On a quiet January weekend, STX’s The Upside surprised everyone by pushing aside Warner’s Aquaman to claim the top spot at the box office. Sony’s A Dog’s Way Home fetched a so-so third place debut while Entertainment Studios’ Keanu Reeves flick Replicas outright bombed in twelfth place.
Overall, the box office was down nearly 30% from one year ago at this time when Jumanji: Welcome To the Jungle remained the number one film in the country. The Upside’s reign at the top of the box office will be a brief one as Universal’s highly anticipated Glass is set to dominate the multiplexes starting this upcoming Thursday night.
Independent studio STX claimed its first number one opening ever this weekend with the comedy/drama The Upside. A remake of the 2011 French sensation The Intouchables, The Upside bonded with audiences from 3,080 theaters to score an estimated $19.6 million.
Originally scheduled for release in late 2017 from the Weinstein Company, The Upside found itself sitting on the shelf for over a year thanks to the Harvey Weinstein scandal that brought an end to his company.
The Kevin Hart/Bryan Cranston dramedy was more of a hit with the public than it was with the critics, scoring a 40% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 44/100 on Metacritic. Ticket buyers polled by CinemaScore gave the film an “A,” which could help the film leg it out through the remainder of January.
Despite abdicating the throne to Hart and Cranston, Aquaman continued swimming towards the $300 million mark without much trouble. The superhero blockbuster earned an estimated $17.3 million from 3,863 lagoons –a 44% decrease from last week- to bring its one-month total up to $288 million. With $732 million collected from international markets, Aquaman became the latest member of the billion-dollar club this weekend.
Barking up a moderate $11.3 million open from 3,090 theaters in third place was Sony’s A Dog’s Way Home. As with The Upside, the $18 million Dog’s Way Home was met with critical indifference – 59% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 50/100 on Metacritic- but embraced by the public, who gave the film an “A-“ CinemaScore grade.
Still swinging in fourth place was Sony’s Golden Globe-winning Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse with an estimated $9 million from 3,029 venues. Down only 31% -the best hold of any film in the top ten this weekend-, Spider-Verse has spun a box office web worth $147.7 million so far. Overseas, the animated hit has earned $154 million.
Rounding out the top five was Sony’s Escape Room with an estimated $8.9 million from 2,717 theaters. Down 51% in its second weekend of release, the $9 million Escape Room has cleared $32.4 million after ten days and could finish with approximately $50 million.
- Mary Poppins Returns (Disney) $7.2 million (-55%); $150.6 million
- Bumblebee (Paramount) $6.7 million (-49%); $108 million
- On the Basis of Sex(Focus) $6.2 million; $10.5 million
Focus Features expanded their Ruth Bader Ginsburg drama to 1,923 theaters this weekend where it was met with mixed results.
- The Mule (Warner) $5.4 million (-39%); $90.5 million
- Vice (Annapurna) $3.28 million (-43%); $36 million
Next weekend, it ‘s all about Glass. The sequel to 2000’s Unbreakable and 2017’s Split is forecasted to open between $60-70 million.
