Weekend Box Office: Kingsman Rules, New Releases Soft

Photo Credit: David James.

Box office actuals this weekend paint an interesting picture – the #1 and #3 movies were just $159,175 apart, whereas #1 and #2 were just $33,123 apart. This weekend also marked the end of a record-breaking September – the month totaled $708.9 million, easily eclipsing September 2015’s ($617.8m) previous record. With that, let’s get into the nitty gritty.

20th Century Fox

Holding on to first, Fox’s spy sequel Kingsman: The Golden Circle wrestled $16.94 million in its sophomore weekend, declining -56.6% for a $66.64m cume. The Golden Circle’s hold isn’t great, admittedly, paling in comparison to The Secret Service‘s -49.3% second-weekend fall. The Golden Circle is running -2% from Secret Service’s haul at the same point ($67.93m) and it’s doubtful that the sequel will match its predecessor’s haul ($128.26m). Alas, there’s a decent chance it’ll cross $100m if it doesn’t collapse in the wake of Warner Bros.’ Blade Runner 2049. Internationally, Kingsman: The Golden Circle grossed $50.5 million from 77 markets. Golden Circle’s overseas total is $126.33m and its global haul is $192.97m. While Golden Circle isn’t outshining its predecessor in the U.S./Canada, it’s running +53% ahead of it internationally. Top markets for Kingsman: The Golden Circle are the U.K. ($20.3m), South Korea ($16.1m), Russia ($10.2m), Australia ($9.7m), and Taiwan ($8.1m).

In second, Warner Bros./New Line’s IT nabbed $16.9 million in its fourth frame, a reasonable decline of -43.2%. IT has grossed $290.78 million thus far and it should surpass M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense ($293.51m) on Tuesday to become the highest-grossing horror film in the U.S. and Canada. A final total above $330m (above Batman v. Superman, for perspective) appears likely at this juncture. Internationally, IT scared up an additional $35.6 million from 64 markets – overseas and global tallies are $264.8m and $555.58m, respectively. IT has some work to do to eclipse Sixth Sense’s $672.81m haul, but with Halloween season upon us anything is possible. A notable debut for IT this weekend was Germany, where Pennywise grabbed $11.6m (biggest horror opening). Top markets for IT are the U.K. ($38.6m), Mexico ($24.9m), Russia ($17.8m), Australia ($17m), and Brazil ($16.6m).

It 2017
Warner Bros./New Line Cinema

Debuting in third, Doug Liman’s American Made, starring Tom Cruise, opened with an underwhelming $16.78 million from 3,024 venues. American Made opened -27% from last autumn’s Jack Reacher: Never Go Back ($22.87m) and -42% from Cruise’s last “original” offering, 2014’s Edge of Tomorrow ($28.76m). It’s clear that American Made suffered from the competitive marketplace – IT and Kingsman: The Golden Circle are still drawing audiences. On a more positive note, American Made debuted +12% over last month’s American Assassin ($14.85m) and has acclaim in its corner; American Made harbours an 87% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.3/10 score on IMDb. Good word-of-mouth could sway those who didn’t rush to see it, ala Edge of Tomorrow (3.48x multiplier).

If American Made’s legs match those of Edge of Tomorrow, it’s eyeing a final tally just below $60m. That isn’t ideal for a $50m-budgeted Tom Cruise vehicle, but overseas is where Cruise is still valuable. Speaking of, American Made took in $3.8 million from 61 international markets this weekend, giving it an overseas cume of $64.84m (the film has played for a few weeks around the globe). Global total is $81.61m. Overall, American Made’s grosses are neither a blow nor a boon for Universal, but they can hope that the flick’s word-of-mouth will keep it chugging along through the coming weeks.

American made movie
Universal Pictures

Coming in fourth, Warner Bros.’ The Lego Ninjago Movie grossed $11.64 million in its second outing. Domestic cume is $35.2m, a far cry from its predecessors (Ninjago has grossed less in 10 days than this February’s The Lego Batman Movie did in its first two). Lego Ninjago’s -43% decline is also the worst second-weekend fall in the series. Right now, Ninjago’s performance is off -9% from last September’s Storks at the same point ($38.49m), indicating a final haul somewhere around $60m. That’s pretty disappointing for a $70m franchise flick, but this is primarily due to lack of interest in the source material as well as lukewarm reception. Overseas, Ninjago built $10.6 million from 56 markets. International total is $22.9m. As Lego Batman proved earlier this year with its $136m international haul, this franchise has yet to truly click with global audiences. Ninjago has tallied $58.1m worldwide, with top markets being Germany ($2.6m), Russia ($2.6m), Australia ($2.4m), Brazil ($861k), and Mexico ($697k).

Sony’s Flatliners remake took fifth place, grossing a disappointing $6.57 million from 2,552 venues. With regards to horror remakes, Flatliners opened -23% off from 2011’s The Thing ($8.49m). Flatliners’ debut is also -13% off from this month’s Mother! ($7.53m), another horror-centric flop. If Sony was hoping for some Halloween legs to carry this thing, the movie’s remarkably bad 3% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes dashes any of those dreams. Hell, odds are it won’t be playing in wide release by the time Halloween rolls around. Flatliners marks the third consecutive horror flop since IT came out, and while it’s easy to point fingers and say, “It’s IT’s fault,” one must take into account that each of these movies (Flatliners, Mother!, and last week’s Friend Request) were either polarizing (Mother!’s 67% Rotten Tomatoes rating vs. its ‘F’ grade from CinemaScore polls) or outright maligned (Friend Request and now Flatliners). The only thing IT has done, really, is offer people a better option than what’s available. Internationally, Flatliners grabbed $3.1 million from 21 markets, with the two majors being Australia ($900k) and the U.K. ($625k). Sony says that Flatliners’ numbers are +14% over Lionsgate’s Nerve (final overseas total of $46.66m), but Nerve didn’t carry toxic word-of-mouth. Flatliners wasn’t costly ($19m), but it’ll still need international numbers to carry it. Global haul is $9.67 million.

 

HOLDOVERS

Fox Searchlight

6. Battle of the Sexes (Fox Searchlight) – $3.42 million (+563.0%), $4.09m cume
7. American Assassin (Lionsgate) – $3.32 million (-47.0%), $31.86m cume
8. Home Again (Open Road) – $1.73 million (-46.6%), $25.15m cume
9. Til Death Do Us Part (Novus) – $1.52 million (NEW), $1.52m cume
10. Mother! (Paramount) – $1.45 million (-56.0%), $16.31m cume

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