In what is predicted to be one of the slowest weekends at the box office in six months, Sony’s revisionist vampire drama The Invitation is likely to narrowly defeat George Miller’s Three Thousand Years of Longing. It’s expected that none of this weekend’s three new movies, which also includes the John Boyega-led heist film Breaking, will earn more than $10 million. The American box office has been on a precipitous decline since the conclusion of the summer movie season, and this trend looks certain to continue for at least another couple of weeks. And this implies that last week’s holdover, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, has a shot at taking back the top place if it can prevail in a close contest against The Invitation. The combined box office for both movies is estimated at roughly $7 million.
Those Who Wish Me Dead, starring Angelina Jolie, opened to only $2.8 million, making it the lowest-grossing first-place film in almost a year. A surprising $21 million was made in its opening weekend by Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. Besides Beast, this week’s other new release, the other two new releases will have a hard time breaking into the top five, which is expected to be filled by summer blockbusters Top Gun: Maverick and Minions: The Rise of Gru, both of which are also available on PVOD. The Invitation is a horror film directed by Jessica M. Thompson and featuring Nathalie Emmanuel from “Game of Thrones.” Inexpensive at $10 million to make, it’s debuting in almost 3,000 cinemas nationwide.
Some have praised the film for its “inventive reimagining of a literary classic while establishing itself as a joyful addition to the modern Gothic canon,” as Carly Lane put it, while others have been less enthusiastic. It’s one thing for a generic, non-franchise horror picture to bomb, but quite another for a prominent director’s passion project sequel to what is likely their best film to be met with critical and commercial failure. Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton feature in Miller’s next film, Three Thousand Years of Longing, his first since the landmark Mad Max: Fury Road.
It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year and will open in nearly 2,400 cinemas this weekend for a total production budget of $60 million. In his review for Collider, Ross Bonaime praised Miller’s “contemporary fairy tale” for being “full of beauty, love, and caring,” despite the fact that the film sometimes “focuses on the big instead of the little moments.” Breaking is getting a semi-wide release this weekend from Bleeker Street, showing up in more than 902 theatres. The film is based on the actual tale of a former Marine who, in a moment of desperation, chooses to rob a bank. After screening at the Sundance Picture Festival earlier this year to rave reviews, the film is set to bring in an estimated $3 million at the box office this weekend. Maggie Lovitt termed it “a dramatic picture that will leave moviegoers reeling as the titles roll.”