exception of the years affected by the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2022), 2024 marks the worst summer movie season since Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith opened in theaters back in 2005 (per Box Office Mojo) — nearly 20 years ago. Young Anakin Skywalker’s transformation into Darth Vader highlighted a summer that made a total of $3.53 billion, and that’s not adjusted for inflation. Unfortunately, adjusting for inflation makes 2024’s summer movie season performance even worse, because that means 2005 would have clocked in at $5.68 billion instead.
Putting things in perspective — if one were going to play the inflation adjustment game — now 2024’s summer movie season is going down in history as one of the worst ever. For instance, when using an inflation calculator, the Batman Returns-led $1.71 billion summer of 1992 transforms into $3.83 billion, which is clearly better than this year’s tally. Disregarding inflation, though, if not for Inside Out 2 ($647.8 million) and Deadpool & Wolverine ($599.5 million) — before this weekend’s official numbers are added to their totals — 2024 becomes an incredibly bitter pill for the movie industry to try and swallow.
Summer Ends, Only 2 Newcomers Crack Final Weekend’s Top 10
As predicted, the 2024 summer movie season’s final weekend ended with a handful of newcomers which were unable to compete at the box office. As a result, Deadpool & Wolverine clocks in at No. 1 with an estimated $15.2 million for the three-day (per The Numbers) and $19.3 million (four-day). No. 2 Alien: Romulus brings in $9.3 million (three-day) and $11.4 million (four-day), while No. 3 belongs to Blake Lively’s rom-dram It Ends with Us, which made $7.43 million (three-day) and $9.4 million (four-day).
The first of the weekend’s newcomers finally shows up in the rankings at No. 4, as the Dennis Quaid-led political drama Reagan brings in $7.4 million (three-day) and $9 million (four-day), and then a familiar face storms its way into the No. 5 spot to round out the Top 5. Even though Glen Powell’s disaster film has already dropped on digital, Twisters continues to wreak havoc as the follow-up to Twister lands another $7.2 million (three-day) and $8.8 million (four-day).
That’s where the good news really ends for the newcomers this week. As Deadpool & Wolverine continues to reign over the box office, and aside from Reagan, only one other newbie cracks the Top 10. AfrAId severely underperforms compared to its long-range forecast, which predicted a possible $7 million to $12 million opening (per Boxoffice Pro). Unfortunately, AfrAId only makes $3.7 million (three-day) and $4.3 million (four-day), which lands the Blumhouse production at No. 9.
The rest of the newcomers, including the aforementioned 1992 and Slingshot, can’t even crack the Top 10 as the summertime fades into the history books. However, the new film Tokyo Cowboy walks away with this weekend’s best per-theater average. Director Marc Marriott’s film averages $10,505 a venue in limited release (2 cinemas).
Up next: The long-awaited
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
opens in theaters on
September 6.