Box Office: ‘Onward’ Leads as Coronavirus Stunts North American Sales

Overall North American box office revenues are projected to fall 40% from last weekend as the coronavirus pandemic hits hard and health officials urge social distancing.

Disney-Pixar’s family friendly “Onward” should repeat as the top film with $12.5 million at 4,310 locations, representing a steep 68% decline from its opening weekend. Friday’s take for “Onward” was $3.3 million, plunging 73% from opening day on March 6. The typical second-weekend decline would have been in the 50% range.

Total domestic business is projected to gross as little as $60 million for the weekend. AMC and Regal, the nation’s two largest circuits, and several other chains announced Friday that they have cut capacity by 50% in their auditoriums to allow for individual patrons to sit next to empty seats.

“Movie theaters are doing the right thing by reducing capacity in light of the current situation, but naturally this will have an impact on the box office bottom line this weekend,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with Comscore.

Lionsgate’s faith-based drama “I Still Believe” appears to be the one new release that’s performing in line with pre-release estimates and should finish second with about $11.6 million at from 3,250 venues. It was the top performer on Friday with $4 million, and it garnered an A Cinemascore from opening day audiences.

Sony’s opening superhero pic “Bloodshot,” starring Vin Diesel, is heading for third place with an estimated $9.4 million at 2,861 screens, slightly under pre-weekend projections for a $10 million start. Audiences gave it a B on CinemaScore.

Universal has two Blumhouse horror titles battling for fourth with about $6.4 million each — the third weekend of “The Invisible Man” at 3,636 sites and the launch of newcomer “The Hunt” at 3,028 locations. Elisabeth Moss’s “The Invisible Man” is declining by 58% and will finish the weekend with around $65 million in its first 17 days.

“The Hunt,” a dark political satire portraying elites hunting people for sport, was delayed last year amid backlash over school shootings. The film came in under pre-release forecasts in the $8-9 million range. Opening day audiences were unimpressed, giving the film a C+ on CinemaScore. “The Hunt” carries a $14 million budget.