Once again, it was all about Crazy Rich Asians. Warner Bros. celebrated a third-straight week at #1 with the romantic comedy posting a sensational hold. The film was off just 6% from its opening weekend to $24.8 million, for a terrific $76.6 million gross in 12 days. Yes, the film's first Friday was its' third day of release, so its not a direct apples-to-apples comparison. But, its' still one of the best holds for a movie in recent memory. Look for Asians to remain on top until another Warner Bros. movie, horror flick The Nun, takes it after Labor Day Weekend. With such sensational word-of-mouth from audiences and critics, no one really can tell at this point how high this movie will go. Pretty darn fantastic for a $30 million production.Speaking of Warner Bros., they kept second place too. The Meg had a strong hold in its third weekend, off just 39% to $12.8 million. The shark thriller passed the century mark domestically, with $105.1 million picked-up in 17 days. It also has been a major hit overseas, with over $300 million earned so far and Japan still to open. This has definitely been one of the biggest surprises of the season to be sure.
Opening in third place, The Happytime Murders failed to bring in adult crowds with just $9.5 million (mediocre $2,928 per-venue average). The R-rated take on Jim Henson's felt characters came in behind the $11-15 million expected from distributor STX Entertainment. It seems like people just didn't buy the idea of Henson's characters being in this kind of environment. For Melissa McCarthy, this is easily the worst debut of the past decade for her. Audiences didn't respond favorably, giving the film a "C-" CinemaScore. The $40 million production will likely fade fast and probably won't turn a profit for anyone involved.
Holding like a champ in fourth place, Mission: Impossible - Fallout was off just 25% to $8.1 million. The spy thriller is at $194 million in one month of release, and is set to soar past the $200 million mark by Labor Day. The film has also pulled in nearly $550 million worldwide, with China opening in the next week or two which will likely send the film's worldwide total even higher. Mission accomplished, Mr. Hunt!
Following a mediocre debut last week, Mile 22 failed to recover lost ground. Mark Wahlberg's latest was down 54% to $6.4 million. The R-rated action thriller simply got lost in the midst of all the more appealing options playing in theaters currently (though audience reception was never encouraging). In the first of two flops for STX, the flick has picked up $25.5 million in 10 days, and will likely close up near $40 million.
Family audiences continued to rally around Disney's latest, Christopher Robin, which held well again in the sixth spot. The Pooh flick was off just 29% in its fourth frame to $6.3 million, for a very solid $77.5 million gross in 24 days. Robin passed the final grosses of recent Disney flicks Pete's Dragon ($76 million) and Alice through the Looking Glass ($77 million). With Labor Day around the corner, expect this to have another strong hold next weekend.
Following a mixed debut last weekend, Alpha had a decent hold in seventh place. The survival thriller was off 42% in its sophomore frame to $6 million. The PG-13 flick is performing better than many expected, with $20.6 million in 10 days and Labor Day likely to boost it a little higher. Meanwhile, BlackKklansman had another strong hold, off 31% in its third weekend to $5.1 million. The critically-adored Spike Lee production has earned $31.8 million in 17 days, and should be able to get above $40 million before its done.
Holding surprisingly solidly in its third weekend was Slender Man. The horror flick was down 42% to $2.8 million (in spite of a "D-" CinemaScore). It has earned a decent $25.4 million in 17 days and might be able to push to $30 million with Labor Day included.
Opening in 10th place with dismal results (as expected) was family film A-X-L. The PG-rated boy-and-dog flick seemed to open at the wrong time (cough Alpha cough), with a $2.8 million opening weekend (sad $1,627 per-venue average). While Labor Day should perk it up a little, its probably not going to be enough to earn back its budget and promotion costs (the budget was a light $10 million). Distributor Global Road recently filed for bankruptcy due to the disappointing performances of this and Show Dogs. Audiences gave the film a solid "B+" CinemaScore.
That's about it. Next weekend is Labor Day which means repeat business for many films. Overall, expect things to slow down even more. Meanwhile, three moderate releases look for attention. Sci-fi flick Kin, historical thriller Operation Finale, and technological thriller Searching. Besides that, earlier summer blockbusters will likely re-expand for one final chance to up their grosses. Predictions post coming Wednesday.
