Summer’s winding down and we all know what that means – some ungodly movies will flounder while a gem here and there picks up the slack. And boy did these ungodly movies flounder.
Before we get into that, Warner’s Crazy Rich Asians kept #1 with a ridiculously good (you could say crazy rich, if you were so inclined and a terrible person) hold, easing just -6.4% to earn $24.81m in its sophomore frame. That ranks #26 in lowest second-weekend holds among wide releases, a figure more impressive when considering a majority of the entries on that list are November/December releases (a.k.a. they reap those coveted holiday legs). Domestic tally for Crazy Rich Asians is $76.62m off a $30m production cost – given this’ll chug past $100m with ease at this point ($150m+ is a distinct possibility), mark this a big win for Warner Bros. and, more importantly, diversity in Hollywood.
Overseas, Crazy Rich Asians earned $6m from 18 markets for a $7.3m cume. Global is $83.92m. Key openings included Singapore ($1.8m), the Philippines ($1.5m), and Malaysia ($749k). Each repped the best debut for an English-language romcom in their respective market.
Warner’s maintained their weekend dominance with The Meg, their surprise hit featuring Jason Statham dueling against a prehistoric shark (I’m still so happy), holding in second. Meg earned $12.81m in its third weekend, down a healthy -39.4% from last frame. Domestic on the $130m pic is $105.08m, pacing +25.8% ahead of this year’s Dwayne Johnson vehicle Rampage at the same point in release. Keeping that lead suggests a $125m finish for The Meg, though I’m thinking it’ll end up closer to $140m.
Internationally, The Meg washed up $32.7m from 65 markets. Overseas and global cumes are $306.5m and $411.58m, respectively. Top markets are China ($143m), Mexico ($17m), the U.K. ($15.3m), Russia ($11.9m), and Spain ($8.4m).
Debuting in third with a resounding thud, STX’s The Happytime Murders took $9.53m from 3,256 hubs ($2,928 per-theatre average), the lowest debut yet for a Melissa McCarthy flick – a record previously set by this May’s Life of the Party ($17.89m debut). It, uh, isn’t her best year (her awards-bait movie looks interesting, if that’s any solace) and it certainly isn’t a good result for Happytime Murders, a movie that writhed in development hell for a decade and some.
Production cost on this one was a reported $40m, a figure the movie most certainly won’t hit, given sour reception and a brutal “C-” grade from CinemaScore polls. I guess this isn’t rocket science – neither you, your mom, or myself wants to see cumming puppets for a movie ticket premium (there are some of you, just… not enough to make it worth it) unless the movie is a-okay, and this apparently really isn’t. STX was likely hoping to mimic the success of Sony’s Sausage Party ($97.69m), but their marketing failed to build the buzz Sausage Party enjoyed. All in all, Happytime will be lucky to get much farther than $30m.
Overseas, The Happytime Murders opened with $1.2m from 18 markets, led by Australia ($585k). Global is $10.73m.
In fourth, Paramount’s Mission: Impossible – Fallout declined a light -24.9%, adding $8.09m for a $193.99m domestic cume. Fallout ought to pass previous Mission entry, 2015’s Rogue Nation ($195.04m), in the next day or so. At this juncture, eclipsing 2000’s Mission: Impossible II ($215.41m) to become the #1 entry in the series in the U.S./Canada may be a little bit harder, but if it keeps sporting fantastic holds like this anything’s up in the air.
Overseas, the $178m actioner added $13m from 61 markets, repping $344.8m abroad and $538.79m global. Per Deadline, Fallout’s pacing +17% ahead of Rogue Nation ($487.67m int’l total). Top markets are South Korea ($49.8m), Japan ($35.4m), the U.K. ($28.1m), France ($22m), and India ($15.3m). China will see Fallout on August 31st and the movie ought to improve nicely over Rogue Nation ($135.65m Chinese total).
Rounding out the top five, STX’s Mile 22 fell -53.6% from its debut, earning $6.37m. Domestic total is an underwhelming – especially for what was anticipated by STX to be a franchise-stater – $25.51m off a $50m production cost. Mile 22 is pacing +6.5% ahead of MGM’s Death Wish remake at the same point in release, pointing towards a $36m finish (still not good).
Internationally, Mile 22 grossed $5.6m from 18 markets for a $6.3m cume. Global is $31.81m. Most major markets have yet to see the movie, but thus far its total is led by the Middle East region ($2.4m), Indonesia ($1.5m), and South Korea ($410k).
Right at #10, Global Road’s A.X.L. didn’t put up a spectacle with $2.78m from 1,710 venues ($1,627 per-theatre average), on par with LD Entertainment’s fellow August dog flop Dog Days ($2.55m debut). Luckily, A.X.L. only cost a reported $10m to produce, so this isn’t the biggest deal. Unluckily, there’s a strong chance A.X.L. won’t be able to hit $10m. A.X.L. opened in a small handful of international markets (information is relatively scarce), led by Russia ($537k). Yet another victim of the August dog wars, really.
HOLDOVERS
6. Christopher Robin (Disney) – $6.26 million (-29.3%), $77.55m cume
7. Alpha (Sony) – $6 million (-42%), $20.56m cume
8. BlacKkKlansman (Focus) – $5.1 million (-30.9%), $31.79m cume
9. Slender Man (Sony) – $2.79 million (-41.9%), $25.41m cume
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