Posted on 02/27/2023 5:32:05 AM PST by Red Badger
©Universal/Courtesy Everett Col
Universal’s horror-comedy “Cocaine Bear” blew past box office projections, earning an impressive $23 million from 3,534 North American theaters in its opening weekend. The blood-splattered animal adventure landed in second place on domestic charts behind Disney’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” which all but collapsed in its sophomore outing.
“Ant-Man 3” managed to remain in first place given its huge $106 million opening, but the comic book installment is suffering from negative word-of-mouth. It added $32.2 million from 4,345 venues in its second weekend of release, marking a brutal 69% decline from its debut.
Now, “Quantumania” holds the ignominious distinction as the biggest week-to-week drop in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including “Thor: Love and Thunder” (which fell 67%), “Black Widow” (which plunged 67.8% while debuting simultaneously on Disney Plus) and “Eternals” (which fell 62% after equally bad reviews). Globally, the movie has generated $364 million, including $167 million domestically and $196 million internationally.
Elizabeth Banks directed “Cocaine Bear,” which earned another $5.3 million at the international box office for a global debut of $28.4 million. The movie was budgeted at roughly $35 million. For Universal, “Cocaine Bear” is another win for original ideas following its killer-doll movie “M3GAN,” which became a surprise hit to the tune of $170 million globally.
“It’s an outrageous comedy that absolutely delivers on its premise,” says Jim Orr, Universal’s president of domestic distribution. “People were ready to see something over the top.”
Moviegoers were mixed on “Cocaine Bear,” giving the film a “B-” CinemaScore. Inspired by the true story about a drug runner’s plane crash, the wildly R-rated “Cocaine Bear” follows the residents of a small town who try to escape a 500-pound black bear that ingests a duffle bag of blow.
“Audiences tend to be tough after being grossed-out,” says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. Yet that didn’t deter patrons from buying tickets. “Horror comedies benefit from the outrageous, and this story of an accidentally cocaine-crazed bear is wacko,” he adds.
In third place, Lionsgate’s religious drama “Jesus Revolution” put projections to shame by debuting to $15.5 million from 2,475 theaters. Heading into the weekend, the movie was expected to earn $6 million to $7 million.
Faith-based audiences — 59% were female and 89% were 25 or older — were charmed by “Jesus Revolution,” bestowing the film a rare “A+” CinemaScore. From “I Can Only Imagine” filmmakers the Erwin brothers and their company Kingdom Story Company, the $15 million-budgeted movie follows a youth minister and a pastor as they partake in the evangelical Christian movement that swept Southern California in the early 1970s.
Paul Dergarabedian, a senior Comscore analyst, says there’s a “massively underserved faith-based audience.” “With ‘Jesus Revolution,’ [Kingdom Story Company] hit another home run in their partnership with Lionsgate and have created quite a fruitful business model for releasing these types of films to an enthusiastic and faithful fan base.”
“Avatar: The Way of Water” and “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” rounded out box office charts. At No. 4, James Cameron’s “Avatar” sequel added $4.7 million from 2,495 venues in its 11th weekend of release. It’s now the ninth-highest grossing movie in North America with $665.4 million. Overseas, the sci-fi blockbuster has generated a massive $1.6 billion, bringing its global tally to $2.267 billion.
Another box office mainstay “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” followed closely behind with $4.1 million from 2,840 locations in its 10th weekend in theaters. The animated sequel, set in the “Shrek” universe, has been chugging along with $173 million domestically and $442 million worldwide.
Overall, the weekend box office is encouragingly ahead of last year’s tally by 47%, according to Comscore. Michael B. Jordan’s sports drama “Creed III,” Paramount’s thriller “Scream VI,” the Warner Bros. superhero sequel “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” and Lionsgate’s “John Wick: Chapter 4” will attempt to sustain the momentum in the coming weeks.
“Year-to-date, 2023 has been much better than 2022, but 2022 dug itself into an early hole with a thin release schedule,” says Franchise Entertainment Research’s Gross. “So that’s a hollow victory.”
We’re not a full blown communist country quite yet. Thankfully you are not in leadership.
Why? It’s not pro-drugs. It’s really a “scary animal” picture (Jaws, Cujo, Anaconda) incredibly loosely based on a real event (in reality the bear just died).
The Critical Drinker is the BEST!
Love him!
I saw the bear yesterday. It was goofy and “over the top.”
Think Sharknado with better CGI.
It’s not the end of Western Civilization.
Cocaine Bear is totally crap and not a Not a comedy but more of a gross slasher slaughter movie it’s really bad
Because seeing a movie in a large theater with a large screen is a very different. In my area I can go to a National chain on Tuesday afternoon for $5.50 a ticket.
I understand some folks don’t enjoy that….but you asked.
I take it you weren’t a Cheech and Chong fan.
The thing is C&C is one of the reasons I never wanted to do drugs.
I like laughing at them, but I sure didn’t want to be them.
Rated R for language and gore, but the gore was comedically over the top. Blood and severed limbs everywhere! There was no sex or nudity.
The ambulance scene was great!
All in all, it was exactly what I expected it to be. Elizabeth Banks did a good job directing it and keeping the pace moving, a taut 95 minute running time.
Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh provided a very 80s-sounding synth-heavy score (the film is set in 1985).
And even at 46, Keri Russell still makes my heart melt. She is stunningly beautiful, even as a plain-looking 80s mom in an ugly pink track suit.
When the screen went black at the end, the words "In Loving Memory of Ray Liotta" appeared, a sad reminder that this great actor left us too soon.
As for me I sat through it and didn’t like it. The first two were good. This one was action, martial arts, little humor, not much character development, martial arts, martial arts,
martial arts...It was like Guardians of the Galaxy but without the humor, plot, and characters.
Oh, and I don’t like martial arts.
Bill Murray does turn up for a couple minutes. They could have had him reprise his Nick the Lounge Singer from SNL. “Star Wars...if they should BAR wars...please let these STAR wars...stay...”
I knew there was a reason I don’t go to theatres anymore.
>>In my area I can go to a National chain on Tuesday afternoon for $5.50 a ticket.
Yes as it turned out when the second Ant Man movie came out I was visiting Pittsburgh and saw it—took refuge from the heat (thunderstorms were about to hit!) in a well-air conditioned Cinemark theatre...and it was $6 Tue bargain matinee (well,
6:30 pm) night...
Yep. I definitely stand by my first post.
"Meth Raccoon" is a heartfelt drama about a loser coon who descends into a life of addiction and sin and who resorts to stealing from trash cans to feed her habit, but then has a life altering experience where she kicks one habit for another.
Feel good movie of the year.
One of these days I’m going to buy an old movie theater and have a Sharknado Weekend of Terror - experience it on the big screen, LOL!
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