NEW YORK 鈥� Matthew McConaughey notched one of the worst debuts of his career, Oscar nominees saw only modest bumps and M. Night Shyamalan鈥檚 鈥淕lass鈥� easily remained No. 1 on a quiet weekend in movie theatres.
The weekend鈥檚 two new wide releases 鈥� McConaughey鈥檚 tropic noir 鈥淪erenity鈥� and the updated King Arthur tale 鈥淭he Kid Who Would Be King鈥� 鈥� both flopped with moviegoers who instead continued to flock to 鈥淕lass鈥� and Kevin Hart鈥檚 鈥淭he Upside.鈥�
Shyamalan鈥檚 sequel to 鈥淯nbreakable鈥� and 鈥淪plit鈥� sold $19 million in tickets according to estimates Sunday, a decent 53 per cent drop from its opening weekend. In 10 days of release, Shyamalan鈥檚 self-financed thriller has made $73.6 million domestically and $162.7 million globally.
鈥淭he Upside,鈥� starring Hart and Bryan Cranston, also stayed lodged in second place with $12.2 million in its third weekend.
The weekend鈥檚 biggest budget new entry, 鈥淭he Kid Who Would Be King,鈥� opened poorly with $7.3 million against a $59 million budget. The 20th Century Fox release, produced by Working Title, was written and directed by 鈥淎ttack the Block鈥� filmmaker Joe Cornish. In his modern-day London version of the legend, a working-class boy pulls Excalibur from a stone.
Though 鈥淭he Kid Who Would Be King鈥� drew good reviews (86 per cent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and was largely pleasing to audiences (who gave it a B-plus CinemaScore), Cornish鈥檚 film came in on the low side of already undersized expectations.
Smaller still was 鈥淪erenity,鈥� from the recently launched distributor Aviron Pictures. Though boasting a respected writer-director (Steven Knight, the creator of 鈥淧eaky Blinders鈥� and maker of 2013鈥檚 鈥淟ocke鈥�) and a starry cast including Anne Hathaway and Jason Clarke, 鈥淪erenity鈥� made only a minor disturbance at the box office with $4.8 million in ticket sales.
The film, about a fishing boat captain on a mysterious island, was lambasted by critics (21 per cent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences agreed, giving it a D-plus CinemaScore. The film, made for about $25 million, is among McConaughey鈥檚 weakest performing wide-release debuts, behind only 2017鈥檚 鈥淕old鈥� and 1996鈥檚 鈥淟arger Than Life.鈥� For Hathaway, it鈥檚 a new low.
Several Oscar contenders added theatres over the weekend to capitalize on Tuesday鈥檚 nominations. Peter Farrelly鈥檚 鈥淕reen Book,鈥� nominated for five awards including best picture, received the biggest bump, taking in $5.4 million in its widest releases yet (2,430 theatres in its 11th week of release), along with $5.7 million overseas.
鈥淕reen Book鈥� was the only Oscar film to crack the top 10. 鈥淏ohemian Rhapsody,鈥� which has already surpassed $600 million internationally, added another $8.7 million overseas. It also took in $2.5 million domestically.
On Wednesday, an expose published by The Atlantic detailed numerous accusations of sexual assault with minors against Bryan Singer, the director of the Freddie Mercury biopic. Singer, who was fired from the production during shooting, has denied the claims.
鈥淭he Favourite,鈥� which tied 鈥淩oma鈥� with a co-leading 10 Oscar nominations, added 517 theatres to gross $2.6 million in 1,540 locations. The critical Dick Cheney biopic 鈥淰ice鈥� also expanded, drawing $1.8 million from 1,557 theatres.
The weekend was quiet even by the low standards of January. Tickets sales were down 30 per cent from the same weekend last year, according to Comscore. After a 2018 of record box office, the slow start to 2019 is putting Hollywood in a hole. Overall ticket sales are down 12.7 per cent from the same point last year.
鈥淥nce Upon a Deadpool,鈥� the PG-13 version of 鈥淒eadpool 2,鈥� was the No. 1 film in China where it opened with $21.4 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Comscore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. 鈥淕lass,鈥� $19 million ($23 million international).
2. 鈥淭he Upside,鈥� $12.2 million ($1.1 million international).
3. 鈥淎quaman,鈥� $7.4 million ($7.8 million international).
4. 鈥淭he Kid Who Would Be King,鈥� $7.3 million ($1.9 million international)
5. 鈥淪pider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,鈥� $6.2 million ($2.8 million international).
6. 鈥淕reen Book,鈥� $5.4 million ($5.7 million international).
7. 鈥淎 Dog鈥檚 Way Home,鈥� $5.2 million ($4.5 million international).
8. 鈥淪erenity,鈥� $4.8 million ($1 million international).
9. 鈥淓scape Room,鈥� $4.3 million ($7.4 million international).
10. 鈥淢ary Poppins Returns,鈥� $3.1 million ($3.9 million international).
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theatres (excluding the U.S. and sa国际传媒), according to Comscore.
1. 鈥淕lass,鈥� $23.6 million.
2. 鈥淥nce Upon a Deadpool,鈥� $21.4 million.
3. 鈥淓xtreme Job,鈥� $20.5 million.
4. 鈥淐reed II,鈥� $13.8 million.
5. 鈥淲hite Snake,鈥� $9.9 million.
6. 鈥淩alph Breaks the Internet,鈥� $9.5 million.
7. 鈥淲hite Snake,鈥� $9.5 million.
8. 鈥淏ohemian Rhapsody,鈥� $8.8 million.
9. 鈥淎quaman,鈥� $7.8 million.
10. 鈥淗ow to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,鈥� $7.7 million.
