NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Hollywood's Super Bowl weekend largely fizzled with the muted debut of Kenneth Branagh's long-delayed Agatha Christie whodunit, 鈥淒eath on the Nile,鈥� a tepid reception for the Jennifer Lopez romantic-comedy 鈥淢arry Me鈥� and modest box-office bumps for Oscar nominees.
鈥淒eath on the Nile,鈥� Branagh's follow-up to the 2017 hit 鈥淢urder on the Orient Express,鈥� led all films with $12.8 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. Produced under 20th Century Fox before its acquisition by the Walt Disney Co., 鈥淒eath on the Nile鈥� had been delayed by the pandemic and by scandal that engulfed one of its stars, Armie Hammer.
Last March, Hammer by Los Angeles police in a sexual assault. Hammer has denied the allegation.
After considering other avenues, reportedly including reshooting parts of the film without Hammer, Disney opted to release 鈥淒eath on the Nile鈥� as it was 鈥� albeit with less fanfare on a weekend the film industry often yields to football. The $90 million film, which also stars Gal Gadot, Emma McKay and Branagh, reprising his role as detective Hercule Poirot, had once seemed a reliable money-maker. 鈥淢urder on the Orient Express鈥� launched with $28.7 million in 2017 and ended up grossing $352.8 million worldwide against a $55 million budget. 鈥淒eath on the Nile鈥� added $20.7 million in international receipts.
Hollywood鈥檚 biggest pitch to moviegoers over the weekend wasn鈥檛 in theaters but in television ads. After two years of the pandemic, a heavy-hitting lineup of blockbusters were set to roll out trailers during the Super Bowl broadcast and try to lure still-reluctant moviegoers back to theaters. Last year, when many theaters were still shuttered and few films were being released, Hollywood largely sat out the game. Jordan Peele鈥檚 鈥淣ope鈥� kicked off the day .
鈥淢arry Me鈥� opened with $8 million while simultaneously streaming on Peacock. The Universal Pictures release, which was timed to Valentine's Day on Monday, stars Lopez as a pop star who, after finding out her fianc茅 has been cheating, marries a stranger (Owen Wilson) at one of her concerts. In recent years, streaming platforms have increasingly been the rom-com's primary home. Netflix, in particular, has pumped out a constant stream of new entries in the genre. On Friday, Amazon Prime Video debuted its own: 鈥淚 Want You Back,鈥� with Charlie Day and Jenny Slate.
The lukewarm performance of 鈥淢arry Me鈥� allowed , 鈥淛ackass Forever,鈥� to narrowly edge it for second place. Johnny Knoxville's sequel dropped a steep 65% from last weekend, coming in with an estimated $8.1 million for Paramount Pictures. Its grossed $37.4 million in total.
Another once dependable ticket-seller at the box office 鈥� a Liam Neeson thriller 鈥� also struggled. Briarcliff Entertainment's 鈥淏lacklight,鈥� a poorly reviewed action film starring the 69-year-old Neeson as a shadowy government agent, opened with $3.6 million.
Few films were set to capitalize in theaters on . As nominations came later than usual this year, most Oscar contenders 鈥� a field that Netflix led with 24 nominations 鈥� have been available for weeks, if not months, in the home. But a few films sought a post-nominations lift at the box office, even if the once expected 鈥淥scar bump鈥� is all but dead.
Paul Thomas Anderson's 鈥淟icorice Pizza,鈥� up for three awards including best picture, had its widest week of release in its 12th week of release, playing in 1,977 theaters. It managed $922,500 in ticket sales, bringing its cumulative total to $14 million.
Branagh's other film in release, 鈥淏elfast,鈥� followed up its seven nominations by playing in 928 theaters and adding $285,000 to its $7.9 million gross. Other best-picture contenders 鈥� 鈥淣ightmare Alley鈥� ($85,000) and 鈥淲est Side Story鈥� ($235,000) 鈥� made only minor blips.
The biggest bumps out there may have been for a few of the international contenders. Ry没suke Hamaguchi鈥檚 鈥淒rive My Car,鈥� which is nominated for four Oscars including best picture, saw a 92% spike in grossing $192,000 from 127 theaters. Joachim Trier's 鈥淭he Worst Person in the World,鈥� nominated for best original screenplay and best international film, earned $255,395 on 49 screens in its second weekend.
The film expected to lead the box office next weekend 鈥� Sony's video-game adaptation 鈥淯ncharted,鈥� staring Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg 鈥� began its release overseas, where it took in $21.5 million in 15 territories.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "Death on the Nile," $12.8 million.
2. 鈥淛ackass Forever,鈥� $8.1 million.
3. 鈥淢arry Me,鈥� $8 million.
4. 鈥淪pider-Man: No Way Home,鈥� $7.2 million.
5. 鈥淏lacklight,鈥� $3.6 million.
6. 鈥淪ing 2,鈥� $3 million.
7. 鈥淢oonfall,鈥� $2.9 million.
8. 鈥淪cream,鈥� $2.8 million.
9. 鈥淟icorice Pizza," $922,500.
10. 鈥淭he King's Man,鈥� $433,000.
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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
