Weekend Box Office: Happy Death Day Celebrates #1, Blade Runner 2049 Still Struggling

Last weekend wasn’t everything folks hoped for – Blade Runner 2049 grossed $32.75 million off a $155m+ production cost, the state of sci-fi was heavily debated and dire predictions were made, my earbuds broke, etc.

Anyway.

This weekend fared better, if that’s any solace.

Taking first place, Universal/Blumhouse’s Happy Death Day grossed an impressive $26.04 million from 3,149 venues. Blumhouse has been on fire in 2017, delivering M. Night Shyamalan’s Split ($138.14m) and Jordan Peele’s Get Out ($175.48m). Happy Death Day, from Paranormal Activity stalwart Christopher B. Landon, has recouped 5.42x its $4.8m production cost from its debut alone. In more good news, Happy Death Day opened +3.4% above M. Night Shyamalan’s The Visit ($25.43m), Blumhouse’s original horror-centric offering last autumn.

The strategy taken by Blumhouse is akin to big-scale production houses like Marvel, where unique, entertaining stories are pushed to the fore with an emphasis on quality (relative to the genre). Their model has paid off. Reception for Happy Death Day is generally positive – the murderous Groundhog Day flick received a 65% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 6.6/10 score on IMDb. Regarding legs, Happy Death Day faces a somewhat crowded marketplace; nine wide releases hit theatres in the next two weeks (a ridiculous number, but more on that in this weekend’s box office predictions), rendering $100m+ null. The Visit notched a 2.56x multiple – similar figures for Happy Death Day indicate $66m+ when all’s said and done. That number is a good projection, with the caveat it could go a tad higher/lower depending on holds.

Internationally, Happy Death Day grossed $5.17 million from 11 markets for a global debut of $31.21m. The two majors for the weekend, Australia and Brazil, brought in $1.1m and $2m, respectively. Sony’s Don’t Breathe ($67.88m overseas total) could be a decent comp going forward.

Falling to second, Warner Bros.’ Blade Runner 2049 added $15.49 million for a $60.97m domestic cume. 2049’s -52.7% decline indicates the sci-fi flick is struggling to draw a new generation of fans, and it’ll have to hope it hangs on through the rest of October. Overseas, where Alcon Entertainment and Sony are handling distribution, Denis Villeneuve’s sequel to Ridley Scott’s classic grossed $29.3 million from 65 markets. Overseas and global tallies are $95.58m and $156.55m, not ideal grosses for a film that needed $350m+ to save face. Perhaps awards season can give Blade Runner 2049 its dues.

Debuting in third, STX’s The Foreigner seized $13.11 million from 2,515 hubs. The Foreigner performed decently, coming in at the higher end of predictions. STX is a relatively new distributor, but they ought to make a nice chunk of monies from this $35m production. That said, this isn’t a fantastic opening, especially when one considers this stars Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan (neither of whom have had a “big” hit in quite a while, to be fair) and was helmed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale). The Foreigner came in -11.3% from Lionsgate’s American Assassin ($14.85m) in September. Unfortunately for The Foreigner, it opened in a marketplace that has seen many an action flick. Reception differs between critics and audiences; critics are mixed (59% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes), whereas the public have taken a liking (7.4/10 score on IMDb). We’ll see how, and if, that affects The Foreigner’s legs.

Overseas, The Foreigner added 11 markets to its pre-existing international release and grossed $6.4 million. International cume is $88.4m, with China making up a vast majority ($75.35m). Global total for The Foreigner is $101.51m.

In fourth, Warner Bros./New Line’s IT haunted $6.06 million into its coffers, giving Pennywise a giant $314.94m cume. IT fell -39.3%, its lowest drop yet, hopefully pointing towards swell October holds. Internationally, IT grossed $10.4 million from 65 markets for a $315.6m overseas tally. Global is $630.54m. Top foreign markets for IT are the U.K. ($41.7m), Germany ($29.4m), Mexico ($27.2m), Brazil ($19.4m), and Australia ($18.6m).

Down in fifth, Fox’s survival drama The Mountain Between Us fell -45.5%, grossing $5.75 million. Running total for the Idris Elba/Kate Winslet feature is $20.6m. Overseas, The Mountain Between Us added $4.1 million from 15 markets. Top territories are the U.K. ($1.65m), Australia ($1.4m), and Mexico ($1.1m). Global total for The Mountain Between Us stands at $30.25m.

The weekend’s two other wide releases went separate ways: one okay, one downright awful. The good – Open Road’s Marshall opened at #11 with $3 million from 821 venues. That’s an alright haul for the acclaimed true story, but it remains to be seen how long it’ll last from here. There are no international numbers to report for Marshall. The awful – Annapurna’s Professor Marston & the Wonder Women took in a pitiful $736,883 from 1,229 hubs, taking #14 on the charts. That’s a $600 per-theatre average over the weekend (a.k.a., the movie won’t be booked for long). While Professor Marston was positively-received, the biopic couldn’t grab the audience that made Warner Bros./DC’s Wonder Woman a massive hit ($412.49m) and couldn’t make people care about the character’s origin story. Professor Marston’s another blow for Annapurna, whose acclaimed Detroit bombed back in August ($16.79m).

 

HOLDOVERS

6. American Made (Universal) – $5.5 million (-34.9%), $40.23m cume
7. Kingsman: The Golden Circle (Fox) – $5.38 million (-38.0%), $89.72m cume
8. The LEGO Ninjago Movie (Warner Bros.) – $4.32 million (-38.4%), $51.58m cume
9. My Little Pony: The Movie (Lionsgate) – $4.11 million (-53.7%), $15.63m cume
10. Victoria and Abdul (Focus) – $3.01 million (-27.9%), $11.23m cume