The Equalizer 2 and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, two highly anticipated sequels, duked it out at the North America box office this weekend, with Sony’s R-rated action flick pulling off a surprise upset.
The first sequel that Denzel Washington has made in his nearly four-decade career, Equalizer 2 silenced the critics to collect an estimated $35.8 million from 3,388 theaters in its first three days. The opening topped the $34.4 million scored by the first Equalizer in its debut back in September 2014.
Critics dismissed the Boston-based sequel, but ticket buyers didn’t care. Equalizer 2 scored a 50% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 49/100 on Metacritic. Ticket buyers were far more supportive of the return of Robert McCall, giving the sequel an “A” on CinemaScore.
Singing up a storm in second place was Universal’s Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, which scored a melodic $34.3 million in its first round on 3,317 screens. The belated follow up to the 2008 sleeper hit, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again scored solid reviews and satisfied a demographic that has once again been underserved this summer at the box office: female moviegoers. The all-star musical scored a 79% approval on Rotten Tomatoes, a 60/100 from Metacritic and an “A-“ from ticket buyers on CinemaScore. The opening for Here We Go Again was roughly 25% higher than the $27.7 million scored by the original ten years ago this month.
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again began its international campaign this weekend with an estimated $42.4 million.
Last week’s box office champ Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation dropped 48% in its second trip on 4,267 screens. The Adam Sandler animated comedy scored $23.1 million this weekend, bringing its overall domestic total to $91 million. Internationally, Drac and his pals have banked $115 million.
Summer Vacation should wind down near the $150 million mark, just above the second film’s $148 million final gross and not too far behind the first films’ $169 million tally.
After freefalling last weekend, Disney/Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp leveled off a bit in its third round on 3,778 screens, earning an estimated $16 million. Down 45%, the second-tier superhero sequel has scored $165 million so far and could wind down just north of the $200 million mark Internationally, Ant-Man and the Wasp has cleared $189 million.
Rounding out the top five was another Mouse House superhero retread, Incredibles 2, with an estimated $11.5 million from 3,164 theaters. Down only 29% -the smallest drop of any film in the top ten-, Incredibles 2 has earned $557 million so far. The Brad Bird feature has bagged an additional $383 million from overseas. Globally, the film should clear the billion-dollar mark within the next two weeks. Domestically, Incredibles 2 could finish close to $590 million.
- Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (Universal) $11 million (-32%); $384 million
- Skyscraper (Universal) $11 million (-56%); $47 million
- The First Purge (Universal) $5 million (-46%); $60.1 million
- Unfriended: The Dark Web (BH Tilt) $3.5 million
- Sorry to Bother You (Annapurna) $2.8 million (-33%); $10.2 million
Next weekend sees the arrival of Paramount’s Mission: Impossible – Fallout and Warner’s Teen Titans Go! To the Movies. Fallout will easily take over the number one spot.
