OPENINGS: BOO 2! A MADEA HALLOWEEN (Lionsgate) took the weekend with $21.7M, down 24% from last year’s first Boo. That puts it behind all the previous Madea openings except A Madea Christmas, which had the entire holiday corridor for its run. Last year’s installment had an exceptionally good Weekend 2 hold, down just 40% over Halloween weekend (most recent Madea titles have dropped 58-61%), and we’ll see if Boo 2 can manage the same next week. In any case, the economics of the Tyler Perry industry, built on moderate production budgets and targeted marketing, should churn a fair-sized profit out of Boo 2.
GEOSTORM (Skydance/RatPac/Warners) had the disastrous US opening everyone expected at $13.3M. Things were better overseas, where a $36.4M weekend in 50 markets put the total at $49.6M, but that still isn’t going to come close to paying for $200M+ in costs. The crucial China opening is next week.
ONLY THE BRAVE (Black Label/Columbia/Sony) didn’t find its heartland audience with a $6M weekend (and even that number assumes the strongest Sunday hold in the Top 10). There’s little likelihood of international success here, so $75M+ in costs are very much at risk.
THE SNOWMAN (Good Universe/Universal) was an outright disaster at $3.4M, and the $6.6M international weekend in 37 territories ($19.3M total) won’t do much to offset the $100M in production/marketing costs.
SAME KIND OF DIFFERENT AS ME (Paramount/Pure Flix) aimed for the Christian audience with a 1362-theatre opening, but didn’t find many takers at $2.6M, and since it was made on a (low-end) Paramount budget (the studio dropped it and Pure Flix picked it up), someone is going to be left holding the bill.
HOLDOVERS: Any hope that HAPPY DEATH DAY (Blumhouse/Universal) would follow in the spectacular footsteps of Blumhouse’s Split and Get Out vanished with the 64% Weekend 2 drop to $9.4M (the earlier films had slipped just 36%/15% in their 2d weekends). Death Day didn’t even hold as well as The Visit, down 55%. Still, on Blumhouse’s low-budget model, there’s nothing wrong with a $55M US total, and the thriller also has $12.9M overseas after a $6.5M weekend in 26 markets.
BLADE RUNNER 2049 (Alcon/Sony/Warners) is fighting for its financial life. In the US, it dropped another 54% to $7.2M, and may not reach $90M. Overseas, it’s at $120.1M after a $14.3M weekend in 64 territories. With something like $300M in costs, it desperately needs to open big in China and Japan next weekend.
THE FOREIGNER (Wanda/H Brothers/STX) fell 58% in its 2d US weekend to $5.5M, and probably won’t get past $35M. It’s at a much brighter $94.9M overseas (this weekend was $2.7M in 22 markets), of which $80.1M came from China.
After 7 weeks, IT (RatPac/New Line/Warners) had the best hold in the Top 10, down 42% to $3.5M, on track for a massive $325M+ US total. Overseas, it’s at $331.4M after a $12.8M weekend in 60 markets, and it bears repeating that this doesn’t include China, where the film apparently won’t be released due to content restrictions. (Japan, however, is still to come.)
AMERICAN MADE (Cross Creek/Universal) continues to hold well at a low level, down 43% to $3.2M, which will still get it only a tick better than $50M in the US. It’s at $75.8M overseas after a $2.7M weekend in 41 territories (it’s opened everywhere except Argentina), and faces red ink on production/marketing costs of $150M.
KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE (MARV/20th) had a solid $40.7M opening in China for a $48.7M weekend total in 61 markets (Japan is still to come), putting its international total at $250.3M. That could be enough to keep the franchise afloat, despite a US total that may just barely hit $100M after a 44% weekend drop to $3M.
THE MOUNTAIN BETWEEN US (20th) fell 52% to $2.8M in its 3rd weekend, and might hit $30M in the US. It also has $14M overseas.
VICTORIA & ABDUL (Focus/Universal) continued its gradual expansion, now at 1060 theatres, for a $2.2M weekend, and although its per-theatre average is getting shaky at $2K, it should have enough gas to run deep into awards season. Notably, it also has $31.3M overseas after a $1.5M weekend in 32 territories, $18M of it from the UK and Australia.
MARSHALL (Open Road) didn’t show much traction, down 50% in its 2d weekend to $1.5M, still at 821 theatres but with little room to expand on an $1800 per-theatre average. It may have trouble passing $10M in the US, with few if any international prospects.
PROFESSOR MARSTON & THE WONDER WOMEN (Annapurna) remained a sadly utter flop, down 69% in its 2d weekend at 959 theatres to a bit over $200K, a dreadful $239 per-theatre average.
LIMITED RELEASE: THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER (A24) had a moderate debut, averaging $29K at 4 NY/LA arthouses. WONDERSTRUCK (Amazon/Roadside) was a long stretch behind with a $17K average at 4. The documentary JANE (Abramorama/NatGeo) had a $19K average at 3, boosted by a robust program of Q&As. THE FLORIDA PROJECT (A24) expanded fairly well to 112, averaging $5700. LOVING VINCENT (Good Deed) averaged $3400 after widening to 114. MARK FELT (Sony Classics) expanded disastrously to 332 with a $600 average. GOODBYE CHRISTOPHER ROBIN (Fox Searchlight) showed little promise, growing to 61 theatres with a $2500 average. HUMAN FLOW (Magnolia) averaged $2900 at 28.
NEXT WEEKEND: Halloween brings JIGSAW (Lionsgate), which will attempt to bring back the Saw franchise after 7 years on the shelf. In a more ambitious vein, SUBURBICON (Paramount) and THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE (Universal) will try to find audiences. ALL I SEE IS YOU (Open Road) will have a not-quite-wide release. Limited releases include NOVITIATE (Sony Classics) and THE SQUARE (Magnolia).
About the Author
