The reign of the sequels continues.
On the one hand, that’s no surprise: for the tenth weekend in a row, sequels and/or prequels dominated the top two spots at the North American box office. The surprise came with the order of the top two films. While Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again was widely expected to debut in first place, according to studio estimates it was narrowly beaten out by a stronger-than-anticipated opening for the action follow-up The Equalizer 2.
Coming in a tad higher than the first Equalizer‘s $34.1 million, the Denzel Washington follow-up grossed an estimated $35.8 million on 3,388 screens. That far exceeded the studio’s expectations going into the weekend, as their conservative projections had it finishing in the ballpark of $25 million. While the follow-up had only a so-so average of 51% on Rotten Tomatoes, when it comes to male-driven movies of this ilk, critical notices tend not to matter as much. Indeed, opening day audiences awarded the R-rated film an “A” Cinemascore, suggesting that its target demo was more than satisfied.
Denzel Washington’s breakout turn as a former CIA black ops agent who comes out of retirement to avenge society’s ills echoes what Liam Neeson did with the Taken franchise, which similarly gave that actor a late-career boost as a bona fide action star. For comparison’s sake, Taken 2 debuted to $49.5 million in October 2012 vs. the first film’s $24.7 million, though its descent down the charts was considerably more rapid than its predecessor and it ultimately finished with a lower total in North America ($139.8 million vs. $145 million). Given that Equalizer 2 opened almost exactly in line with the first film in that series, it will be interesting to see if it can similarly top $100 million domestically by the end of its run. For the record, this is Washington’s fourth film with director Antoine Fuqua and their third hit, with the only misfire from the two being the Western revival The Magnificent Seven back in 2016.
Almost exactly ten years after the first Mamma Mia! debuted to $27.7 million, Universal’s Here We Go Again improved upon that film’s performance (even adjusting for inflation) with an estimated $34.3 million in its opening weekend. While an impressive total, that’s slightly below what many were predicting, allowing Equalizer 2 to sneak away with the weekend crown (at least according to estimates). Reviews for the sequel were much stronger than for the original (78% to 54% on Rotten Tomatoes), while the Cinemascore for both was an encouraging “A-“.
Given its higher opening weekend tally, it will be interesting to see how Here We Go Again holds up in the weeks ahead. The first Mamma Mia! was a leggy performer, never dropping more than 40 percent weekend-to-weekend in its first two months of release and ultimately finishing with $144.1 million in North America, representing a fantastic 5.2x weekend-to-final multiplier. Perhaps a more apt comparison for Here We Go Again would be 2015’s Pitch Perfect 2, which debuted to a massive $69.2 million but proved considerably more front-loaded than the first movie, ultimately finishing with $184.2 million and a 2.6x weekend-to-final multiplier. If Here We Go Again were to follow a similar trajectory, we’d be looking at a final gross somewhere in the range of $90 million, though it seems likely to reach the $100 million mark if the first film’s performance is any indication. Despite losing out on a No. 1 debut (though there’s a slight possibility that could change once final grosses come in tomorrow), this is a fantastic opening that proves the Mamma Mia! franchise is alive and well after a decade-long hiatus.
Last weekend’s champ Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation dropped 47 percent from its $44 million debut last weekend, bringing in an estimated $23.1 million in its sophomore frame and a strong total of $91 million after ten days. Though that’s a heftier dip than either of the first two films in their respective sophomore frames, HT3 has benefitted from strong midweek business given its release at the height of summer when most kids are out of school. Next weekend could prove to be a more competitive frame in terms of the family audience, as it will be contending with the release of Warner Bros.’ animated Teen Titans Go! To The Movies.
In fourth place, Disney-Marvel’s Ant-Man and The Wasp dipped another 44 percent to an estimated $16.1 million, giving the MCU sequel a healthy $164.4 million after three weeks of release. That puts the film roughly 24 percent ahead of the first Ant-Man at the same point in its run and within spitting distance of that movie’s $180.2 million final total. It should easily surpass that amount by the end of next weekend, as well as the lifetime totals of MCU stablemates Captain America: The First Avenger ($176.6 million) and Thor ($181 million).
Continuing strong in fifth places was Disney’s Incredibles 2, which took in an estimated $11.5 million in weekend number six. Easing just 29 percent from its performance last weekend, Disney-Pixar’s animated blockbuster now stands at a massive $557.3 million in North America, with still plenty of wind left in its sails.
More to come…
The post Studio Weekend Estimates: ‘Equalizer 2’ Surprise No. 1 with $35.8M; ‘Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!’ Settles for 2nd with $34.3M appeared first on BoxOffice Pro.
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