“Magic Mike’s Last Dance” (Warner Bros. Discovery) is #1 on the historically weak Super Bowl weekend. With distributors shying away from top new releases, and avoiding next week’s debut of “Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania” (Disney), the $51 million total for all films should be the low point for 2023.

It’s the first weekend this year to fall below the same date in 2022 ($54 million). The year has been much improved so far, and momentum should return next weekend with the new Marvel film on a holiday.

The third time out for the male stripper franchise, again with Channing Tatum in the title role and with the return of original director Steven Soderbergh, grossed $8.2 million. Like last month’s “House Party,” this was a theatrical debut of a title initially anticipated for HBO Max. It opened in 1,500 theaters in top locations — smaller than a wide release, but enough to capture 80 percent-90 percent of its potential.

Without much competition, it obtained high per-theater averages of around $5,500. That represents a steep drop from 2015 sequel “Magic Mike XXLL,” which grossed $28 million in five days (at current ticket prices, over $35 million).

WBD was very, very slow to report results: No Thursday preview estimates and no initial estimate Saturday morning — unprecedented for a wide studio release. And, to the continued irritation of rival studios and others industry insiders, the studio blocked initial reporting on Comscore — just as it did with “House Party,” another title that used theaters primarily to market its future on streaming.

Why? We reached out to WBD, which did not respond for comment, but one assessment (if we were to look at this from the studios’ perspective) might be: Why bother? This weekend’s results don’t provide bragging rights; last year saw two older-audience films open against the Super Bowl with “Death on the Nile” grossing almost $13 million, while “Marry Me” — even with concurrent streaming on Peacock — took in $8 million. And when a studio releases a movie in what might be called Wide-Release Lite — “Magic Mike” opened in 1,500 theaters in top locations, enough to capture 80 percent-90 percent of its potential — there’s no rush to share data that might be compared with more-robust release strategies.

Counterprogramming took three of the top four spots. A 25th anniversary reissue of “Titanic” (Paramount) placed #3, with $6.4 million added to its (adjusted) domestic total of over $1.5 billion. That’s more than double of James Cameron’s other film in the top 10: “Avatar: The Way of Water” is #2. It dropped 39 percent, for a $647 million domestic total.

Give credit to the “Avatar” reissue last September; it benefited from 3D showings and grossed $10.5 million. “Titanic” has been available on every conceivable platform for more than two decades.

“80 For Brady”

Paramount Pictures

The #4 title, “80 for Brady” (Paramount) grossed $6 million with ongoing reduced pricing at most theaters. Its 53 percent drop was somewhat higher than expected. Strong weekdays last week made it the #1 film for the week (it was second last weekend) at over $19 million. Still, it remains a stronger-than-expected showing.

All movies face the significant added cost of marketing. “Magic Mike” has a production budget of around $45 million and a reported “modest” marketing cost of around $20 million. If it follows the “House Party” strategy, “Magic” should hit PVOD after two more weekends. “80” also should be a popular home entry, with both films bringing streaming value to their studios’ sites.

Last week’s #1, “Knock at the Cabin” (Universal), will at best be #5 with a 61 percent drop. (Estimates have it tied with “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, also Universal).

With next weekend certain to advance 2023’s strong lead, the year-to-date gross of about $763 million is still an impressive 47 percent ahead of last year. Keep in mind that it took until March for 2022 to really get into high gear.

“Consecration”

ANTHONY ELLISON

Good news in for specialized films continues to be limited at best. “Consecration” (IFC), another genre project with Shudder, took #12 overall with $365,000 in 762 theaters (that’s a PTA of $479). Among multiple new limited releases, only two other  reported. “iMordecai” (Greenwich) did $12,500 in two south Florida theaters, while “The Civil Dead” (Utopia) played 24 theaters, mostly with limited shows, to gross $16,790.

International Oscar nominee “Close” (A24) is now in 61 theaters and added another $150,000. Dino Risi’s 1961 “Una Vida Difficile” (Rialto) actually went up 14 percent in its second New York weekend.

Among specialized contenders, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24) again was tops, with another $329,000. Helped by several weeks of wide release, “Living” (Sony Pictures Classics) has now passed $2 million.

The Top 10 

1. Magic Mike’s Last Dance (WBD) NEW – Metacritic: 52; Est. budget: $45 million

$8,200,000 in 1,500 theaters; PTA (per theater average) $5,467; Cumulative: $8,200,000

2. Avatar: The Way of Water (Disney) Week 9; Last weekend #3

$6,800,000 (-39%) in 3,065 (-945) theaters; PTA: $2,246; Cumulative: $646,920,000

3. Titanic  (Paramount) REISSUE

$6,400,000 in 2,464 theaters; PTA: $2,597; Cumulative: $(adjusted est.) 1,506,000,000

4. 80 for Brady (Paramount) Week 2; Last weekend #2

$6,000,000 (-53%) in 3,939 (+27) theaters; PTA: $1,523; Cumulative: $24,970,000

5. (tie) Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (Universal) Week 8; Last weekend #4; also on PVOD

$5,500,000 (-30%) in 3,227 (-63) theaters; PTA: $1,704; Cumulative: $158,495,000

5. (tie) Knock at the Cabin (Universal) Week 2; Last weekend #1

$5,500,000 (-61%) in 3,657 (+14) theaters; PTA: $1,504; Cumulative: $22,3366,000

7. A Man Called Otto (Sony) Week 7; Last weekend #7

$2,625,000 (-38%) in 2,824 (-583) theaters; PTA: $930; Cumulative: $57,405,000

8. Missing (Sony) Week 4; Last weekend #8

$2,600,000 (-30%) in 2,315 (-250) theaters; PTA: $1,123; Cumulative: $26,626,000

9. M3GAN (Universal) Week 6; Last weekend #7; also on PVOD

$2,370,000 (-38%) in 2,508 (-327) theaters; PTA: $945; Cumulative: $90,928,000

10. Plane (Lionsgate) Week 5; Last weekend #11

$1,185,000 (-46%) in 1,679 (-524) theaters; PTA: $706; Cumulative: $30,770,000

Other Specialized titles

Films (limited, expansions of limited, as well as awards-oriented releases) are listed by week in release, starting with those opened this week; after the first two weeks, only films with grosses over $5,000 are tracked.

Consecration (IFC) NEW – Metacritic: 40

$365,000 in 762 theaters; PTA: $479; Cumulative: $365,000

iMoredai (Greenwich) NEW – Festivals include: Miami Jewish 2023

$12,500 in 2 theaters; PTA: $6,250

The Civil Dead (Utopia) NEW – Festivals include: Slamdance 2022

$16,790 in 2 theaters: PTA: $700

Full Time (Music Box) Week 2

$6,465 in 4 (+3) theaters; PTA: $1,616 ; Cumulative: $10,571

Una Vita Difficile (Rialto) (reissue) Week 2

$10,500 in 1 (no change) theater; PTA: $10,5oo; Cumulative: $27,227

Infinity Pool (Neon) Week 3

$205,000 in 415 (-1,335) theaters; Cumulative: $4,879,000

Close (A24) Week 3

$150,270 in 61 (+42) theaters; Cumulative: $405,969

One Fine Morning (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 3

$23,000 in 22 (+10) theaters; Cumulative: $81,845

Turn Every Page (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 7

$25,048 in 34 (+2) theaters; Cumulative: $220,616

Women Talking (United Artists) Week 8

$ in theaters (); Cumulative: $

Living (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 8

$266,550 in 266 (-144) theaters; Cumulative: $2,064,000

The Whale (A24) Week 10

$300,690 in 684 (-331) theaters;  Cumulative: $16,314,000

EO (Janus) Week 13

$31,900 in 63 (no change) theaters; Cumulative: $942,987

The Fabelmans (Universal) Week 14; also on PVOD

$110,000 in  718 (-336) theaters; Cumulative: $16,925,000

Aftersun (A24) Week 17; also on VOD

$19,685 in 20 (-5) theaters; Cumulative: $1,526,000

The Banshees of Inisherin (Searchlight) Week 17; also on HBO Max and VOD

$82,000 in 320 (-90) theaters; Cumulative: $10,302,000

TÁR (Focus) Week 18; also on Peacock and VOD

$56,000 in 293 (+222) theaters; Cumulative: $6,462,000

Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24) Week 47; also on PVOD

$329,278 in 636 (-299) theaters; Cumulative: $72,542,000

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