CHIPS

Chips

Chips was financed by Warner Bros for $25 million and received some additional investment coin from RatPac Dune. In yet another case of dusting off a relic from the archives, this big screen version of the 1977 TV series likely alienated older fans of the show and offered nothing new to those unfamiliar with its source. Warner Bros first dated the action comedy for August 11, 2017 but moved it forward to March 24. Despite testing well with audiences, Chips was not tracking well in the weeks up to its release and Warner Bros gave the picture a muted ad campaign (by WB standards). The studio did invest just over $16 million into national TV spots, plus millions more in other traditional advertising and distribution costs, for a domestic P&A spend that probably eclipsed its production budget.

Chips opened against Power Rangers and Life and would be competing for older male auds with Life. Reviews were dreadful and tracking was pointing to an $8 - $10 million opening and it came in just under expectations with $7,722,802 — placing #7 for the weekend led by Beauty and the Beast. Also siphoning off Chips‘ audience was holdover hits Skull Island and Logan. The pic declined 48.7% the following weekend to $3,958,188 and then sank 65.2% in its third session to $1,376,231. The domestic run closed with $18,600,152.

Chips was a movie clearly designed for the domestic market and Warner Bros has rolled the film out in a handful of overseas territories, where it pulled in $8.1 million. The worldwide tally has stalled at $26.7 million, leaving WB with about $14.6 million after theaters take their percentage of the gross — which would leave much of the global P&A spend in the red and the budget untouched.