Not content with the real-life scares streaming out of our nation’s capital on a daily basis this week, moviegoers across North America kept the M. Night Shyamalan thriller Split the number one box office choice for a second straight week. The controversial family flick A Dog’s Purpose debuted with okay numbers in second, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter sputtered in fourth while Gold outright bombed in tenth place.
Split earned a great $26.3 million from 3,199 theaters this weekend, a decrease of only 34%, which is quite impressive since thrillers tend to drop by at least half in their sophomore sessions. The ten-day total for the Blumhouse production stands at $78 million. With a final domestic haul looking to land somewhere around the $130 million mark, the $9 million production will become Shyamalan’s fifth $100 million domestic hit by next weekend.
A sequel is already in the works. To see the trailer for that, click here.
Universal Pictures also had the second most popular feature in the coutnry, the family feature A Dog’s Purpose with an estimated $18.3 million from 3,059 screens. The $22 million production has come under fire for the production’s mistreatment of a German Shepherd during filming. Reviews were mostly negative for the Lasse Halstrom-directed feature.
After scoring Oscar nominations that included Best Picture and Supporting Actress for Octavia Spencer, the Fox hit drama Hidden Figures held strong in third place. The acclaimed feature’s sixth week of business was practically identical with the weekend before, losing only 11% of its audience. Currently in 3,351 theaters, Hidden Figures earned an estimated $14 million. The domestic total stands tall at $104 million so far.
Underworld. xXx. This week’s entry in the 2017 “Why did you bother?” line of franchises returning from the dead is the Resident Evil series. After scoring nearly $70 million from overseas, the sixth and final entry –imaginatively titled The Final Chapter– arrived in North America Friday where the best it could muster was an estimated $13.8 million from 3,104 screens. The opening for The Final Chapter was the lowest of the 15-year old franchise. Not surprisingly, Alice’s return was met with a collective yawn from critics.
Rounding out this frame’s top five La La Land. With a record-tying 14 nominations fueling its run, the hit Lionsgate/Summit feature expanded to 3,136 screens Friday, which helped it dance away with an estimated $12 million in its eighth week of release. The weekend total represented an increase of 43% over last weekend. Domestically, La La Land has earned a great $106.5 million so far, with overseas markets contributing an additional $117 million.
Hidden Figures and La La Land weren’t the only nominated features benefitting from Tuesday’s announcements. Among the other films receiving upticks in business were Moonlight (+160% in business over last weekend), Lion (+35%), Arrival (+357%), Manchester by the Sea (+114%), Jackie (+75%) and Hacksaw Ridge (+431%). The Academy Awards will be handed out at the end of February.
- xXx: Return of Xander Cage (Paramount) $8.2 million (-59%); $33.4 million
- Sing (Universal) $6.2 million (-31%); $257.4 million
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Disney) $5.1 million (-29%); $520 million
- Monster Trucks (Paramount) $4.1 million (-42%); $28.1 million
Rounding out the top ten was the Weinstein Company release Gold, which unearthed a dismal $3.47 million from 2,166 screens. The Matthew McConaughey feature, directed by Stephen Gaghan (Syriana), was met with mostly negative reviews from critics.
For Super Bowl weekend – Go Pats!- Hollywood will trot out Rings and The Space Between Us.
