With more and more cinemas around the world closing their doors or limiting attendance due to the coronavirus outbreak, this past weekend proved to be a tough one for studios, distributors, and exhibitors as the North American box office fell to a 22-year low and international markets suffered an 85% drop from the same weekend two years prior.
Domestically, Disney-Pixar’s Onward held on to top spot, but dropped a whopping 73% from its launch with $10.5 million over the Friday to Sunday period. The faith-based drama I Still Believe was the highest new entry with $9.5 million, while the Vin Diesel Valiant superhero movie Bloodshot and Blumhouse’s controversial thriller The Hunt both came in well under expectations with $9.3 million and $5.3 million respectively.
Internationally, Bloodshot led the weekend with $13 million, pushing its global opening to $22.3 million. Onward added a further $6.8 million, with The Invisible Man ($6.2 million), Sonic the Hedgehog ($2.9 million) and The Gentlemen ($1.8 million) rounding out the top five.
With cinemas closed completely in the likes of China, France, Italy and Spain, and more and more screens likely to shut their doors over the coming days and weeks, it’s certainly going to be a trying time for the film industry. Many big releases planned for March and April have been pushed back, and countless projects have had their productions put on hold as we wait to see how the coronavirus pandemic plays out.
Based on the bestselling comic book, Vin Diesel stars as Ray Garrison, a soldier recently killed in action and brought back to life as the superhero Bloodshot by the RST corporation. With an army of nanotechnology in his veins, he’s an unstoppable force –stronger than ever and able to heal instantly. But in controlling his body, the company has sway over his mind and memories, too. Now, Ray doesn’t know what’s real and what’s not – but he’s on a mission to find out.
Bloodshot features a cast that includes Vin Diesel (Fast & Furious), Toby Kebbell (Fantastic Four), Eiza Gonzalez (Baby Driver), Guy Pearce (The Catcher Was a Spy), Sam Heughan (Outlander), Talulah Riley (Westworld), Johannes Haukur Johannesson (Game of Thrones), Lamorne Morris (Game Night) and Alex Hernandez (UnReal).
