Weekend Wrap-Up: Clocking the Opposition
September 24, 2018
As expected, The House with a Clock in its Walls topped the chart over the weekend. It was able to open faster than expected with $26.61 million. The other three films combined earned a fraction of that and A Simple Favor was the only other film to earn more than $10 million over the weekend. This caused the overall box office to fall 16% from last weekend to just $90 million. Worse still, this is 23% lower than the same weekend last year, which is a terrible margin. 2018 still has a massive 9.1% / $720 million lead over 2017 at $8.63 billion to $7.91 billion, so there’s no need to panic just yet.
The House with a Clock in its Walls opened with $26.61 million, which is a great start for a film that cost $42 million to make. It is a family film, which should help its legs, but its reviews and its B plus from CinemaScore suggest it won’t have really long legs. A $70 million domestic run is still likely, which is almost enough to cover its entire production budget just on its domestic theatrical numbers.
A Simple Favor dipped just 36% during its second weekend of release, earning $10.25 million for a two-week total of $32.41 million. By this time next week, Lionsgate’s share of the domestic box office will be more than its $20 million production budget. It is still too early to figure out where the film will end up internationally, but it would have to truly bomb to not break even early in its home market run.
The Nun managed to cross $100 million over the weekend. It added $9.97 million to its running tally, which now sits at $100.61 million. It became the fourth film in the franchise to reach the century mark and by this time next week, it will be the second biggest hit in the franchise so far.
The Predator fell from first to fourth with $9.18 million, a 63% decline from its opening weekend, giving it a two-week total of $40.91 million. The film is doing better internationally, but it will need help to cover its $88 million production budget.
Crazy Rich Asians remained in fifth place one more week with $6.35 million for a total of $159.27 million after six weeks of release. It also crossed $200 million worldwide, which is more than enough to break even already.
Fahrenheit 11/9 only managed $3.1 million over the weekend, missing the Mendoza Line in the process. Its reviews are great and it earned an A from CinemaScore, but it is preaching to the choir.
Life Itself was even worse with $2.12 million in 2,609 theaters. Not only did it miss the Mendoza Line, it only managed an average of $814. Its reviews are only 11% positive and while it earned a B plus from CinemaScore, its word of mouth won’t matter, because theater owners will be dropping this movie as soon as they are contractually able to.
Assassination Nation opened in 14th place with $1.05 million in 1,403 theaters. Its reviews are good enough that it has a chance at becoming a cult classic on the home market, but that’s the best it can hope for after this beginning.
Looking in on the sophomore class we find White Boy Rick in sixth place with $4.86 million over the weekend for a two-week total of $17.27 million. It fell only 45%, which is better than most films manage, but that is a case of too little, too late. Unbroken: Path to Redemption was down just 43%, but its weekend haul was just $1.28 million for a ten-day total of $4.54 million, so again, this was too little, too late.
- The House with a Clock in its Walls Comparisons
- Fahrenheit 11/9 Comparisons
- Life Itself Comparisons
- Assassination Nation Comparisons
Filed under: Weekend Wrap-up, White Boy Rick, The Predator, The Nun, Fahrenheit 11/9, Crazy Rich Asians, The House with a Clock in its Walls, Life Itself, Unbroken: Path to Redemption, A Simple Favor, Assassination Nation, The Conjuring