‘Spider-Man’ Still on Top at Labor Day Box Office While ‘Coyote vs Acme’ Holds Strong

The summer box office is going to come to a close with a final overall domestic total of around $4.7 billion, just shy of the $4.75 billion all-time record set in 2013. And as has been the case for the past month, Sony/Marvel’s “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” will be on top with $22 million over Labor Day weekend, passing $900 million domestic. By next weekend, the Tom Holland web-slinging film will become the highest grossing film in North American box office history before inflation adjustment. Industry estimates have “Brand New Day” reaching $922 million on Monday, putting it $14 million shy of the record held by “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” The other big news coming out of Labor Day weekend is that Ketchup Entertainment’s “Coyote vs. Acme” is finding traction at the box office and is earning a strong second weekend with an industry estimated $15.3 million over four days, which will bring the film’s domestic total to $37.8 million. Buoyed by strong audience word-of-mouth — which in turn is also spreading the word about how “Coyote vs. Acme” was nearly shelved by Warner Bros. for a tax write-off — the “Looney Tunes” comedy starring Will Forte, Lana Condor and John Cena could do well enough for Ketchup to theatrically recoup its reported $60 million in acquisition and marketing costs once combined with foreign presales. “Coyote vs. Acme” is in a tight race for the No. 2 spot on the charts with Universal’s “The Odyssey,” which is set to add $16.4 million over Labor Day weekend as it steams towards $600 million domestic and $1.6 billion worldwide. In fourth is Paramount’s “By Any Means,” a film starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Mark Wahlberg about an unlikely alliance between an FBI agent and a mafia hitman to uncover the murderers of civil rights leaders. Produced by Hammerstone Studios and Thunder Road on a reported $29 million budget, the film has an uphill road to profitability with an $8.5 million 4-day opening from 2,903 locations, battling with Sony’s “Insidious: Out of the Further” for the No. 4 spot as that film has earned $8.3 million in its third weekend. Reception for “By Any Means” has been mixed-to-positive with Rotten Tomatoes scores of 52% critics and 87% audience along with a B+ on CinemaScore. Farther down the charts, Roadside Attractions/Saban Films’ horror film “Buddy” is holding well on the charts with $5.4 million 3-day second weekend that is just a 2% drop from its opening, giving it a domestic total of $15 million through Labor Day. The feature debut of “Too Many Cooks” creator Casper Kelly stars Keegan Michael-Key as the voice of a Barney the Dinosaur-esque children’s TV character who traps kids in his show and kills those who don’t play along with his games. Already, “Buddy” has earned the second highest opening weekend ever for Roadside Attractions and will become just the fifth film from the studio to clear $20 million in grosses, joining movies like the Lionsgate-distributed “I Can Only Imagine” and the Amazon-distributed “Manchester By The Sea.” More to come…