If they gave out awards for box office performance, then the top ten this weekend would barely qualify for the People’s Choice Awards. Only Fox’s Deadpool managed to breathe any life into the top ten, while Lionsgate’s Gods of Egypt, the Fox drama Eddie the Eagle and the cop drama Triple 9 all flopped in their debuts.
Dropping a mere 44% from last weekend, Deadpool bagged $31.5 million from 3,856 theaters in its third round. The domestic total for the merc with a mouth stands tall at $285 million. The foreign haul for the Ryan Reynolds blockbuster is currently at $324 million with plenty more to come. Deadpool should pass the $300 million mark by Friday while passing The Matrix: Reloaded by tomorrow night to become the third-highest grossing R-rated film of all time.
Last February, it was Jupiter Ascending. This February, the first big budget bomb of the year is Gods of Egypt. The $140 million Lionsgate production starring Gerard Butler opened on 3,117 screens, where it was eviscerated by critics and ignored by the public. Even with added benefit of higher-priced 3D and IMAX tickets, Gods was damned in second place with a meager $14 million debut gross. 68 Foreign markets helped matters little. The most they could contribute was $24 million.
Fox’s Kung Fu Panda 3 moved down one spot this weekend to third where it earned an estimated $9 million from 3,296 theaters. A decline of 28%, the animated hit has pulled in $128.4 million after five weeks of release and could finish near the $145 million mark. Foreign totals stand at $185 million.
In fourth place was the religious drama Risen with an estimated $7 million from 2,915 theaters. Off 41%, Risen has earned $22.7 million after ten days.
Despite extensive advance screenings and fairly solid notices from critics, Fox’s inspiration drama Eddie the Eagle failed to find its box office wings. The Hugh Jackman/Taron Egerton feature opened on 2,042 screens where it mustered a meek $6.3 million. Maybe they should have scaled back on the free screenings.
The third wide release of the weekend was Open Road Films’ Triple 9, which was 187’d in its sixth place debut of $6.1 million from 2,205 theaters. The latest from Australian director John Hillcoat (The Proposition, The Road) met with mixed-to-negative notices from the press.
The remainder of the top ten:
- How To Be Single (Warner) $5.1 million (-37%); $39.6 million
- The Witch (A24) $5 million (-43%); $16.6 million
- Race (Focus) $4.2 million (-42%); $13.9 million
- The Revenant (Fox) $3.8 million (-2%); $170.5 million
And for the first time since it opened in mid-December, Star Wars: The Force Awakens found itself outside the top ten. It landed in eleventh place where it earned an estimated $3 million in leftover sales. After eleven weeks, the Force has awakened $926 million domestically.
Next weekend sees the arrival of Zootopia, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot and London Has Fallen. Watch for Zootopia to take over the top spot, pushing Deadpool down to second place.