By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
The Weekend Report
In the year’s biggest nail-biter, three films vied for top position in the weekend sweepstakes. Photo-finish results favor It with an estimated $17.2 million. In close proximity Kingsman: The Golden Circle and the debut of American Made follow with $17.1 million and $17 million.
The session’s other wide national release the remake of Flatliners bowed in fifth position with $6.7 million. Two other films debuted in limited wide release. The urban thriller Til Death Do Us Part grossed $1.5 million while the faith targeted A Question of Faith opened to $1.1 million.
Indian films were aplenty including the Hindi Judwaa 2 and Mahanubhavudu with solid respective debuts of $607,000 and $497,000. Telugu SPYder opened Tuesday and amassed $1.2 million pre-weekend and added an additional $303,000. Chinese newcomers included Never Say Die with $139,000 and Chasing the Dragon, which grossed $132,000.
Exclusive freshmen were soft, with Harry Dean Stanton swan song Lucky posting $41,200 from five saloons and Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House struggling to $33,600 from five locations. The Battle of the Sexes expanded to good results of $3.4 million and Victoria & Abdul rolled out to an effective $1 million. In a single Chicago engagement at the Music Box, local production Signature Move pinned just over $18,000.
Revenues for the frame hit about $93 million and slid back 23% from the prior weekend. It was also an 18% downturn from 2017 when debuts of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and Deep Horizon led with $28.8 million and $20.2 million.
Crystal ball gazing suggested the weekend race would be a dead heat between newcomer American Made and last weekend’s champion Kingsman. The former, a larkish view of real-life 1980s dark politics, opened internationally in late August. Despite positive response from previews tracking was tepid with predictions at $15-$17 million.
The Tom Cruise vehicle brought a 55% male crowd with 55% of viewers aged 25 and older. Its overseas box office is now roughly $65 million.
The prospects for Flatliners – based on a 1990 thriller that featured Julia Roberts and Kiefer Sutherland – were more dire with a top end forecast of $7 million. It didn’t help that the film wasn’t screened in advance. Once word of its quality began to seep out, estimates sank. Its audience tilted 51% female with an even split among under/over 25-year olds.
| Weekend (estimates) September 29 – October 1, 2017) | |||||
| Title | Distributor | Gross (avg) | % chng | Thtrs | Cume |
| It | WB | 17.2 (4,390) | -42% | 3917 | 291.1 |
| Kingsman: The Golden Circle | Fox | 17.1 (4,230) | -56% | 4038 | 66.8 |
| American Made | Uni | 17.0 (5,620) | NEW | 3024 | 17 |
| The Lego Ninjago Movie | WB | 11.8 (2,930) | -42% | 4047 | 35.4 |
| Flatliners | Sony | 6.7 (2,620) | NEW | 2552 | 6.7 |
| Battle of the Sexes | Fox Searchlight | 3.4 (2,830) | 566% | 1213 | 4.1 |
| American Assassin | CBS | 3.3 (1,100) | -58% | 3020 | 31.9 |
| Home Again | Open Road/eOne | 1.7 (730) | -46% | 2370 | 25.1 |
| Til Death Do Us Part | Novus | 1.5 (2,670) | NEW | 550 | 1.5 |
| mother! | Par | 1.4 (780) | -56% | 1840 | 16.3 |
| A Question of Faith | Pure Flix | 1.1 (1,630) | NEW | 661 | 1.1 |
| Victoria & Abdul | Focus | 1.0 (13,250) | 541% | 77 | 1.2 |
| Stronger | Roadside Attractions | .93 (1,440) | -42% | 645 | 3.2 |
| Friend Request | Entertainment | .78 (380) | -61% | 2081 | 3.5 |
| The Hitman’s Bodyguard | Lionsgate/VVS | .73 (650) | -55% | 1119 | 74.7 |
| Judwaa 2 | Fox Intl | .61 (3,170) | NEW | 192 | 0.61 |
| Wind River | Weinstein/VVS | .59 (660) | -52% | 892 | 32.8 |
| Spider-Man: Homecoming | Sony | .56 (820) | -47% | 679 | 332.7 |
| Mahanubhavudu | US Telugu | .50 (4,030) | NEW | 123 | 0.5 |
| Leap! | Weinstein Co. | .50 (680) | -48% | 730 | 20.9 |
| Brad’s Status | Annapurna | .39 (860) | -59% | 453 | 1.8 |
| Despicable Me 3 | Uni | .35 (840) | -30% | 419 | 262.3 |
| SPYder | ATMUS | .30 (1,120) | NEW | 271 | 1.5 |
| Dunkirk | WB | .32 (800) | -45% | 401 | 186.8 |
| Annabelle: Creation | WB | .30 (770) | -59% | 385 | 101.6 |
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $88.40 | ||||
| % Change (Last Year) | -18% | ||||
| % Change (Last Week) | -23% | ||||
| Also debuting/expanding | |||||
| Nikka Zalidar 2 | Grand Showbiz | .19 (4,640) | -51% | 42 | 0.79 |
| Never Say Die | Media Asia | .14 (3,310) | 42 | 0.14 | |
| Chasing the Dragon | Well Go | .13 (2,540) | 52 | 0.13 | |
| Pearl Jam: Let’s Play Two | Abramorama | 56,500 (8,070) | 7 | 0.06 | |
| Lucky | Magnolia | 41,200 (8,240) | 5 | 0.04 | |
| Mark Felt: Man Who Brought Down the White House | Sony Classics | 33,600 (6,710) | 5 | 0.03 | |
| Ce Qui nous lie | MK2 | 25,900 (1,730) | 15 | 0.03 | |
| Signature Move | Full Spectrum | 22,800 (22,800) | 1 | 0.02 | |
| Super Dark Times | Orchard | 19,700 (1,040) | 19 | 0.02 | |
| Take Every Wave: Life of Laird Hamilton | IFC | 13,300 (13,300) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| Te Ata | Paladin | 11,300 (940) | 12 | 0.01 | |
| Tam Cam: The Untold Story | MUBI | 10,100 (5,050) | 2 | 0.01 | |
| La Ferme et son etat | K-Films | 9,500 (1,900) | 5 | 0.01 | |
| Different Flowers | Different Flowers | 7,800 (710) | 11 | 0.01 | |
| The Pathological Optimist | Film Arcade | 5,100 (5,100) | 1 | 0.01 | |
