Scott Mendelson Dissects The Friday Box Office For The Ides of March (03-15-24)

The Mark Wahlberg-starring inspirational sports (and underdog dog) story was tops among a slew of old-school studio programmers that mostly failed to break out

In a pretty decent parable for the state of the industry over the last decade, there are a handful of new releases this weekend that might have been commercial contenders in more theatrically friendly times.  

Just in terms of new releases and wide-release expansions, you’ve got a programmer starring Michael Keaton as a hitman dying of dementia, a crime rom-dramady starring Kristen Stewart and Katy O Brian, a satirical comedy about the pressure Black Americans feel to appear non-threatening to white people, an Anthony Hopkins-starring biopic about a London broker who rescued hundreds of (predominantly Jewish) children from the Nazis, a summer job coming-of-age comedy and an upbeat Mark Wahlberg-starring drama about the relationship between the captain of an adventure racing team and the stray dog who ends up tagging along amid one final competition.  

So don’t let anyone tell you that A) there’s nothing to see in theaters or B) Hollywood only makes superhero movies, remakes and cartoons. However, the top two films on Friday and the weekend were — by far — an animated sequel and a big-budget adaptation of a novel adapted for theaters in 1984 and cable in 2000.