Paramount’s newest film,The Lost City, ended its opening theatrical weekend with an accumulated $31 million, placing it firmly atop the domestic box office standings. The female-driven feature has yielded the best performance of any theatrically released romantic comedy this calendar year, beating the Jennifer Lopez-led filmMarry Me, which earned $7.9 million at the end of its opening weekend.
Paramount’sThe Lost Citycenters around the dynamic chemistry between Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum, whose partnership in the film manifests in an unusual manner. Bullock plays a reclusive author whose love for life has significantly diminished due to an unresolved pain within her past. While on a book tour alongside her cover model, Channing Tatum, Bullock gets taken to help find a valuable treasure for the film’s antagonist, Daniel Radcliffe. The comedy and action coincide to create a hilariously fun experience for audiences eager to see Bullock back in her comedic element. The eagerness is evident in the films opening weekend numbers, showcasing the life still pulsing in the romantic comedy genre.
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Romantic comedies have been on a relative decline over the past few years, making the theatrical performance ofThe Lost Cityall the more promising.The Paramount film premieredin theaters Friday and accumulated $11.55 million by the end of its opening day debut. The conclusion of Saturday’s box office saw an increase in numbers for the film, which earned $11.8 million to close out the first portion of its weekend run. Sunday’s $7.65 million performance was not as high as the previous two days, but it helped bring the overall total to an impressive $31 million for the film.The Lost Citycost $68 million to make, which is a number the film may surpass if it continues along its upward path.
The performance ofThe Lost Cityis due to the film’s leading stars' promotional prowess but its equally due to the project’s reception, which has been relatively positive.The Lost Cityearned a 76% Rotten Tomatoes score from critics and an 85% percent audience rating, showcasing the fairly positive experience many had while viewing the Paramount film. In addition, the narrative also received a B+ grade from CinemaScore, further highlighting the film does what its marketing presented pretty well. Films, however,universally see a steady declinein box office performance in the weekends that follow, which may mean the project’s $31 million opening could be the best it has to offer. Nevertheless, the film’s performance is a win for Paramount and those excited to see an original piece of content thriving.
The $31 million helpedThe Lost Citydethrone Matt Reeves’sThe Batman, which sat atop the domestic box office for three consecutive weekends. The Robert Pattinson-led film brought in $20.5 million over the weekend, placing it firmly in second place behind the romantic comedy. However,the masked vigilantehas generated a $332 million domestic box office total, which is the most by any film released this calendar year. The Indian action filmRRRended the weekend in third with a $9.5 million total, followed byUncharted’s$5 million andJujutsu Kaisen 0’s$4.58 million totalto round out the weekend’s top-five performances.Spider-Man: No Way Homefinds itself in eighth place, earning $2 million over the weekend. While minor, the box office number helped the webslinging hero pass the $800 million domestic box office milestone.
The Lost Cityis Paramount’s third film to debut atop the box office this year, following behindScreamandJackass Forever. It’s unclear how long the Aaron and Adam Nee-directed film will remain in the coveted top spot, especially with the release ofSony’s long-awaitedMorbiusarriving later this week. The time there, for now, is enough to fuel some optimism for the moviegoing experience. It’ll be interesting to see how far the Sandra Bullock-led film can go as one of the few romantic comedies available theatrically for audiences to enjoy.
