Weekend Box Office: Gerard Butler ‘Falls’ Into The Top Spot
Meanwhile, 'Ready Or Not,' had an OK debut, while 'Hobbs & Shaw' was fast and furious overseas.
Lionsgate
The bizarrely resilient Gerard Butler Fallen franchise managed to take the top spot this weekend, as Angel Has Fallen earned $21.25 million on a budget of around $40 million, proving that mid-budget films can still succeed in an era dominated by Disney blockbusters. Honestly, I find the success of these films weirdly hilarious: They’re not particularly well received by critics, and even fans of the franchise seem to love them ironically. But they do love them, as Angel earned an A- on Cinemascore, the same as the last two films, and a 94 percent on the Rotten Tomatoes audience score. Gerard Butler’s career is a very weird one: He makes movies for the Redbox-loving crowd, it’s just that occasionally, those very same movies cross over into the mainstream, as the Fallen movies have. Likewise, even when his movies fail in the United States, they still put up great numbers overseas, see e.g., Geostorm ($33 million domestic, $171 million worldwide). These Fallen films likewise put up big numbers overseas. London Has Fallen earned modest numbers stateside, for instance ($63 million), but added another $143 million overseas. Honestly, I find it all weirdly impressive how remarkably well the Fallen franchise fares.
The Seth Rogen/Jonah Goldberg comedy Good Boys, meanwhile, fell from the top spot last week to number two, earning about $11 million. After ten days, it’s earned $41.7 million, over double the budget of the film. Sony’s faith-based Overcomer took third place with an impressive $8.2 million. I never know which of these faith-based films will hit and which will barely make a blip, and reviews do not seem to play a factor in the least. Overcomer was beloved by audiences, which gave it an A+, and the film played best in the Bible belt.In its sixth week, meanwhile, Lion King continues to perform well, coming in fourth place with $8.1 million to bring its domestic total to $510 million, besting Beauty and the Beast ($504 million) for highest-grossing live-action remake.
In its fourth week, Hobbs and Shaw earned another $7.9 million to bring its total to $147 million. With a huge debut in China this weekend, the film will also not only cross the $500 million mark but should come in near $600 million once the weekend is over. It should eventually clear $7-$800 million worldwide, which is not as impressive as the Fast & Furious films, but it’s enough to earn a tidy profit for Universal.
Meanwhile, Ready or Not, starring, Adam Brody, Andie McDowell, and Henry Czerny, made a decent debut with $7.6 million over the three-day weekend and $10.6 million since its debut on Wednesday. Not huge numbers, but the film only cost $6.5 million and may have some decent legs over Labor Day, thanks to a 87 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes and a B+ Cinemascore, impressive for a horror film.
Holdovers took the rest of the spots in the top ten. With another $6.3 million, Angry Birds 2 has now earned an anemic $27 million after two weeks, compared to the $107 million the first one eventually earned. It’s doing marginally better overseas, but it has no hope of reaching the $350 million earned by the first one worldwide. Scary Stories To Tell In the Dark notched another $5.8 million to bring its total to $50 million, which is double its budget. Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood surpassed Inglourious Basterds as the director’s second highest grossing film, earning $5.1 million to bring its total to $123 million. Finally, Dora and the Lost City of Gold added another $5 million to come in at tenth place. It’s earned a respectable $42 million stateside.
Labor Day weekend next week is typically one of the slower weekends at the box office, and the studios are mostly staying clear. David Oyelowo’s horror film Don’t Let Go will try and scrape up a few dollars against the Indian-action film Saaho, which opens on Thursday. Expect a quiet box office until September 6th when It: Chapter 2 resurrects the box office in what is expected to be a very big way. In the meantime, now is a good time to catch up on movies you may have missed this August: I recommend Blinded by the Light.
Source: Deadline, Box Office Mojo