By Chris Kavan - 09/01/19 at 08:51 PM CT
Labor Day Weekend tends to be one of the more uninspired movie weekends of the year, and 2019 is no different. The top 12 brought in just $69.5 million - the second slowest weekend of the year thus far and ends summer 2019 as the 8th largest on record and about 4% behind the 2018 box office through the same time period. It remains to be seen if the fall/winter season will have enough heavy hitters - It: Chapter 2, Frozen 2 and Star Wars look to lead the charge - to ultimately put 2019 ahead of last year in total grosses.
1) ANGEL HAS FALLEN
Staying in the top spot for the second straight weekend, Angel Has Fallen suffered a 46% drop for the weekend, bringing in an estimated $11.5 million - with $14.5 million expected including Labor Day, which would give the film a new total of $43.6 million. That would put it just above its $40 million budget. That total also puts it ahead of London Has Fallen ($40 million) and behind Olympus Has Fallen ($56 million) after 11 days in theaters. Still, for a third entry in an action franchise (that isn't John Wick, anyway), that is a solid result and I think there is a very good chance that Gerard Butler will return as Mike Banning in yet another entry - maybe this time he can save the president... in SPAAAAACE! Just an idea.
2)
GOOD BOYS
The raunchy, R-rated tween comedy had a terrific hold, dipping just 21% over the weekend, adding $9.2 million, which should rise to about $11.5 million on Monday. That would give the well-received film a total of $58.6 million. It didn't take much for the trio of Jacob Tremblay, Keith L. Williams and Brady Noon to cross that $50 million mark. It will soon pass Blockers ($60 million) on its way to a potential $80 million haul. Its global total has already hit $70 million, so the $20 million production is going to make plenty of bank and probably helps Lionsgate take the sting out of the indifferent reaction to Long Shot (which wasn't such a bad comedy).
3)
THE LION KING
Actually rising a spot over last weekend, Disney's live action (or CGI - whatever) remake of The Lion King dipped just under 17% for another spectacular hold - after 7 weeks none-the-less - gaining another $6.7 million (with $9.2 million expected by Monday) - for a grand total of $523.4 million - which would double its $260 million budget on the domestic front alone. With another $1.041 billion overseas, its global total hit $1.56 billion - enough to pass The Avengers as the seventh-highest grossing film of all time. Unless Disney has some tricks up their sleeves, it will likely fall short of Jurassic World ($1.67 billion) but at this point I don't think that's a big concern for the Mouse House.
4)
FAST & FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS & SHAW
Also rising a spot over last weekend, the Fast and Furious spinoff dipped a light 22% itself, adding $6.28 million for the weekend with $8 million expected for the holiday. That would give Hobbs & Shaw a $158.8 million total. Including its $525 million overseas total, the film hit $684 million worldwide - and it was the first film of the year to top the global box office for four straight weekends (with $45.4 million for those who like to keep track). The big question on the domestic front is whether it will be able to catch up to John Wick: Chapter 3 ($171 million) or fall just short. No doubt its global total is going to wind up over $750 million - and it should land somewhere in the neighbor hood of Fast and Furious 6 ($788 million) and Mission: Impossible - Fallout ($792 million) with an outside shot to hit $800 million in the end. Outside of Disney - it's the biggest film of the summer by far.
5)
OVERCOMER
Rounding out the top five, the faith-based drama Overcomer dipped 30% over its strong opening to bring in $5.7 million for the weekend, expected to rise to about $7.86 million by Monday. That would give the film a total of $19.4 million - nearly four times its $5 million budget. It is doing well in its genre and will soon pass the total of God's Not Dead 2 ($20.7 million) and should challenge many of the films in the $30-$40 million range (including the likes of Fireproof, Courageous, The Robe and Breakthrough). While it's not going reach the heights of War Room ($67.7 million), I would say reaching about half of what that film made is still going to be considered a win considering how often these type of films fall flat.
Outside the top five: New horror film Don't Let Go landed far outside the top 10, all the way in 14th place with just $2.44 million - likely earning just over $3 million by Monday. With almost no buzz surrounding it, the $5 million film is going to be happy enough to break even.
With even less buzz (remember, I had to add this to the database days before it was released) Bennett's War opened in 970, but probably shouldn't have even bothered. With $445,151, it had one of the worst per-theater-averages for a film debuting in 600 or more theaters (30th place to be exact) - with a terrible $459 per-theater-average. It will near $580,000 by Monday.
In terms of milestone news, Dora and the Lost City of Gold looks to cross the $50 million mark - but I'm sure the studio was hoping for more. Toy Story 4 hit $1.044 billion worldwide - enough to power it past Despicable Me 3 to become the fifth-highest grossing global animated film of all time.
Next week the only new wide release will be It: Chapter 2 - and we'll see if the sequel can match the first part to become another horror masterpiece. I, for one, am truly looking forward to it.
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