Retiring Guy's Digest: USA box office on third weekend in March (2017-2023)

The USA box office on the Friday of the third weekend in March 2023 is 8% compared to last year when "The Batman" was the top-grossing movie.

And it's down 65% compared to the 2017 peak when "Beauty and the Beast" was the top-grossing movie.

Box Office Mojo

Variety, 3/19/2023

“Shazam: Fury of the Gods” opened to No. 1 in North America, but the Warner Bros. and DC Comics sequel fell short of expectations with its disappointing $30.5 million debut from 4,071 theaters. Heading into the weekend, the film was expected to collect $35 million to $40 million, which already wasn’t all that spectacular since it cost north of $110 million to make and another $100 million to market.

It’s a substantial drop from 2019’s “Shazam,” the first comic book installment starring Zachary Levi’s quirky hero, which opened to $53.5 million and ended its box office run with $140 million domestically and $366 million globally. It’s also one of the worst starts in the DC Cinematic Universe, other than pandemic-era releases like “Wonder Woman 1984” ($16.7 million) and “The Suicide Squad” ($26 million), which both opened simultaneously on HBO Max.

Original 3/18/2023 post starts here

The USA box office on the Friday of the third weekend in March 2023 is 1% compared to last year when "The Batman" was the top-grossing movie.

And it's down 68% compared to the 2017 peak when "Beauty and the Beast" was the top-grossing movie.

Box Office Mojo

Variety, 3/18/2023

“Shazam! Fury of the Gods” is thundering to a No. 1 opening at the box office, though the DC Comics adaptation is expected to fly in lower than its predecessor.
“Fury of the Gods” grossed $11.7 million in opening day ticket sales, a figure that includes $3.4 million in Thursday previews. That’s almost half of the $20.3 million that the 2019 original earned in its first day of release, on its way to a $53 million bow. “Fury of the Gods” carries a production budget of $125 million, which is $25 million higher than its predecessor’s.
Opening in 4,071 theaters, the superhero sequel will likely struggle to reach a $30 million debut.

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Fourth weekend of February. (2/27)

Third weekend of February. (2/20)

Second weekend of February. (2/13)

First weekend of February. (2/6)

Fourth weekend of January. (1/30)

Third weekend of January. (1/26)

Second weekend of January. (1/16)

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