Box office suffers worst weekend in 19 years

Not since the turn of the millennium have we seen ticket sales this slow for Super Bowl weekend, with a slump in sales at the domestic box office and subdued demand for this week’s top releases.

A number of factors may have contributed to the decline including disruption from the Government Shutdown and this week’s polar vortex that has kept people away from theaters. However despite the very slow start to February, Universal’s “Glass” managed to cement itself at the top for a third consecutive week, pushing it’s domestic haul over the $88 million mark, and closing in on the $200 million milestone when including international figures.

“Miss Bala” debuted with an estimated $6.7 million, and a theater average of just over $3000 from 2200+ screens. With a $15 million estimated production price tag, Sony’s latest action thriller directed by Catherine Hardwicke was closely behind “The Upside” which managed to retain 2nd place having originally debuted in January with an impressive $20 million opening.

The Super Bowl weekend is traditionally lacklustre for sales and despite a strong economy, this year’s releases have not made the same kind of impact than back in 2018, with a 25% decline year-on-year.

With that in mind, we should see an uptick in demand as highly anticipated titles make their way to screens later in the year including “The Lego Movie 2: The second Part,” “Avengers: Endgame” and “Toy Story 4.”

What films will you go and see at cinemas this year? Share your opinion with us on Twitter: @filminetwork.