Universal’s family flick The House With A Clock in Its Walls had no trouble taking over the number one spot from The Predator this weekend at a ho-hum North America box office. Michael Moore’s latest doc Fahrenheit 11/9 was rather cold in its eighth place start while Amazon Studio’s critically slammed weepie Life Itself croaked outside the top ten.
Without a blockbuster along the lines of IT to boost attendance, the top ten continued to underperform, down 18% from one week ago and a steep 27% from last year at this time. Next weekend will most likely be a repeat, unless Night School and/or Smallfoot over-perform in their debuts.
Produced for a modest $42 million, the Universal/Amblin The House With a Clock In Its Walls rang up a decent $26.8 million from 3,592 venues in its debut. Starring Cate Blanchett and Jack Black, House opened slightly higher than Black’s 2015 family flick Goosebumps, which went on earn a solid $80 million.
Based on a children’s book of the same name from 1973, the latest film from Eli Roth –director of such family fare as Hostel, Cabin Fever and the recent Death Wish remake- scored mostly decent notices. House earned a 68% on Rotten Tomatoes, a 59/100 on Metacritic and a “B+” from filmgoers on CinemaScore.
Word-of-mouth kept Lionsgate’s A Simple Favor afloat in its second weekend. The acclaimed female thriller from Paul Feig slid a modest 35% on 3,102 screens, earning an estimated $10.4 million. After ten days, A Simple Favor has grossed $32.5 million and should finish between $55-60 million.
Right behind Favor in third place was Warner/New Line’s The Nun with an estimated $10.25 million from 3,707 theaters. Down 44%, the latest offering from the Conjuring franchise has bagged $101 million so far and should finish between $115-120 million. Internationally, The Nun has scared up $192 million.
Running out of box office ammo fast was Fox’s The Predator, which dropped 65% in its second weekend on 4,070 screens to earn an estimated $8.7 million. With $40.4 million brought in after ten days, The Predator is looking to wind down its North America run with a weak $55 million. Overseas, The Predator has hunted down a muted $54.5 million after two weeks.
Rounding out the top five was Warner’s Crazy Rich Asians with an estimated $6.5 million from 2,802 screens. Off only 25%, the popular comedy has earned $160 million after six weeks. Overseas, Asians has scored $47 million to date.
- White Boy Rick (Sony) $5 million (-44%); $17.4 million
- Peppermint (STX) $3.7 million (-38%); $30 million
- Fahrenheit 11/9 (Briarcliff) $3.1 million
The latest cinematic op-ed piece from Michael Moore scored favorable notices from critics – 79% Rotten Tomatoes and a 70/100 on Metacritic- and the public, who gave it an “A” on CinemaScore. Others, however, simply weren’t in the mood to pay to watch stuff they could be depressed by for free at home on television.
- The Meg (Warner) $2.35 million (-39%); $140.5 million
- Searching (Sony) $2.1 million (-31%); $23 million
Next weekend sees the arrival of Hell Fest, the Kevin Hart/Tiffany Haddish comedy Night School and the animated comedy Smallfoot. Night School and Smallfoot will duke it out for the number one spot.
