Weekend Box Office: Hitman’s Bodyguard Strong, Logan Not So Lucky

This weekend, one new release exceeded expectations, but that couldn’t save the frame from being the lowest-grossing in 2017.

Blasting into first, Lionsgate’s The Hitman’s Bodyguard debuted with $21.38 million from 3,377 venues. Hitman’s Bodyguard eclipsed its high-teens tracking, and it easily beat Lionsgate’s own prediction of $15m. The action-comedy, starring Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson as leads, overcame negative critical reception (39% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, avg. critic score being 5.2/10 from over 120 reviews) and took advantage of the barren August slate. Audiences were more kind to Hitman’s Bodyguard – the film carries a 7.3/10 score on IMDb from over 5,700 ratings. Hitman’s Bodyguard is a decent rebound for Reynolds, following his post-Deadpool duds Criminal ($14.7m) and Life ($30.2m). If Hitman’s Bodyguard performs similarly to Guy Ritchie’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E., it’ll gross around $73m. Also boosting Hitman’s profile is the fact there is no “big” competition until Warner Bros. drops It on September 8th. When Hitman’s Bodyguard’s $29m production budget is considered, this is a healthy hit for Lionsgate and company.

Internationally, The Hitman’s Bodyguard grossed $6.55 million from 11 markets. There are no official numbers for any of the territories save for the U.K., where the film opened to $2.57m. Global cume for Hitman’s Bodyguard sits at $27.93m.

Haunting second place, Warner Bros.’ Annabelle: Creation added $15.6 million to its coffers, lifting its domestic total to a strong $64m. Creation’s -55.4% decline is stronger than both Annabelle (-57.3%) and The Conjuring 2 (-63.2%). If Creation can hold from here, a $90m+ domestic cume is in the cards. Overseas, Annabelle: Creation grossed $42 million from 56 markets, lifting its international and global totals to $96.7m and $160.74m, respectively. For perspective, Creation’s global cume is almost 11x its $15m production budget. Top five foreign markets for Creation are South Korea ($12.5m), Mexico ($8m), Indonesia ($7.8m), the U.K. ($6.1m), and France ($5.1m). Another thing to note – Warner Bros. announced that the Conjuring universe has crossed $1 billion globally, making it the second highest-grossing horror franchise in history, behind Fox’s Alien franchise ($1.49 billion).

Opening in third, Bleecker Street’s action-comedy Logan Lucky didn’t live up to its name, opening with a tepid $7.6 million from 3,031 locations. Despite critical acclaim in its corner (93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, avg. critic score being 7.5/10 from over 140 reviews) as well as audience approval (7.5/10 on IMDb from over 2,800 ratings), Logan Lucky buckled due to a minimal marketing campaign and direct competition with the more commercial Hitman’s Bodyguard.

It is entirely possible Lucky would’ve performed better either next week (where it would’ve faced off against BH Tilt’s Birth of the Dragon and Weinstein Co.’s Leap!, neither of which are expected to make a dent) or during Labour Day frame (where the only other release would be Weinstein’s Tulip Fever, which may not even release nationwide). With a star-studded cast including Daniel Craig, Channing Tatum, Hilary Swank, Seth MacFarlane, and a roster of others, Logan Lucky’s opening is disappointing, especially since it is director Steven Soderbergh’s “comeback” film. If Lucky follows the pattern of Martin McDonagh’s Seven Psychopaths, it is on pace for a $27m domestic total. With a $29m production cost, Logan Lucky needs to hope for breakout numbers internationally or a healthy life in the post-theatrical market. Overseas, Logan Lucky grossed $825,000 from 3 markets, its only major one being Australia ($551k). Global cume for Logan Lucky stands at $8.43m.

In fourth, Warner Bros.’ Dunkirk posted another $6.61 million, bringing its war chest to $165.42m. Christopher Nolan’s World War II epic continues to hold strongly (it fell -39.2%), and it is on track to outgross Nolan’s own Interstellar ($188m). Internationally, Dunkirk added $10.9 million from 61 markets. Overseas and global totals are $229.7m and $395.11m. Top markets for Dunkirk (with updated numbers) are the U.K. ($63.8m), South Korea ($21.5m), France ($16.38m), and Australia ($16.35m). Dunkirk still has China, Japan, and Italy on deck.

Falling to fifth, Open Road’s The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature grossed $5.09 million, bringing its domestic total to $17.7m. Nutty by Nature’s -38.7% drop is stronger than that of other panned animations this year, such as Sony’s Smurfs: The Lost Village (-49.2%) and The Emoji Movie (-51.1%). Regardless, The Nut Job 2 is -56% behind the $40.06m gross of The Nut Job at the same point, and it’ll be lucky to gross much higher than $30m. For a film that cost $40m to produce, that is a disappointing performance. As of this writing, there are no international numbers to report for The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature.

 

HOLDOVERS

6. The Emoji Movie (Sony) – $4.44 million (-31.2%), $71.86m cume
7. Spider-Man: Homecoming (Sony) – $4.26 million (-29.3%), $314.06m cume
8. Girls Trip (Universal) – $3.91 million (-39.5%), $104.05m cume
9. The Dark Tower (Sony) – $3.79 million (-51.6%), $41.67m cume
10. Wind River (Weinstein) – $2.98 million (+378%), $4.09m cume

 

NOTABLES
– Universal/Illumination’s Despicable Me franchise eclipsed Fox/Blue Sky’s Ice Age series as the highest-grossing animated franchise, with a $3.62 billion global total.
– China’s Wolf Warrior 2 has become the second highest-grossing film in one market, grossing $768.2m in China alone. It is only behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($936.7m in the U.S./Canada).

Thanks for reading this weekend’s box office report, and stay tuned for the upcoming weekend’s box office forecast. You can also follow me on Twitter to stay up to date on box office news and article publications.