‘F9’ will drive a box office boom
The U.S. box office is expected to score another strong weekend over the July 4th holiday as audiences continue to pour in to see the returning Universal Pictures action flick “F9” and a handful of new movies.
The Fast & the Furious installment beat expectations last weekend to score a $70 million opening, and will likely top the box office again over the Independence Day holiday, generating $33 million in ticket sales from Friday to Monday, according to Boxoffice Pro.
Theaters and studios need big box-office numbers to generate enthusiasm for movies and encourage consumers to return to cinemas. Hollywood has seen a few big weekends in 2021 but is overall doing far less business than in pre-pandemic times. The industry is also still fighting news about the coronavirus. Los Angeles officials recently urged people continue to wear masks indoors because of the Covid-19 delta variant.
“The industry has seen films debut with boffo numbers, but finding legs has proven to be very difficult,” said Jeff Bock, a senior box office analyst at Exhibitor Relations Co. “The road to recovery will be a long one, but hopefully by the holiday season this year, we’ll see theatrical exhibition normalize.”
In addition to “F9,” Comcast Corp.’s Universal is releasing a new dystopian thriller, “The Forever Purge,” and a new animated comedy “The Boss Baby: Family
Business.” Without much competition, the studio should dominate the top three spots at the box office, with about $66 million in ticket sales over the long weekend, according to Boxoffice Pro.
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“Boss Baby 2” will be the first movie that Universal has premiered in theaters and on a streaming service simultaneously. The sequel to the 2017 animated hit “Boss Baby” will be available to those paying either $5 or $10 a month for the premium levels of the company’s Peacock streaming service.