With unseasonably sunny weather, the box-office started slow this week. Half-terms aren’t all made equally: outside factors like the weather & which schools let out when are very likely to shape demand. For now, the most we can say is this was an average week historically in a highly anticipated month for the box-office & wait for the dust to settle. *Michael*’s very first numbers have managed to completely upset that picture though & it seems primed to be a total smash – whether other films get to ride the coat-tails of that success remains to be seen.
**Losers: Continuing releases**
A couple of releases that were showing a lot of life last week suddenly hit a brick-wall. *Hoppers* went from WoW growth to falling by contracting by a quarter, which is astonishing when schools are out. It’s looking to bow out at 1.5M & drew in only slightly bigger crowds this week than *Marsupilami*, which officially passed 6M admissions but is probably very close to the finish line. *The Rays & Shadows* saw its ticket sales cut in half this week: despite a lot of interest, the film’s enormous 3.5 hour duration meant few locations could afford to schedule it more than a couple screenings a day when competition is so fierce. The 1M admissions mark is almost impossible now. *Project Hail Mary* can at least say it hit 1M last week, but is now fading from theatres very fast. Worse, Cannes 2025 favourite *Romeria* shrank by 2/3 compared with it’s OW performance. Cannes success has often translated into box-office success in recent years, but this release slot almost a year late was assuming more staying power than the film clearly had. Still, for a Spanish festival drama, 100k tickets is OK in context. *Ready or Not Part II: Here I Come* doesn’t even have that. With 2/3 of Part One’s middling 2019 performance, it lands in the heap of horror releases failing to make an impact in 2026. High-profile failures also include *Bad Draw* & *Those that Matter,* both of which saw a 50% drop-off WoW & can only hope to finish at 250k & 350k admissions respectively.
**Still on top: Mario, Compostella, Cocorico**
*Mario* just narrowly misses out on a third week as an admissions millionaire (971k) & is now trending noticeably below the first film in the series with a still impressive 4M admissions vs 4.7M for *SMBM* at the same point in it’s own lifecycle. That 20% shortfall doesn’t seem to be particularly correlated with audience feedback: *SMG*’s 3.6/5 on Allociné & a near 6/10 on the more high-brow Sens Critique site is on-par with Illuminations’ output. If audiences did take a mulligan on theaters this week (holiday plans, outdoor activities), then at least the plumber can boast one of the best holds from last week, alongside *Jumpers* & *I Swear*.
*Compostella* took fourth place with 177k tickets sold, a really good achievement for a film that wears it’s paint-by-numbers status on its sleeve. Judging by the response, it has really hit a chord. That good WOM allows it to continue eating well & rival releases can eat its dust. *The Drama* is doing alright. It’s on-target for 800k admissions, a first for Kristoffer Borgli. It’s over-performing US romantic dramas or A24 releases, in no small part thanks to that cast. *Cocorico 2* fell 45% in its second week, but actually brought in better week 2 numbers than the earlier instalment. Diminished returns for an uninspired sequel are to be expected. If the film legs out + exports well like it’s predecessor, it could be a success. The game plan is probably similar for *The Child of the Desert,* which can hope for a long lifespan & good international distribution thanks to a simple premise & cute animals. So far, it ranks average in Galatée Films’ long line of wildlife adventure movies.
Jolly-Yellow7369 on
Hoppers endured for so long and now Disney will kill it with the digital release.
3 Comments
**D-1 before Michael**
With unseasonably sunny weather, the box-office started slow this week. Half-terms aren’t all made equally: outside factors like the weather & which schools let out when are very likely to shape demand. For now, the most we can say is this was an average week historically in a highly anticipated month for the box-office & wait for the dust to settle. *Michael*’s very first numbers have managed to completely upset that picture though & it seems primed to be a total smash – whether other films get to ride the coat-tails of that success remains to be seen.
**Losers: Continuing releases**
A couple of releases that were showing a lot of life last week suddenly hit a brick-wall. *Hoppers* went from WoW growth to falling by contracting by a quarter, which is astonishing when schools are out. It’s looking to bow out at 1.5M & drew in only slightly bigger crowds this week than *Marsupilami*, which officially passed 6M admissions but is probably very close to the finish line. *The Rays & Shadows* saw its ticket sales cut in half this week: despite a lot of interest, the film’s enormous 3.5 hour duration meant few locations could afford to schedule it more than a couple screenings a day when competition is so fierce. The 1M admissions mark is almost impossible now. *Project Hail Mary* can at least say it hit 1M last week, but is now fading from theatres very fast. Worse, Cannes 2025 favourite *Romeria* shrank by 2/3 compared with it’s OW performance. Cannes success has often translated into box-office success in recent years, but this release slot almost a year late was assuming more staying power than the film clearly had. Still, for a Spanish festival drama, 100k tickets is OK in context. *Ready or Not Part II: Here I Come* doesn’t even have that. With 2/3 of Part One’s middling 2019 performance, it lands in the heap of horror releases failing to make an impact in 2026. High-profile failures also include *Bad Draw* & *Those that Matter,* both of which saw a 50% drop-off WoW & can only hope to finish at 250k & 350k admissions respectively.
**Still on top: Mario, Compostella, Cocorico**
*Mario* just narrowly misses out on a third week as an admissions millionaire (971k) & is now trending noticeably below the first film in the series with a still impressive 4M admissions vs 4.7M for *SMBM* at the same point in it’s own lifecycle. That 20% shortfall doesn’t seem to be particularly correlated with audience feedback: *SMG*’s 3.6/5 on Allociné & a near 6/10 on the more high-brow Sens Critique site is on-par with Illuminations’ output. If audiences did take a mulligan on theaters this week (holiday plans, outdoor activities), then at least the plumber can boast one of the best holds from last week, alongside *Jumpers* & *I Swear*.
*Compostella* took fourth place with 177k tickets sold, a really good achievement for a film that wears it’s paint-by-numbers status on its sleeve. Judging by the response, it has really hit a chord. That good WOM allows it to continue eating well & rival releases can eat its dust. *The Drama* is doing alright. It’s on-target for 800k admissions, a first for Kristoffer Borgli. It’s over-performing US romantic dramas or A24 releases, in no small part thanks to that cast. *Cocorico 2* fell 45% in its second week, but actually brought in better week 2 numbers than the earlier instalment. Diminished returns for an uninspired sequel are to be expected. If the film legs out + exports well like it’s predecessor, it could be a success. The game plan is probably similar for *The Child of the Desert,* which can hope for a long lifespan & good international distribution thanks to a simple premise & cute animals. So far, it ranks average in Galatée Films’ long line of wildlife adventure movies.
Hoppers endured for so long and now Disney will kill it with the digital release.
France truly loves illumination films.