Weekend Box Office: ‘The Predator’ Dominates, But With A Record-Breaking Low
The Predator was number one at the weekend box office, knocking The Nun from the top spot. That said, there’s more bad news than good for Shane Black’s horror reboot, which may struggle to break even. Here’s the full weekend box office chart:
Film | Weekend | Per Screen | Total | |
1 | The Predator | $24,000,000 | $5,945 | $24,000,000 |
2 | The Nun | $18,200,000 (-66%) | $4,696 | $85,076,325 |
3 | A Simple Favor | $16,050,000 | $5,174 | $16,050,000 |
4 | White Boy Rick | $8,800,000 | $3,514 | $8,800,000 |
5 | Crazy Rich Asians | $8,700,000 (-34%) | $2,570 | $149,551,904 |
6 | Peppermint | $6,070,000 (-55%) | $2,037 | $24,245,804 |
7 | The Meg | $3,805,000 (-38%) | $1,335 | $137,087,190 |
8 | Searching | $3,200,000 (-30%) | $1,593 | $19,621,103 |
9 | Unbroken: Path to Redemption | $2,350,000 | $1,451 | $2,350,000 |
10 | Mission: Impossible — Fallout | $2,315,000 (-40%) | $1,315 | $216,135,337 |
Here’s how bad The Predator‘s debut was: it unseated a record-breaking low held by The Mummy. That would-be franchise starter flopped with a $31.6 million opening, but now The Predator‘s $24 million debut makes it the worst debut for a live-action movie to open in over 4,000 theaters, as noted by Box Office Mojo. That’s certainly going to make it tough for the film, which had a budget of $88 million, to break even.
The low numbers could be attributed to the controversy leading up to the film’s opening, when star Olivia Munn came forward to reveal Black had cast a registered sex offender in a scene, which has since been cut. It could also speak to a general fatigue around the Predator franchise, or a combination of both. (Or that the movie just isn't very good.) Black’s film, which earned a C+ CinemaScore, was the second-biggest opener of the franchise, following 2010’s Predators ($24.7 million), and the third-biggest if you count 2004’s Alien vs. Predator ($38.2 million).
Conjuring spinoff The Nun, which opened to a franchise-best last weekend, had a significant 66 percent drop, a low for the series. But no fear; the Taissa Famiga-led film scared up a hefty $143.6 million overseas for a global total of $228.7 million.
The most impressive debut of the weekend went to the Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick-led A Simple Favor, which earned a B+ CinemaScore. The mystery drama from Paul Feig was made for a reported $20 million and opened with in third place with $16 million. The other new releases of the weekend included the Matthew McConaughey-led White Boy Rick, which barely nudged past Crazy Rich Asians for the fourth spot. And then there’s that sequel to Angelina Jolie’s Oscar nominee, Unbroken: Path To Redemption, which we just learned existed a few days ago. The sequel, which Jolie was not involved in, earned an A CinemaScore from audiences, just barely slid into the top ten.
And then there’s Mission: Impossible – Fallout, which broke a new franchise record. The sixth film crossed the $216 million mark over the weekend, beating out M:I II ($215.4 million) and making it the highest grosser of the franchise. Summer movie season is over and Tom Cruise is still in full-sprint mode pocketing cash and breaking records.
Gallery – The Highest Grossing Movies of All Time: