Weekend Box Office (April 12 - 14, 2019)
THIS WEEKEND It was a repeat weekend on top for the super hero comedy Shazam which collected an estimated $25.1M dropping a moderate 53% in its second round. The Warner Bros. hit has banked $94.9M domestically and looks headed for the $140M mark by the end of the run. It would be the lowest amount for the DCEU (the other six each broke $200M), but it's also the least expensive production and centers around a lesser known character so this would be a nice win.
Overseas, Shazam is also still number one with an estimated $35.9M pushing the international take to $163.9M and the global haul to $258.8M. China is the leader with $40.4M, however the second weekend decline there was an alarming 84%. Still, a final worldwide gross of near $400M seems likely which would be over four times the production cost.
The new Issa Rae-Regina Hall comedy Little enjoyed a solid debut in second place this weekend grossing an estimated $15.5M from 2,667 theaters for a good $5,812 average. The Universal release beat all the other new wide releases and fared well with audiences who gave a CinemaScore grade of B+. Reviews were mixed, but starpower and funny trailers did the heavy lifting.
Taking off with disappointing results was the new remake of Hellboy which was panned by critics and stumbled into third place with an opening of an estimated $12M. The Lionsgate release averaged $3,638 from 3,303 locations and did not fare well with paying customers either. Its CinemaScore was a C. Excitement was never there and the marketplace had other better choices for the target audience. Plus millions are already being spent on Avengers pre-sales so many action movie fans are focusing their dollars elsewhere.
Horror fans fled the fright remake Pet Sematary which dropped 59% in its second round to an estimated $10M giving Paramount $41.1M on its way to a $50-55M final. Dumbo fell 50% to an estimated $9.2M for Disney upping its sum to $89.9M.
The comic book smash Captain Marvel followed with an estimated $8.6M, dipping only 31% repping the smallest decline of any wide release this weekend. Domestic has climbed up to $386.5M making it number 35 on the all-time list. Overseas grosses are now at $678M putting the worldwide tally at over $1.06 billion.
Jordan Peele's Us was down 50% to an estimated $7M putting Universal at $163.5M. The romance After opened in quietly eighth place with an estimated $6.2M from 2,138 locations giving Aviron a mild $2,900 average.
Fellow freshman Missing Link struggled to make the top ten debuting in ninth with an estimated $5.8M. Despite strong reviews, the PG-rated toon averaged a weak $1,711 from a very wide 3,413 locations as families opted for other options, or not taking a trip to the theaters at all. Many will find this on home entertainment platforms later. The Best of Enemies rounded out the top ten with an estimated $2M, down 55%, and $8.1M overall for STX.
The top ten films grossed an estimated $101.5M which was down 23% from last year when Rampage debuted at number one with $35.8M; and down 35% from 2017 when The Fate of the Furious debuted on top with $98.8M.
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This column is updated three times each week: Thursday (upcoming weekend's summary), Sunday (post-weekend analysis with estimates), and Monday night (actuals). Opinions expressed in this column are those solely of the author.
Last Updated: April 14, 2019 at 12:30PM ET
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