France’s upset of Team USA on Sunday morning was great, but M. Night Shyamalan may have had the most shocking upset of the weekend. Heading into the weekend, Snake Eyes and Space Jam: A New Legacy were expected to top the box office. In surprising fashion, M. Night Shyamalan’s Old earned the top spot with an opening weekend performance of $16.5 million.
“M. Night Shyamalan has an incredible track record,” Jim Orr of Universal Pictures told Variety.
“And these can be a difficult film to market because you don’t want to give away too much.”
Coming in second place, Snake Eyes earned $13.3 million and Black Widow fell to third place with $11.6 million. Rounding out the top five, Space Jam: A New Legacy raked in $9.5 million while F9 earned $4.7 million. Overall, box office performances are improving, but there is still a long way to go until things return to a new normal.
“With only half of the U.S. fully vaccinated and the pace of shots at around half a million per day, the business can operate profitably, but full strength is going to take more time now,” movie consultant David Gross explained.
August will prove to be a litmus test for how much things have or have not improved for the movie industry. Films like The Suicide Squad, Respect and Candyman will provide a look into how much movie theaters have recovered during the COVID-19 pandemic.
