“Logan” Slices and Dices Its Competition

By Kip Mooney • On • In News, Weekend Box Office Report News, Weekend Box Office Report 0

BOX OFFICE REPORT

March 3-5, 2017

(estimates from BoxOfficeMojo.com)

TOP 5

Logan $85.3 million
Get Out $26.1 million
The Shack $16.1 million
The LEGO Batman Movie  $11.6 million
Before I Fall $4.9 million

For his final turn as Wolverine, Hugh Jackman went out on top. Logan scored the biggest opening of 2017 so far. Its $85.3 million debut is even higher than his first solo opening in 2009. And given that its reception from critics and audiences was much higher, it should finish higher than that film's $179.8 million. That bow is also higher than X-Men: Apocalypse last summer, which fizzled rather quickly. And it's one of the top 5 R-rated openings of all time. But enough records, this is a great movie that a lot of people went to see. That doesn't happen every day.

Speaking of which, Get Out only fell around 22 percent, which is unheard of for a horror movie. It's already made nearly $76 million, and could top $100 million as soon as next weekend. Even beyond its social impact, Get Out is also proof that most important studio right now is Blumhouse. The horror imprint of Universal has consistently churned out profitable little movies for several years and has now had its biggest year already with this and Split.

The Shack opened at No. 3, a successful faith-based movie after a couple years of downturn. Despite controversy within the Christian community, it debuted with a strong $16.1 million. It received middling reviews from critics, but a strong response from audiences. The LEGO Batman Movie fell to No. 4, which was far more than Before I Fall. That latest YA adaptation took in an anemic $4.9 million.

Outside the top 5:

  • This Weekend's Indie Champ: Once again, it's Kedi, the Turkish documentary about the country's most famous cat. It didn't add any theaters, but still averaged $18,054 on its 13 screens. In fact, it even topped Collide, which was playing on about 1,000 more screens.
  • After its crazy Best Picture win, Moonlight expanded to nearly 1,500 screens. It earned around $2.5 million, which is its biggest single weekend to date.
  • Table 19 had to face even more rejection. Despite opening on more than 850 screens, it only took in $1.5 million.

Next weekend:

Kong: Skull Island is the only big release. It's unclear just how well it will do. If it's as big as 2014's Godzilla reboot, we're looking at $90 million. I would be shocked if that happened. Something around $60 million seems more likely, which would put it at No. 1.

 

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About Kip Mooney

Kip Mooney
Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about. I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague. Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work. In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo. I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.

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