It was Disney that scored its 7th #1 debut of the year, but Maleficent: Mistress of Evil didn't really light the box office on fire. The fantasy sequel pulled in $36 million in its debut (solid $9,499 per-venue average), close to where I saw it but behind Disney and analysts' $45-50 million projections. While Mistress was able to outdo another recent Disney fantasy sequel, Alice through the Looking Glass ($27 million opening), that's not exactly praise. On a budget that was projected to be as high as $185 million, you don't want a debut below $40 million. You want to get to $60 million. And even more disturbingly, Mistress of Evil ended up at around half of its predecessors' $69 million launch from 2014 (with attendance being even less with ticket sales more expensive than 5 years ago). The good news is Halloween is coming up, and there's no major PG-rated competition (though I'm not sure I would have rated it PG, more info in the review later...) until Disney's own Frozen 2 next month, so it could hold well. Reviews were mixed-to-negative, while audiences gave it an encouraging "A" CinemaScore.Thankfully, overseas numbers were a lot stronger, with $117 million picked up from most territories. The worldwide launch is projected at $153 million. This does include China and Japan, which means it doesn't have much room to grow. However, most markets opened ahead of the first Maleficent, which ended up at over $500 million overseas (and $750 million worldwide). This is a movie we will have to watch over the coming weeks to see if international grosses saves it.
Sliding a spot to second (but pretty close behind) was Joker, which continued to do surprising gangbusters business. The R-rated comic book thriller was down 48% to $29.2 million, for a very strong $247.2 million pick-up in 17 days. However, even more impressive is that it continues to play like a superhero epic overseas. International numbers will pass $500 million this week, with the worldwide gross at nearly $750 million and counting. It will pass Deadpool's $783 million by Halloween to become the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all-time. And it could be the first R-rated movie to pass $1 billion worldwide.
In third place, Zombieland: Double Tap took advantage of its' cult fanbase to strong results. The R-rated sequel pulled in a very good $26.7 million (solid $7,706 per-venue average), ahead of the $24.7 million launch of the 2009 original. Of course, ticket prices have changed which means overall attendance is down. But, its' still very rare for a sequel to tick higher than its' predecessor. It helps that the main four actors (Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, and Abigail Breslin) have become even more popular over the years. With solid reviews and a decent "B+" CinemaScore, the $45 million-budgeted production will play well through Halloween and will benefit from a lack of R-rated adult comedies playing in the marketplace.
After a solid start last week, The Addams Family took a hit from Maleficent. The animated comedy was off 47% to $16.1 million, for a decent $56.8 million in 10 days. No further competition through Halloween should help it find some stronger holding power coming up. Distributor MGM is impressed enough with the performance that they've already set a sequel for release in October 2021.
Of course, the Addams are performing way better than Gemini Man. The Will Smith action thriller was off 59% in its second frame to $8.5 million, for a weak $36.5 million gross in 10 days. The expensive flick looks to finish around $50 million stateside, if not a little more. That's not good against a $138 million budget, and overseas numbers haven't picked up the slack (only $82 million so far, including China). Gemini Man has already been reported to ultimately lose $75 million for Paramount.
Another underwhelmer has been DreamWorks Animation's Abominable. The yeti tale just hasn't been able to stand out in a crowded Fall for family films. The animated flick was down 42% to $3.5 million, for a disappointing $53.9 million gross in 24 days (its' only earned $70 million overseas, again including China). Downton Abbey continued to play well, down 37% to $3.1 million, for a very good $88.6 million pick-up in one month of release.
Judy continued to play well, off 36% in its fourth frame to $2.1 million, for a $19 million gross in 24 days as it prepares for awards season rounds. Tying it was Hustlers, which was off 47% to $2.05 million. The Jennifer Lopez thriller has earned a strong $101.9 million in six weeks of release, as well as another $24 million overseas. Rounding out the list was It: Chapter 2, which fell 52% to $1.5 million. Pennywise's revenge has pulled in a successful $209.7 million in seven weeks of release, along with $450 million worldwide.
That's about it. Stay tuned in the next couple days for a review of Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, with a box office predictions post coming Thursday, in what will likely be a quiet end-of-October weekend (the only new wide releases are police drama Black and Blue and horror flick Countdown). Hope all has a great week! :)
