LOS ANGELES — Over a sleepy summer weekend at the box office, holdovers reigned supreme as newcomers landed without a hitch.
“Deadpool & Wolverine” reclaimed the top spot at the North American box office in its fifth weekend with $18.3 million. Cumulative international revenues now exceed $1.2 billion.
Walt Disney Co., owner of 20th Century Studios, claimed the top two spots on the charts for the second weekend in a row, with “Alien: Romulus” following closely behind the foul-mouthed superhero film. The latest installment in the 45-year-old franchise grossed $16.2 million in its second weekend after a promising opening. Disney’s “Inside Out 2” also stayed on the charts, taking in $2.1 million domestically in its 11th weekend. Global revenues now amount to more than $1.6 billion.
“This is an incredible turnaround for Disney, which, shockingly, almost disappeared from the radar last year and over the course of the pandemic,” said Paul Degarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. “They’ve released a few billion dollar movies so far and ‘Moana 2’ is still on the way. This is a huge comeback year for Disney – there’s no doubt about it.”
The romantic drama “It Ends With Us,” also a repeat hit, landed in third place for the second consecutive weekend with $11.9 million. The Sony film starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, who also directed, has earned $242.6 million worldwide to date. It cost only $25 million to produce.
The new releases fell victim to the overcrowded film market, resulting in what Degarabedian called a ‘box office déjà vu’, with the well-known films dominating and making it more difficult for the new releases to find their place. Degarabedian says the upcoming Labor Day holiday will likely benefit the newer titles as word of mouth spreads and more people head to the movies over the long weekend.
“Blink Twice,” directed by Zoë Kravitz and starring her life partner Channing Tatum, had a modest opening, grossing $7.3 million and claiming fourth place on the charts. The psychological thriller from Amazon MGM Studios follows Tatum as technology mogul Slater King, who takes two women to his private island. While it may seem like a perfect vacation at first, many more sinister events unfold as visitors learn the truth about the island and its billionaire. The film’s budget is reportedly $20 million.
Reviews were mixed, with audiences giving the film a B-CinemaScore, but the film was considered Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a score of 79%.
Rounding out the top five was “The Forge,” a faith-focused coming-of-age film about a young man finding his way through Christianity. The film opened with $6.6 million and received an A+ CinemaScore from audiences. It was released by Affirm Films, Sony’s faith-based banner.
Another new release, “The Crow,” was beaten by “Twisters” and “Coraline” in the rankings. “Twisters” entered its sixth week with $6.2 million in domestic receipts and “Coraline,” which was re-released last week for its 15th anniversary, brought in another $5.1 million in its second weekend.
Lionsgate’s “The Crow,” an R-rated adaptation of the critically acclaimed graphic novel and a remake of the 1994 film of the same name, opened with $4.6 million. The studio also went bankrupt in August with the release of “Borderlands,” an adaptation of the video game, which grossed $15.2 million over three weekends, compared to its reported $120 million budget.
To complete the “story of the remains,” as Dergarabedian put it, “Despicable Me 4” and “Inside Out 2” closed out the weekend’s top 10 films, earning $4.4 million and $2.1 million, respectively. yielded. “Inside Out 2” has been on the charts for eleven consecutive weekends and remains the No. 1 animated film of all time worldwide.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday in U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. The final domestic figures will be announced on Monday.
1. “Deadpool & Wolverine,” $18.3 million.
2. “Alien: Romulus,” $16.2 million.
3. “It Ends with Us,” $11.9 million.
4. “Two Blink,” $7.3 million.
5. “The Forge,” $6.6 million.
6. “Twisters,” $6.2 million.
7. “Coraline,” $5.1 million.
8. “The Crow,” $4.6 million.
9. “Despicable Me 4,” $4.4 million.
10. “Inside Out 2,” $2.1 million.
