Weekend Box Office: Wakanda Forever

Even after six weeks of release, there is still no stopping Black Panther.

Despite the arrival of three new films this weekend, the Disney/Marvel blockbuster refuses to budge from the top spot. The Ryan Coogler film crossed the $600 million milestone this weekend thanks to an estimated $27 million in ticket sales from 3,834 theaters. Down 34%, the domestic total for Panther is currently at $605.4 million. Overseas, the film has banked $577 million.

Black Panther continues its climb up the all-time domestic grossing chart. This weekend’s new total puts it in seventh place right between The Dark Knight and Star Wars: The Last Jedi. By next weekend, Panther will claw its way past Marvel’s The Avengers to move into fifth place. By the end of its run, it could possibly surpass Jurassic World and Titanic to move into third (all pre-inflation, of course).

Landing in second place with mediocre results was Tomb Raider with an estimated $23 million from 3,854 theaters. The latest attempt at starting a movie franchise based on the beloved videogame series opened far below the $47 million scored by 2001’s Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and only slightly above the $21.7 million scored by that film’s 2003 sequel, The Cradle of Life.

Reviews were largely negative for the new Tomb Raider, with critics giving the reboot a 49% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 46/100 on Metacritic. Ticket buyers were mixed on the flick as well, giving the movie a “B” on CinemaScore.

While the numbers in the States point to a box office gross well below the $94 million it cost to make the film, Tomb Raider should find plenty of financial redemption overseas. So far, the Alicia Vikander vehicle has taken in $102.5 million.

The surprise of the weekend wasn’t the low performance of Tomb Raider. It was the strong third place finish for the Roadside Attractions’ faith-based drama I Can Only Imagine. The $7 million production arrived on 1,629 theaters Friday where it made a big $17 million. The film’s $10,476 per screen average was easily the best in the top ten. Critics didn’t care much for the drama, but the target audiences sure did. While the scribes condemned Imagine with a 58% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 27/100 on Metacritic, ticket buyers blessed the flick with an “A+” on CinemaScore.

After underwhelming the box office last weekend in its debut, Disney’s pricey A Wrinkle In Time took a free-fall on 3,980 screens in its sophomore session. Wrinkle dropped 50% to earn a mild $16.5 million, bringing its ten-day total to a so-so $61 million so far. A domestic final haul near $95 million is possible.

Another new film earning the coveted “A+” from CinemaScore was the Fox release Love, Simon. The $10 million production scored a solid $11 million in its first three days from 2,402 screens. Critics warmly embraced the teen gay drama as well. They gave Love, Simon a 73/100 from Metacritic and a 91% from Rotten Tomatoes.

  1.  Game Night (Warner) $5.5 million (-29%); $54.1 million
  2. Peter Rabbit (Sony) $5.2 million (-23%); $102.4 million
  3. Strangers: Prey At Night (AVI) $4.8 million (-54%); $18.6 million
  4. Red Sparrow (Fox) $4.4 million (-44%); $39.5 million
  5. Death Wish (MGM) $3.4 million (-48%); $30 million

Next weekend sees the arrival of Pacific Rim: Uprising, Sherlock Gnomes, Unsane and Paul, Apostle of Christ.

Black Panther Review

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