Well, I suppose it’s a good thing Predators operate using stealth, because this was onequietweekend at the box office, withShane Black’sThe Predatortaking the top spot with $24 million. A perfectly fine number, not terrible, but certainly not good, considering 20th Century Fox’s $88 million sci-fi sequel added just $30.7 million overseas, bringing its worldwide haul to $54.7 million.
There are numerous possible culprits behindThe Predator’s lackluster debut. Some, cough cough, might say the 31-year-old franchise itself isn’t exactly designed to be a money-maker. Some might point to the casting controversy that arrived mere days before premiere, in whichOlivia Munnrevealed one of her scene partners, an old friend of Shane Black’s, was a registered sex offender. And some might say the movie just ain’t very good; the movie currently sits with a C+ CinemaScore, and our own Perri Nemiroffcalled it"a messy mixed bag."
Things are looking equally tumultuous over in theConjuringUniverse, whereThe Nunfell a steep 66.2% from its opening weekend to take in $18.2 million. This, for the record, is the biggest drop-off of anyConjuringflick, just one week afterThe Nunscored the biggestopeningof anyConjuringflick. But like I saidyesterday, unless CEOKevin Tsujiharais particularly spooked by jump scares, Warner Bros. isn’t likely losing any sleep.The Nun’s monstrous opening more than covered the film’s modest $22 million budget.
Meanwhile,Paul Feig’s dark whodunitA Simple Favorvery quietly surpassed expectations with a $16 million opening weekend, good enough for third place. In the most appropriately titled battle of the weekend,White Boy Rick—a newcomer this weekend after debuting at the Toronto Film Festival—just barely nudgedCrazy Rich Asians, a movie that debuted a month ago, out of the fourth place spot.
Check out the weekend’s top 10 estimates below, and come back next week to see if audiences have time forThe House with a Clock in Its Walls.
The Predator
$24,000,000
$18,200,000
$85,076,325
A Simple Favor
$16,050,000
White Boy Rick
$8,800,000
Crazy Rich Asians
$8,700,000
$149,551,904
Peppermint
$6,070,000
$24,245,804
$3,805,000
$137,087,190
$3,200,000
$19,621,103
Unbroken: Path to Redemption
$2,350,000
Mission: Impossible - Fallout
$2,315,000
$216,135,337
