The Meg is a monster.
Though pre-release tracking had the Megalodon flick finishing in the realm of $20-$25 million this weekend, the Warner Bros. release blew all predictions out of the water with an estimated $44.5 million. That makes it the third hit shark movie in as many years after 2016’s The Shallows and last year’s 47 Meters Down, though The Meg‘s opening weekend was on an entirely different scale, as those films debuted to a relatively compact $16.8 million and $11.2 million, respectively. Of course, The Meg was also produced on a much larger budget – reports have it costing in the range of $150 million – so the studio certainly needed it to make a splash of this size. Additionally, it also boasted a much higher screen count (4,118), making it the second-widest August release of all time after 2016’s Suicide Squad. The per-screen average for the film was $10,806.
The Meg‘s significant overperformance this weekend caught the industry off-guard, as the Jason Statham starrer didn’t have the kind of metrics (industry tracking, social media) that would have indicated a debut anywhere near $40 million. Clearly, moviegoers’ appetite for an over-the-top shark movie in the dog days of summer was greatly underestimated. Not adjusted for inflation, the opening was in the ballpark of Alien vs. Predator, which debuted with $38.2 million during roughly the same period in 2004 and finished with $80.2 million in North America. Like that film, The Meg proved to be basically critic-proof given (its Rotten Tomatoes rating is 49 percent), and its Cinemascore was a much healthier “B+,” indicating general satisfaction among its opening-day audience.
Despite being dethroned by The Meg, Mission: Impossible – Fallout boasted another strong hold in its third weekend, dropping just 43 percent to an estimated $20 million in second place. As third weekends go, that’s more or less in line with every Mission: Impossible entry aside from Mission: Impossible III, all of which dropped less than 40 percent in their respective third frames. With a very strong $161.9 million after 17 days of release, Fallout has proven to be one of the summer’s leggiest tentpoles and has a good chance of topping $200 million by the end of its run.
Finishing in third place in its sophomore frame, Disney’s Christopher Robin took in an estimated $12.4 million, dropping 49 percent from its $24.5 million opening. That’s a decent hold for the family-oriented late-summer release, which is performing similarly to the studio’s Pete’s Dragon as well as 2015’s Paddington. Those films had grossed $42.9 million and $39.9 million, respectively, by the same point, and they finished with identical domestic totals of $76.2 million. Looking ahead, Christopher Robin is looking at relatively smooth sailing for the rest of the summer, as no other major family releases are slated to hit theaters through Labor Day.
Edging its way into fourth place was Sony/ScreenGems’ Slender Man, which took in an estimated $11.3 million in 2,358 locations in its debut frame. That’s a shade higher than expected for the low-budget horror film and a decent total considering this weekend’s competition from The Meg and the fact that its Rotten Tomatoes score is a dismal 15 percent. That said, all signs point to a brief theatrical run for the supernatural horror flick, as audiences awarded it an unencouraging “D-” Cinemascore. Look for this one to burn out quickly before hitting home-viewing formats.
Opening in just 1,512 locations, Spike Lee’s acclaimed BlacKkKlansman debuted in fifth place with an estimated $10.7 million, giving the Focus Features release a healthy per-screen average of $7,142. The latest release from the iconic director benefitted from months of buzz leading up to its debut, with the film winning the Grand Prix prize at the Cannes Film Festival back in May and earning plaudits from critics, many of whom are calling it one of Lee’s greatest achievements. Indeed, the film currently boasts a sizzling 97 percent “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, in addition to an “A-” Cinemascore from audiences.
In the scheme of Lee’s career, this is his biggest opening weekend since 2006’s Inside Man ($28.9 million), though that film benefitted from a star-studded cast (Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster) and a much-wider release pattern. It’s also his third-biggest opening weekend of all time, coming in just behind The Original Kings of Comedy, which debuted to $11 million in 847 theaters in August of 2000. Indeed, this is a rare mainstream hit for the director, whose highest-grossing title after Inside Man ($88.5 million domestic) was Malcolm X, which debuted to $9.8 million and finished with $48.1 million in 1990-91. BlacKkKlansman is certainly Lee’s most-talked-about film in years, much of that owing to its zeitgeist-capturing themes. It will be interesting to see how this one plays out in the weeks ahead, but this is a strong start.
Dropping to sixth was Lionsgate’s’ The Spy Who Dumped Me, which dipped 45 percent to an estimated $6.6 million in its sophomore frame. That gives the Kate McKinnon-Mila Kunis comedy a so-so $24.5 million after ten days of release.
In seventh place, Universal’s Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again passed the $100 million mark after taking in an estimated $5.8 million in weekend number four. With a domestic total of $103.8 million to date, the sequel is running just about even with the first Mamma Mia! at the same point in its run, though with higher weekend-to-weekend declines it will likely finish significantly below that film’s final domestic total of $144.1 million. Nonetheless, it’s a good performance for the musical follow-up, which has thus far grossed over $250 million worldwide.
In eighth, The Equalizer 2 took in an estimated $5.5 million in its fourth weekend, giving the Denzel Washington action sequel a healthy $89.6 million to date. It’s primed to finish with roughly the same total as the first film, which brought in $101.5 million domestically.
Rounding out the Top 10 are Sony’s hit animated threequel Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation and Disney-Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp, which grossed an estimated $5.1 million and $4 million, respectively, in their sixth weekends. Summer Vacation‘s domestic total now stands at $146.8 million; Ant-Man and the Wasp, meanwhile, crossed the $200 million mark on Friday and has a current total of $203.5 million in North America. The superhero sequel currently sits in sixteenth place on the list of all-time MCU grossers domestically and is within striking distance of 2013’s Thor: The Dark World ($206.3 million).
Finishing outside the Top 10 was Dog Days, which took in an estimated $2.6 million in 2,442 theaters. That gives the canine-oriented rom-com a rather dreary per-screen average of $1,077, which ranks as one of the worst for a wide release this year. The total for the LD Entertainment release, which got an early jump on the weekend by opening on Wednesday, is $3.6 million over the five-day period.
Also outside the Top 10, A24’s Eighth Grade crossed the $10 million threshold with an estimated $1.6 million in its fifth weekend of release. The teenage dramedy written and directed by Bo Burnham now has $10.09 million in the bank and stands as one of the summer’s indie success stories alongside such films as Sorry To Bother You and Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Overseas Update:
The Meg dominated the weekend internationally as well, taking in a very good $97 million in 42 territories, including $50.3 million in China. That gives it a worldwide opening total of $141.3 million.
Mission: Impossible – Fallout took in another $38.4 million in 59 overseas markets this weekend for an international total of $275.6 million and a global haul of $437.5 million. Cumes include $46.4 million in Korea, $22.4 million in the U.K., $18.7 million in Japan, and $14.4 million in France. It’s slated to drop in China on August 31.
Continuing its record-breaking run here and abroad is Disney’s Incredibles 2, which grossed an estimated $14.6 million overseas this weekend. Having effectively surpassed Toy Story 3‘s global total of $1.067 billion, it is now the highest-grossing Pixar release of all time worldwide with a worldwide cume of $1.088 billion.
The post Studio Weekend Estimates: ‘The Meg’ Scores a Super-Sized $44.5M; ‘BlacKkKlansman’ Opens Strong w/ $10.7M appeared first on BoxOffice Pro.
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