NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Moviegoing increasingly looks like it didn't die during the pandemic. It just went into hibernation.
John Krasinski's thriller sequel opened over the Memorial Day weekend to a pandemic-best $48.4 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. Including the Monday holiday, the studio forecasts the film will gross $58.5 million in North America. It added another $22 million in ticket sales overseas.
The film's performance cheered a movie industry that . Paramount Pictures' 鈥淎 Quiet Place Part II," which was on the cusp of opening in March 2021 before theaters shut, was the first big film this year 鈥� and one of the only larger budget COVID-era releases beside 鈥� to open exclusively in theaters.
Chris Aronson, distribution chief for Paramount, called the opening 鈥渁n unqualified success.鈥�
鈥淚t's a huge sigh of a relief and a sense of optimism for sure,鈥� Aronson said. "Movies, moviegoing, movie theaters aren't dead. Yes, they've been threatened but they're proving once again that they're resilient and that people do want to have that communal experience."
Many studios have trotted out hybrid release plans during the pandemic, debuting films simultaneously in the home. The Walt Disney Co. did that this weekend with its making it available to Disney+ subscribers for $30. In theaters, it grossed $21.3 million, Disney said, and an estimated $26.4 million over the four-day weekend. 鈥淐ruella鈥� also added $16.1 million in 29 international territories. Disney didn't say how much the film made on the company's streaming platform.
鈥淎 Quiet Place II鈥� will also turn to streaming after 45 days in theaters when it becomes available on Paramount+. One clear result of the pandemic is that the theatrical window has shrunk, probably permanently. Three months was once the customary length of a movie's run in theaters. The year's previous best debut belonged to Warner Bros.' 鈥淕odzilla vs. Kong,鈥� which opened with $32.2 million, or $48.5 million over its first five days, while simultaneously streaming on HBO Max.
The contrasting release strategies between 鈥淎 Quiet Place Part II鈥� and 鈥淐ruella鈥� offered a test case for Hollywood. How much does a day-and-date release cost a movie like 鈥淐ruella鈥� in ticket sales? Is it worth it? Without knowing how much 鈥淐ruella鈥� benefitted Disney+, a true comparison isn't possible. But the strong returns for the theater-only 鈥淎 Quiet Place Part II" are telling, says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data firm Comscore. He called it a 鈥減ivotal weekend鈥� for the movie industry that proved predictions of the movie theater's demise 鈥渇lat-out wrong.鈥�
鈥淭hat 鈥楺uiet Place Part II鈥� did so well makes a strong case that a theatrical-first release for a big movie is the way to go,鈥� Dergarabedian said. 鈥淭his is the best possible news for an industry that's been dealing with probably the most profoundly challenging chapter in the history of the movie theater.鈥�
The debut of 鈥淎 Quiet Place Part II鈥� was much watched throughout Hollywood as the kickoff to . After largely sitting out the pandemic, or diverting to streaming platforms, a lineup of blockbusters are again queuing up. On tap are Warner Bros.' 鈥淚n the Heights,鈥� Universals' 鈥淔9鈥� and Disney's 鈥淏lack Widow.鈥�
Last week, Universal Pictures' ninth installment in the 鈥淔ast & Furious鈥� franchise, 鈥淔9,鈥� opened with $162 million in ticket sales in eight international markets, and $135 million in China alone. In its second weekend, 鈥淔9,鈥� which opens in North America on June 25, raced toward $230 million worldwide.
鈥淎 Quiet Place Part II鈥� had already had its red-carpet premiere in March last year, and spent some of its marketing budget. But it opened remarkably in line with predictions of how many tickets it would sell before the onset of the pandemic. In the intervening months, Paramount sold off many of its films to streamers 鈥� 鈥淐oming 2 America,鈥� 鈥淭he Trial of the Chicago 7鈥� 鈥� but Krasinski and the studio felt strongly that the hushed intensity of 鈥淎 Quiet Place Part II鈥� worked best on the big screen.
, Krasinski said a theatrical release was 鈥渘on-negotiable." And Krasinski worked hard to stoke excitement, traveling the country in the week leading up to release to surprise moviegoers. Still, given the circumstances, he had little idea whether audiences would come out.
鈥淎s bizarre as the entire year has been is how bizarre whatever opening weekend is," Krasinski said. "I don鈥檛 really know what it is anymore."
In the end, 鈥淎 Quiet Place Part II鈥� performed a lot like how the first one did. That 2018 hit, which ultimately grossed $340 million globally on a $17 million budget, launched with $50.2 million in North American ticket sales. Sequels usually do better than the original but 鈥淧art II鈥� had far more challenges due to pandemic.
Rich Gelfond, chief executive of IMAX, where 鈥淎 Quiet Place Part II鈥� earned $4.1 million domestically, called the film 鈥渢he first domestic release this year to cross the threshold from 鈥榞reat opening weekend given the pandemic鈥� to 鈥榞reat opening weekend, period.'"
Memorial Day weekend, usually one of the busiest for theaters, still didn't look like it normally does at the movies. Total box office exceeded $80 million but that's about a third of the holiday weekend's normal business. Last Memorial Day, when nearly all operating theaters were drive-ins, ticket sales amounted to $842,000, according to Comscore.
Many theaters, particularly in New York and Los Angeles, are still operating with social distancing measures. But guidelines are thawing. Last week, the nation's top theater chains 鈥� AMC, Regal, Cinemark 鈥� said they would no longer require vaccinated moviegoers to wear face masks.
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Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
