Kenneth Branagh’s new Hercule Poirot vehicle, “A Haunting in Venice,” is a bit lackluster when compared to its $28.6 million opening in the United States.
“A Haunting in Venice” US box office weekend
According to a report by Deadline, Kenneth Branagh’s “A Haunting in Venice,” in which he returns as the detective Hercule Poirot, has earned a modest $5.5 million at the US box office. This not only falls short of his previous outing as the detective but also pales in comparison to other weekends at the American box office this year.
At the end of this week, the US box office…
This week is shaping up to be the worst weekend for the American box office this year, with all films expected to earn about $62.5 million. Among them are “A Haunting in Venice” (estimated $14-15 million), “The Nun 2” ($14.6 million), “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3” ($4.6 million), “Equalizer 3” ($7.3 million), Greta Gerwig’s Barbie transformation ($3.6 million), DC’s “Blue Beetle” ($2.5 million), Shah Rukh Khan-starrer “Jawaan” ($2.45 million), and “Grain Tourism” ($2.3 million).
The second-lowest this year…
At the end of this week, the total box office collections in America are just above the week of February 9-11, when Hollywood releases were hindered due to the Super Bowl. Warner Bros.’ “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” was the top-grossing film at that time, and it only earned $52.6 million for the weekend.
However, this weekend is still above the same weekend from a year ago when Viola Davis-starrer action film “The Woman King” was released. It concluded the weekend with $51.4 million, which is 21% less than this weekend. This indicates that people are returning to theaters in greater numbers after the pandemic-related closures in the previous year.
Impact of the Strike…
The ongoing strikes by SAG-AFTRA and WGA have certainly affected the audience numbers in movie theaters for new films. For instance, Zendaya-starrer “Challengers” was originally set to be released at the end of this week. However, the film has been pushed to April next year because the producers want to capitalize on Zendaya’s strong presence with her 200 million social media followers. Similarly, Zendaya and Timothy Chalamet’s “Dune 2” has been pushed to November next year. While Hollywood movies are releasing, those participating in the strike have been prevented from promoting their new work on social media.