Second weekend in box office performance

In the United States, a film's box office gross in its second weekend of theatrical release is one of several factors used to predict overall box office performance. Most films experience a decline in box office gross in their second weekend, but a significant decline often indicates a subpar box office performance for the rest of a film's theatrical run. Some films are exceptions in that they perform better in their second weekend of release than on opening weekend.

Second-weekend drop During a film's theatrical run, its box office performance generally declines from weekend to weekend. In addition to the film's opening-weekend gross, the percentage of the change between the opening weekend and the second weekend is used as a gauge for a film's commercial success. Assuming that the number of theaters stays the same, a normal drop in box office gross from the first weekend to the second would be 40%. A drop of greater than 60% indicates a weak future performance. Horror films are susceptible to having large drops in the second weekend and beyond even after a strong opening weekend. Chris Anderson, in his 2008 book The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More, said twenty years prior, the average film experienced a second weekend drop of less than 30% and that the contemporary drop was now around 50%. Anderson ascribed the change to moviegoers being able to better identify mediocre and bad films through more information, both from more reviews and greater word-of-mouth. Slate in 2012 also reported a progressively increasing second weekend drop over the course of the last several decades. In the 1980s, the average second weekend drop was 15.7%. The 1990s saw the drop gradually climb to 21.5%, but by 2012 this had escalated all the way up to 49.1%. A lack of venues is usually not a factor as theaters have an obligation to show a film for at least two weeks.

The Los Angeles Times said the second-weekend drop was seasonal in the United States. Between May and July, the country's summer season, films have more significant drops than during the rest of the year. It reported that in May 2014, three opening blockbuster films—The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Godzilla, and X-Men: Days of Future Past—all had drops of over 60% where films earlier in the 21st century rarely had drops that steep. The newspaper cited possible reasons for the drops: that the films did not "inspire long-term moviegoing", and that alternative platforms such as Redbox, Netflix, and video on demand attracted film audiences who missed a film's opening weekend. The Hollywood Reporter said in 2017, "Generally speaking, a superhero film can fall 60 percent," highlighting Wonder Womans second-weekend drop of 45% as scant compared to others in the genre. Specific weekends during the year are known for poor box office and may lead to large drops, such as the first weekend of December following Thanksgiving when consumers begin shopping, and Super Bowl weekend.

The box office website Box Office Mojo ranks the following films by biggest second weekend drops during their wide release in the United States (with re-releases excluded here), which means screening in at least . The website bases its ranking on box office performance data from 1982 onward.

+ Top ten films by second weekend drop (excluding re-releases) Rank Film Year inwide release Openingweekend ($) Secondweekend ($) Change(%) Theaters(second weekend)1Stray Kids: The DominATE Experience20265,710,133292,889856 2 Christy 2025 1,310,888 108,487 8173Over Your Dead Body20261,393,356159,331650 4 Collide 2017 1,512,824 173,620 1,0025National Champions2021301,02834,818 8986Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D)20267,011,311913,5172,613 7 Undiscovered 2005 8,237,195 966,840 7548That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Tears of the Azure Sea2026947,325130,1378379The Chosen: Last Supper Part 220256,965,185961,86175410Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom20241,112,655155,175621

The 2012 family film The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure, though not in wide release during its second weekend, set a record for biggest overall second-weekend drop at the time of its release. It opened in and grossed $443,901 over the opening weekend. In its second weekend, it screened in and grossed $43,854, which was a 90.1% drop.

Second-weekend increases and smallest drops

An increase in a film's box office gross in its second weekend, provided that the number of theaters did not grow substantially, is considered exceptional. For example, the 1997 film Titanic had an opening weekend gross of and with only a small increase in the number of theaters, its second-weekend gross (which fell immediately after Christmas) was , a 24% increase from the previous weekend.

Box Office Mojo reported in 2018 that out of over films that were assessed, only 208 (or around 4%) saw an increased gross in their second weekend. Nearly every film to increase its gross in its second weekend benefitted from a holiday boosting attendance, with the vast majority having a second weekend falling on Christmas or New Year's, often the most-attended single week of the year; Memorial Day and Thanksgiving also boost attendance.

The top ten are listed below:

+ Top ten films with second-weekend increase in Rank Film Year inwide release Openingweekend ($) Secondweekend ($) Change(%) Theaters(second weekend) 1 Little Women 1994 2,411,247 6,776,403 1,574 2 Rumor Has It 2005 3,473,155 9,364,661 2,815 3 (1961) 1985 2,389,226 5,715,836 1,180 4 Kiss Me Goodbye 1982 1,345,672 2,845,627 803 5 Grumpy Old Men 1993 3,874,911 7,488,527 1,244 6 War Horse 2011 7,515,402 14,422,729 2,547 7 A Christmas Story 1983 2,072,473 3,935,944 938 8 All the Pretty Horses 2000 1,304,971 2,477,053 1,593 9 Lady and the Tramp (1955) 1986 2,804,272 5,030,706 1,375 10 Out of Africa 1985 3,637,290 6,504,397 922

Box Office Mojo reports that (out of over 1,000 assessed) have opened in over and increased in gross in their second weekend.

+ Films with second weekend increase in Rank Film Year inwide release Openingweekend ($) Secondweekend ($) Change(%) Theaters(second weekend) 1 The Greatest Showman 2017 8,805,843 15,520,732 3,316 2 Cheaper by the Dozen 2 2005 9,309,387 14,486,519 3,211 3 We Bought a Zoo 2011 9,360,434 13,238,241 3,163 4 Sound of Freedom 2023 19,680,879 27,280,179 3,265 5 Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle 2017 36,169,328 50,051,364 3,765 6 Puss in Boots: The Last Wish 2022 12,429,515 16,815,340 4,121 7 Mother's Day 2016 8,369,184 11,087,076 3,141 8 2002 6,013,847 7,364,432 3,012 9 Sing 2016 35,258,145 42,896,330 4,029 10 Night at the Museum 2006 30,433,781 36,766,905 3,768

Among films to open in over 3,000 theaters without a holiday to benefit their second weekend, 2011's Puss in Boots posted the best hold, falling only 3%, while the 4.8% drop for 2025's Sinners was the best for both a live-action and adult-skewing film. The following films had the strongest second weekend holds without the benefit of a holiday:

+ Films with smallest weekend decrease in , non-holiday weekends Rank Film Year inwide release Openingweekend ($) Secondweekend ($) Change(%) Theaters(second weekend) 1 Puss in Boots 2011 34,077,439 33,054,644 3,9632 Sinners 2025 48,007,468 45,708,664 3,347 3 Crazy Rich Asians 2018 26,510,140 24,808,202 3,526 4 Flushed Away 2006 18,814,323 16,606,526 3,707 5 The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause 2006 19,504,038 16,927,004 3,458 6 The Santa Clause 2 2002 29,008,696 24,734,523 3,352 7 Argo 2012 19,458,109 16,445,475 3,247 8 Taken 2009 24,717,037 20,547,346 3,184 9 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2009 30,304,648 25,038,803 3,119 10 The Shaggy Dog 2006 16,310,058 13,377,363 3,501

Second weekend in box office performance

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