Overall business was down 14% from this same weekend last year, which featured A Quiet Place and Rampage both earning at least $20 million in the weekend before Infinity War.
It was projected to be a close race, but in the end, The Curse of La Llorona not only won, but ran away with the win. The horror pic powered past expectations with $26.5 million (very good $7,860 per-venue average). That's ahead of the Pet Sematary remake ($24.5 million) as well as Escape Room ($18.5 million). If anything, Llorona proves that the Conjuring franchise is one of the most bankable brands out there right now. Like most other entries in this genre, the film carried a low budget ($9 million), which means this is already a big success. Yes, Avengers: Endgame will steal many moviegoers' attention next week, but it won't be a direct competitor for horror flicks in the marketplace. Despite negative buzz, audiences gave the film a "B-" CinemaScore, above average for the genre. Warner Bros. and analysts were thinking of a $15-20 million debut.
Warner Bros. had the top two films of the weekend with Shazam! in second place. The superhero flick needed a strong hold this weekend, and it got it. The well-received DC flick was down just 29% in its third frame to $17.3 million, for a good $121.3 million pick-up in 17 days. While not an amazing tally, its' still pretty good considering the smaller budget. It's also earned $200 million overseas so far. Next weekend, the film will lose business and screens to Endgame, but should pick up speed again a little bit once the buzz for that film dies down a bit.
Opening in third place was the first Fox film released by Disney, faith-based film Breakthrough. After a solid start mid-week, the PG film ended up a bit frontloaded and wound up towards the lower end of expectations. Breakthrough pulled in $11.1 million for the traditional weekend (decent $3,931 per-venue average), for a $14.6 million pick-up since Wednesday. In comparison, Miracles from Heaven pulled in $18.5 million over a similar five-day stretch in 2016. Breakthrough did perform similarly to War Room's opening weekend, however ($11.4 million). With a budget of just $14 million and a strong "A" CinemaScore, the film seems set to play well over the next few weeks. Older audiences not interested in Endgame, for example, may continue to flock to this one.
In anticipation of Endgame, audiences came back out to see Captain Marvel. The superhero flick actually inched up 6% (and two spots on the list) in its seventh weekend to $9.1 million. In the meantime, the MCU's latest passed a major milestone, as its' earned $400 million exactly in 49 days. It's continued to power through overseas, with the worldwide gross right at $1.1 billion. Whether or not its' successor will boost it or not, it seems guaranteed at this point that this hero will end up ahead of Wonder Woman's $413 million final gross stateside (purely for bragging rights).
Following its' solid debut last week, Little didn't quite fall apart like other films made for an African-American crowd. The PG-13 comedy was down 45% to $8.5 million, for a solid $29.4 million in 10 days. While that's not an amazing result, it still looks pretty good in the face of a $20 million budget. It's younger crowd will be stolen by certain superheroes next week, which means it will probably fade fast from here.
Disney had three films in the Top 10 this week, with Dumbo finally getting a strong hold in its fourth frame. The remake that not many seemed to want was off 28% to $6.8 million, for a moderate $101.3 million pick-up in 24 days. The Mouse House may try to get its numbers up next week in double features with Endgame, so the final domestic gross could hit $120 million. However, that won't be enough to get close to its budget stateside. Overseas numbers haven't been spectacular either, with $200 million so far in what will likely be a $350 million worldwide finish.
Pet Sematary continues to fade fast (likely due to added competition), off 50% in its third frame to $4.9 million. The Stephen King remake has earned a solid $49.6 million in 17 days, and will likely fall just short of $60 million. Following its disappointing start last week, Missing Link held strong in its sophomore frame, off 27% (and up one spot) to $4.4 million. Laika's latest, however, has only pulled in $13 million in 10 days, and will probably struggle to get past $20 million stateside. Despite extra competition, Us surprisingly had a good hold in its fifth frame. Jordan Peele's latest was down 37% to $4.3 million, for a very strong $170.4 million in one month of release. It's on track to get to Get Out's final gross domestically ($177 million) and worldwide ($260 million).
Rounding out the Top 10 in its second frame was the remake of Hellboy, which plummeted 68% to $3.9 million in its sophomore frame. With a weak $19.7 million in 10 days, its' going to likely top out at a disappointing $25 million (or perhaps a bit less), or half its budget.
Opening in 12th place with disappointing numbers was Disneynature's Penguins. Their latest fell way behind expectations with just $2.3 million in its debut (weak $1,293 per-venue average), and $3.3 million since its Wednesday start. That's half of their previous low number, Monkey Kingdom ($4.6 million). Coming off of this kind of start, the Mouse House may move their nature documentary division's future releases to the upcoming Disney+ streaming service.
And that's about it. Of course, everyone knows what's coming next weekend. And it could be a record-smasher. I will have a predictions post on Wednesday evening on where I think Endgame could end up. Hope all has a great rest of their Easter and a great week! :)
