The box office continues its subpar performance, with just $3.2 million in receipts over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend for Liam Neeson‘s newbie, The Marksman. This is Neeson’s third No. 1 hit for the studio Open Road.
Open Road Boss Tom Ortenberg told Deadline, “It’s a universal truth that even in a depressed market lies opportunity. And there are plenty of people who want to go to the movies. Not everyone wants to go theaters, and cinemas aren’t open everywhere. But there are a lot of people who are looking for broad-based entertainment, just like they always have. Like Honest Thief, The Marksman has filled a void in the marketplace. It’s mid-sized distributors like us that have been able to fill the void and serve the need. There is a great thirst for product among consumers, and the opportunity is there. Competition is light, and we can market and distribute movies for less money; our advertising dollars go far.”