In a bit of a surprise, DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE flashed enough strength to retake first place in its fifth weekend, holding off ALIEN: ROMULUS in its second weekend and the three new openers BLINK TWICE, THE FORGE, and THE CROW. DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE’s $18.3M helped carry ticket sales of all movies to $91M.
This is equal to last year on this weekend which also produced a total box office of $91.0M, led by GRAN TURISMO with its $22.1M opening weekend. This is the fifth consecutive weekend with an R-rated film leading the box office. We expect the same story will repeat next weekend, the Labor Day holiday. The next significant new box office event will come with the opening of the PG-13 sequel BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE on September 6th.
After 31 days, DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE has grossed $577.2M domestically and $1.190B worldwide, setting a new high water mark for an R-rated movie. The superhero buddy movie now stands as the 16th highest-grossing movie of all time in the domestic market, having passed the $574.4M earned by THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE in early 2023. INCREDIBLES 2 lies ahead with its $609.0M earned in 2018.
ALIEN: ROMULUS dropped into second place with $16.2M this weekend, a decline of 61% from its opening. After 10 days, the latest chapter in the sci-fi series has earned $72.6M domestically and $153.8M worldwide and is on track to become the second highest-grossing movie in the ALIEN franchise, after PROMETHEUS $403.4M in 2012. Due to its early success coupled with an economical production budget of $80M, ALIEN: ROMULUS is likely to profit from its theatrical run, even before adding in revenues from streaming and other ancillary sources.
ALIEN FRANCHISE MOVIES AFTER 10 DAYS IN RELEASE
- ALIEN (8/25/1979) – Opening Domestic $3.5M, 10-Day Domestic $6.9M, Total Domestic $84.2M, Total Worldwide, $108.6M, Budget $11M, RT Critics/Audience 93%/94%
- ALIENS (7/18/1986) – Opening Domestic $10.1M, 10-Day Domestic $25.1M, Total Domestic $85.2M, Total Worldwide, $131.1M, Budget $18.5M, RT Critics/Audience 94%/94%
- ALIEN 3 (8/22/1992) – Opening Domestic $19.4M, 10-Day Domestic $35.2M, Total Domestic $55.5M, Total Worldwide, $104.3M, Budget $50M, RT Critics/Audience 44%/46%
- ALIEN RESURRECTION (11/26/1997) – Opening Domestic $16.5M, 10-Day Domestic $36.2M, Total Domestic $47.8M, Total Worldwide, $161.4M, Budget $75M, RT Critics/Audience 55%/39%
- PROMETHEUS (8/8/2012) – Opening Domestic $51.1M, 10-Day Domestic $89.4M, Total Domestic $126.5M, Total Worldwide, $403.4M, Budget $130M, RT Critics/Audience 73%/68%
- ALIEN: COVENANT (8/19/2017) – Opening Domestic $36.2M, 10-Day Domestic $57.4M, Total Domestic $74.3M, Total Worldwide, $240.9M, Budget $97M, RT Critics/Audience 65%/55%
- ALIEN: ROMULUS (8/16/2024) – Opening Domestic $41.5M, 10-Day Domestic $72.6M, Budget $80M, RT Critics/Audience 81%/86%
IT ENDS WITH US finished third by earning $11.9M, a drop of 50% from last weekend. After 17 days, the romantic drama has brought in $120.8M domestic and $225.4M worldwide. Some are comparing IT ENDS WITH US to another recent romantic drama, WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING from 2022. While CRAWDADS was a decent performer with a total box office of $90.2M domestic and $144.4M worldwide, after only 17 days IT ENDS WITH US has already surpassed CRAWDADS’ entire run.
The possibility of a sequel is already under discussion, given the fact that its total box office has risen to more than 8 times the amount of money spent to produce the film. Director and male lead Justin Baldoni has stated that if there were to be a sequel to IT ENDS WITH US, it should be directed by Blake Lively, which would add another impressive credential to her resume.
BLINK TWICE FROM Amazon’s MGM Studios finished in fourth place with $7.3M in its opening weekend. The psychological thriller is the directorial debut of Zoe Kravitz, based on a screenplay she co-wrote with E.T. Feigenbaum. Zoe is the daughter of rock icon Lenny Kravitz and has already established her career as an accomplished actress.
She also stars in BLINK TWICE, together with an all-star cast that includes her fiancé Channing Tatum, Christian Slater, Haley Joel Osment, Kyle MacLachlan, Geena Davis, and the British actress Naomi Ackie who was acclaimed for her recent starring role in WHITNEY HOUSTON: I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY.
The story of this film focuses on a cocktail waitress (Ackie) who becomes infatuated with a billionaire tech mogul (Tatum) and travels with him to his private island to join in on a luxurious party. Unfortunately, things take a bad turn after her friend vanishes. Critics have been somewhat positive about the movie by giving it a 79% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while audiences have weighed in with a so-so 67% score.
While the all-star cast may have lured in some moviegoers, it came at the cost of ballooning the budget, which is estimated to have been $80M. After its opening weekend only sold $7.3M in tickets, it seems unlikely that the box office will produce at the level necessary for the movie to turn a profit. However, Amazon will get some benefits from online viewers who watch the film on Amazon Prime Video.
THE FORGE, a faith-based film distributed by Sony, opened in fifth place this weekend with $6.6M. The film is directed by Alex Kendrick, who is both the filmmaker and a former associate pastor of the Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany Georgia. Since 2003, he has assumed a visible role in the growing field of faith-based American movies. His formula for success involves working outside of the confines of the traditional studio system.
In this regard, he is following a similar approach to the very successful Angel Studios, but with particular support from the American Baptist community. THE FORGE is his fifth feature in the past eight years. The film revolves around the story of a boy who has graduated high school but has no specific plans for his future. He is challenged by his mother and a successful businessman to chart a better path for his life ahead.
Supported by prayers from his mother and discipleship from his new mentor, the boy begins to understand God’s purpose for his life, which is more than he could have ever hoped for or imagined. The Rotten Tomatoes audience score for the movie is a perfect 100%, while there have not yet been enough professional reviews to register a critical score.
WHERE ARE WE AS OF 8/22
After 33 weeks, the 2024 year-to-date box office is 84% of 2023 totals and 73% of 2019 totals at this same point in the year.