By Chris Kavan - 06/03/18 at 08:08 PM CT
Those hoping that Solo would find a second-week respite aren't going to be happy. Already facing a poor opening over Memorial Day Weekend, Solo took a huge second-week hit and hopes for recovery, or even a $200 million total, are pretty much out the window. Adrift had a decent opening as the romantic survival story topped all the new films while the low-budget Upgrade made a decent showing and Action Point had a disastrous opening. A few hold-overs did decent as well, leading to at least one record and approaching some major milestones.
1) SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY
After a Memorial Day Weekend that saw Solo only wind up with $103 million and mostly bad buzz, there was a sliver of hope that maybe Solo could hold steady for its second weekend. All hopes were dashed as Solo dropped over 65% and while it still topped the box office, its $29.3 million only gives the film a $148.9 million total - lagging far behind any of the other Star Wars films. Solo will have a tough time hitting $200 million at this point, and best case it reaches $220 million (or the equivalent of the opening weekend for The Last Jedi). Moreover, Solo isn't going to be helped overseas, where it took in just $30 million for a grand worldwide total of $264.2 million. It will hit $300 million eventually but there is not saving this one - it's officially the first Star Wars flop. We'll see if this is a one-time deal when Episode IX hits but I think Disney learned a lesson that even the most well-regarded franchises aren't immune to fatigue. Star Wars will recover, mark my words and Disney is only up, oh, $4 billion or so on the franchise, and they have Marvel, so I'm thinking everything's going to be A-OK.
2)
DEADPOOL 2
The Merc with a Mouth pulled in $23.32 million in its third weekend out, nabbing second place a tidy total of $254.65 million - crossing that $250 million mark in the process. It dipped a little of 46% and while it is still trailing the first film (which has $285 million by this point) it is still performing very well for a direct sequel. In fact once Deadpool 2 (eventually) hits $280 million, it will become the highest-grossing sequel of all time (topping the $279 million of Meet the Fockers). It is inevitable. Even better, Deadpool 2 rose back into the top international film with $41.5 million and raising its international total to $344 million (better than the original Deadpool) and a global total that is just shy of $600 million. It is looking like Deadpool 2 is going to top out at around the $300 million domestic mark with a global total approaching $700 million or so. And for those keeping track, Deadpool 2 officially passed Ready Player One ($580 million) worldwide, meaning the top three films of the year are all officially Marvel titles (for the time being).
3)
ADRIFT
Topping the new films for the weekend was the Shailene Woodley/Sam Clafin romance/survival film Adrift. With $11.5 million, the film came in just under most predictions. That puts it between the opening of The Mountain Between Us ($10.6 million) and just behind Everything, Everything ($11.7 million). Adrift earned a "B" Cinemascore, as apposed to the "A-" for those other two films. It means Adrift may struggle to reach $30 million in a rather crowded market. STX doesn't have too much on the line, though the marketing and $35 million budget means it will have to do something overseas to ultimately wind up profitable (it has just started with $350,000). Adrift may be facing competition but I have a feeling is will wind up alright, though the older audience (69% over 25) may be hard to hold onto in the coming weeks.
4)
AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR
The monster superhero hit keeps on plugging away with a $10.37 million weekend and a new $642.86 million total. Infinity War dipped 40% in its sixth week out and is fast approaching the $652 million total of Jurassic World, moving it up to fifth place on the all-time domestic list. It should also ultimately pass Titanic ($659 million) though will not be able to catch Black Panther ($699 million) with the Jurassic World sequel on the way. That's not a bad position to be in at all, however, and it continues to perform well overseas, adding another $24.3 million to come in just shy of $2 billion global with a $1.964 billion total - a mere $35 million shy of joining the exclusive $2 billion worldwide club. It is also sitting nicely in third place all time international. With those kind of numbers, it can help Disney absorb the failure of Solo just a bit.
5)
BOOK CLUB
The grand dames of the Book Club round out the top five with a $6.8 million weekend and a new total of $47.3 million, fast approaching that $50 million milestone. It is looking likely that Book Club will be able to top at least $60 million before it exits theaters and with a light budget, this will be a nice little money-maker for Paramount in the end. I think it has at least two more weeks to prove itself and we'll see where it winds up.
Outside the top five: Landing just outside was Upgrade in sixth place with $4.45 million. That is a fantastic result for a film in under 1500 theaters, with pretty much no marketing and a minimal budget. It was also the best-reviewed film out of all the new releases and has a real chance of hitting $10 million, which would be a success for the little sci-fi thriller comedy that could.
Not doing so hot, however, was Johnny Knoxville's Action Point. The Jackass-lite film about a deadly theme park opened barely in the top 10 in 9th place with a mere $2.3 million, ranking 23rd amongst worst opening for films opening on over 2000 screens. The $19 million production is going to be lucky to hit $7 million.
In milestone news, Overboard become the biggest film ever for Pantelion, adding $1.975 million (10th place) and hitting $45.5 million, topping the $44 million of Instructions Not Included.
Speaking of studio records, RBG became the highest-grossing film for Magnolia with $1.1 million and a new total of $7.87 million, topping the $7.1 million of I Am Not Your Negro.
In limited release, American Animals opened with $140,629 in just four theaters for a very decent $35,157 per-theater average with plans for expansion in the coming weeks.
Next week will bring us Oceans 8 with an all-female crew this time around, one of my most anticipated films of the year, the horror film Hereditary (I really hope it plays near me this time) and the film that really reminds me of John Wick, Hotel Artemis.
Comments
