Cocaine Bear scales up Ant-Man and tops the box office after raging on social media
The R-rated gonzo horror comedy Cocaine Bear sniffed at $23.1 million in its opening weekend, according to the studio’s Sunday estimate, while Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania shrank at an unusually fast pace in its second weekend.
Quantumania was still #1 with an estimated $32.2 million in box office sales in US and Canadian theaters. But the Ant-Man sequel, which was hit by some of the worst reviews and audience ratings in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, fell a whopping 69.7% in its second weekend. That’s the worst drop for an MCU film, falling faster than Black Widow (67.8%), a pandemic release that debuted in homes at the same time.
Instead, Universal Pictures’ “Cocaine Bear” rampaged through the multiplexes, performing well above expectations. Produced at about $35 million and directed by Elizabeth Banks, “Cocaine Bear” caused quite a stir by its title and viral trailer alone.
Written by Jimmy Warden and produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse,” “The Lego Movie”), “Cocaine Bear” managed to turn a bizarre real-life story into one to transform tongue. trendy blockbuster. It is based on the true story of a 79-kilogram black bear who died in the mountains of Georgia in 1985 after eating cocaine from a duffel bag that fell from a smuggler’s plane. (The smuggler, a former Kentucky narcotics officer, parachuted to his death in Tennessee.)
The trailer for “Cocaine Bear,” played ahead of the Super Bowl, has been seen by more than 90 million worldwide, according to Universal, and has been ignited on social media. But transmitting “can you believe this is a real movie” buzz to the box office doesn’t always work. Snakes on a Plane, a film many compare to Cocaine Bear, opened in 2006 for $13.9 million.
“People discovered this very outrageous, hysterical comedy that our director, Elizabeth Banks, delivered,” said Jim Orr, Universal’s sales director. “The film absolutely lives up to its absurd premise. People wanted to come out and have fun at the theater.”
“Cocaine Bear” managed to outperform despite mixed reviews and a “B-” CinemaScore from audiences. 59% of ticket buyers were male and 63% were between 18 and 34 years old. Added $5.3 million overseas. Quantumania easily outperforms Cocaine Bear internationally, where it added $46.4 million over the weekend.
Almost the epitome of counter-programming to Cocaine Bear, Lionsgate’s Jesus Revolution also had a strong debut. Also inspired by a true story, the film stars Kelsey Grammer as a California minister and Joel Courtney as a youth minister and dramatizes the Christian hippie movement of the late ’60s and early ’70s. It started with $15.5 million over weekends and pre-screenings. Produced by the Kingdom Story Company, Jesus Revolution proved popular with Christian audiences and exceeded expectations early on. It received an A+ CinemaScore.
Next week should see a new box office champion with the release of Michael B. Jordan’s Creed III.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday in US and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. The final domestic figures will be released on Monday.
1. “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania”, $32.2 million
2. “Cocaine Bear”, $23.1 million.
3. “Jesus Revolution”, $15.5 million.
4. “Avatar: The Way of Water,” $4.7 million.
5. “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” $4.1 million.
6. “Magic Mike’s Last Dance,” $3 million.
7. “Knock at the Cabin”, $1.9 million.
8. “80 for Brady,” $1.8 million.
9. “Missing,” $1 million.
10. “A Man Called Otto,” $850,000.
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