With strong word of mouth, plus its bigger than expected debut last weekend, Sully managed to hold onto the top spot in its second weekend. The Tom Hanks-Clint Eastwood flick was off 37% in its second weekend to $22 million, for a strong $70.5 million pick-up in 10 days. The true story-based film is easily set to pass $100 million within the next two weeks, and could see even stronger holds in the coming weeks thanks to its Oscar buzz. IMAX screenings continue to boost earnings as well.
Edging out its fellow newcomers for second place was horror origin story Blair Witch. In a year that's been crowded with horror flicks succeeding, one had to wonder when the genre would start running out of steam this year. And apparently, this is the case, as this flick opened to $9.7 million, for a $3,092 per-venue average and overall, half of what was expected. On a budget of $5 million, however, this isn't something to be worried about. However, considering the strong buzz, it could have done better. It's just been crowded at the box office for horror films. Reviews were negative (37% on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences gave it a terrible "D+" CinemaScore.
Renee Zellweger returned to theaters this weekend with her comedy sequel Bridget Jones' Baby. Originally expected to pull in the mid-teens millions this weekend, the R-rated flick pulled in $8.2 million in third place (mediocre $2,815 per-venue average). In comparison, The Edge of Reason earned $8.6 million back on its debut in November 2004 (though went on to earn $250 million worldwide). Considering the long wait and Zellweger's drop in terms of fanbase, this sequel really wasn't tracking to be huge to begin with. Reviews were good (78% on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences gave the film a "B+" CinemaScore. The budget was a light $35 million by distributor Universal. The film has earned $30 million overseas so far.
Finally, after many delays, Oliver Stone's Snowden finally debuted, in fourth place with mediocre results. The Joseph Gordon-Levitt flick opened to $8 million, slightly under expectations (many projected $10 million), and a $3,284 per-venue average. For a $40 million production, this is clearly not a good start for distributor Open Road Films. Snowden was originally set to be a player for awards season last year, but wasn't completed in time. Reviews were mixed (58% on Rotten Tomatoes), though audiences did give the film a strong "A" CinemaScore, so we will see how it plays in the coming weeks.
Horror audiences continued to prefer more critically-acclaimed entries, as Don't Breathe continued to play well in its fourth weekend. Sony's breakout hit was off just 32% in the face of competition to $5.6 million, for a very strong $75.3 million pick-up in 24 days, all against just a $10 million budget. Don't Breathe will pass the $79 million final gross of The Purge: Election Year next week and may wind up around $90 million.
When the Bough Breaks is proving to be very frontloaded, plunging 61% to $5.5 million. The thriller has pulled in a mild $22.7 million in 10 days and looks to find its way to a $35 million finish. Not bad in the face of a $10 million budget, but down a few steps from The Perfect Guy and No Good Deed. Showing strong holding power in its seventh frame is Suicide Squad. The supervillain mashup was off just 18% to $4.7 million, for a great $313.8 million gross in 49 days. The final domestic gross may very well get close to Batman v. Superman's $330 million domestic final.
A trio of family films rounded out the list, as all 3 had one more weekend with their audience before Storks arrives next week. The Wild Life was off just 21% in its second weekend to $2.65 million, but the 10-day gross is at an embarrassingly low $6.7 million. It might end up ahead of Legends of Oz's $8.5 million final gross, but that's a very low bar. Kubo and the Two Strings was down 24% to $2.5 million in its fifth frame, for a $44.2 million pick-up in one month, with hopes of hitting $50 million (review coming later this week). Disney's Pete's Dragon was off 34% to $2 million, for a mild $72.8 million pick-up in six weeks of release, and $115 million worldwide with other markets still to open.
And that's about it. Next weekend things should pick up as Sony's remake of The Magnificent Seven debuts with strong buzz surrounding it, and Warner Bros. debuts their animated flick Storks, which is tracking for a solid second place showing. It should be a pretty decent weekend. We will see how things pan out.
