Retiring Guy's Digest: USA box office on 2nd weekend of August (2017-2023)

USA box office on the 2nd weekend in August 2023 is up 70% compared to last year when "Bullet Train" was the top-grossing movie.

But it's down 24% compared to the 2018 peak when "The Meg" was the top-grossing movie.

Source: Box Office Mojo

Headline: Variety, 8/13/2023

“The Last Voyage of the Demeter” sank without a trace over its opening weekend, going to a watery grave with just $6.5 million. The period horror film, which centers on one chapter of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” namely the bit where his coffin gets transported from Transylvania to England, was distributed by Universal. It’s the studio’s second stab at reviving the world’s most famous vampire, with last spring’s “Renfield,” a campy take on the bloodsucker, also collapsing at the box office.
With audiences steering clear of “The Last Voyage of the Demeter,” relegating it to a fifth-place finish, “Barbie” continued to rule the world. The Warner Bros. release earned $33.7 million to capture first place for the fourth week in a row. That brings its total to a glittering $526.3 million.

Original 8/12/2023 post starts here

USA box office on the Friday of the 2nd weekend in August 2023 is up 86% compared to last year when "Bullet Train" was the top-grossing movie.

But it's down 22% compared to the 2018 peak when "The Meg" was the top-grossing movie.

Source: Box Office Mojo

Headline: Variety, 8/12/2023

“The Last Voyage of the Demeter,” a new period horror film set aboard a merchant ship, is capsizing in its debut at the domestic box office amid the ongoing success of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.”
The Universal release — the studio’s second stab this year at a Dracula film after the action-comedy “Renfield” bombed in the spring — is facing some choppy waters after earning $2.62 million on its opening day from 2,715 locations, a figure that includes $750,000 in Thursday previews. “The Last Voyage of the Demeter” is projecting a fifth-place debut and a mere $6.5 million gross for its three-day opening weekend.
Nothing really says the summer blockbuster season is winding down like an anachronistic genre picture meeting a swift end in its debut.

Related posts:

2023

First weekend of August. (8/5)

Fourth weekend of July. (7/30)

Third weekend of July. (7/23)

Secind weekend of July. (7/16)

First weekend of July. (7/9)

Fourth weekend of June. (6/25)

Third weekend of June. (6/18)

Second weekend of June. (6/11)

First weekend of June. (6/5)

Memorial Day weekend. (5/29)