It’s been 7 weeks since Christopher Robin arrived for the family audience, and THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS (Universal) took advantage of that drought with a $7.7M opening day according to early numbers at Deadline, which should give it a $24M weekend. House had a moderate production budget and a marketing campaign that didn’t attempt tentpole-level saturation, so on a $75M US total, it should be on track for a fair amount of profit, especially if there turns out to be wide international appeal.
The rest was ashes. Michael Moore’s FAHRENHEIT 11/9 (Briarcliff) strongly suggested that Americans are getting quite enough politics in their daily lives these days, and don’t feel the need to pay for more at the box office, with a $1.1M Friday that may get it to $3M for the weekend. Moore has only had one other wide opening in his career, his blockbuster Fahrenheit 9/11 in 2004, but this won’t equal the $4.4M expansions of his 2007 Sicko and 2009 Capitalism: A Love Story. Even if 11/9 can hold onto its theatres through Election Day, it would struggle to reach a $15M US total.
LIFE ITSELF (Amazon) fared even worse, with $800K on Friday for a likely $2-2.5M weekend. Exit polls were stronger than the atrocious reviews, but writer/director Dan Fogelman will have to content himself with his massive This Is Us success, as $10M is an optimistic forecast for his film’s US total.
ASSASSINATION NATION (Neon) was a disastrous attempt to find wide success with a cult item, only managing $1M for the weekend at 1403 theatres, a $700 per-theatre average.
There was better news for some of the holdovers. A SIMPLE FAVOR (H Brothers/STX) dipped just 45% on its 2nd Friday to $3.3M, for a solid $10M weekend that puts it on track for $50M+ in the US, with another weekend to itself before A Star Is Born comes after its female audience.
THE NUN (New Line/Warners) dropped 51% on its 3rd Friday to $2.9M, for a $9M weekend that puts $120M in its US sights, the #2 performance in the Conjuring universe behind only the original’s $137.4M.
THE PREDATOR (TSG/20th) slumped by 77% on its 2nd Friday to $2.4M and an $8M weekend. That’s in keeping with the 79% Friday drop and $7M Weekend 2 for the much-cheaper Predators, and suggests that the new Predator will also end up at around $50M in the US, but fated for red ink because of its higher cost unless it’s bailed out overseas.
CRAZY RICH ASIANS (SK Global/Warners) continued to reap the benefits of great word of mouth, down a mere 29% on its 6th Friday to $1.8M, and aiming for a $6M weekend and a US total that should hit $170M.
WHITE BOY RICK (Studio 8/Columbia/Sony) had a decent hold, down 57% on its 2nd Friday, but that still put it at only $1.5M for the day with a $4.5M weekend ahead. It might get past $25M in the US, not enough to mark any kind of financial success.
PEPPERMINT (H Brothers/STX) fell 46% on its 3rd Friday to $900K for a $3M weekend, on its way to a mild $25M US total.
COLETTE (Bleecker Street) is off to a promising start, looking to average $40K in each of its 4 NY/LA arthouses for the weekend. Despite an aggressive in-house Q&A weekend, THE SISTERS BROTHERS (Annapurna) is weaker with a $30K weekend average at its 4 arthouses.
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