As of Friday, holdoversWar RoomandStraight Outta Comptonwere still neck and neck at the box office. But based on this morning’s estimates, Sony’s faith-based feature has extended its lead over the Universal biopic: $9.3 million to $8.8 million. In terms of the four-day holiday race,War Roomis expected to remain in the lead – denyingComptona fourth-straight first place finish.
As expected, this turned out to be one of the lowest-grossing Labor Day weekends in recent memory. No film topped $10 million between Friday – Sunday, resulting in an overall box office total of just $86.2 million. That’s lower than 2004’s Labor Day weekend – the last holiday frame that failed to send a movie to $10 million or higher.
This weekend’s total is also lower than Labor Day 2005, whenTransporter 2opened in first place with $16.5 million. A decade later,Transporter Refueledbrought in less than half that in its debut. Despite taking first place on Friday (though just barely),Refueledlost momentum and wound up in fifth place with an estimated $7.13 million from 3,434 locations. That’s the lowest opening in the franchise’s history, running 22% behind 2002’sThe Transporterand 40% behindTransporter 3in 2008.
To be fair, Labor Day is not known for launching big hit films, though there have been a few success stories in recent years.The Possessionearned close to $50 million (domestic) after opening over the 2012 holiday frame. One year later,One Direction: This is Usand the Spanish-language comedyInstructions Not Includedboth went on to impressive grosses (relative to budget size) following their Labor Day starts.
Though stronger this weekend thanThe Transporter Refueled,A Walk in the Woodsprobably won’t join the list of esteemed Labor Day debuts. For one thing, theRobert Redford-Nick Noltevehicle actually opened last Wednesday. For its first three-day weekend,A Walk in the Woodsearned an estimated $8.4 million from 1,960 locations. That tops the film’s reported budget of $8 million, but it might not be enough to carry it to strong September run.A Walk in the Woodsreceived a so-so ‘B’ from CinemaScore audiences and has a currentRotten Tomatoesrating of 47%.
There is one other notable debut in the top ten this weekend:UnGallo Con Muchos Huevos. The animated family comedy is the third consecutive release from Pantelion Films-Lionsgate to open over Labor Day weekend, beginning with 2013’sInstructions Not Included.UnGallo Con Muchos Huevosearned an estimated $3.4 million from just 395 locations through Sunday. That equals a per-screen take of $8,608 – by far the best average on this weekend’s top ten chart.
So that’s a wrap on the summer of 2015. Looking ahead to fall’s first official frame, Sony/Screen Gem’sPerfect Guyshould take first place with an opening of $25 million. Horror picThe Visit, from Universal, is projected to bring in close to $15 million while90 Minutes in Heaven, targeting for the same audience that putWar Roomon top this weekend, should debut with at least $5 million. Until then, here are the estimates for summer’s final frame:
$9,350,000
Straight Outta Compton
$8,850,000
A Walk in the Woods
$8,400,000
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
$7,150,000
The Transporter Refueled
$7,130,000
$5,445,000
The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
$3,445,000
Un Gallo Con Muchos Huevos
$3,400,000
Sinister 2
$3,377,000
Inside Out
$3,146,000
- Four-day numbers are projections only and are not included in the Total column
