Halloween weekend saw the release of Focus Features-Amblin Horror Movie, Come Play, and the film was able to scare up a number one finish at the box office.
Come Play grossed $3.15 million over the weekend and, as expected, its Saturday gross, which also happened to be Halloween, was its strongest day, jumping 18% from the previous day. What’s impressive about the debut of Come Play, even though it’s in line with other recent openings during the pandemic, is that the studio actually put in marketing spend on TV spots. Focus Features spent significant amounts of the marketing spend on TV spots and most of it transpired within the last five days. One insider, per “Deadline”, suggested this is where Warner Bros. went wrong with Tenet. The studio curbed its TV spending and opted more on digital and that proved to be a part of the film’s struggle to really gain traction at the domestic box office. Come Play filmmaker, Jacob Chase had this to say about the film’s opening:
“Having my first studio movie be released to this wide of an audience is a really special experience. Moviegoers all across the country have had a chance to see this film that I, along with the entire cast and crew, put so much heart and empathy into. While it isn’t exactly how we pictured the movie coming out when we made it, I’ve been remarkably impressed with Focus getting it into so many theaters safely during COVID. Wear your masks and keep your fellow humans safe!”
Come Play’s #1 hard-top theater gross for the weekend was at the AMC Orange, with $11,942, where the film’s monster, Larry, a full-size puppet made by the Jim Henson Company, is on display. The Mission Tiki is also in the Top 10, where there is a drive-through photo-op for moviegoers. The best market share was in Dallas, followed by New York (even with NYC theaters still closed), while the best per-theatre average overall was in Sacramento at Sacramento 6 DI with $12,170.
BTW, to date, there haven’t been any COVID-19 related cases traced to movie theaters. Exhibitors that have chosen to open have done so with proper safety protocols in place and proper social distancing for seating. It’s crazy to me that NYC and Los Angeles are still dragging their feet on reopening their locations when cases haven’t been linked to theaters reopening back in late July. It can be argued that there is more traffic coming in and out of the airport and hitting your local grocery store. I went to a Party City on Saturday, after being told they were limiting capacity and walked in to only see the store PACKED like a zoo. I wish the local government and health officials really took a better look at this because people going to the movies should be the least of their concerns.
