If we’re going to be frank, we can call January an entire year unto itself and be done with the whole thing. That has no relation to movies. Movies have done just fine, with this weekend coming in on par with the same frame last year ($141.4 million vs. 2017’s $141.98 million).
Debuting in first, Fox’s Maze Runner: The Death Cure wrangled $24.17m from 3,787 venues, a noticeable yet understandable -20.3% decline from 2015’s Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials ($30.32m debut). Sequelitis tends to kick in around third entries and that wasn’t any different here, although Death Cure is the grand finale so it’s not like a ton was on the line. Should it follow Scorch Trials’ performance (2.69x multiple), Death Cure will notch $65m total. That’s far from abysmal when you consider the movie’s reasonable $62m production cost and international following.
Speaking of, Maze Runner: The Death Cure sprinted to $62.6m from 70 overseas markets this weekend. Overseas cume for the Wes Ball-directed flick is $83.95m and global is $108.12m. The Scorch Trials tallied $230.63m internationally and Death Cure is currently outpacing that movie by +7.6%. All in all, Death Cure is shaping up for over $250m globally, a decent performance. Top markets for Death Cure are China ($21.6m), South Korea ($15.1m), Australia ($5.6m), Russia ($3.9m), and Indonesia ($3.1m).
Falling to second (finally), Sony’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle swung $16.14m (-17.2%) in its sixth weekend for a huge $337.8m cume. Jumanji eclipsed 2007’s Spider-Man 3 ($336.53m) to become Sony’s third-highest grossing movie ever, with eyes on 2004’s Spider-Man 2 ($373.59m) next.
Overseas, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle grossed $17.7m from 92 markets for a $484.02m cume. Global total is $821.82m. Top markets for Jumanji are China ($72.4m), the U.K. ($46.3m), Australia ($34.8m), France ($26.1m), and Russia ($24.7m).
Expanding into third, Entertainment’s Hostiles surprised with $10.11m from 2,816 hubs. Domestic cume when including limited release is $11.96m. Despite zero awards buzz, Hostiles played well throughout Middle America, offering an alternative to the typically glitzy prestige fare. It remains to be seen whether the Scott Cooper-directed western can reach Entertainment’s previous high, last year’s 47 Meters Down ($44.31m), but this is a healthy showing nonetheless.
There are no international numbers to report for Hostiles.
The show must go on – taking fourth (a jump from fifth place last frame), Fox’s The Greatest Showman sang to the tune of $9.55m (-10.3%) in its sixth weekend, yet again coming in ahead of the movie’s tepid $8.81m debut. Domestic total for the Hugh Jackman musical is $126.53m and it’s assured to leap over Lionsgate’s critical darling La La Land ($151.1m) soon. The Greatest Showman is doing so well that the biggest threat to its theatrical play is a home media release in March. We’ll see how high it can go until then.
Internationally, The Greatest Showman added $10.1m from 45 markets for a $133.01m cume. Global is $259.53m for the $84m-budgeted flick. Top markets for Showman are the U.K. ($26.8m) and Australia ($19.3m), with updated numbers pending for the others – Mexico ($10.6m), South Korea ($9.7m), and Russia ($7.7m).
Rounding out the top five, Fox’s The Post printed $9.11m (-22.3%) in its third weekend of nationwide release. Domestic total for the Best Picture nominee is $58.97m. The Post has been holding fairly well, pacing +22.6% ahead of Steven Spielberg’s 2015 thriller Bridge of Spies at the same point in release (when discounting weeks of limited play). A similar pattern sets The Post up for a final total over/under $90m.
Overseas, The Post earned $10.2m from 34 markets for a $24.7m total and $83.49m global haul. Top plays for the Tom Hanks-Meryl Steep drama are the U.K. ($5.2m), Australia ($4.3m), Spain ($3.5m), France ($3m), and Brazil ($930k).
HOLDOVERS
6. 12 Strong (Warner Bros.) – $8.69 million (-45.1%), $29.81m cume
7. Den of Thieves (STX) – $8.63 million (-43.2%), $28.78m cume
8. The Shape of Water (Fox Searchlight) – $5.92 million (+170.9%), $37.9m cume
9. Paddington 2 (Warner Bros.) – $5.67 million (-29.2%), $32.12m cume
10. Padmaavat (Viva) – $4.43 million (NEW), $4.94m cume
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