As expected, it was YA fiction that won as The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials opened at #1. However, it fell short of expectations, picking up $30.3 million, for a per-venue average of a decent $7,993 from 3,791 locations. That's just off from the first Maze Runner, which opened to $32.5 million on this same weekend last year. In many ways, the slight decline is similar to Insurgent, which also shrank just slightly from its predecessor's $54 million launch. Still though, this is a decent debut, and many sequels have usually fallen off their predecessors by larger percentages. And on just a $61 million budget (much larger than the last one's $34 million budget), this one will prove to be more profitable than Insurgent. Scorch didn't earn great reviews (50% on Rotten Tomatoes), and the CinemaScore was only a good "B+". There's always a chance it holds well (competition is fairly minimal for teenagers until The Martian arrives in two weeks), but if it follows a similar path to Insurgent, it will fall far short of its predecessor's $103 million final gross.Overseas, Scorch has been very strong so far, picking up nearly $80 million overseas in two weeks for a $108 million worldwide launch. The 20th Century Fox production is outpacing its predecessor in many markets, so don't be surprised if it ultimately eclipses that movie's $340 million worldwide final gross.
Opening at #2 with stronger-than-expected results was Johnny Depp's latest, Black Mass. The well-reviewed crime biopic opened to a very solid $23.4 million, for a per-venue average of a solid $7,327 from 3,188 locations. Premiering at the Venice Film Festival, the dark movie was originally expected to debut in the mid-to-high teens. But, Oscar buzz built, especially considering Depp's performance. Mass received very good reviews (76% on Rotten Tomatoes), while the CinemaScore was a "B". This could definitely prove to be a sleeper, though the trippy subject matter may make it difficult to do so. This film's performance at the box office long haul will definitely be one to keep an eye on. Distributor Warner Bros. produced the flick for $53 million.
Following a strong debut last week, The Visit fell back to third in its second weekend, and actually held about average for a horror flick. M. Night Shaylaman's independent flick fell 55% to $11.4 million, for a very solid $42.3 million pick-up in 10 days. Little competition over the next two weeks should help the decently-reviewed flick to post better holds. Last week's topper The Perfect Guy, on the other hand, saw the floor pulled out from underneath it. The Michael Ealy flick was down 63% to $9.6 million, for a solid 10-day gross of $41.4 million. The crime flick is on its way to a finish in the $55-60 million range, solid considering its $12 million budget.
Meanwhile, opening in IMAX 3D theaters, adventure flick Everest got off to a great start. Universal's great year continued as the ensemble flick opened to a strong $7.6 million from just 546 locations (a huge $13,872 per-venue average). For distributor Universal, this is just another feather in their multi-jeweled 2015 cap, as the film outperformed expectations. Next weekend, Everest expands nationwide and could very well at least double this weekend's take. The budget here was only $55 million. Sony will try the IMAX 3D-first strategy in a couple of weeks when they release Robert Zemeckis' The Walk. Reviews were very good (73% on Rotten Tomatoes).Expanding to 300 more locations, War Room continued to hold on strong, off just 20% to $6.3 million. The Kendrick Brothers success story is at $49.1 million in 24 days, and seems likely to finish ahead of God's Not Dead ($60 million domestic final gross). A Walk in the Woods followed with a 42% dip to $2.7 million, for a $24.8 million gross in 19 days.
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation is approaching the end of its run. The Tom Cruise blockbuster made it an eighth-straight week in the Top 10, and was off 45% to $2.3 million. With $191.7 million picked up in 56 days, it may fall just short of $200 million domestically. However, the film continues to do huge business overseas (especially China), with the worldwide gross passing $650 million. Straight Outta Compton followed with a 50% decline in its sixth weekend to $2 million, for a strong $158.9 million pick-up in 42 days.
Rounding out the Top 10, Lily Tomlin's well-reviewed flick Grandma expanded to over 1,000 locations, and earned $1.6 million ($1,504 per-venue average). That's a decent, if unspectacular result (the budget was only $600,000, however).
Just below it in 11th, faith-based thriller Captive opened below expectations with $1.4 million from 806 locations (very small $1,737 per-venue average). Despite having more well-known names (Kate Mara and David Oyelewo) and a bigger studio (Paramount) releasing it, Captive opened lower than last week's 90 Minutes in Heaven ($2.1 million). Reviews were mixed-to-negative (35% on Rotten Tomatoes), but the budget here was only $2 million. In the end, red ink will be little-to-none for the star mountain.
That's it for this weekend. Next weekend brings the animated sequel Hotel Transylvania 2, as well as foreign import The Green Inferno, Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway in The Intern, and the nationwide expansions of Everest and Sicario. September's been fairly potent, but can it finish strong? We shall see.
