Overview for the week of August 24th.  We celebrate the return of studio wide releases and weekend box office reports, thanks to our partners at Comscore.

The top earner in theatres this weekend was Unhinged, the road-rage thriller from Solstice Studios starring Russell Crowe. It generated over $4M while playing on 1,823 screens across North America, making it the top opening for any film in the Domestic market over the last five months.  Be sure to watch our new video feature, the Screendollars Box Office Barometer, which previews Unhinged and provides highlights of its opening weekend results.  

Industry News this week was focused on the ins and outs of theatre re-openings across the US and Canada, which now include a majority of cinemas operated by major circuits as well as many independent theatres.  We report on reviews from industry screenings of Tenet, whose eagerly anticipated opening will take place this Thursday (8/27) in Canada and the following Thursday (9/3) in the US.  News comes this week out of China of its first post COVID-19 blockbuster, the locally produced war epic The Eight Hundred, which was filmed in IMAX and is tailor made for the big screen.

Gower Street's analysts look at the upsurge in the Canadian share of the Domestic box office, based on the relatively advanced status of its theatre re-openings. This fact has also made Canada the darling of Hollywood studios, a destination for premiering its new titles. In the Hollywood Report, Martin Grove looks at the course studios and distributors may chart to achieve successs with independent films in future landscape of film releasing.

We conclude with our regular film data tables. The Weekly Film Calendar provides details on film releases through Halloween. We list all wide-release films coming to theatres over the next six months, followed by a table of studio release changes, film ratings announcements from the MPAA, feedback from recent industry screenings and a list of the important new trailers released last week.

Screendollars helps exhibitors stay informed about the schedule of Hollywood film releases, important industry news and how to maximize earnings from in-theater advertising. We encourage exhibitors to contact us to learn more about Screendollars in-theater advertising and marketing programs.