Cinema is alive and kicking.
 |
| (C) Letterboxd |
Horror and Resident Evil fans alike flocked to the big screens last week (September 16–20) as the new Zach Cregger-directed adaptation opened to a strong ₱77.1 million in the Philippines. This is the biggest opening ever for a Resident Evil film in the country. The film also captured 72% of the marketplace during its opening week, according to Columbia Pictures Philippines. Clearly, the Weapons director provided the right jolt for this two-decade-old franchise.
It has been a fantastic second half of the year for Columbia, thanks to Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Insidious: Out of the Further, and now Resident Evil.
Speaking of Insidious, Columbia also reports that Out of the Further is now the highest-grossing horror pic in the Philippines, grossing over ₱438 million. The horror film was among the top performers during the first-ever National Cinema Day on September 12.
Fortunately, Columbia Pictures isn't the only one celebrating. Universal held early sneak previews for DreamWorks' Forgotten Island and saw great results. According to the distributor, Island set a new record for the biggest animated film sneak ever in the Philippines. The film will open wide on September 23.
Meanwhile, Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey added $10,442 this week, down 56 percent. Over ten weeks, the film has now made a fantastic $6,360,950 in the country. Minions & Monsters brought in an additional $2,191 this week, bringing its updated total to $957K.
Aside from Forgotten Island, next week also marks the re-release of Avengers Endgame: Encore. Sales for IMAX and Infinity Vision-certified screens have been outstanding, with discounted ticket prices (including those for premium formats) adding further fuel to sales.
