Another weekend, another dreadful box-office performance.
This time last year, “The Grinch” opened to #1 and $67 million; that weekend saw a $168 million total.
This year had four wide-release openings that totaled just $56 million, and a $120 million total.Perhaps even more concerning is all four of those titles — “Midway,” “Doctor Sleep,” “Playing With Fire,” and “Last Christmas” — held promise.
They’re non-franchise films with creative elements that provided past success.
All fell short in varying degrees.Roland Emmerich’s $100 million “Midway,” largely financed out of China, unexpectedly took the top spot.
However, the surprise came in replacing expected winner “Doctor Sleep,” which fell well short of estimates.
But “Midway” didn’t overperform; it met or only slightly exceeded estimates.And at $17.5 million, “Midway” is one of the weakest-ever #1s for November.
And it falls short of other films in its genre, like “American Sniper,” “Zero Dark 30,” “Lone Survivor, and “Unforgettable.” This WWII
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