This weekend before the effects of the Coronavirus really began to bite down on the US box office as it has in other parts of the world. While the cinemas were still open, some chains were instituting social distancing measures by cutting ticket sales by 50% and running half-empty screens. Still, there are new releases to be charted, even if none of the latest films could topple Onward, which earned $10.5 million, according to studio estimates.
That’s naturally a much steeper drop in earnings that would usually be expected for a Pixar movie, but the situation is hitting all sectors of the entertainment industry and the Mouse House is no exceptions. Onward has so far taken in $60.2 million in the States and a little over $101 million worldwide.
Faith-based drama I Still Believe scored a win over Bloodshot in the films’ joint first weekend. Believe earned $9.5 million in second, while Vin Diesel’s latest attempt to launch a franchise via the comicbook adaptation is at $9.3 million for third place finish.
The Invisible Man dropped to fourth on $6 million, but that was enough to best new stablemate The Hunt, as the delayed satirical thriller opened fifth with $5.3 million. That might be okay were its budget on the tighter end of the Blumhouse scale, but with a reported $14 million (before marketing costs), it’s hardly a successful start.
Sonic The Hedgehog earned $2.5 million at sixth, while The Way Back fell to seventh on $2.4 million. The Call Of The Wild was eighth, adding $2.2 million, with Emma at ninth and $1.3 million. Finally, Bad Boys For Life prepared to leave the top 10 (assuming anything new arrives to knock it out) on $1.1 million this weekend and $204.2 million domestically.
