March 2024: 31 days from a Friday to a Sunday
March 2024 ran from a Friday to a Sunday: 31 days, 21 of them business days, ten of them weekend. The cinema wrote the month's story. Dune: Part Two opened on Friday 1 March with $82.5 million and jolted a slow box office back to life. Two weekends later, on Sunday 10 March, Oppenheimer took seven Oscars. Best Picture was among them. In between sat the equinox on Wednesday 20 March and a full Worm Moon dimmed by eclipse on Monday 25 March.
Ten weekend days
Five Fridays, from Friday 1 March through Friday 29 March, opened the count. Saturdays and Sundays ran to five apiece as well. Ten weekend days against 21 business days, across ISO weeks 9 to 13.
Only June 2024 matched that count in the half-year. Anyone writing a weekend rota had five Saturdays and five Sundays to cover. Print two grids if the rota is shared; the second copy saves an argument.
The month opened on a Friday, so the first week began mid-stride. It closed on Sunday 31 March with a final weekend intact. Neither fact improves the weather, but both steady the planner.
The big screen takes the month
Dune: Part Two took $82.5 million in the United States and Canada over its opening weekend. The weekend ran Friday 1 March through Sunday 3 March. Worldwide, the film reached about $178.5 million.
It was the biggest domestic opening of the year to that point, and cinemas had needed exactly that. The Oscars followed on Sunday 10 March, and Oppenheimer took seven statuettes.
Best Picture, Best Director for Christopher Nolan and Best Actor for Cillian Murphy were among them. Emma Stone took Best Actress for Poor Things. Godzilla Minus One won the visual effects award, a first for any Godzilla film.
Beyonce, for good measure, released Cowboy Carter on Friday 29 March. The 27-track country swing debuted at number one.
Equinox, eclipse and a rocket
The equinox arrived on Wednesday 20 March and opened the northern spring. On Monday 25 March the full Worm Moon slipped through the outer edge of Earth's shadow. The penumbral eclipse was visible across the Americas and subtle enough to go unnoticed.
SpaceX's Starship flew for a third time on Thursday 14 March and reached orbital velocity for the first time. It broke up during reentry over the Indian Ocean.
Baseball, meanwhile, opened its season in Seoul. The first regular-season games ever played in Korea began on Wednesday 20 March. Shohei Ohtani's Dodgers won the opener 5-2. Netflix's 3 Body Problem arrived on Thursday 21 March as the streamer's big spring series.
April 2024 waited with a total eclipse of its own and a Monday opening. March had already spent its ten weekend days, every one of them booked.