Civil War Box Office Accomplishes Huge A24 Feat For The First Time In Record-Breaking Opening Weekend

Summary

• Civil War
  has earned A24’s biggest opening weekend, grossing $25.7 million.
• The movie has the largest budget ever for A24 at $50 million, featuring a star-studded ensemble cast led by Kirsten Dunst.
• In addition to its record-breaking opening, it marks the first time that an A24 movie has taken No. 1 at the domestic box office.

Civil War has broken an additional record on top of being the highest-grossing opening weekend so far for the independent production company A24. The new movie from writer-director Alex Garland, which is the latest from the Everything Everywhere All at Once and Hereditary studio, boasts their biggest budget ever at $50 million. It follows journalists documenting the war that breaks out when Western forces led by California and Texas attempt to secede from the union in a near-future dystopian America. The ensemble cast includes Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, and Nick Offerman.

Per Variety, the Civil War release is now set to take in a 3-day opening weekend total of $25.7 million. This is about the middle of the range that was projected as of Saturday, though even the lowest number in the range would have cemented the movie as earning the biggest opening ever for A24. On top of that record and becoming the highest-grossing R-rated opening of 2024 so far, this opening weekend has also become the first time that an A24 movie has taken No. 1 at the domestic box office.

Will Civil War Be A Financial Success?

The A24 Movie’s Huge Budget Still Poses A Challenge

Although this record-breaking opening is a major achievement for A24, the movie still has a long road before it becomes profitable. Generally, any release needs to earn at least twice as much as its production budget in theaters in order to make a profit. This means that the break-even point for Civil War is likely $100 million or more, a total that it is still nowhere near meeting. This opening weekend is just the domestic total, though, so the full global opening numbers for the movie will likely help push it closer to its break-even point.

Theaters typically keep half of the ticket money paid by moviegoers, so box office totals need to reach higher benchmarks in order to make back their budgets.

However, as those global numbers have yet to be fully calculated, it remains to be seen if international audiences will be as interested in the America-centric wartime storyline as the domestic marketplace. It is entirely possible that international markets will lack interest in the project, though the Civil War reviews have been almost universally positive despite its divisive story. This could ultimately help provide the movie with an important boost that helps push it toward that $100 million goal and justifies its huge price tag.

Civil War could very well climb high enough to break even, but it does face a certain amount of competition as the summer movie season slowly begins to heat up. It will have to compete with Abigail on its second weekend, The Fall Guy on its fourth, and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes on its fifth. However, a relatively quiet third weekend (which sees the release of Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers) could help it become a slow-burn success, allowing audiences a further opportunity to catch up with it.

Source: Variety