Per-theater averages are usually one of the nerdiest box-office metrics, but sometimes they’re incredibly acute.
For example: Thursday-night numbers for “Cats” reflected about 25 ticket buyers per show, with two shows per theater.Remember “The Lion King” last summer? The remake with a somewhat derisive critical response (Metacritic: 55) saw a domestic gross of $544 million, and another $1.11 billion international.
That’s the context of viewing initial numbers for “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” and “Cats.”“Skywalker” (Disney), the finale of the third trilogy that began 42 years ago and still stands as the prototype for franchise-fantasy filmmaking, took in around $40 million last night in “previews” that marked the start of its run.
Overseas, 46 territories also opened with full-day shows, taking in $59 million.Meantime, “Cats” (Universal), which has seen more advance interest than just about any film released this year outside the Star Wars or Marvel universes, took in $550,000 in around 2,500 theaters.
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