If this weekend’s box office business were a Super Bowl halftime show, it would be an Up With People performance. Actually, it would be the equivalent of The Black Eyed Peas halftime “performance” from a few years ago.
Yes, business was really that bad.
With a few exceptions, Super Bowl weekend has never been a great one for the movie business. Product no one cares about anymore combined with festivities surrounding the big game on Sunday translates into plenty of empty auditoriums across the country. Such was the case this year as the top ten dipped to a dreary $65.7 million, making it one of the worst weekends for the movie business in recent memory. Things should begin to rebound next weekend when the Mommy Porn saga Fifty Shades Freed comes into theaters nationwide.
In the meantime, back to the leftovers. With zero competition to worry about, the nearly two-month old Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle climbed back up to the top spot with an estimated $11 million from 3,352 screens. The new domestic total for the fantasy flick is $352.6 million. Jumanji should pass Furious 7 tomorrow to become Dwayne Johnson’s highest-grossing film to date. Overseas, Welcome to the Jungle’s foreign total currently sits at $503 million.
Dropping down to second place was Fox’s The Maze Runner: The Death Cure with an estimated $10.2 million from 3,793 theaters. Down 58% from its opening, the ten-day domestic total for The Death Cure stands at a meek $40 million. A $60 million finale is possible for the threequel. Overseas, The Death Cure has bagged $97 million.
Landing in third place with a massive thud was CBS/Lionsgate’s supernatural thriller Winchester with an estimated $9.25 million from 2,480 theaters. Critics tore the Helen Mirren/Jason Clarke film a new one, bestowing Winchester with a downright scary nine percent approval on Rotten Tomatoes. How bad is that consensus? Even the infamous 1979 porno epic Caligula –which Mirren had a lead role in-, has a higher RT rating than Winchester. Let that sink in for a minute.
Another weekend, another solid fourth place finish for Fox’s The Greatest Showman. The Hugh Jackman musical smash eased a mere 18% in round seven to earn an estimated $7.8 million from 2,588 theaters. The Greatest Showman’s domestic haul now stands at $137.4 million. It should pass 2016’s La La Land by the President’s Day holiday weekend.
Rounding out the top five was Entertainment Studios’ historical drama Hostiles with an estimated $5.5 million 2,934 theaters. Off 45%, Hostiles has scored $21.2 million so far. A finale near the $30 million mark is a possibility for the Christian Bale flick.
- The Post (Fox) $5.2 million (-43%); $67 million
- 12 Strong (Warner) $4.7 million (-46%); $37.3 million
- Den of Thieves (STX) $4.6 million (-46%); $36.2 million
- The Shape of Water (FoxS) $4.3 million (-27%); $44.5 million
- Paddington 2 (Warner) $3.1 million (-45%); $36.2 million
Next weekend, the box office scene comes back to life as The 15:17 to Paris, Peter Rabbit and Fifty Shades Freed arrive on the scene.
