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Proud Mary.jpg

Box Office Report: Justice for 'Paddington 2'

By Kayleigh Donaldson | Film | January 15, 2018 |

By Kayleigh Donaldson | Film | January 15, 2018 |


Proud Mary.jpg

Welcome to the jungle, we’ve got big money. The Rock and company secored a second week at the top of the box office, holding off three new releases and securing our future President’s status as a real A-List star. He couldn’t make Baywatch happen but don’t you doubt his ability to turn a damn Jumanji sequel into something worth banking on. With an extra $27m in the kitty, the film’s domestic total soared past $290m. Internationally, the numbers remain strong too, with that crucial Chinese box office bringing in round $40m. The film has yet to open in Japan, another big market, so keep your eyes on this movie grossing upwards of $800m worldwide.

Coming in at number 2 is Steven Spielberg’s The Post, which expanded to over 2800 theatres nationwide, bringing in over $18.6m. Audiences are loving it, with an ‘A’ CinemaScore, and it’s playing best with women over 35. The power of Meryl!

The highest ranking debut this week is Liam Neeson’s The Commuter, which sits at number 3 with $13.45m. Neeson, in-between spewing nonsense about witch hunts over sexual harassment in Hollywood, remains a solidly bankable action star. His brand as such, following the surprise success of the Taken franchise, is strong enough to withstand weak reviews like the ones his latest received. Shockingly, the majority of its audiences were men.

This week, with an extra $11m in the domestic gross, Star Wars: The Last Jedi became the highest grossing film of 2017, with a current worldwide gross that sits at $1.264bn. Wow, what a flop for Disney. Clearly this is a disaster for Lucasfilm and Rian Johnson. Curse him for ruining all those childhoods, but clearly he’ll pay the price for creating the 10th highest grossing film of all time, a feat it pulled off in only 5 weeks. I’m not sure we’ll ever get over this.

At number 6 this week is Paddington 2, with a disappointing $10.6m. Curse all of you who didn’t go see this and give it all your money. Those nice things? You don’t deserve them. One place below that is Proud Mary, the Taraji P. Henson action-thriller that Screen Gems seemed determined to dump. Advertising for the film seemed non-existent and there were multiple reports of screenings being cancelled at the last minute or just impossible to come by. Despite that, the film took in $10m, and is expected to gross $14m over the 4 day weekend, which means it would recoup its budget. It’s almost as if there’s an audience for kick-ass genre films with women of colour in the lead. Who would have thought it?

Golden Globe winner Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri brought in $2.3m as it expanded its release to over 1000 theatres. As with many Oscar contenders, a slow and steady release schedule seems the way to go. Watch that trend continue with everything from The Shape of Water to Lasy Bird, I, Tonya and Phantom Thread. Interestingly, Ridley Scott’s much talked about drama, All the Money in the World seems to be slumping. It fell from 10 to 19, grossing only $1.165m in its 3rd week. That’s less than Wonder, which has been out for 9 weeks. It’s just above Phantom Thread, the latest Paul Thomas Anderson film, which made $1.145m from only 62 theatres. Quick, someone call Marky Mark to save the situation like he totally could have done on 9/11!

This week, the release schedule includes the latest film with Gerard butler and 50 Cent - together at last! - and 12 Strong, a war film with Chris Hemsworth that’s magic hammer-free, but does include a possibly sane Michael Shannon. No guarantees there.

You can check out the rest of the weekend box office here.

What films did you watch this weekend? Does the 90s nostalgia love for Jumanji baffle you as much as it does me? Is Paddington the hero we desperately need? What are you bringing to the Liam Neeson witch hunt - thumb screws or pitch-forks? If the big wheels keep on turning, what does that mean for Proud Mary? Answers in the comments.