The Invisible Man tops box office in 16th week despite theater closures

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

THE INVISIBLE MAN has been available on Blu-Ray since May 26 and it was released on PVOD ahead of that date when movie theaters shuttered in mid-March in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite being made available for home viewing for quite some time now, THE INVISIBLE MAN actually reclaimed its spot at the top of the box office a full 16 weeks after it debuted at number one during the weekend of February 28-March 1.

Major theater chains are still closed although most will likely be open by July. THE INVISIBLE MAN is earning its money from drive-ins and smaller hardtop theaters that have remained open or recently re-opened. The Leigh Whannell Blumhouse/Universal Pictures release grossed $383,000 over last weekend and actually ended the nine-week streak of another Universal release, TROLLS WORLD TOUR ($275,000).

Universal Pictures actually claimed six spots in last weekend's top ten and eight in the top 20 if you count their re-release of JAWS and Focus Features' THE HIGH NOTE ($116,000 and $59,000, respectively). It's likely that they would've had another player in the game with THE KING OF STATEN ISLAND but the film was abruptly pulled from drive-ins on the day of its PVOD release. Apparently there wasn't a big issue as to why the film was pulled with the studio saying about the Judd Apatow-directed Pete Davidson movie that "It was a misunderstanding, and we asked for those theaters that had booked it, not to play it." 

Studios aren't going to brag about these numbers but I still think it's interesting that most of these films are available to view at home yet moviegoers are still going to whatever theater experience is open to see them. THE WRETCHED has been available on VOD for its full impressive run and the film pulled in another $148,000 over the weekend which brought its total to $1.4 million. For an IFC release with a minimal budget, this is a hit. Other films in the top ten still pulling in money despite a home release were THE HUNT ($275,000), JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL ($212,000) & classics like BACK TO THE FUTURE ($263,000), E.T. ($195,000) and JURASSIC PARK ($158,700).

THE INVISIBLE MAN opened at the end of February and opened to a stellar $28.2 million to finish first. The $7 million film has grossed $64.9 million to date and likely would've made a bit more money if the theaters didn't shut their doors in March. Globally, the film has taken in $124 million to date.

Have YOU checked out any films in theaters that have remained open or taken a trip to the drive-in?