HIT BY VIRUS FEARS, AMERICAN BOX OFFICE ON A 20-YEAR LOW
The collections appeared to take an all-time dip to around $55 million, a figure even lower than the first two weekends after the 9/11 attacks
Ticket sales plunged to their lowest levels in at least 20 years at North American movie theatres as the coronavirus pandemic led to one of Hollywood’s worst weekends at the box office.
Not since 2000 has the weekend box office revenue been so low, according to data firm Comscore, when $54.5 million in tickets were sold on a quiet September weekend.
This year’s animated film, Onward, retained the top spot for the second week, but saw estimated ticket sales for the Friday-to-Sunday period plummet from last week’s $39 million to just $10.5 million, according to Exhibitor Relations.
And while the Christian romance, I Still Believe that follows a true story of Christian music star Jeremy Camp and his journey of love and loss.brought in $9.5 million, Bloodshot, starring actor Vin Diesel, grossed an estimated $9.3 million in its debut. All of those totals were notably below expectations. And while most films last week had aimed to do at least 25% to 50% better, the weekend’s sales plummeted to 45% from the weekend before, according to Comscore.
Overall, the box office appeared to be at a 20-yearlow of around $55 million, a figure even lower than the first two weekends after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
It quoted one executive as estimating that 100 of North America’s 5,000 theatres had closed completely, with others likely to follow.
This year’s Invisible Man starring Elisabeth Moss as the former girlfriend of a man who returns to haunt her after supposedly committing suicide, was placed fourth, at $6 million.
And in fifth spot was The Hunt, starring actors Hilary Swank and Betty Gilpinat which follows the story of 12 strangers who mysteriously disappear only to discover that they have seemingly been chosen to be hunted in a game devised by a group of elites.