NEW YORK 鈥 The R-rated spy comedy 鈥淜ingsman: The Golden Circle鈥 displaced the horror sensation 鈥淚t鈥 as the No. 1 film in North America, while the second 鈥淟ego Movie鈥 spinoff of the year didn鈥檛 assemble the expected audience.
The 20th Century Fox release opened with a weekend-leading $39 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday. But 鈥淚t鈥 still continues to pull in record crowds. With $30 million over the weekend, 鈥淚t鈥 is now the highest-grossing horror film of all time, not accounting for inflation, with $266.3 million thus far. (1973鈥檚 鈥淭he Exorcist鈥 grossed $232.9 million domestically, or more than $1 billion in 2017 dollars.)
Twentieth Century Fox鈥檚 鈥淜ingsman鈥 sequel sought to expand on the 2015 original鈥檚 $36.2 million opening, and its $414 million worldwide take. Matthew Vaughn鈥檚 sequel returned stars Taron Egerton and Colin Firth, while adding Channing Tatum, Halle Berry and others. Made more for audiences than critics, reviews for the gleefully distasteful spy romp were poor, at 51 per cent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
Fox could celebrate an uptick the second time around, albeit a small one. 鈥淭he Golden Circle鈥 also debuted with $61 million overseas, giving it a $100 million global weekend. Vaughn is planning a third 鈥淜ingsman鈥 film.
鈥淲e鈥檙e seven per cent bigger than the last one, which opened on a holiday weekend,鈥 said Chris Aronson, distribution chief for Fox. 鈥淲e grew the franchise. We鈥檙e very happy.鈥
The Stephen King adaptation 鈥淚t,鈥 from Warner Bros. and New Line, may have slightly eaten into the ticket sales for 鈥淜ingsman.鈥 Few believed 鈥淚t鈥 would still be such a draw in its third week of release; horror films usually drop severely after release. But the film has already established itself as the biggest hit ever in the month of September 鈥 a welcome relief to Hollywood after a dismal August.
The 鈥淟ego Movie鈥 spinoff 鈥淭he Lego Ninjago Movie,鈥 was further off expectations, debuting with $21.2 million. Phil Lord and Chris Miller鈥檚 鈥淭he Lego Movie鈥 鈥 the 2014 hit that made $469 million worldwide 鈥 kicked off a bustling franchise. 鈥淣injago,鈥 though, is the second spinoff of the calendar year, following February鈥檚 鈥淭he Lego Batman Movie.鈥
That release opened with $35 million and grossed $312 million in total 鈥 marks that 鈥淣injago鈥 appears will fall well short of. It may be two 鈥淟ego鈥 movies in a year were too many.
鈥淚 was hoping we鈥檇 do more. I鈥檓 disappointed this weekend didn鈥檛 come in a little higher,鈥 said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. distribution head. 鈥淲e know that each one of these 鈥橪ego鈥 movies are different properties. This one played young.鈥
In its second week of release, Darren Aronofsky鈥檚 already infamous psychological thriller 鈥渕other!鈥 failed to turn the tide. The film, made for $30 million, last week became one of the few movies to receive an 鈥淔鈥 CinemaScore on release. The
horror parable, starring Jennifer Lawrence, slid to sixth place with $3.3 million, bringing its two-week haul to $13.4 million. Paramount has proudly defended the film as intentionally divisive, daring filmmaking, the kind seldom produced by major studios.
The week also saw the first wave of fall awards contenders in specialty release. The Billie Jean King-Bobby Riggs drama 鈥淏attle of the Sexes,鈥 with Emma Stone and Steve Carell; the Boston Marathon bombing survivor tale 鈥淪tronger,鈥 with Jake Gyllenhaal; and the Queen Victoria drama 鈥淰ictoria & Abdul,鈥 starring Judi Dench, all debuted in limited release.
Lionsgate鈥檚 鈥淪tronger鈥 grossed $1.7 million on 574 screens. Focus Features鈥 鈥淰ictoria & Abdul鈥 scored a per-theatre average of $37,933 on four screens, along with a two-week international total of $12.4 million. And Fox Searchlight鈥檚 鈥淏attle of the Sexes鈥 earned $525,000 on 21 screens.
Theaters are suddenly flush again. Though the year is still 4.6 per cent behind the pace of 2016, the month of September is up 20 per cent, according to comScore.
鈥淭he fact that we鈥檙e sitting here in September on the verge of what looks like a record-breaking month, powered by the unprecedented success of 鈥橧t,鈥 tells you how quickly box-office fortunes can rise and fall in this marketplace,鈥 said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers also are included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. 鈥淜ingsman: The Golden Circle,鈥 $39 million ($61 million international).
2. 鈥淚t,鈥 $30 million ($38.3 million international).
3. 鈥淭he Lego Ninjago Movie,鈥 $21.2 million ($10.5 million international).
4. 鈥淎merican Assassin,鈥 $6.3 million ($2.7 million international).
5. 鈥淗ome Again,鈥 $3.3 million.
6. 鈥渕other!鈥 $3.3 million ($4.6 million international).
7. 鈥淔riend Request,鈥 $2.4 million.
8. 鈥淭he Hitman鈥檚 Bodyguard,鈥 $1.9 million ($15.4 million international).
9. 鈥淪tronger,鈥 $1.7 million.
10. 鈥淲ind River,鈥 $1.3 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theatres (excluding the U.S. and sa国际传媒), according to comScore
1. 鈥淜ingsman: The Golden Circle,鈥 $61 million.
2. 鈥淚t,鈥 $38.3 million.
3. 鈥淲ar for the Planet of the Apes,鈥 $19.3 million.
4. 鈥淭he Hitman鈥檚 Bodyguard,鈥 $15.4 million.
5. 鈥淭he Lego Ninjago Movie,鈥 $10.5 million.
6. 鈥淭he Invisible Guest,鈥 $6.5 million.
7. 鈥淎merican Made,鈥 $6 million.
8. 鈥淪pider-Man: Homecoming,鈥 $6 million.
9. 鈥淚 Can Speak,鈥 $4.8 million.
10. 鈥渕other!鈥 $4.6 million.
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