‘Civil War’ victorious at box office
Alex Garland’s provocative “Civil War” didn’t only ignite the discourse. The film also inspired audiences to go to the cinemas this weekend where it surpassed expectations and earned $25.7 million in ticket sales in North America, according to studio estimates Sunday.
It’s the biggest R-rated opening of the year to date and a record for A24, the studio behind films like “Everything Everywhere All At Once” and “The Iron Claw.” “Civil War” also unseated “Godzilla x Kong” from its perch atop the box office. The titan movie from Warner Bros. had held the No. 1 spot for the past two weekends.
“Civil War” stars Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura and Cailee Spaeny as front-line journalists in the near future covering a devastating conflict in the U.S. and trying to make their way to Washington, D.C. The story, written by Garland, who is also the mind behind “Ex Machina” and “Annihilation,” imagines a U.S. in which California and Texas have united against a president who has disbanded the FBI and given himself a third term.
Though entirely fictional, “Civil War” has been inspiring debates since the first trailer that have extended beyond the musings of film critics and traditional reviews. This weekend, The New York Times ran two opinion pieces related to the movie, one by Stephen Marche and another by Michelle Goldberg. There were also pieces on CNN and Politico.
Going into the weekend, projections pegged the film to debut in the $15 to $24 million range. The studio said “Civil War” overperformed in markets “from LA to El Paso.” The data analytics company EntTelligence reported the film has attracted more than 1.7 million patrons this weekend and that the top three markets were Los Angeles, New York and Dallas.
“The title alone is enough to spark a conversation in a year where the political discourse is top of mind,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “And they couldn’t have picked a better date. This movie is perfectly timed in a month that is very quiet.”
The film opened on 3,838 screens in the U.S. and Canada, including IMAX. It’s the most expensive movie the studio has ever made, with a production budget of $50 million, which does not account for millions spent on marketing and promotion.
IMAX showings of “Civil War,” which was playing on 400 of the large format screens, accounted for $4.2 million, or 16.5% of the domestic total.
Reviews have been largely positive. It’s currently at 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 77% audience score. Its CinemaScore was a B-, which has sometimes indicated that word of mouth might not be strong going forward. But that might not be the case with “Civil War,” which doesn’t have a tremendous amount of competition over the next few weeks until “The Fall Guy” opens May 3.
“You have to take all the metrics together, including the competitive landscape,” Dergarabedian said.
But it is a notable win for the studio, which doesn’t always open films nationwide out of the gates. Before “Civil War,” A24’s biggest debut was the Ari Aster horror “Hereditary,” which opened to $13.6 million in 2018.
“This isn’t destined to be a $200 million global blockbuster. But it’s a very high-profile win for A24,” Dergarabedian said. “They’re a studio that pushes the envelope. They’re a brand associated with a certain level of quality and filmmaking expertise, pushing boundaries and taking risks. It’s wellearned over the years.”
Second place went to “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” which earned $15.5 million in its third weekend to bring its running domestic total to nearly $158 million. Another “Empire” movie, Sony’s “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” took third place in its fourth weekend with $5.8 million. It’s now at $160 million worldwide.
Rounding out the top five was “Kung Fu Panda 4,” in fourth with $5.5 million, and “Dune: Part Two” with $4.3 million. “Dune 2” has now earned $272 million domestically.