As Derek Zoolander might put it, releasing films in theaters is so hot right now. Channing Tatum’s “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” topped the weekend box office with $8.2 million in just 1,500 theaters, with a likely upswing arriving by Valentine’s Day — not bad for a movie that was never meant for the big screen.
The Steven Soderbergh-directed male stripper threequel is the highest-profile example of 2023’s buzziest Hollywood trend: releasing movies in movie theaters instead of on streaming. Three other Warner Bros. features, “House Party,” “Evil Dead Rise” and “Blue Beetle,” initially greenlit by ex-WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar for HBO Max, are getting a theatrical window courtesy of Warner Bros.