Monsters of the loud and quiet variety dominated the North America box office this weekend as Warner’s Rampage pushed aside Paramount’s A Quiet Place to become the nation’s number one film. Also off to a decent start was the latest low-budget horror offering from Universal and Blumhouse Productions,Truth or Dare.
The top ten was off a mild 8.8% from last week’s totals and roughly 18% from one year ago at this time.
Based on a popular arcade game from 32 years ago –I could have sworn someone said it was inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s Wild Strawberries-, the $120 million Rampage brushed off bad reviews to tear up an estimated $34.5 million from 4,101 theaters in its first three days.
The box office start for the latest pairing of star Dwayne Johnson and director Brad Peyton was considerably lower than the $54.5 million earned by their 2015 hit, San Andreas. However, it was higherthe $27.3 million cleared by the start for their first collaboration, 2012’s Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.
Critics didn’t care too much for Rampage, but audiences seemed to respond well to the new creature feature. Rampage scored a 50% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a 45/100 from Metacritic but an “A-“ from ticket buyers polled by CinemaScore.
Overseas, the monsters of Rampage tore up a massive $114.6 million, of which $55 million came from China.
Sustained by fantastic word-of-mouth –something one would never expect from a Platinum Dunes production- in second frame was Paramount’s A Quiet Place with a great $32.6 million from 3,589 theaters. The miniscule 35% drop in business pushed the ten-day total for Place up to a great $99.6 million. Should audiences continue to be drawn to the acclaimed John Krasinski flick, a final haul north of $160 million is a possibility. Internationally, A Quiet Place has scared up $51.7 million so far.
Arriving in third place with $19 million from 3,029 venues was Universal’s Truth or Dare. Produced for a mere $3.5 million, Truth or Dare became the latest Blumhouse production to quickly turn a profit. Unlike other offerings from the successful production company, however, Truth or Dare doesn’t seem to be very well liked. Critics gave the PG-13 frightfest a dire 15% approval on Rotten Tomatoes and a 36/100 on Metacritic.
As for the public, they gave the film a “B-“ on CinemaScore, a lukewarm score that is already affecting the box office. Saturday saw a decrease of 18% and Sunday is looking to be 42% lower. It looks like the real dare for the Universal release is to see if it’s still playing in theaters in two weeks’ time.
Slowing down considerably in its third weekend was Warner’s Ready Player One, as the expensive epic handed over its IMAX screens to Rampage. Now on 3,661 screens, the Steven Spielberg flick earned an estimated $11.2 million, a decrease of 54.5% from one week ago. The new domestic total for Ready Player One is $115 million with a finish around $145 million possible.
While the domestic box office for Ready Player One is a bit on the underwhelming side, its international performance is a different story altogether. Thanks to the $192 million brought in from China alone, Ready Player One has bagged a big $360 million so far. The global total for the film currently sits at $475 million.
Rounding out the top five was Universal’s Blockers with an estimated $10.3 million from 3,418 screens. Down 50% from its debut, the ten-day total for the John Cena comedy is $37 million. Internationally, Blockers has brought in $16 million.
- Black Panther (Disney) $5.3 million (-39%); $673.7 million
- Isle of Dogs (FoxSearchlight) $5 million (+10%); $18.4 million
- I Can Only Imagine (Roadside) $3.8 million (-51%); $75 million
- Tyler Perry’s Acrimony (Lionsgate) $3.7 million (-56%); $38 million
- Chappaquiddick (Ent.) $3 million (-48%); $11 million
Next weekend sees the arrival of I Feel Pretty, Super Troopers 2 and Traffik.
