- STXfilms' "Playmobil: The Movie," took in only an estimated $660,000 at the domestic box office.
- That figure is the third-lowest ever for a movie that's released on over 2,000 screens.
- It's just the latest box office bust for STX, which has had a handful of disappointing releases this year.
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It doesn't look like things will be jolly at STXfilms this holiday season. "Playmobil: The Movie," which at one time was to be the start of a franchise for the studio that would compete with Warner Bros.' lucrative Lego franchise, had a non-existent opening in theaters this weekend.
The movie, based on the German toy line and budgeted around $40 million, brought in an estimated $660,000 million at the domestic box office. That's the third-worst opening ever for a movie that debuted on over 2,000 screens (it played on 2,337).
The only releases that have performed worse are 2008's "Delgo" ($511,920) and 2012's "The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure" ($443,901).
"Playmobil" only took in $167,000 on Friday, which made it apparent that its already awful $1 million industry projection for the weekend was not going to happen.
But that wasn't the only sign that the movie was going to have a disastrous performance:
- It originally was supposed to be released by Open Road Films in the US with a release date of January 2019. When that company filed for bankruptcy, STXfilms bought the rights and planned an April release. That was then moved to a late August release, and finally opened this weekend. That many release changes is never a good sign.
- Leading up to its release, the movie was not screened for most critics. Again, not a good sign.
- And it was reported that the theaters were offering a discounted price of $5 to see the movie.
This is yet another box office bomb for STXfilms in 2019. In May, it released "UglyDolls," which only brought in $32.4 million worldwide in its run (budgeted at $45 million). Also in May, it released "Poms," which had a lifetime box office of $16.4 million worldwide (made for around $10 million). And "21 Bridges," which finally opened last month after ditched released dates in July and September, has only taken in around $25 million worldwide ($33 million budget).
The only bright spot for the company this year was the release of "Hustlers," which found critical acclaim and box office success, earning over $150 million worldwide on a $20 million budget. The company is doing an award season campaign for the movie's star, Jennifer Lopez.
But one big win the whole year is nothing to be happy about. For a company that has always functioned as a mini-major to go up against the established studios, the performance by "Playmobil" is the latest example that STX needs to step up its game.
Box office highlights:
- Disney's "Frozen II" won the domestic box office for a third consecutive weekend with a $34.7 million take. The movie is nearing $1 billion worldwide as its current global total is $919.7 million.
- Lionsgate/MRC's "Knives Out" brought in $14.1 million over the weekend. The movie's worldwide cume is a healthy $124 million.
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