As what analysts predicted, it was the latest reboot of The Predator that came out on top. But the Shane Black film didn't generate too much excitement, pulling in a mild $24 million (mild $5,945 per-venue average). That was the worst debut yet for a movie opening in over 4,000 theaters (last year's The Mummy held the record previously at $31 million). Analysts were thinking it might would have trouble hitting $30 million (some bad tabloids about a minor cast member's background didn't help matters), as there wasn't much buzz going on for it. Distributor Fox had it originally slated for August, but pushed it back a month to keep it from competing against The Meg (which in hindsight was smart, but it might also speak to a lack of confidence in the picture itself). The fact that this new reboot also fell behind the 2010 Robert Rodriguez reboot's $24.7 million opening weekend shows this was yet another reboot not many people wanted. The budget was $88 million (low for a major visual effects thriller), and the film did open to $30 million overseas. So, Fox probably won't lose much on this one. Fox never released an official projection for the weekend itself.After a huge debut last weekend, The Nun fell back to earth this weekend. The horror flick plunged 66% in its sophomore frame to $18.2 million. That being said, however, the film has earned a very good $85.1 million in just 10 days, along with nearly $150 million added overseas. The film should easily pass $100 million within the next week or so, and may level off better in the next couple weeks due to little real competition the remainder of September.
Meanwhile, opening in third place, book adaptation A Simple Favor did better than expected. Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick captured $16.1 million in their debut (mild $5,174 per-venue average). Analysts were projecting a $10-12 million debut for the most part, with room for upside. Distributor Lionsgate put together a solid marketing effort, and the lack of any real female-driven films over the past couple months really played a factor here (though both actresses have become decent box office draws in their own right). Audiences gave the film a "B+" CinemaScore (compared to a "C+" for Predator). At this point, this could either burn out fast with fans of the book rushing out to see this, or it could have a long run with positive word-of-mouth in its favor. We'll have to wait and see. Lionsgate was expecting a low-teens millions opening.
It turned out to be a close race for fourth place. For now, Sony has their true story drama White Boy Rick ahead by $100,000 (it could change though). The supposed awards season contender didn't pull in impressive business, earning $8.8 million (forgettable $3,514 per-venue average). That's ahead of what I predicted, but it's still probably not what Sony was hoping for (though the awards season conversation hasn't been what they hoped for either). A debut over $10 million for the $29 million production probably would have been better. The film earned a mixed "B" CinemaScore, while Sony was in line with the high single digits to $10 million that was projected.Tying the drama for fourth place was August's big winner, Crazy Rich Asians. The book adaptation was off just 34% in its fifth weekend to $8.7 million, for a very strong $149.6 million pick-up in one month of release. Look for the wildly popular film to finish around $175 million stateside, or nearly six times its $30 million budget.
After a decent debut last week, Peppermint failed to really stay in the mix in the midst of so many options for adults. The Jennifer Garner flick was down 55% in its second weekend to $6.1 million, for a mild $24.2 million pick-up in 10 days. I would expect around a $35 million finish for this particular action flick. Not bad, just not particularly impressive. Meanwhile, The Meg continued to show some impressive stability. The shark thriller was off just 38% in its sixth weekend to $3.8 million, for a very good $137.1 million gross in 42 days. It also passed $500 million worldwide this weekend.
Continuing to play strong was the technological thriller Searching, which was off just 30% in its third weekend to $3.2 million. The indie flick has pulled in $19.6 million in 24 days, and should end up crawling to about $30 million.
Meanwhile, opening to weak numbers in ninth place was the true story sequel Unbroken: Path to Redemption. The sequel to the 2014 war flick failed to pull in faith-based moviegoers, earning just $2.4 million (weak $1,451 per-venue average). That's better than last weekend's God Bless the Broken Road ($1.4 million), but that's not saying much. Faith-based films tend to be very hit-or-miss these days. And despite being a sequel to a successful war film, Path to Redemption didn't have Universal's (the distributor of the first film) marketing muscle or awareness building. It's interesting, because buzz overall was decent heading into the weekend (many were thinking it might would hit $4 or $5 million coming off of awareness for the first film). But, September usually is a very hard time to open any movie (and most faith-based films usually don't fare well this time of year). Thankfully, the budget was only $6 million here, so any red ink for distributor Pure Flix will be minor here.Nearly taking ninth place away was Mission: Impossible - Fallout, which prepares to bow out of the list after breaking an important record. At $216.1 million, Fallout is now the highest-grossing movie yet of the 22-year old Mission: Impossible franchise here in America. Fallout also is the biggest-grossing movie worldwide of Tom Cruise's career, with $760 million and still some gas left. For the weekend itself here in America, it was off 40% to $2.3 million.
And that is about it. Next weekend, Universal will hope to score with older families with a pre-Halloween treat, The House with a Clock in its' Walls. Also opening are adult drama Life Itself and political documentary Farenheight 11/9. Will the box office continue to slow, or will it bring in more energy? We'll have to wait and see. Projections post coming Wednesday. :)
