聽LOS ANGELES 鈥� With no new wide releases, Hollywood basically took the Labour Day weekend off and put an end to what鈥檚 expected to be the lowest earning summer movie going season since 2006 鈥� the last time the industry saw a sub-$4 billion summer.
Things weren鈥檛 as apocalyptic as analysts suggested going into the weekend, which had the potential to be the worst since 1992, but that鈥檚 hardly cause for celebration. While official numbers for the four-day weekend won鈥檛 be available until Tuesday, studio estimates and projections expect that in total this Labor Day weekend will be the lowest earning since 1998.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no sugar coating the fact that this was a very slow labour day weekend,鈥� said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for comScore. 鈥淭his was a fitting end to a rough summer.鈥�
Some did make it out to the multiplexes over the holiday weekend, though. According to studio estimates on Sunday, the R-rated actioner 鈥淭he Hitman鈥檚 Bodyguard鈥� topped the charts for a third weekend with $10.3 million. The Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds pic has earned a total of $54.9 million from North American theatres.
In second place was the horror spinoff 鈥淎nnabelle: Creation,鈥� from Warner Bros., which added $7.3 million, bumping its domestic total to $89 million.
The Weinstein Company took spots three and four, with the crime drama 鈥淲ind River鈥� in third with $5.9 million, and the animated family film 鈥淟eap!鈥� in fourth with $4.9 million.
However the company鈥檚 new opener, the long-delayed period romance 鈥淭ulip Fever,鈥� wilted on release. Playing in 765 locations, the R-rated drama starring Alicia Vikander and Dane DeHaan, earned only $1.2 million.
Steven Soderbergh鈥檚 鈥淟ogan Lucky鈥� rounded out the top five with $4.4 million.
Audiences did have a few unconventional options to choose from this weekend, including a 40th anniversary re-release of Steven Spielberg鈥檚 sci-fi classic 鈥淐lose Encounters of the Third Kind鈥� and an IMAX-only run of the pilot episode of Marvel鈥檚 鈥淚nhumans.鈥� Neither made a significant splash, though.
鈥淐lose Encounters of the Third Kind鈥� earned $1.8 million from 901 locations, while 鈥淚nhumans鈥� took in $1.5 million from 393 North American IMAX screens in advance of its Sept. 29 premiere on ABC.
Still, Dergarbedian notes that both smartly took advantage of a quiet weekend and added money to the bottom line.
And as Hollywood looks to forget the dismal summer of 2017, which will likely cap out with just over $3.8 billion, there is a bright spot on the horizon in the form of a red balloon and a homicidal clown as 鈥淚t鈥� prepares to break records when it hits theatres next weekend.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to comScore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. 鈥淭he Hitman鈥檚 Bodyguard,鈥� $10.3 million.
2. 鈥淎nnabelle: Creation,鈥� $7.3 million.
3. 鈥淲ind River,鈥� $5.9 million.
4. 鈥淟eap!鈥� $4.9 million.
5. 鈥淟ogan Lucky,鈥� $4.4 million.
6. 鈥淒unkirk,鈥� $4.1 million.
7. 鈥淪pider-Man: Homecoming,鈥� $3.7 million.
8. 鈥淭he Emoji Movie,鈥� $2.5 million.
9. 鈥淒espicable Me 3,鈥� $2.4 million.
10. 鈥淕irls Trip,鈥� $2.3 million.
