Weekend Box Office: Hitman’s Bodyguard Leads Worst Frame in 16 Years

So, uh, this was a mess. Over the weekend, the top twelve films earned $43.5 million, the lowest box office figures since the frame of September 21-23, 2001. None of the four new releases made an impact, to boot.

Clinging to first, Lionsgate’s The Hitman’s Bodyguard collected $10.26 million in its sophomore weekend, bringing it to a $39.83m domestic haul. Hitman’s Bodyguard’s -52% decline came closer to Todd Phillips’ War Dogs (-52.2%) than Guy Ritchie’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (-45.5%). One factor that hurt Hitman’s Bodyguard’s chances for a gentler fall was the Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor match, an event that stole the attention of male demographics. Despite this, Hitman’s performance is fine relative to its $30m production cost and Lionsgate is on the road to profitability. Hitman also has a decent shot at stabilizing next weekend, where it’s likely to hold on to #1 once again. Internationally, The Hitman’s Bodyguard added $9.13 million from 22 markets. The Ryan Reynolds/Samuel L. Jackson film has banked $19.8m overseas and $59.6m globally. Top markets for Hitman’s Bodyguard are the U.K. ($4.2m), France ($1.43m), and Mexico ($1m). Numbers have yet to be provided for territories such as Spain, Sweden, and the Philippines.

Lurking in second, Warner Bros./New Line’s Annabelle: Creation grossed $7.35 million in its third weekend. Creation has notched a strong $77.88m cume, and it should eclipse Annabelle ($84.1m) either this week or next. While Creation’s -50.8% decline marked the worst third-weekend drop for the Conjuring series, it too could stabilize next weekend (unless moviegoers will hold out for It the following weekend). Overseas, Annabelle: Creation haunted $22.2 million from 61 markets. International and global totals for Creation are $138.6m and $216.9m. Top markets for Creation are South Korea ($13.5m), Mexico ($13.3m), Indonesia ($9.2m), India ($8.5m), and the U.K. ($8.3m).

Opening in third, Weinstein Company’s Leap! fell flat with a $4.73 million debut from 2,575 venues. Leap!’s opening is down -44% from this month’s other animated financial disappointment, The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature (which debuted to $8.34m). Leap!’s debut is more comparable to Weinstein’s own Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil ($4.1m), and if we follow that film’s pattern Leap! is in line for a $12m total. When including its release in Canada from Entertainment One, Leap! has totalled $7.57m in North America. Reception for Leap! hasn’t been great – the film has a 38% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (avg. critic score being 5/10 from over 40 reviews) and an okay 6.8/10 score on IMDb from over 7,800 ratings. Leap! was a victim of indecisive release dates and indistinguishable marketing; it was never going to play with the likes of this summer’s bigger releases (Disney/Pixar’s Cars 3, Universal/Illumination’s Despicable Me 3, and even Sony’s The Emoji Movie). One upside for Leap! is that there are no new animated offerings until Warner’s The Lego Ninjago Movie at the end of September, but with numbers this low that’s somewhat trivial – the best-case scenario for Leap! is a $15m+ domestic haul. Leap!, released as Ballerina internationally, had already grossed $78.49m overseas prior to its U.S. release. The global cume for Leap! is $86.06m.

As Leap! proved disappointing, Taylor Sheridan’s Wind River couldn’t provide much solace for The Weinstein Company – jumping up to fourth place, Wind River grossed $4.4 million in its expansion to 2,095 theatres. The acclaimed drama, which cost a cheap $11m to produce, has totalled $9.84m stateside. While it won’t be a flop by any means, its $2,196 per-theatre average isn’t promising for the future. There are no international numbers to report for Wind River.

Falling to fifth, Bleecker Street’s Logan Lucky fell -44.2% to gross $4.24 million in its second weekend. That second-weekend decline is better than those of August’s other acclaimed, lower-key offerings Detroit (-59.5%) and The Glass Castle (-45.5%). The Channing Tatum/Daniel Craig/Riley Keough starrer has totalled $14.01m in North America, but it’ll need a lot more gas if it wants to cover its $29m production cost. Internationally, Logan Lucky added $1.57 million from 8 markets – its overseas and global grosses sit at $2.85m and $17.88m, respectively.

Down in eighth, the weekend’s other new nationwide release – BH Tilt’s Birth of the Dragon – grossed a tepid $2.7 million from 1,618 venues. George Nolfi’s Bruce Lee biopic was likely the title hurt the most by the Mayweather vs. McGregor match (it just barely grossed more over the weekend than the fight did on Saturday). Another factor that buried Dragon was its sour reception: the film has a 21% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes (avg. critic score being 4/10 from nearly 15 reviews) and a 4.1/10 on IMDb from nearly 1,100 ratings. Sharon Lee, the daughter of Bruce Lee, also criticized the film. When a film that’s rooted in true events fails to match up to those events, audiences have no interest in seeing it (what’s the point?). Given these factors, plus its lack of star power, Birth of the Dragon should disappear from theatres shortly. As for a domestic total, it’ll be lucky to gross much higher than $6 million. As of this writing, there are no overseas numbers for Birth of the Dragon.

Way down in sixteenth place, Sony/Screen Gem’s All Saints grossed $1.51 million from 846 locations. The religious-themed film failed to match the debut heights of last year’s War Room ($11.35m) or 2011’s Courageous ($9.11m). Luckily for Sony, All Saints cost a mere $2m to produce, and films that cater to Christian audiences tend to have very leggy performances. If All Saints can match War Room’s multiple (unlikely, but humour me) it’s looking at a $9m domestic haul, which still isn’t good, admittedly, but it covers the film’s budget and then some. Also in All Saints’ favour – its glowing 89% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (from less than 10 reviews as of this writing, but still decent nonetheless). There are no foreign numbers to report for All Saints.

Way, way down in twenty-fourth, A24’s Good Time was anything but – the film grossed $581,404 from its expansion to 721 venues, giving it a miserable $806 per-theatre average. While A24 specializes in critically-acclaimed arthouse fare, it has consistently struggled with expanding its titles nationwide. It’s disappointing, as Good Time has received genuine praise from critics (88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, avg. critic score being 7.3/10 from over 130 reviews), and those who saw it took to it (8.0/10 on IMDb from nearly 1,900 scores), but it’s clear that the public wasn’t aware of the film. Good Time has grossed $999,867 in North America, and its only hope now is that it catches on in the post-theatrical market. There are no international numbers to report for Good Time.

 

HOLDOVERS

6. Dunkirk (Warner Bros.) – $3.95 million (-40.3%), $172.48m cume
7. Spider-Man: Homecoming (Sony) – $2.82 million (-33.7%), $318.94m cume
9. Mayweather vs. McGregor (Fathom, Saturday only) – $2.62 million
10. The Emoji Movie (Sony) – $2.51 million (-43.5%), $76.59m cume

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for this weekend’s box office forecast, featuring Weinstein Company’s Tulip Fever in 600+ theatres and a re-issue of Close Encounters of the Third Kind in 700+ theatres. Hoo boy.