Moviefone Editorial

Tag: Asia

  • Box Office: ‘Black Panther’ Sets More Records With $108M Second Weekend

    LOS ANGELES, (Variety.com) – Disney-Marvel’s “Black Panther” is dominating the box office with an astounding $108 million at 4,020 North American locations — the second-highest second weekend ever behind “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”

    “Black Panther,” starring Chadwick Boseman, has now grossed $400 million domestically in its first 10 days. Only “The Force Awakens” has reached that milestone faster. It’s also grossed $304 million internationally.

    The superhero film, the 18th in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, declined only 46 percent from its opening Friday-Sunday — underlining the film’s massive appeal among moviegoers. “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” set the second weekend record with $149 million in 2015, and “Black Panther” topped the second weekends of 2015’s “Jurassic World” at $106.6 million, and 2012’s “The Avengers” with $103 million.

    “Black Panther,” directed by Ryan Coogler, has caught on with moviegoers this month in a way that few other titles have in Hollywood’s recent history — blowing past last month’s tracking that showed it would open in the $100 million to $120 million range. It’s notched an A+ Cinemascore — becoming only the second Marvel film to do so — and has dazzled critics with a 97 percent “fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes. The film also stars Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya and Letitia Wright.

    ComScore’s PostTrack scores of the audience for the second weekend show support among moviegoers far above average with 69 percent rating the film as “excellent” and another 23 percent as “very good.” And it’s done so outside the traditional summer and holiday season corridors for blockbusters, noted Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with comScore.

    “‘Black Panther’ continues to elevate the month of February to summer-style blockbuster status with a second weekend that represents only the third time that a film has posted a $100 million plus weekend performance during the month (behind only its $202 million debut and ‘Deadpool’s‘ $132 million opening in 2016),” he said. “And with a North American cume through Sunday of $400 million, it is the highest grossing film ever released in the month after just 10 days in theaters beating the long-standing $370.3 million record held by 2004’s ‘The Passion of The Christ.’”

    Demographics of the second-weekend audience were 33 percent African-American, 37 percent Caucasian, 18 percent Hispanic, 7 percent Asian and 5 percent others. The opening weekend was 37 percent African-American, 35 percent Caucasian, 18 percent Hispanic, 5 percent Asian and 5 percent other.

    Thanks to “Black Panther” and Sony’s “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” 2018 domestic box office has increased by an eye-popping 12.5 percent to $1.91 billion as of Sunday, according to comScore.

    Warner Bros.-New Line’s opening of R-rated “Game Night,” starring Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams, finished a distant second with $16.6 million from 3,488 locations. The film is directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, and follows Bateman and McAdams as couple whose regular game night suddenly turns into a murder mystery. Critics have given “Game Night” strong support, helping draw an 82 percent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

    Sony’s third weekend of “Peter Rabbit” hopped into third place with $12.5 million at 3,707 sites, giving the family comedy $71.3 million after 17 days. That was enough to edge Paramount’s sci-fi thriller “Annihilation” with a respectable $11 million at 2,102 venues, in line with forecasts.

    Universal’s third weekend of “Fifty Shades Freed” followed in fifth with $6.9 million at 3,265 locations as the erotic romancer slid 60 percent. The finale of the trilogy has topped $89 million in 17 days.

    Sony’s 10th weekend of its comedy hit “Jumanji” took sixth place with $5.7 million at 2,519 venues, declining only 29 percent and lifting the 68-day total to $387.3 million.

  • ‘Black Panther’ Smashes Records With $218 Million at Holiday Weekend Box Office

    LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Disney-Marvel’s “Black Panther” is heading for a super-heroic $218 million debut over the four-day President’s Day weekend at 4,020 North American locations, estimates showed Sunday.

    That number means that “Black Panther,” starring Chadwick Boseman and directed by Ryan Coogler, has doubled its original tracking in less than a month. The film, which carries an estimated $200 million production cost, had been tracking to bring in between an impressive $100 and $120 million when first estimates emerged on Jan. 25. Since then, “Black Panther” has become a must-see movie for many moviegoers, underlined when Thursday previews brought in $25.2 million, the largest Thursday night preview gross for a February opener and the second-largest preview gross for a Marvel film.

    The film’s estimated three-day gross of $192 million is the highest debut ever for a February film and the fifth highest of all time. Combined with an estimated international debut of $169 million from 69 percent of the international market, the estimated global debut stands at $361 million through Sunday.

    “Black Panther” has demolished the record for the largest Presidents Day weekend, blowing past “Deadpool’s” 2016 mark of $152 million. Overall North American moviegoing for the four-day period should hit $300 million — far above the $278 million mark in 2016, according to comScore.

    “This is proof that the big screen experience may arguably be the most powerful platform of change in our society,” said Paul Dergarabedian,” senior media analyst with comScore. “The emotional, communal, immersive and bigger than life theatrical experience has an impact that virtually no other medium can match.”

    Comscore’s PostTrak survey of the audience showed outstanding numbers with 77 percent rating “Black Panther” as “excellent” and another 18 percent as “very good.”

    Boseman portrays King T’Challa, ruler of Wakanda, a technologically advanced society, who conflicts with Michael B. Jordan‘s Erik Killmonger, who intends to take over the throne. Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Angela Bassett, Danai Gurira, and Daniel Kaluuya also star. It’s received an A+ CinemaScore, the only Marvel film to have done so besides 2012’s “The Avengers.”

    Sony’s second weekend of “Peter Rabbit” should bring in $22.5 million from 3,275 domestic locations for the four-day weekend, yielding an 11-day domestic total of $53 million. The film stars the voice of James Corden as the titular rabbit, along with Margot Robbie, Elizabeth Debicki, and Daisy Ridley as Peter’s sisters. Domhnall Gleeson stars as the heir to Mr. McGregor’s property, with Rose Byrne as the kindly neighbor Bea.

    The second weekend of Universal’s “Fifty Shades Freed” follows in third with $18 million from 3,768 locations for the Friday through Monday period. The erotic romance stars Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson as Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele — now Mrs. Grey. Its Friday through Sunday total ($16 million) marks a 57 percent decline from its opening weekend. The film has earned $161 million worldwide in its first eight days.

    Sony’s ninth weekend of its durable action-comedy “Jumanji: Welcome to Jungle” finished fourth with $10 million at 2,800 venues. The 62-day domestic total will hit almost $380 million, just behind 2005’s “Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith” for 32nd spot on the all-time list.

    Clint Eastwood‘s second weekend of the thriller “The 15:17 to Paris” is set to take fifth, with $9.1 million from 3,042 locations for Warner Bros. The movie, starring the three men who stopped an attempted 2015 terrorist attack on a European train, is projected to have grossed nearly $27 million domestically in 11 days.

    Fox’s ninth weekend of “The Greatest Showman” continued to show remarkable traction in sixth with a projected $6.3 million at 1,936 locations, which will lift the 62-day total to $155 million for the Hugh Jackman musical.

    Nick Park‘s “Early Man” opened softly this weekend in the U.S. in the seventh slot with $4.2 million from 2,494 North American locations. The British film, which is being distributed in the United States via Lionsgate, utilizes the voice talents of Tom Hiddleston, Timothy Spall, Eddie Redmayne, and Maisie Williams.

  • Box Office: ‘Fifty Shades Freed’ Tops Box Office With $38.8 Million

    LOS ANGELES, Feb 11, (Variety.com) – Universal’s opening of “Fifty Shades Freed” is dominating North American moviegoing with a solid $38.8 million opening at 3,678 locations as the business awaits the arrival of “Black Panther.”

    Sony’s launch of family comedy “Peter Rabbit” wound up with a better-than-expected $25 million at 3,725 sites. Warner Bros.’ debut of Clint Eastwood‘s thriller “15:17 to Paris” arrived above forecasts at $12.6 million, from 3,042 venues.

    A pair of holiday season holdovers in their eighth weekends took fourth and fifth as Sony’s “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” finished with about $10 million at 3,126 sites and Fox’s “The Greatest Showman” grossed $6.4 million at 2,373 screens. “Jumanji” will finish the weekend with about $365 million in 38th place on the all-time domestic grosser list, $3 million behind “Despicable Me 2.”

    The finale of the “Fifty Shades” trilogy — referred to in marketing materials as “the climax” — is also launching in 57 international markets this weekend with about $100 million, which brings the franchise total to about $1.09 billion.

    The weekend saw a significant increase in moviegoing in the wake of a slow Super Bowl session with $138 million, up 46%, according to comScore. Overall business was off 27 percent from the same weekend a year ago, when “The Lego Batman Movie” led with $53 million.

    Moviegoing will receive another major boost over the Presidents Day weekend with Disney-Marvel’s “Black Panther” opening Feb. 16 and forecasted to take in as much as $150 million during the Friday-Monday period.

    “This weekend is merely the calm before the proverbial Marvel-powered storm as ‘Black Panther’ is poised to leap into theaters with potentially record-breaking results,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with comScore.

    “Fifty Shades Freed” sees Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson return as Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele in the conclusion of the events set in motion in 2015’s “Fifty Shades of Grey” and 2017’s “Fifty Shades Darker.” The “Fifty Shades Freed” launch wound up above forecasts — but was not as strong as its predecessors, “Fifty Shades of Grey,” which opened with a sensational $85.2 million in 2015, and “Fifty Shades Darker,” which opened with $46.6 million on the same weekend last year.

    “Peter Rabbit,” a live-action/CGI animated film from Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation, saw an uptick in Saturday business to finish well above recent projections. James Corden is voicing Peter Rabbit in a contemporary comedy highlighted by his feud with Mr. Thomas McGregor (Domhnall Gleeson) as they rival for the affections of the warm-hearted animal lover who lives next door, played by Rose Byrne.

    Eastwood’s “15:17 to Paris” is based on the book “The 15:17 to Paris: The True Story of a Terrorist, a Train, and Three American Heroes” by Jeffrey E. Stern, Spencer Stone, Anthony Sadler, and Alek Skarlatos, about the 2015 Thalys train attack. The film stars Stone, Sadler, and Skarlatos as themselves. Judy Greer and Jenna Fischer also star.

  • Box Office: ‘Jumanji’ Dominates MLK Weekend, ‘The Post’ Leads Newcomers

    LOS ANGELES, Jan 14 (Variety.com) – Sony’s “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” is dominating the North American box office to easily win the four-day Martin Luther King Jr. weekend with about $33.4 million at 3,849 sites, estimates showed Sunday.

    Fox’s “The Post” is leading the rest of the pack handily and topped forecasts with $22.2 million at 2,819 locations for Friday-Monday after expanding from 36 sites. The opening of Lionsgate’s Liam Neeson‘s thriller “The Commuter” also topped expectations in third place with $16 million at 2,892 venues.

    The fifth weekend of Disney-Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” with $14.7 million at 3,090 sites is fourth and Fox’s fourth weekend of “The Greatest Showman” with $14.5 million at 2,938 screens takes fifth place at the holiday box office.

    Warner. Bros.’ launch of family comedy “Paddington 2” was battling for sixth place with Universal’s second weekend of “Insidious: The Last Chapter” with about $14.1 million each. Sony’s launch of action-thriller “Proud Mary” came in eighth with $12 million at 2,125 sites followed by Universal’s fourth weekend of “Pitch Perfect 3” with $6.7 million at 2,505 sites and Focus Features’ eighth weekend of “Darkest Hour” with $5.7 million at 1,693 venues.

    Overall business was solid rather than spectacular with a four-day total in the $190 million range, according to comScore. “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” which will finish the holiday with nearly $290 million in 29 days, now ranks as the eighth highest grosser released in 2017.

    “‘Jumanji’ has in essence hit the reset button and is now behaving more like a film in its second weekend rather than its fourth,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with comScore. “In the wake of a startling late run ascension to the number one spot, ‘Jumanji’ continues to energize the early 2018 box office marketplace while this weekend taking on a host of wide release newcomers.”

    Disney noted Sunday that “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” had reached a worldwide total of $1.264 billion, topping Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” ($1.263 billion) and Universal’s “The Fate of the Furious” ($1.236 billion) to become the top global release of 2017 and the tenth-highest global release of all time.

    “Jumanji,” starring Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart, provided the most substantive challenge to “The Last Jedi” after opening Dec. 20. It’s the most successful title for Sony since “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” which pulled in $337 million domestically during the summer.

    “The Post,” starring Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep in a story about the 1971 publication of the Pentagon Papers, attracted an older audience with 66 percent over 35. It received an A Cinemascore with ComScore’s PostTrak audience survey showing solid response with 63 percent rating the drama a “definite recommend” — indicating strong playability in coming weeks, according to Chris Aronson, president of domestic distribution.

    “We see a real opportunity for attracting young people who are politically aware due to the timeliness of the subject matter,” he added.

    “The Post” took in $4.3 million in two weeks of limited release, so its domestic total has hit $26.7 million. The National Board of Review named “The Post” the best film of 2017 with Hanks and Streep winning the acting awards and the Producers Guild nominated it as one of its top 11 films but it was denied nominations last week from the Directors Guild and Writers Guild. “The Post” has an 88 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes.

    “The Commuter,” starring Neeson as a businessman drawn into a criminal conspiracy on his train ride home. The film finished Friday with around $4.6 million, and has received a B CinemaScore and a 55 percent Rotten Tomatoes rating. The film kicks off a long-term partnership between Lionsgate and StudioCanal that will continue with “Early Man” and “Shaun the Sheep Movie 2.”

    “Paddington 2” was coming in slightly under expectations. Warner Bros. acquired the North American rights for the sequel film, starring the popular British children’s literary character, from the Weinstein Company in November after the sexual harassment allegations against former head Harvey Weinstein left the production company and distributor a toxic name.

    “Paddington 2,” in which Ben Whishaw voices the accident-prone bear, has already earned $125 million internationally and has garnered a 100 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

    “Proud Mary,” starring Taraji P. Henson, opened at the lower end of expectations for Sony’s Screen Gems. The film, which carries a modest $14 million budget, was marketed toward Henson’s fan base. She portrays a hit woman working for an organized crime family in Boston, whose life is completely turned around when she meets a young boy whose path she crosses when a professional hit goes bad. Critics were unimpressed and gave “Proud Mary” a 23 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

  • Box Office: ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Tops $1 Billion Worldwide

    LOS ANGELES, Dec 31 (Variety.com) – Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” has cleared the $1 billion milestone in worldwide grosses in less than three weeks.

    “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” pulled in $120.4 million globally on the New Year’s Eve weekend with $52.4 million at 4,232 domestic venues and $68 million internationally during the Friday-Sunday period.

    “The Last Jedi” is now the eighth highest-grossing domestic movie of all time with $517.1 million — only $15 million behind last year’s “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” in the seventh spot. On the worldwide chart, it’s now 24th with $1.04 billion, edging Universal-Illumination’s “Despicable Me 3.” The tentpole’s international total, currently at $523.2 million, will see a significant jolt when it opens on Jan. 5 in China, its final market.

    “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” has also topped Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” which grossed $504 million in North America, for the top spot among 2017 releases domestically. It’s the fourth 2017 title to go past $1 billion worldwide, along with “Beauty and the Beast” at $1.26 billion, “The Fate of the Furious” at $1.24 billion and “Despicable Me 3” at $1.03 billion.

    “The Last Jedi” is also winning the domestic weekend box office crown for the third time with $52.4 million, edging Sony’s “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” which took in $50.6 million at 3,765 locations for the Friday-Sunday.

    However, Sony’s projection showed the “Jumanji” sequel grossing $16.5 million on New Year’s Day on Monday — well above Disney’s forecast of $13.2 million for “The Last Jedi.” Should those numbers hold, “Jumanji” would edge “Jedi” over the four-day period with $67 million, winning by $1.4 million.

    “Jumanji” has been “The Last Jedi’s” biggest competitor by far since it opened on Dec. 20. The action-comedy should wind up with an 11-day domestic total of $186.3 million by the end of Monday. The action-comedy, starring Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart, has a $90 million budget. It’s also performed impressively in international markets with $107 million through Dec. 28.

    “Jedi” and “Jumanji” helped lift the entire domestic box office for 2017 to $11.12 billion, down 2.3% from last year’s $11.38 billion and off slightly from 2015’s $11.14 billion, according to comScore. The gap for 2017 had been more than 6% at the end of the worst summer in a decade but performances by “It,” “Thor: Ragnarok,” “Justice League,” “Jedi” and “Jumanji” closed most of that margin.

    “With another $11 billion plus year on the books, the industry looks ahead to awards season and a 2018 packed with blockbuster titles and a hope for a year slightly less volatile than 2017,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with comScore. Universal’s “Pitch Perfect 3” led the rest of weekend’s domestic pack with a projected $22.7 million at 3,468 locations for Friday-Monday, lifting its 11-day total to $69.2 million. The comedy threequel, starring Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson, took in $13.1 million this weekend from 34 international markets for a foreign total of $28.6 million.

    Hugh Jackman‘s musical drama “The Greatest Showman” is finishing a close fourth with $20.3 million at 3,316 theaters forecasted for the four days. The Fox-Chernin Entertainment title showed the biggest gain in the top 10 movies from the Christmas Eve weekend with an impressive 73% surge. The domestic total should hit $53.8 million through Monday.

    Fox’s second weekend of “Ferdinand” — the only film to open on the same weekend as “The Last Jedi” — followed in fifth with $15.1 million at 3,337 North American venues, giving the animated comedy $57.3 million in 18 days. Disney-Pixar’s seventh weekend of “Coco” finished sixth with a projected $8.8 million at 2,845 sites for a domestic total of $181.1 million and $539 million worldwide.

    Sony’s “All the Money in the World” and Focus Features’ “Darkest Hour” were in a battle for seventh place at about $7.2 million for the four days. “All the Money” opened on Christmas Day as the final wide release of the year at 2,074 locations after director Ridley Scott excised Kevin Spacey’s scenes and reshot them with Christopher Plummer as J. Paul Getty, following the early November sexual abuse allegations against Spacey. Its eight-day total will be around $14.4 million.

    Awards contender “Darkest Hour,” starring Gary Oldman as the 1940 version of Winston Churchill, expanded to 943 venues in its sixth weekend and will have taken in $19.8 million by the end of the weekend. Focus reported strong performance in Washington, D.C./Maryland, Phoenix, Boston, Salt Lake City, and Florida markets.

    “‘Darkest Hour’ is taking America by storm,” said distribution chief Lisa Bunnell. “We’re seeing audiences coming out in big numbers. It’s a movie they found inspiring over the holiday break and the word of mouth gives us a strong outlook for the upcoming weeks.”

    Matt Damon’s comedy-drama “Downsizing” finished ninth with a projected $6 million at 2,664 sites for the four days for Paramount. The 11-day total for “Downsizing,” which carries a $65 million budget and was directed by Alexander Payne, should come in around $18.5 million.

    Warner Bros.-Alcon Entertainment’s second weekend of R-rated comedy “Father Figures” rounded out the top 10 with a projected $5.5 million at 2,902 locations. The 11-day total for the Owen Wilson-Ed Helms vehicle, which has a $25 million price tag, should hit about $14 million.

  • Box Office: ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ soars to $745 million worldwide

    Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” is showing plenty of force at multiplexes worldwide with $745.4 million globally as of Sunday.

    The North American take has hit $365 million in its first 10 days as of Sunday with the studio projecting another $32 million on Christmas Day on Monday – making it the third highest domestic release in 2017 following “Beauty and the Beast” with $504 million and “Wonder Woman” at $412 million.

    “Stars Wars: The Last Jedi” has totaled $380.3 million in international box office. It is already the top grossing film of 2017 in both Denmark and Sweden and the fourth highest grosser in the overall European market. The U.K. is the top market with $67.4 million, followed by Germany with $40 million, France with $29.3 million and Australia with $26.9 million.

    “The Last Jedi,” which picks up following the events of 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” is so far the 87th highest worldwide grosser of all time, trailing 2016’s “Suicide Squad” by $1.4 million. Rian Johnson directed with Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong’o and Domhnall Gleeson reprising their roles. It’s the final screen role for Fisher, who died a year ago.

    Sony’s “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” and Universal’s “Pitch Perfect 3” have also opened solidly while Fox’s “The Greatest Showman” is drawing respectably at the domestic box office. But moviegoers are showing little interest in Paramount’s “Downsizing” and Warner Bros.-Alcon’s “Father Figures.”

    “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” opened with the second-largest North American launch ever in its first weekend with $220 million. It faced competition for the first time on Dec. 20, with Sony’s action comedy “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” which is leading the rest of the pack with $34 million at 3,765 sites for Friday-Sunday and a six-day total of around $64 million.

    Josh Greenstein, Sony’s president of worldwide marketing and distribution, pointed to the A- Cinemascore as an indication that “Jumanji” is attracting all demographics. “We have incredible momentum as we go into the biggest moviegoing week of the year,” he added.

  • Box Office: ‘Happy Death Day’ Crushes ‘Blade Runner 2049’ With $26.5 Million

    “Happy Death Day” has cause for celebration.

    The latest from Blumhouse and Universal is leading the box office this weekend with $26.5 million from 3,149 locations. That puts it far ahead of “Blade Runner 2049,” which is skidding to $15.1 million during its second weekend at 4,058 locations, down 54% from its disappointing opening weekend.

    A horror spin on “Groundhog Day,” “Happy Death Day” centers on Tree Gelbman (Jessica Rothe) as a woman who wakes up to the same day — her birthday — every day, and is murdered every time. Christopher B. Landon directed the film based on a script by Scott Lobdell.

    Earlier this year in January, Blumhouse’s “Split” opened to a monster $40 million in January, and went on to earn $278.3 million worldwide. Then, the next month, “Get Out” was a smash hit as well with a $33.4 million opening and $253.1 million in global grosses by the end of its run. The production house is also responsible for the hugely profitable “Purge” and “Paranormal Activity” franchises.

    Otherwise, “The Foreigner” — a U.S.-China co-production between STXfilms, Sparkle Roll Media, and Wanda — is opening to $12.8 million from 2,515 locations. The Jackie Chan-starrer started its international rollout on Sept. 30, and has tallied $88 million overseas so far. “Casino Royale” director Martin Campbell made the $35 million flick, which also stars Pierce Brosnan as a British government official.

    And two biopics are struggling to draw significant grosses. Open Road’s “Marshall” is opening to $3 million from 821 locations, and Annapurna’s “Professor Marston & The Wonder Women” is barely making a dent with $737,000 from 1,229 locations.

    “It” remains in the top five this weekend, as horror continues to dominate the box office. In its sixth weekend, the Warner Bros. and New Line release is grossing $6 million from 3,176 spots. Rounding out the top five is Fox’s “The Mountain Between Us,” which is taking in $5.7 million from 3,259 locations.

  • Box Office: ‘Wonder Woman’ Repeats Box Office Victory, Tom Cruise’s ‘The Mummy’ Misfires

    Different weekend, similar story: “Wonder Woman” is box office royalty.

    The Warner Bros. and DC Comics standalone will have earned $57.2 million from 4,165 theaters by the end of its second weekend, putting it solidly in first place. That’s only a 45% drop from its opening weekend, giving the film an estimated $205 million domestically in two weekends.

    The Gal Gadot-starrer will also make more during its second frame than did both “Suicide Squad” and “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” despite those films having larger opening weekends than “Wonder Woman” ($133.7 million for “Suicide Squad” and $166 million for “Batman v Superman”). Unlike those two films, Patty Jenkins’ has critical support — a current 93% on Rotten Tomatoes.

    Universal’s “The Mummy,” meanwhile is counting on a strong overseas total to make up for less impressive domestic earnings. As of Sunday morning, the film is eyeing $32.2 million from 4,035 locations. That’s a slow start for the film intended to launch an extended universe of monster-related titles. Overseas it looks to fare better with $141.8 million, lifting its anticipated global take to $174 million.

    “We would love to see more gross domestically,” said Nick Carpou, Universal’s president of domestic distribution, who asserted that “a lot of the attention that ‘The Mummy’ garnered here, aggregated to the international total.” Carpou cited the 75-foot-tall sarcophagus unveiled at the intersection of Hollywood and Highland, and the movie’s VR experience as potential buzz generators.

    Alex Kurtzman directed “The Mummy,” a revival of the franchise spawned by Universal’s 1932 original and re-popularized by Stephen Sommers’ 1999 fright-fest starring Brendan Fraser, and the three other Mummy films that followed. In the 2017 update, Cruise plays a freelance treasure hunter who resurrects a princess (Sofia Boutella). Annabelle Wallis, Jake Johnson, Courtney B. Vance, and Russell Crowe are also in the mix.

    “The Mummy” was announced as the kick-off to a “Dark Universe” of monster movies. 2014’s “Dracula Untold,” it turns out, is not canon. The studio that was built on classics including “Dracula,” “The Wolf Man,” and “Frankenstein” has already slated a “Bride of Frankenstein” movie for 2019 with half a dozen or so others in the works.

    “Every movie is it’s own DNA,” Duncan Clark, Universal’s president of international distribution commented about the “Dark Universe.” “It’s not about which one went first.” Clark said “Bride of Frankenstein” is on deck, and there are “others in place.”

    Cruise mostly recently opened “Jack Reacher: Never Go Back” to a $22.9 million domestic opening, “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” to $55.5 million, and “Edge of Tomorrow” to $28.9 million. Cruise with reunite with “Edge” director Doug Liman for Universal’s “American Made.” The studio dropped the trailer for the crime-centric action biopic on Monday, presumably a strategic move to get audiences excited about its star.

    But that couldn’t save “The Mummy” from having the lowest domestic opening of any in the recent iteration of the franchise — 1999’s “The Mummy,” ($43.3 million); 2001’s “The Mummy Returns,” ($68.1 million); 2002’s “The Scorpion King,” ($36.1 million); 2008’s “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor,” ($40.5 million).

    Rotten Tomatoes was blamed for “Baywatch’s” Memorial Day weekend flop, but it wasn’t enough to save two new wide releases this weekend in A24’s “It Comes At Night” and Bleecker Street’s “Megan Leavey.” Both films won over the critical consensus — “It Comes At Night” at 86% fresh, and “Megan Leavey” at 80% — but are lacking so far in box office receipts. A24’s horror release will scare up $6 million from 2,533, which is fine for the low price tag, but below expectations. “Leavey,” meanwhile, is earning a mere $1.9 million from 1,956, making it a complete dud.

    In limited release, “My Cousin Rachel” is tracking to break $1 million from 523 locations. And “Beatriz at Dinner” from Roadside Attractions is gobbling up $139,000 from only five spots.

    Landing in third overall, “Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie” from Fox should take in an additional $12.3 million from 3,529 locations — that’s only a 48% drop from last weekend. Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” will sail to fourth with an additional $10.7 million from 3,679 theaters. The franchise’s fifth starring Johnny Depp now has over $600 million worldwide. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” will round out the top five for the weekend with $6.2 million from 2,911 locations. The studio is scaling back on domestic locations for both “Pirates” and “Guardians” by about 500 apiece.

  • Box Office: ‘Alien: Covenant’ Slides Past ‘Guardians 2’ to Win Weekend With $36 Million

    LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – As this weekend approached, the question lingered if “Alien: Covenant” would be able to unseat “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” from the top spot at the domestic box office.

    Now, we have an answer. As of Sunday morning, “Covenant,” from 20th Century Fox and Scott Free Productions, looks to be the winner with a three-day estimate of $36 million (27.6 million pounds) from 3,761 locations. That’s just above Disney’s “Guardians” sequel which is raking in an additional $35.3 million from 4,347 spots. The super sequel is seeing only a 46% drop from last weekend, and its total domestic earnings now exceed $300 million.

    While “Alien” may have won, the film’s price tag in the $100 million range and marketing costs detract from the victory. The sixth installment in the Alien franchise (not counting the two Alien vs. Predator films) was directed by Ridley Scott and stars Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, and Danny McBride. It holds a 73% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is in line with 2012’s “Prometheus.” Although it came in already having made $42 million overseas and $36 million was enough to land in the top slot, “Alien” grossed less during its first weekend in the U.S. than “Prometheus” did in 2012 ($51 million). Its final domestic earnings also came in below earlier projections, which pegged the horror flick at least $40 million.

    Fox’s president of domestic distribution Chris Aronson chalked the lower totals compared with “Prometheus” to the “normal course of business.” He added that “Alien: Covenant” gives fans of the franchise since the 1979 original the chance to share with the younger generation (60% of the opening weekend audience was in the 18-34 demo). “Teenagers likely haven’t seen ‘Alien,’” he said, “This movie creates a generational bond.”

    While the “Alien” franchise is still able to generate decent interest, the same cannot be said for Fox’s other release this weekend, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul.” The fourth live-action movie based on Jeff Kinney’s middle school-centric book series opened to $7.2 million from 3,157 locations. David Bowers, who directed movies two and three, returned to the helm nearly five years after the last iteration, and anointed a new titular wimp in Jason Drucker.

    The only other major release of the weekend was “Everything, Everything,” from Warner Bros. and MGM. The sick-lit adaptation will earn $12 million by the end of the weekend from 2,801 locations. That’s enough to land in the top three. “Hunger Games” standout Amandla Stenberg stars as a girl with an autoimmune disease that keeps her locked up indoors. Nick Robinson plays her love interest named Olly. “Everything, Everything” earned the highest CinemaScore of the new released (an A- overall). 82% of its audience was female, and 74% were under 25 years old.

    “Along with our partners, MGM, we’re thrilled that we hit our key demo,” commented Jeff Goldstein, domestic distribution chief at Warner Bros.

    Amy Schumer’s “Snatched,” also from Fox, will see an additional $7.6 million in earnings from 3,511 theaters, putting it in the fourth slot, ahead of “Wimpy Kid.” Also in its second weekend, “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” continues to flop miserably with a weekend total of less than $7 million.

    With Memorial Day weekend on the horizon, the overall domestic summer box office is ten percentage points lower than it was at this time last year. That means all eyes are fixed on a duo of splashy summer releases — Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” and Paramount’s “Baywatch” — to hopefully make up some ground.

    “The dominance at this point by Disney and Marvel’s early summer entry “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2″ is impressive having earned more than all the other films combined,” said Paul Degarabedian, senior media analyst at ComScore, who noted that “Captain America: Civil War” accounted for more than half of the summer take at this point last year. “However, a slow start does not portend a slow overall summer as many have predicted,” he added, “though if the ebb and flow of this season’s fortunes thus far is any indication we may have to buckle up for a pretty bumpy ride.”

  • ‘Fate of the Furious’ Stays on Top; ‘Unforgettable,’ ‘The Promise’ Bomb

    LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – “The Fate of the Furious” is racing to defend its title at the top of the box office, while a number of new releases including “The Promise” and “Unforgettable” are being left in the dust.

    Universal’s eighth installment in the Fast and Furious franchise proved to be a global box office titan when it opened last weekend to a record-shattering $532.5 million. This time around looks to tell mostly the same story — while domestic grosses slipped 61% from its first to second weekend, the movie is still easily topping the box office with $38.7 million from 4,329 locations.

    But slipping domestic earnings (and lower U.S. grosses than “Furious 7,” which pulled over $250 million in its first two weekends versus “Fate’s” current sum of $163.6 million) are majorly overshadowed by the movie’s international appeal. A bankable, diverse cast including Dwayne Johnson, Vin Diesel and Charlize Theron is leading the film, directed by F. Gary Gray, to a two-frame global total of $744.8 million and worldwide sum of $908.4 million.

    While studios wait for summer season to commence, there are no surprise hits to come of this weekend’s releases. Warner Bros.’ “Unforgettable” seems to have slipped audiences’ minds, earning $4.8 million in its first weekend from 2,417 theaters.

    “It just didn’t resonate with the intended audience,” said Jeff Goldstein, the president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros. Goldstein stressed that the movie was made for a moderate price, and the marketing was “targeted and appropriate” for the audience.

    The directorial debut of Denise Di Novi stars Katherine Heigl as a scorned ex-wife, and Rosario Dawson as a woman who is newly engaged to the same man. In his review for Variety, critic Peter Debruge lauded Heigl’s “terrific” performance, and wrote that her casting “savvily exploits the actress’s prickly reputation within the industry.”

    “Unforgettable” joins a string of so-so to disappointing releases from Warner Bros. so far this year, including “Chips” and “Fist Fight.” At least the Heigl movie had a low production budget ( about $12 million) to minimize losses.

    “The Promise,” too, couldn’t follow through, despite a social media push from stars including Leonardo DiCaprio, the Kardashian sisters and Cher. The movie, from Open Road Films on behalf of Survival Pictures, looks to round out the weekend with about $4.1 million from 2,251 locations — barely cracking the top ten for the weekend.

    While “The Promise” could be considered a massive disappointment for its $90 million price tag, the film’s backers hoped it would raise awareness more than earn money. Oscar Isaac, Charlotte Le Bon and Christian Bale make up the central love triangle in the movie directed by Terry George (“Hotel Rwanda”). The film is set during the Armenian Genocide, and bankrolled by the late businessman Kirk Kerkorian who wanted to bring visibility to the systematic extermination to 1.5 million Armenians at the order of the Ottoman empire in 1915 — a politically fraught subject that Turkey continues to deny happened. All proceeds made from the movie will be donated to charity.

    “We certainly hoped for a better box office result,” said Open Road’s president of marketing Jonathan Helfgot, adding that the film’s mission was not purely box office-related. “It was about bring the world’s attention to this issue,” he said. “And looking at the amount of conversation … it’s undeniable that there’s been more focus and attention in the past two weeks than the past hundred years since the atrocity took place.”

    Disney’s latest animal documentary “Born in China,” a co-production between Disneynature and Shanghai Media Group, is making $5.1 million from 1,508 theaters. Narrated by John Krasinski, the docu earned more than previous films “Monkey Kingdom” ($4.6 Million) and “Bears” ($4.8 Million), and is the highest grossing Disneynature opening since 2012’s Chimpanzee ($10.7 million).

    Cinelou’s “Phoenix Forgotten” opened at 1,592 theaters to an estimated $2 million this weekend. A24’s “Free Fire” raked in only $1 million from 1,070 spots in its first weekend.

    In its fourth frame, Fox’s “The Boss Baby” will bottle up $12.8 million from 3,697 locations, putting it in second place behind “Fate.” Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” should hold onto third with $10 million from 3,315 theaters.

    Warner Bros.’ “Going in Style” should slide into fourth with $5 million from 3,038 spots. The heist comedy starring Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Alan Arkin is targeting an older demo, and saw only a 20% decline in ticket sales from its second to third weekend. “Born in China” looks to round out the top five.