As expected, Disney/Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Volume Two remained the number one film at the North America box office. The sci-fi comedy had no trouble flying by the mild second place opening of the Fox comedy Snatched and the disastrous debut of Warner’s King Arthur: the Legend of the Sword, which was a lock, stock, smoking dud in third place.
Guardians V2 dipped 57% in its second round on 4,347 screens to bring in an estimated $63 million. That decrease is smaller than the second week drops for recent Marvel sequels Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War. The ten-day domestic total for Guardians of the Galaxy Volume Two now stands at $246.1 million. The film should wind down with a final haul around $360 million Stateside. Overseas, the James Gunn hit has brought in $384 million so far. With all major markets now playing the film – Japan opened the film this weekend-, Guardians V2 should finish its global campaign between $850-900 million.
The Fox comedy Snatched landed in second place with $17.5 million from 3,501 theaters. The Amy Schumer/Goldie Hawn comedy was dismissed by critics –they gave the film a 36% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes- and a mixed response from ticket buyers on CinemaScore, who gave the film a “B” rating. Snatched marks the first starring role for Hawn in nearly 15 years and Schumer’s first since her 2015 hit Trainwrecked. The R-rated comedy costs an estimated $42 to produce.
Landing with a colossal thud in third place was Warner’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. The $175 million Guy Ritchie feature became the summer’s first official bomb thanks to a pathetic third place start of $14.7 million from 3,702 theaters. Critics drove a sword into the heart of the pricey film –they gave it a 27% approval on Rotten Tomatoes- but ticket buyers were a bit kinder. They gave the movie a “B+” on CinemaScore. Originally scheduled for last summer, King Arthur represents the second box office bomb in a row for Warners from Ritchie following 2015’s The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
It is usually here where the foreign box office comes to the rescue of a film that stiffs at the American box office. Not this time around. King Arthur opened in 51 foreign markets this weekend, including China. The end result was a dire $29 million.
Universal’s The Fate of the Furious raced into fourth place, revving up an estimated $5.3 million from 3,067 theaters. Off 38%, F8 has earned $215 million to date en route to a $225 million domestic final. Overseas, the Vin Diesel blockbuster has bagged $978 million so far. It should be able to make its way to the billion-dollar mark before it leaves theaters.
Rounding out the top five was Fox/Dreamworks’ The Boss Baby with $4.6 million from 2,911 theaters. Off 23%, the animated comedy has earned $162 million to date.
- Beauty and the Beast (2017) (Disney) $3.8 million (-24%); $493 million
- How to be a Latin Lover (Lionsgate/Pantelion) $3.75 million (-27%); $27 million
- Lowriders (Blumhouse) $2.4 million
- The Circle (2017) $1.7 million (-56%); $19 million
- Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (Great India) $1.5 million (-54%); $19 million
Next weekend sees the arrival of a double shot of sequels from Fox: Alien: Covenant and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul. Friday will also see the arrival of Warner’s Everything, Everything, a film that probably cost the studio less than one week’s production of King Arthur. Alien: Covenant has the best chance of opening at number one, but that depends on how much Guardians dips in its third round.
