It was going to be pretty close, but in the end, Wakanda still rules. Black Panther had its strongest hold yet despite its' first real action movie competition, off just 34% to $27 million. This is the first time since Avatar eight years ago that a movie has been on top for five-straight weekends. In the meantime, it had the fourth-largest fifth weekend in history behind Avatar, Titanic and Frozen. Since its debut one month ago, Panther has earned a gargantuan $605.4 million. Next weekend, it will pass The Avengers ($623 million) to become the biggest superhero movie ever in North America. In the meantime, at this point, it looks like it will finish with at least $675 million. That would rank as the third-most successful movie in history behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($936 million) and Avatar ($760 million). Overseas, it continues to chug along, with $1.18 billion earned worldwide (ranking 14th on the all-time chart), with a finish in the Top 10 looking likely. Panther may or may not stay on top next weekend, depending on how Pacific Rim: Uprising fares in its' debut.
It didn't win, and it doesn't seem like audiences were that much interested in a reboot of Lara Croft. Tomb Raider matched expectations in second place, earning $23.5 million ($6,104 per-venue average). Against a $94 million budget, this isn't a good start no matter how you look at it. Unadjusted for inflation, it did beat the $21 million debut of the sequel to the previous Lara Croft (Cradle of Life). But, again, this was yet a reboot that hardly anyone asked for. On the positive side, Tomb Raider did open strong overseas, with $85 million (including $44 million in China). However, competition is fierce in the coming weeks with Pacific Rim and Ready Player One both on deck. Mixed reviews (49% on Rotten Tomatoes) didn't help either. Distributor Warner Bros. was expecting a $22-24 million debut.
Meanwhile, the biggest surprise of the weekend wasn't the superhero beating the superwoman. Nor was it another wide release that ended up charted lower. Instead, faith-based drama I Can Only Imagine shattered all expectations, earning a fantastic $17.1 million from just 1,629 theaters (its $10,476 per-venue average was the best of the Top 15). Many analysts were forecasting a debut between $3 and $6 million. But strong pre-sales and social media buzz carried this one, as well as people familiar with the 2001 hit song (widely regarded as the most famous one in Christian music history). I Can Only Imagine had the strongest opening for a faith-based movie since Heaven is for Real ($22.5 million) four years ago. Reviews were mixed-to-positive (58% on Rotten Tomatoes), while the CinemaScore was a rare "A+". There is some competition coming in the next two weeks, with Paul: Apostle of Christ and God's Not Dead: A Light in Darkness both hoping to pull in a strong audience before Easter. But, on just a $7 million budget, this is already a major success. No doubt about that.In its second weekend, A Wrinkle in Time fell 50% to $16.6 million. That drop is in line with recent Disney fantasy films opening in March such as Cinderella (-49%) and Oz: The Great and Powerful (-48%). The book adaptation has earned a meh $61.1 million in 10 days, and hasn't picked up steam overseas for Disney yet.
Opening in fifth place was Fox's teen dramedy (the first one revolving around a gay protagonist) Love, Simon. Another book adaptation, this one opened to $11.5 million ($4,788 per-venue average). That was in line with distributor Fox's $10-12 million expectations, but many analysts believed it would go even higher. The film debuted in line with recent teenage dramedies such as Paper Towns ($13 million) and Everything, Everything ($12 million). Critics loved the film (91% on Rotten Tomatoes), and audiences gave it a rare "A+" CinemaScore. Simon should end up OK, no doubt thanks to a low budget ($17 million).
February holdovers in general continued to show great staying power. Game Night was off a light 29% in its fourth weekend to $5.6 million, for a very solid $54.2 million gross in 24 days. Meanwhile, Peter Rabbit had another outstanding hold. The second children's book adaptation in the list was off just 23% in its sixth weekend to $5.2 million. It also became just the second movie of 2018 so far to pass $100 million stateside (its at $102.4 million in 37 days). Next weekend will likely spell trouble for our furry friends as Sherlock Gnomes opens.
Horror sequel Strangers: Prey at Night followed with a 54% second weekend drop, fairly usual for a horror flick. The sequel is at a mild $18.6 million in 10 days, on its way to a finish just under $25 million. Red Sparrow didn't fare much better, off 48% to $4.5 million. Jennifer Lawrence's sleazy spy thriller is at $39.6 million in 17 days. Rounding out the Top 10 was Lawrence's stablemate Bruce Willis in the Death Wish remake. The action flick was down 49% to $3.4 million, for a meh $29.9 million 17-day gross and not much more to go.
That's about it. Next weekend brings some added competition in the form of Pacific Rim: Uprising. Animated sequel Sherlock Gnomes, Biblical epic Paul: Apostle of Christ and romantic drama Midnight Sun also debut. Will it be a busy weekend? We'll have to wait and see....
