The US box office suffered its worst weekend in more than 20 years

Travis Clark

Mar 16, 2020, 19:38 IST

The US box office suffered its worst weekend in more than 20 years

Sony

Vin Diesel in "Bloodshot"

The total domestic box office over the weekend was between $53 million and $54 million, the worst total since 1998.
New releases "Bloodshot," "The Hunt," and "I Still Believe" failed to crack $10 million.
Major theater chains like AMC Theatres and Regal announced on Friday they would be operating at 50% capacity in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
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The coronavirus has impacted Hollywood movie releases and productions, and now the US box office is feeling the full effects of the pandemic.

The total domestic box office over the weekend is expected to land between $53 million and $54 million, the worst weekend total since January 14, 1998 and less than even after the terror attacks of September 11, 2001.

New releases this weekend included Sony's superhero movie "Bloodshot," Blumhouse's controversial thriller "The Hunt," and Lionsgate's "I Still Believe." None of them cracked $10 million and Pixar's "Onward," a holdover from the previous weekend, finished in first place with $10.5 million.

On Friday, major theaters chains like AMC Theatres and Regal announced they would be operating at 50% capacity in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus. 18 of the 25 leading chains in North America were operating at a reduced capacity as of Saturday, according to Boxoffice Pro.

Universal

"The Hunt"

On Sunday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti ordered all theaters in their respective cities to close, starting Tuesday morning. With theaters either closed or operating at reduced capacity, and no major releases arriving until "Trolls World Tour" on April 10, the US box office will only decline.

Exhibitor Relations senior box-office analyst Jeff Bock told Business Insider that the 2020 box-office total will "forever have an asterisk" next to it. "You'll never be able to compare it with any meaning to any year," he said.

Major March and April releases like "A Quiet Place Part II," "Mulan," and "No Time to Die" were delayed and productions such as Warner Bros.' "The Batman" and Universal's "Jurassic World: Dominion," both due in theaters next year, were halted.

Here are the weekend's top five at the domestic box office: