‘RRR’ Nears $100 Million Worldwide As Just The Latest Specialty Box Office Hit

S. S Rajamouli's RRR has earned almost $90 million worldwide after six days in theaters. It was a solid result for the three-hour, $73 million N. T. Rama Rao Jr./Ram Charan epic, slightly below the $10.4 million domestic debut of Rajamouli's Baahubali 2: The Conclusion in April. RRR's success is an example of how theaters may become more dependent on demographically-specific event films. In a time when even fewer people show up in theaters for non-tentpole flicks, the likes of RRR are appealing to people who otherwise wouldn't.

Christmas With the Chosen: The Messengers earned $13.7 million last year and was ranked 59th. The argument that Spider-Man: No Way Home deserved an Oscar nomination because people saw it in theaters didn't apply to Demon Slayer The Movie. Dune and House of Gucci earned more than every other Oscar contender, but the visually dazzling anime earned more domestic money. Three weekends ago, a one-day-only theatrical showing of a BTS concert earned $6.8 million domestic in just 805 theaters, while earning $32 million worldwide. My daughter hadn't heard of Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie, but it opened with $19 million domestic.

Under normal circumstances, the fifteen to twenty million dollars that the RRR will earn in North American cinemas would be a fun example of an unconventional theatrical hit. The second movie in the series made $20.1 million, making it the 106th-biggest domestic grosser of the year. The weekend will end in 12th place if RRR makes it to $14.5 million by Sunday night. Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness will be in the top 20 when it opens in just over a month, but it could still be in the top 15. The kind of niche-specific films that are holding firm are the kind that burn theatrically, even though other non-tentpole films crash and burn.

Special event releases are gaining ground in terms of box office, but everything else is losing ground. Everything else is a coin toss, save for the obvious tentpole biggies. Murder on the Orient Express made $102 million domestic and $355 million worldwide. Death on the Nile earned just $135 million last year. We can debate whether the likes of Last Night in Soho, West Side Story or A Journal For Jordan would have played bigger in non-vid times, but they almost certainly earned less than they otherwise would have due to a greater decline.

These demographically-specific event movies have been holding their own and holding up multiplexes during uncertain times. It's only in terms of the domestic box office that I can say that's a quality judgment. American Underdog is a three-star studio programmer. RRR is an IMAX-worthy blockbuster entertainment that combines fanciful action, musical numbers, melodrama and a deeply satisfying revenge of the colonized narrative. Our pop culture has become so fragmented that our moviegoing is so dependent on stereotypical fantasy franchise tentpoles that it qualifies as niche programming. There are niches (dog lovers, military-associated moviegoers, so-called viewers, etc.) that show up. The second part of the vampire novel was worth $829 million, but only for fans.

If regular moviegoing doesn't make a comeback, we may see a moviegoing environment where the domestic box office is dominated by specialty releases. These films are a must-see for demos who would otherwise stay home. Think Sony's Father Stu, which is a faith-based drama opening next month, and various upper-scale events for a limited time. The domestic gross earned by RRR would be a success. It is flirting with box office supremacy if studios continue to be gun shy about regular theatrical releases. You are moving, Downton Abbey: A New Era.