Receipts: ‘Bottoms’ Soars to the Top, ‘Jawan’ Smashes Records
Domestic: Amid limitations on promotions caused by the ongoing strike, Sony’s The Equalizer 3 has managed to surpass $100 million globally. Though its star, Denzel Washington, was prevented from promoting the action film, it has grossed nearly $70 million domestically thus far. The Equalizer 3 is the third film in the Equalizer franchise, and is poised to make a franchise-best sum domestically and worldwide. It has also outdone its predecessors regarding audience reception, with a 74% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to Equalizer 2’s 52% and Equalizer’s 61%. Equalizer 3 follows Robert McCall (Washington) as he endeavors to protect his friends, who are in the clutches of the mafia in his home country of Italy. The film also features David Denman, Sonia Ammar, and Remo Girone.
Raunchy teen comedy Bottoms had an impressive debut. The Emma-Seligman-directed film got a limited release on National Cinema Day, during which it brought in $516,254 on only ten screens for a $51,625-per-screen average, breaking a box office record set by the hit film Everything Everywhere All at Once. It has grossed $8.6 million domestically thus far. With a relatively small production budget of $11.3 million, Bottoms is poised to become profitable despite the recent box office struggles of comedy films. Starring Ayo Edebiri and Rachel Sennott, Bottoms follows two unpopular high schoolers who start a “fight club” to have sex before they graduate. The film has a 93% certified fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes and an 89% audience score, with critics and audiences calling the comedy “heartwarming” and “hilarious.” Bottoms is being lauded as proof of the appeal and durability of LGBTQ+- and women-led stories in the evolving landscape of popular cinema.
International: Hit Chinese film No More Bets is expanding its release to territories outside China. After a limited US release on September 1, the crime thriller released in Hong Kong on the 21st. Upon its August 31st release in China, No More Bets soared to the top of the box office chart, where it spent three weeks, nearly cracking $550 million in just one month. This makes it the second highest-grossing Chinese film of 2023, and the largest of the summer season. Written and directed by Shen Ao, the film follows a computer programmer and a model who are persuaded to take an overseas job that turns out to be a scam. The pair is forced to stay abroad, where they work as online scammers. No More Bets is loosely based on true events. It stars Zhang Yixing, Gina Chen Jin, Mei Yong, and Wang Chuanjun. With an 80% score on Rotten Tomatoes, No More Bets will surely become a fan favorite worldwide.
Director Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan has put itself in the history books, breaking the director’s own previous record. After a September 7th opening that grossed $9.4 million in India (with an additional $1.3 million from Tamil and Telugu-language dubbed versions) and $15.6 million worldwide, Jawan continues to rake it in. The previous box office record-holder, Pathaan, grossed $8.32 million in India and $4.5 million overseas on its first day, totalling $12.7 million worldwide. Jawan also stars Khan, who plays both halves of a father and son pair who endeavor to fix corruption in Indian society. The film’s success comes during a sudden and significant resurgence of Hindi-language Bollywood films this year after a rough 2022. Other films from south India, like Jailer and Ponniyin Selvan: Part Two, have joined in the welcome comeback.
Streaming: Netflix’s interactive Choose Love is enjoying its second week on the Global Top 10. The rom-com is one in the streamer’s growing library of “interactive” films and series, where audiences make choices for the main character at crucial junctions to guide the story. Since the success of the Bandersnatch episode of Black Mirror, Netflix has started to create more interactive episodes and feature-length films. Choose Love follows Cami (Laura Marano), a young woman questioning her relationship with her boyfriend Paul (Jordi Webber). Though critics have given the film primarily negative reviews, with a 38% on Rotten Tomatoes, audiences have given it a 66%, with many finding appeal in its interactive nature. Choose Love is in second place for most watched of the week, with 9 million hours viewed.
The 2013 film Snitch is also in its second week on the Top 10 with 6.9 million hours viewed. The thriller stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Michael Kenneth Williams, Nadie Velasquez, JD Pardo, and Susan Sarandon. Snitch tells the story of 18-year-old Jason, who is sentenced to 10 years in prison after being framed for the possession of narcotics. His father, John (Johnson), goes undercover to save his son, but quickly discovers himself embroiled in the Mexican drug trade. The action thriller has a 61% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.