“Split” Captivates Audiences for Second Straight Weekend

Even with several new competitors and the Oscar nominees getting a boost, nothing could stop Split. The psychological thriller took in an estimated $26.2 million. That means it only lost about a third from its remarkable debut last week. That's pretty unheard of for a modern horror movie, which typically debuts strongly, then tumbles quickly out of prominence. It's already outgrossed everything M. Night Shyamalan put out in the last decade, with the exception of The Last Airbender, which it should top once all is said and done.

A Dog's Purpose took the No. 2 spot, weathering a controversy about alleged on-set animal abuse. The tear-jerker debuted strongly with $18.3 million, the third-best opening of the very young year. Like any movie about dogs, it's bound to have a long shelf life and do even better on home video. Hidden Figures stayed at No. 3, losing a very minor 11 percent in its sixth week in theaters. It's also one of only two Best Picture nominees this year to cross $100 million.

It just barely topped the latest (and supposedly last) Resident Evil movie. The Final Chapter took in $13.8 million. That's the lowest opening of any of the six films in the 15-year-old franchise. In waiting nearly five years between installments, the franchise realized the subtitle of the third film in the series: Extinction. That was a bit more than La La Land, the only real beneficiary of the Oscar nominations. Its 43 percent jump also took it over the $100 million threshold.

Outside the top 5:

• This Weekend's Indie Champ: The Salesman, one of this year's Oscar nominees for Best Foreign Language Film. The Iranian drama averaged $23,690 on its three screens.
• Other Oscar nominees that got very minor boosts thanks to their nominations for Best Picture: Lion (up 35 percent), Manchester by the Sea (up 114 percent), Moonlight (up 159 percent), Arrival (up 357 percent), Fences (up 16 percent) and Hacksaw Ridge (up 431 percent). All saw an increase, but none are going to jump back in the top 10.
• Gold proved not to be a precious commodity at the box office. The true-life story of corporate greed starring Matthew McConaughey only debuted at No. 10 with around $3.4 million.

Next week: Split's likely to make it three in a row as Rings will be the latest victim of a years-too-late sequel crashing and burning at the box office and the oft-delayed The Space Between Us failing to make much noise. Expect a decent third weekend with only $18 million.