The final weekend of October will be a quiet one at the box office. Between the release of “Zombieland” and “Maleficent” sequels last weekend, the continued success of “Joker,” and a crowded November release slate starting with a new “Terminator,” the major studios are mostly sitting out of this weekend.
But one film that will be released wide this Friday comes with a very long and turbulent road to theaters. “The Current War,” Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s biopic about the corporate battle over America’s first electric grid, will finally be released after it was dropped by the now-defunct Weinstein Company.
“The Current War” was originally set for release in November 2017 after receiving poor reviews at the Toronto International Film Festival, but was pulled from release after Harvey Weinstein’s sexual assault accusations came to light. The film was picked up by Lantern Capital, who bought The Weinstein Company’s assets last year after it filled for bankruptcy, and its domestic distribution rights were bought for $3 million by 101 Studios, a new company founded by former TWC COO David Glasser at this year’s Sundance.
Box office analysts tell TheWrap that the film is headed for a soft opening as the specialty market is currently being dominated by several critical and audience acclaimed films. But strong critical word of mouth might be able to help improve the film’s numbers. Marketing for “The Current War” is heavily emphasizing that the version being released is a director’s cut, with the term even being used in the official title in order to distance it from the cut screened at TIFF. This version currently has a 75% Rotten Tomatoes score from eight reviews.
Set in the 1880s, “The Current War” stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Thomas Edison, whose fame has reached an all-time high after perfecting the thin-filament lightbulb. Now the race is on to develop the first mass electrical transmission system, with Edison’s direct current system competing against the alternating current system pushed by George Westinghouse and his partner, Nikola Tesla (Michael Shannon and Nicholas Hoult). Katherine Waterston and Tom Holland also star in the film, which was written by Michael Mitnick.
On the wide release side, STX is releasing the horror film “Countdown,” while Sony/Screen Gems is releasing the cop thriller “Black and Blue” on 2,000+ screens. Both films are currently projected to open to around $8-9 million this weekend, with estimates topping out at around $11 million.
“Black and Blue” stars Naomie Harris as a rookie police officer who witnesses the murder of a young drug dealer by corrupt cops. With footage of the murder recorded on her body camera, she soon finds herself hunted by both the police and a revenge-hungry drug ring. Tyrese Gibson, Frank Grillo and Mike Colter also star in the film, which is directed by Deon Taylor from a script by Peter A. Dowling. The film has a 57% Rotten Tomatoes score and a production budget of $12 million.
“Countdown” follows a young nurse (Elizabeth Lail) who downloads a popular app that tells its users how long they have left to live. But when she sees several users die when their countdown clock hits zero, she must find a way to avoid such a fate in the three days the app tells her she has left to live. Justin Dec wrote and directed the film.
10 Top-Grossing Movies of All Time, Adjusted for Inflation (Photos)
"Avengers: Endgame" became the highest-grossing film of all time on July 21, when Disney announced that the movie had pulled in $2.79 billion at the global box office. But the title of the highest-grossing film is a deceptive one -- it doesn't take into account the changing prices of movie theater tickets or the general effect of economic inflation. CNBC enlisted Comscore, a media analytics company, to calculate the top 10 highest-grossing films in the U.S. when ticket price changes and inflation are taken into account.
Because of the wide variations in inflation rates between currencies, Comscore analysts focused only on ticket sales in the United States, where "Endgame" made $854 million according to BoxOfficeMojo. They found the average ticket price for the year a film was released and divided that into the film's domestic gross to find the estimated number of tickets the film sold, then multiplied the estimated number of tickets by the average price of a ticket in 2019 ($9.01, according to CNBC). Comscore also included any times that the film was re-released in the adjusted domestic gross.
At an $854 million domestic gross, "Endgame" did not even crack the top 10 when adjusted for inflation.
Here are the top domestic earners:
10. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1939)
Estimated admissions: 109,000,000
Non-adjusted domestic gross: $184,925,486
Estimated domestic adjusted gross: $982,090,000
Disney’s first animated feature has been rereleased at least three times since its debut in 1937 according to CNBC, selling around 109 million tickets in total. “Snow White” made more in its 1983, 1987 and 1993 releases than it did in its initial run, and when all of those are adjusted for today’s ticket price, the movie would have made just under $1 billion in the U.S.
RKO Radio Pictures
9. "The Exorcist" (1973)
Estimated admissions: 116,532,505
Non-adjusted domestic gross: $232,906,145
Estimated domestic adjusted gross: $1,049,957,870
Audiences may have fainted, vomited and cried in the theater when “The Exorcist” debuted in 1973, but that didn’t stop them from buying tickets. William Friedkin’s groundbreaking horror film made the bulk of its money during its initial release, according to CNBC, and was brought to theaters again in 2000 and 2010 with extended scenes. All told, the movie sold an estimated 116.5 million tickets, which equates to around $1.04 billion.
Warner Bros.
8. "Doctor Zhivago" (1965)
Estimated admissions: 124,612,132
Non-adjusted domestic gross: $112,150,919
Estimated domestic adjusted gross: $1,122,755,309
“Doctor Zhivago” earned $112.1 million during its 1965 theatrical run, selling around 124.6 million tickets. The romantic drama, based on a 1957 novel by Boris Pasternak, picked up five Academy Awards, and would have brought in around $1.12 billion at today’s ticket prices.
MGM
7. "Jaws" (1975)
Estimated admissions: 128,078,818
Non-adjusted domestic gross: $260,000,000
Estimated domestic adjusted gross: $1,153,990,148
Often referred to as the first summer blockbuster, Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws” debuted in 1975, selling around 128 million tickets and ruining an untold number of beach vacations. That’s equivalent to $1.15 billion at today’s ticket prices.
Universal Pictures
6. "The Ten Commandments" (1956)
Estimated admissions: 131,000,000
Non-adjusted domestic gross: $65,500,000
Estimated domestic adjusted gross: $1,180,310,000
Cecil B. DeMille’s biblical epic sold an estimated 131 million tickets during its 1956 run, earning $65.5 million. When adjusted for inflation, the Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner vehicle would have earned $1.18 billion at the box office, even with its 3-hour-and-40-minute runtime.
Paramount Pictures
5. "Titanic" (1997)
Estimated admissions: 143,501,591
Non-adjusted domestic gross: $658,672,302
Estimated domestic adjusted gross: $1,292,949,334
Even without adjustments for inflation, James Cameron’s high-seas romance sits just below “Avengers: Infinity War” as the sixth highest-grossing film at the domestic box office and just under “Avatar” as the third highest-grossing film globally. The film has been in theaters three times -- an initial run, a 3D rerelease and a 20th anniversary rerelease -- selling about 143.5 million tickets in total. By today's ticket prices, the movie would have earned around $1.29 billion.
Paramount Pictures
4. "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" (1982)
Estimated admissions: 147,950,537
Non-adjusted domestic gross: $434,974,579
Estimated domestic adjusted gross: $1,333,034,339
Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi adventure has brought in $434.9 million since it was first released in 1982. It sold about 147.9 million tickets over the course of three releases, with two rereleases in 1985 and 2002, which equates to around $1.33 billion using today’s average ticket price. The movie’s effect on Reese’s Pieces sales remains in dispute, though.
Universal Pictures
3. "The Sound of Music" (1965)
Estimated admissions: 157,218,258
Non-adjusted domestic gross: $159,509,250
Estimated domestic adjusted gross: $1,416,536,505
The hiiills are alive...with the sound of 157 million tickets…
This musical was released twice in theaters, first in 1965 and again in 2018, selling the majority of its tickets in the initial run and making $158.8 million in the U.S. Adjusted for today’s ticket prices, that’s $1.41 billion.
Twentieth Century Fox
2. "Star Wars" (1977)
Estimated admissions: 178,119,595
Non-adjusted domestic gross: $460,998,007
Estimated domestic adjusted gross: $1,604,857,551
The original “Star Wars” (“Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope” for the sticklers in the audience) has been rereleased in theaters at least twice since it first wowed audiences in 1977, earning $460.9 million in the United States. It sold an estimated 178.1 million tickets, which comes out around $1.6 billion in modern box office terms.
Twentieth Century Fox
1. "Gone with the Wind" (1939)
Estimated admissions: 201,068,305
Non-adjusted domestic gross: $203,078,988
Estimated domestic adjusted gross: $1,811,625,428
1939’s Civil War-era romance has been rereleased at least seven times since its premiere, according to Comscore, selling around 201 million tickets, which equates to about $1.81 billion in modern ticket prices. That leaves Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh’s Southern drama a theoretical billion dollars ahead of the latest Marvel flick’s domestic gross.
MGM
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When box office numbers are adjusted for ticket price inflation, “Gone With The Wind” easily tops “Avengers: Endgame”
"Avengers: Endgame" became the highest-grossing film of all time on July 21, when Disney announced that the movie had pulled in $2.79 billion at the global box office. But the title of the highest-grossing film is a deceptive one -- it doesn't take into account the changing prices of movie theater tickets or the general effect of economic inflation. CNBC enlisted Comscore, a media analytics company, to calculate the top 10 highest-grossing films in the U.S. when ticket price changes and inflation are taken into account.
Because of the wide variations in inflation rates between currencies, Comscore analysts focused only on ticket sales in the United States, where "Endgame" made $854 million according to BoxOfficeMojo. They found the average ticket price for the year a film was released and divided that into the film's domestic gross to find the estimated number of tickets the film sold, then multiplied the estimated number of tickets by the average price of a ticket in 2019 ($9.01, according to CNBC). Comscore also included any times that the film was re-released in the adjusted domestic gross.
At an $854 million domestic gross, "Endgame" did not even crack the top 10 when adjusted for inflation.
RKO Radio Pictures
