Weekend Box Office (September 14 - 16, 2018)
THIS WEEKEND Fox's new sci-fi action film The Predator opened at number one with an estimated $24M coming in line with expectations. The latest chapter from the three-decade-old franchise debuted a bit behind the $24.8M of 2010's Predators. Playing ultrawide in 4,037 theaters, the R-rated pic averaged $5,945 per site. Studio data from Fox showed that the audience was 62% male, 66% over 25 and 55% non-white. Ticket buyers were not too thrilled, however, as the CinemaScore grade was a disappointing C+.
After a franchise-record opening weekend, The Nun came crashing down in the second weekend plunging 66% to an estimated $18.2M giving Warner Bros. $85.1M to date. Upfront excitement led to a huge turnout last week, but mixed word of mouth has impacted the sophomore session. A domestic final in the neighborhood of $115M may result.
Opening to solid results in third place was the acclaimed mystery A Simple Favor which bowed to an estimated $16.1M from 3,102 locations for a $5,174 average. Reviews for the R-rated Lionsgate release were strong and the marketing connected with the target audience of adult women. The B+ grade from CinemaScore bodes well for the fall run ahead.
Sony unveiled its 1980s Detroit-set drama White Boy Rick and was met with an estimated $8.8M in sales from moviegoers for a fourth place debut. Earning generally good reviews, the R-rated film averaged $3,514 from 2,504 theaters.
Dropping 34% in its fifth weekend and still making solid cash was Crazy Rich Asians with an estimated $8.7M. The runaway Warner Bros. hit stands at $149.6M now with more to come. Jennifer Garner's revenge thriller Peppermint fell 55% in its second weekend to an estimated $6.1M for $24.2M to date for STX.
The shark thriller The Meg followed with an estimated $3.8M, down 38%, with $137.1M overall from North America. The twisty thriller Searching did well easing just 30% to an estimated $3.2M putting Sony at $19.6M. The faith-based film Unbroken: Path to Redemption debuted to an estimated $2.4M from 1,620 locations for a soft $1,451 average for Pure Flix.
Mission: Impossible - Fallout remained a major choice for many action fans grossing an estimated $2.3M in its eighth weekend in the top ten, down 40%. Paramount has now banked $216.1M beating the $215.4M of 2000's MI2 to become the top grossing Mission movie ever. Of course, Fallout has sold less tickets, but the 22-year-old franchse is still going strong with audiences. Global is a big $760.9M.
The top ten films grossed an estimated $93.5M which was down 8% from last year when It stayed at number one with $60.1M; but up 32% from 2016 when Sully remained in the top spot with $21.7M.
Get earlier box office updates and analysis by following BoxOfficeGuru.com on Twitter.
| # | Title | Sep 14 - 16 | Sep 7 - 9 | % Chg. | Theaters | Weeks | AVG | Cumulative | Distributor |
| 1 | The Predator | $ 24,632,284 | 4,037 | 1 | $ 6,102 | $ 24,632,284 | Fox | ||
| 2 | The Nun | 18,238,263 | 53,807,379 | -66.1 | 3,876 | 2 | 4,705 | 85,114,588 | Warner Bros. |
| 3 | A Simple Favor | 16,011,689 | 3,102 | 1 | 5,162 | 16,011,689 | Lionsgate | ||
| 4 | White Boy Rick | 8,860,431 | 2,504 | 1 | 3,539 | 8,860,431 | Sony | ||
| 5 | Crazy Rich Asians | 8,688,369 | 13,148,404 | -33.9 | 3,385 | 5 | 2,567 | 149,540,273 | Warner Bros. |
| 6 | Peppermint | 6,004,227 | 13,423,255 | -55.3 | 2,980 | 2 | 2,015 | 24,180,032 | STX |
| 7 | The Meg | 3,862,851 | 6,094,327 | -36.6 | 2,851 | 6 | 1,355 | 137,145,041 | Warner Bros. |
| 8 | Searching | 3,179,538 | 4,570,235 | -30.4 | 2,009 | 4 | 1,583 | 19,600,641 | Sony |
| 9 | Mission: Impossible - Fallout | 2,285,225 | 3,885,798 | -41.2 | 1,761 | 8 | 1,298 | 216,105,562 | Paramount |
| 10 | Unbroken: Path to Redemption | 2,238,723 | 1,620 | 1 | 1,382 | 2,238,723 | Pure Flix | ||
| 11 | Christopher Robin | 2,150,149 | 3,404,931 | -36.9 | 1,902 | 7 | 1,130 | 95,143,636 | Disney |
| 12 | BlacKkKlansman | 1,260,890 | 2,609,915 | -51.7 | 942 | 6 | 1,339 | 45,911,840 | Focus |
| 13 | Operation Finale | 1,159,258 | 2,871,184 | -59.6 | 1,472 | 3 | 788 | 16,305,563 | MGM |
| 14 | The Wife | 1,122,185 | 639,857 | 75.4 | 541 | 5 | 2,074 | 3,430,924 | Sony Classics |
| 15 | Alpha | 1,074,896 | 2,517,768 | -57.3 | 1,534 | 5 | 701 | 34,415,913 | Sony |
| 16 | Hotel Transylvania 3 | 776,843 | 1,121,921 | -30.8 | 673 | 10 | 1,154 | 165,282,942 | Sony |
| 17 | Incredibles 2 | 746,709 | 1,352,194 | -44.8 | 710 | 14 | 1,052 | 605,615,734 | Disney |
| 18 | God Bless The Broken Road | 432,385 | 1,386,253 | -68.8 | 1,201 | 2 | 360 | 2,402,617 | Freestyle |
| 19 | Ant-Man and the Wasp | 389,627 | 619,010 | -37.1 | 356 | 11 | 1,094 | 215,407,418 | Disney |
| 20 | Mamma Mia 2 | 351,630 | 594,885 | -40.9 | 455 | 9 | 773 | 119,727,565 | Universal |
| Top 5 | $ 76,431,036 | $ 91,043,600 | -16.1 | ||||||
| Top 10 | 94,001,600 | 106,333,196 | -11.6 | ||||||
| Top 20 | 103,466,172 | 116,174,596 | -10.9 | ||||||
| Top 20 vs. 2017 | 103,466,172 | 108,314,134 | -4.5 |
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: September 16, 2018 at 12:40PM ET
©1997 - 2018 Box Office Guru