M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Old’ Tops ‘Space Jam’ and ‘Snake Eyes’ at Box Office
Written by SOURCE on July 25, 2021
M. Night Shyamalan has the No. 1 movie at the domestic box office.
The polarizing filmmaker’s latest release, Old, won the weekend with $16.5 million in ticket sales, beating out major competition in Space Jam: A New Legacy and Snake Eyes, Variety rep
The Henry Golding-starring Snake Eyes, which cost $88 million to make, earned just $13.3 million, falling well short of expectations. Meanwhile, LeBron James’ Space Jam sequel saw a 69% decline from its first weekend, as it earned just $9.5 million. In fact, it was beaten out by Marvel’s Black Widow, despite having one less week of release.
As for Old, rhe psychological thriller stars Gael García Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Eliza Scanlen, Thomasin McKenzie, Alex Wolff, Abbey Lee and others, in whatm is Shaymalan’s first release since superhero thriller Glass in 2019. The film’s surprise success is the latest proof that the director is back after a string of critical duds.
“M. Night Shyamalan has an incredible track record,” Universal’s president of domestic distribution Jim Orr said about the film’s success. “And these can be difficult films to market because you don’t want to give away too much.”
And while the resurgent box office bodes well for the movie industry, David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research told Variety that with the Delta variant on everyone’s minds, it will take some time for the film industry to really get back to where it once was.
“With only half of the U.S. fully vaccinated and the pace of shots at around half a million per day, the business can operate profitably, but full strength is going to take more time now,” Gross said.
