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 its second weekend. If the percentage of the drop is below the average, it indicates a subpar box office performance for the rest of its theatrical run. Some films are exceptions 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 ', 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 steeper drop over the course of the years. In the 1980s, the average drop was 15.7%, and in the 1990s, the drop was 21.5%. In 2012, the average drop was 49.1%.
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 '—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. In 2019, Dark Phoenix set a new record for the biggest second-weekend box office drop for a superhero film with 72.6%.
The box office website Box Office Mojo ranks the following films by biggest second weekend drops during their wide release in the United States, which means screening in at least. The website bases its ranking on box office performance data from 1982 onward.
RankFilmYear in
wide release		Opening
weekend 		Second
weekend 		Change
Theaters
1Collide20171,512,824173,6201,002
2Undiscovered2005676,04891,748754
3Slow Burn2007778,123119,150755
4Jane Got a Gun2016835,572137,5231,031
5Before I Go to Sleep20141,843,347331,708820
6Gigli20033,753,518678,6402,215
7Bad Moon1996607,081112,397649
8Return to the Blue Lagoon19911,277,428245,8141,222
9Friday the 13th200940,570,3657,942,4723,105
102007508,601100,230700

The 2012 family film The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure, though not in wide release, set a record for biggest second-weekend drop. 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 increase

An increase in a film's box office gross in its second weekend, provided that the number of theaters did not grow substantially and the film did not open on a Sunday, 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 was, a 24% increase from the previous weekend.
Box Office Mojo reports that out of over films that were assessed, only 208 saw an increased gross in their second weekend. The top ten are listed below.
RankFilmYear in
wide release		Opening
weekend 		Second
weekend 		Change
Theaters
1Little Women19942,411,2476,776,4031,574
2Rumor Has It20053,473,1559,364,6612,815
3' 19852,389,2265,715,8361,180
4Kiss Me Goodbye19821,345,6722,845,627803
5Grumpy Old Men19933,874,9117,488,5271,244
6War Horse20117,515,40214,422,7292,547
7A Christmas Story19832,072,4733,935,944938
8All the Pretty Horses20001,304,9712,477,0531,593
9Lady and the Tramp1986 2,804,2725,030,7061,375
10Out of Africa19853,637,2906,504,397922

Box Office Mojo reports that have opened in over and increased in gross in its second weekend.
RankFilmYear in
wide release		Opening
weekend 		Second
weekend 		Change
Theaters
1The Greatest Showman20178,805,84315,520,7323,316
2Cheaper by the Dozen 220059,309,38714,486,5193,211
3We Bought a Zoo20119,360,43413,238,2413,163
4'201736,169,32850,051,3643,765
5Mother's Day20168,369,18411,087,0763,141
6'20026,013,8477,364,4323,012
7Sing201635,258,14542,896,3304,029
8Night at the Museum200630,433,78136,766,9053,768
9Mary Poppins Returns201823,523,12128,353,1174,090
10'201417,100,52020,202,0083,941
11'200934,119,37240,111,3643,140
12'20119,720,99311,436,1603,087
13Fun with Dick and Jane200514,383,51516,522,5323,056
14Passengers201614,869,73616,160,5393,478
15'200113,832,78615,035,6493,151
16'199814,524,32115,119,1073,218
17Annie201415,861,93916,474,0653,197
18Walking with Dinosaurs20137,091,9387,276,1723,243
19Bolt200826,223,12826,581,0023,654
20Shrek200142,347,76042,481,4253,623