Box Office Report: The Denzel Takes It All

By Kayleigh Donaldson | Film | July 22, 2018 |

By Kayleigh Donaldson | Film | July 22, 2018 |

Game time: How many movies in the box office top 10 this week are sequels? I’ll give you a little time to think about it. No, you’re wrong, the answer is eight. Yup, 80 percent of the top 10 this week. Sequelrama up in this joint! So, the next time I hear everyone lamenting how nobody makes original movies anymore, I’m gonna point to this.

Surprisingly, the big winner this weekend was The Equalizer 2, which brought in over $35.8m from just under 3400 theatres. It edged out the assumed victor, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! That grossed around $34.3m. Sony and Universal respectively will be happy with those numbers. It’s a helpful reminder of two things: One, women like to see movies, and two, don’t fuck with Denzel. The former film will probably take a big hit this coming week as Tom Cruise storms in with his new film, but The Equalizer 2 only cost about $62m to make so it won’t hurt too much. I personally expect Mamma Mia! to play well in the long haul. It’s Summer froth, great to get drunk to and you just know sing-along screenings are coming.

Falling to number 3 is Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation with $23.1m, a 47.5% drop. It’s made back its money so it has nothing to worry about. I doubt Sony were expecting this thing to do Incredibles 2 money, although, 6 weeks in with $557m domestically, Pixar will certainly have the better year.

Things are quieter for Ant Man and the Wasp, which slides to number 4 with $16.1m. It’s made $164m domestically, so it’s certainly a minor hit in Marvel’s pack. However, this film has yet to open in about half of the international territories, so we can’t exactly gauge this film’s success until at least the end of the Summer. Most of Europe hasn’t even seen it yet. We’re not used to having to wait for Marvel films, to be honest.

In its third week, Skyscraper took a big tumble of 56% and its domestic gross has only managed to scrape past $46m. Remember, this thing cost about $125m. It’s been greatly helped by a box office boost from China, which is what they were betting on, but competition will be tough in the coming weeks. A blip on Dwayne Johnson’s C.V.? Eh, maybe domestically but it’s nothing major. It’s just a reminder that audiences aren’t all that wild about his more sombre fare.

Rounding out the top 10 for new releases is Unfriended: Dark Web, which made just under $3.5m. That’s below Box Office Mojo’s estimates but this thing only cost $1m to make so they’re fine.

In its second week of release, Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade made an amazing $794k from 33 theatres - about $24k per screening! Already, it’s grossed $1m domestically, so expect A24 to push this thing hard in coming weeks and months. Blindspotting, another well-received indie, opened in 14 theatres to over $332k. One of my favourite films of the year, McQueen, made $96k from 4 theatres and the biggest per-theatre average of the weekend, so go see that one if you have the chance!

By the way, Black Panther is about $70k off a $700m domestic gross. Just for those who want some motivation.

Shout out to the 2018 re-release of Wanda, the critically acclaimed and highly influential film by Barbara Loden. It was the only movie she ever wrote and directed and it didn’t get anywhere near the credit it deserved in her lifetime. There’s a wonderful episode of You Must Remember This on Loden.

This coming week sees the release of Teen Titans Go! To The Movies and Mission: Impossible - Fallout. Mustaches at the ready.

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

What films did you watch this weekend? Let us know in the comments!