Weekend Wrap-Up: Equalizer 2 Also has no Equal
July 23, 2018
The Equalizer 2 was the surprise winner at the weekend box office chart with $36.01 million over the weekend, which put it just ahead of the $34.95 million earned by Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! The overall box office topped expectations with $171 million, up 2.7% from last week. This is 5.1% lower than the same weekend last year, but this is better than expected. Also, 2018 is still ahead of 2017 by a sizable margin of $560 million / 8.8% at $6.98 billion to $6.42 billion. Again, if 2018 just maintains the raw dollar margin for the rest of the year, it will be a reason to celebrate.
The Equalizer 2 beat expectations with $36.01 million over the weekend, which is about 5% better than the opening weekend of the first film. Its reviews are nearly 10 points lower than the first film’s reviews, but its CinemaScore rose to an A, so that could be good news for its legs. Will it get to $100 million domestically? Only if it has long trailing legs, which can happen at this time of the year. August’s releases won’t put up a lot of competition.
Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! opened in second place with $34.95 million, which is actually better than predicted, but much weaker compared to its Friday debut. Its internal multiplier was just 2.45, which is very low for a film aimed at more mature women. We can chalk this start up to the Fangirl Effect. This is bad news going forward, but I don’t think the studio is too worried. It cost $75 million to make, but it should have a much stronger international run and break even sooner rather than later.
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation fell $23.77 million over the weekend for a two-week total of $91.70 million. It fell 48% during its sophomore stint, which is a great hold compared to the industry as a whole, but on the weak side for a family film. Additionally, it does have direct competition opening this weekend. That said, it only cost $65 million to make, so it is practically guaranteed profitability at this point.
Ant-Man and the Wasp really bounced back this weekend earning $16.51 million for a three-week total of $165.01 million. That’s just a 43% drop-off from last weekend, meaning it is on pace for $200 million domestically, likely without needing any real push from the studio. On a side note, the MCU has made $1.542 billion domestically this year. That would put it just outside the top ten on the all-time franchise chart. It’s hard to express how impressive that is.
Incredibles 2 did remain in the top five one last week with $11.90 million over the weekend for a six-week total of $557.71 million. At this point, we might have to start talking about $600 million domestically. Only eight films have ever reached $600 million domestically and of those, five were released by Disney. If Incredibles 2 gets to that milestone, then Disney will have released as many $600 million hits in one year as every other studio has released in total.
Skyscraper held on a little better than expected, down just 54% to $11.36 million over the weekend for a two-week total of $47.15 million. It should earn about $70 million domestically, which is barely more than half of its $125 million production budget. On the other hand, it is a much bigger hit internationally, so it should still break even some time during its home market run.
Unfriended: Dark Web struggled, to be polite, with $3.65 million. Its reviews are 55% positive, while it earned a C from CinemaScore. These results are both acceptable for a horror film, but its theater average is low enough that it won’t last in theaters long enough for the word-of-mouth to matter.
- Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! Comparisons
- The Equalizer 2 Comparisons
- Unfriended: Dark Web Comparisons
Filed under: Weekend Wrap-up, Incredibles 2, The Equalizer 2, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation, Skyscraper, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!, Teen Titans Go! To The Movies, Unfriended: Dark Web, Marvel Cinematic Universe