BOX OFFICE REPORT
September 23-25, 2016
(estimates from BoxOfficeMojo.com)
TOP 5
| The Magnificent Seven | $35 million |
| Storks | $21.8 million |
| Sully | $13.8 million |
| Bridget Jones's Baby | $4.5 million |
| Snowden | $4.1 million |
The Magnificent Seven debuted at No. 1 with an estimated $35 million. That's director Antoine Fuqua's best opening ever and the third biggest opening for star Denzel Washington, firmly into the Old Man Kicking Ass phase of his career. So why doesn't it feel, well, magnificent? Partly because of its aggressive promotion, and teaming Denzel with newly minted star Chris Pratt seems like a no-brainer for a massive opening, at least one bigger than Sully, which isn't exactly an action movie. Still, it's the second-best debut for a live-action Western (behind only Cowboys & Aliens).
Storks only delivered a so-so opening. $21.8 million is fine for a movie that's going straight into backseat DVD players in a matter of months. But that's not very good if Warner Bros. animation ever hopes to compete with Sony, let alone Disney.
Still, that was enough to push Sully to third place. That film even added several screens this weekend as it's holding shockingly well. By next week, it will be Clint Eastwood's third biggest film as a director. Bridget Jones's Baby, Snowden and Blair Witch all tumbled further from their sad debuts. Not a one will even crack $40 million, and only the latter can say with certainty that it at least turned a profit.
Outside the top 5:
- This Weekend's Indie Champ: The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, an "exposé" about alleged voter suppression from muckraking journalist Greg Palast. The doc played on only one screen and made $10,000.
- Queen of Katwe opened decently in limited release, earning $350,000 on 52 screens. Hopefully it will find the audience it deserves when it goes wide next weekend.
- Quietly opening on Labor Day Weekend, the Mexican high school comedy No Manches Frida has become one of the biggest foreign language films of all time in the U.S., taking in $10.3 million to date.
Next week: The real-life drama of Deepwater Horizon takes on the fantastical action of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. This one's a tough call, but I think Deepwater Horizon takes it with $40 million, with Miss Peregrine right behind with $36 million.
