As expected, the Super Bowl decreased numbers for the box office over the weekend of February 12, 2013, leaving four key takeaways from the theatrical releases’ performances. This past weekend only had one big new 2023 opening with Magic Mike’s Last Dance, the trilogy-ending installment of the Channing Tatum male stripper franchise, with James Cameron’s 1997 epic Titanic enjoying its 25th-anniversary re-release ahead of Valentine’s Day. The other top three movies at the box office weekend were Avatar: The Way of Water (which isn’t expected to leave theaters anytime soon), as well as the sports comedy 80 for Brady and M. Night Shyamalan’s thriller Knock at the Cabin.
Magic Mike 3 led the February 12 weekend box office with $8.2 million across only 1,500 North American theaters, followed by box office Goliath Avatar: The Way of Water with $6.9 million and Titanic sailing close behind with $6.4 million. Both in their sophomore weekends, 80 for Brady landed in fourth place with another $6 million domestically while Knock at the Cabin trailed in fifth place with $5.5 million. Ahead of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s opening next weekend, the slower attendance at the February 12 box office weekend reveals key developments about the power of James Cameron, the impact of the Super Bowl in the pandemic era, and changes in genre and demographic expectations.
4 The Only Person Who Can Beat James Cameron Is James Cameron
With Avatar 2 enjoying a successful ninth weekend in theaters and Titanic boasting a promising re-release opening, the box office numbers for the weekend of February 12 saw James Cameron in a race with himself. Over the past weekend, James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water and Titanic were competing with one another for the title of third-highest-grossing film of all time. Avatar 2 briefly pulled ahead to the third spot, but Titanic finished February 12 to reclaim its title with a $2.217 billion worldwide lifetime gross. However, Avatar 2, now at $2.213 worldwide, will have a far longer 2023 theatrical run that is expected to end with it stealing the third-highest-grossing movie title.
Cameron already holds the number one spot with 2009’s Avatar, meaning he has directed three of the four highest-grossing films ever, with 2019’s Avengers: Endgame maintaining the number two slot. Titanic and Avatar: The Way of Water holding two of the top three spots at the February 12, 2023 box office proves how much of a powerhouse the director truly is, as his hit movies managed to overtake two new films only in their sophomore weekends. The February 12 weekend reveals that one should never underestimate James Cameron at the box office, as nobody can beat James Cameron except for James Cameron himself.
3 February 12 Weekend’s Super Bowl Box Office Numbers Were Still Extremely Low
The Super Bowl is reliable in keeping numbers at the box office low, but the weekend of February 12, 2023 still accumulated far less money than the Super Bowl weekends in 2019 and 2020. According to Variety, ticket sales for the 2023 Super Bowl weekend reached $51 million, whereas the same weekend in 2020 generated $84 million and 2019 reported $75 million. While this may be due to a lack of wide-reaching movies released this past weekend, the low numbers are disappointing in an otherwise positively surprising January and February box office turnout.
Had there been a big blockbuster release over the weekend of February 5, the 2023 Super Bowl weekend box office total may have been higher. Studios avoid releasing movies targeting male audiences during the Super Bowl weekend, and since the preceding weekend only had one significant male-oriented thriller, the low box office numbers aren’t too surprising. However, these shortcomings will be made up for next weekend with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which is expected to skyrocket the box office earnings for February 2023.
2 Highly Anticipated Thrillers Can Still Lose To Outlandish Comedies
While Knock at the Cabin won first place at the box office during its February 5 opening weekend, the film fell sharply behind in its sophomore weekend to 80 for Brady. The former is a highly-anticipated thriller from renowned filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, whereas the latter is a zany sports comedy about the 2017 Super Bowl starring award-winning Hollywood legends Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Rita Moreno, and Sally Field. The genre and premise behind the films led to expectations that Knock at the Cabin would fly far ahead of 80 for Brady at the box office, but the Tom Brady-obsessed octogenarian comedy held its own and shockingly surpassed the thriller in its second weekend.
80 for Brady is the type of movie that, in today’s post-pandemic market, would typically be given an exclusive streaming release. However, Paramount gambled on a big theatrical opening and even experimented with its distribution by exclusively offering matinee pricing for all showtimes. Not only did 80 for Brady sell more box office tickets despite grossing less money in its opening weekend, but it kept the same pricing and earned more money than Knock at the Cabin over the weekend of February 12. Proving the 2023 box office is broken from what it once was, a comedy targeting older women – a demographic greatly neglected by films today – is overtaking a thriller primarily targeting reliably-represented younger male audiences.
1 80 For Brady, Magic Mike 3 & Titanic Prove Women Lead The February Box Office
Female audiences leading the Super Bowl weekend box office is expected, as releasing male-oriented films would lead to disappointing openings amid the NFL’s biggest game of the year, which typically draws in more men. Still, the success of 80 for Brady, Magic Mike 3, and Titanic over the February 12 weekend continues the trend set over the February 5 weekend of women showing up at the theaters in masses. In the pandemic-era box office market, men have been showing up to theaters more than women on average, but the February 2023 box office is bringing out female moviegoers in much greater quantities with the likes of Magic Mike 3, 80 for Brady, and Titanic.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will shift the box office demographics as more men show up to see the latest MCU installment, but the success of 80 for Brady is expected to continue appealing to older women in the coming weeks. Additionally, James Cameron’s Titanic re-release may pull in more female audiences next weekend who opted for the Magic Mike’s Last Dance movie over the February 12 weekend, so women will continue to be represented in larger quantities throughout the rest of February. Considering Marry Me was the only significant female-oriented release of February 2022, the 2023 box office is successfully targeting crucial demographics that have been under-represented in recent years.
