By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
The Weekend Report
Feltdown
Those zany Singaporans of Crazy Rich Asians literally maintained its box office potency with an estimated $25.3 million second weekend. The waning days of summer saw the arrival of two national newcomers. The whatdunit The Happytime Murders slotted third with $9.9 million while the last dog of the season _ robotic canine A-X-L _ arrived with $2.9 million. Also bowing nationally in a limited wide pattern was the remake of 1973’s Papillon that grossed $1.1 million.
In the niches the urban drama Beautifully Broken failed to crack the marketplace with a $540,000 box office. New films from India failed to provide a late season juggernaut while the ron-com Little Italy bowed to a tepid $381,000 in Canada prior to its U.S. launch in September.
Exclusive preems provided one bright spot with the psychological thriller Searching opening with $372,000 from just nine screens.
Revenues for the frame amounted to about $105 million and slid 12% from the prior weekend. Conversely it was a 51% boost from 2017 when the second weekend of The Hitman’s Bodyguard led with $10.3 million and the top newcomer was the animated Leap! with a $4.7 million debut.
ndustry pundits expected a strong hold for Crazy Rich Asians that might translate into a $20 million sophomore session. However, no one expected single figure erosion … or the prospect of an arcane record. In this case it’s eyeing the best second weekend hold for a non-holiday release.
The film also had its first openings in Asian territories and its $18 million weekend featured upbeat results led by a $1.8 million start in Singapore. It was also the top title in the Philippines and posted strong initial numbers in Malayasia, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Though helmed by Henson fils Brian, the long in development The Happytime Murders was viewed as a nightmare vision of the beloved Muppets universe. Film mavens were skeptical of its appeal and tracking suggested a $12 million to $14 million launch that proved to be overly optimistic. Exit polling identified the audience as 59% male with 63% of viewers aged 25-years and older.
Similarly A-X-L arrived at the low end of dire prospects of a $3 million or $4 million opening.
Though the fading box office of summer continues to the upcoming Labor holiday session, the 2018 season has seen some outstanding results that will see significant expansion from last year.
| Title | Distributor | Gross (average) | % Chng | Thtr | Cume |
| Crazy Rich Asians | WB | 25.3 (7,170) | -5% | 3526 | 77.1 |
| The Meg | WB | 13.0 (3,230) | -38% | 4031 | 105.3 |
| The Happytime Murders | STX/VVS | 9.9 (3,050) | NEW | 3256 | 9.9 |
| Mission: Impossible – Fallout | Par | 8.1 (2,650) | -25% | 3052 | 194 |
| Christopher Robin | BV | 6.4 (1,880) | -28% | 3394 | 77.7 |
| Mile 22 | STX/VVS | 6.1 (1,730) | -56% | 3520 | 25.2 |
| Alpha | Sony | 5.6 (2,070) | -45% | 2719 | 20.2 |
| BlacKKKlansman | Focus | 5.3 (2,780) | -28% | 1914 | 32 |
| A-X-L | Global Road | 2.9 (1,680) | NEW | 1710 | 2.9 |
| Slender Man | Sony | 2.8 (1,360) | -42% | 2065 | 25.4 |
| Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation | Sony | 2.5 (1,370) | -35% | 1802 | 158.6 |
| The Equalizer 2 | Sony | 2.0 (1,040) | -30% | 1914 | 98 |
| Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again | Uni | 1.9 (1,210) | -45% | 1557 | 115.2 |
| Ant-Man and the Wasp | BV | 1.8 (1,550) | -31% | 1178 | 211.5 |
| Incredibles 2 | BV | 1.6 (1,550) | -29% | 1060 | 597 |
| Papillon | Bleecker/Elevation | 1.1 (2,100) | NEW | 544 | 1.1 |
| The Spy Who Dumped Me | Lionsgate | 1.0 (800) | -60% | 1295 | 32.3 |
| 2001: A Space Odyssey (reissue) | WB | .81 (2,490) | 324 | 2.2 | |
| Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom | Uni | .75 (1,230) | -35% | 608 | 413 |
| Beautifully Broken | ArtAffects | .54 (830) | NEW | 650 | 0.54 |
| Eighth Grade | A24 | .43 (1,170) | -42% | 366 | 12.5 |
| Teen Titans Go! To the Movies | WB | .42 (950) | -44% | 444 | 28.2 |
| Little Italy | eOne | .38 (3,050) | NEW | 125 | 0.38 |
| Searching | Sony | .37 (41,330) | NEW | 9 | 0.37 |
| Puzzle | Sony Classics | .36 (1,370) | 70% | 265 | 1.2 |
| Geetha Govindam | Sarigama | .31 (2,150) | -65 | 144 | 2.2 |
| Three Identical Strangers | Neon/Mongrel | .30 (1,380) | -39% | 221 | 11.1 |
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $99.40 | ||||
| % Change (Last Year) | 51% | ||||
| % Change (Last Week) | -21% | ||||
| Also debuting/expanding | |||||
| Juliet, Naked | Roadside Attractions | .25 (5,860) | 313% | 43 | 0.35 |
| The Wife | Sony Classics | .21 (11,560) | 93% | 18 | 0.37 |
| Sorry to Bother You | Annapurna/eOne | .15 (1,690) | -41% | 88 | 16.6 |
| The Miseducation of Cameron Post | FilmRise/FWL | .13 (1,370) | -10% | 93 | 0.62 |
| Won’t You Be My Neighbor? | Focus | .12 (740) | -45% | 160 | 22.3 |
| Jawani Phir Nahi Ani 2 | B4U | .11 (2,460) | 44 | 0.11 | |
| Parwaaz Hai Junoon | HUM | .10 (2,600) | 38 | 0.1 | |
| The Bookshop | Greenwich | 76,100 (4,760) | 16 | 0.08 | |
| Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi | Eros | 71,800 (1,840) | 39 | 0.07 | |
| Support the Girls | Magnolia | 47,400 (1,580) | 30 | 0.05 | |
| We the Animals | Orchard | 43,700 (3,970) | -31% | 11 | 0.13 |
| McQueen | Bleecker Street | 38,300 (750) | -66% | 51 | 1.1 |
| Go Brother! | Purple Plan | 34,600 (2,030) | 17 | 0.03 | |
| Load Wedding | Zee Studios | 17,500 (920) | 19 | 0.02 | |
| Oolong Courtyard | China Lion | 16,900 (1,880) | 9 | 0.02 | |
| The Day After Valentine’s | Viva | 14,100 (590) | 24 | 0.01 | |
| Crime + Punishment | IFC | 8,300 (2,770) | 3 | 0.01 | |
| John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection | Oscilloscope | 7,400 (7,400) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| Crown and Anchor | C&A | 3,400 (1,700) | 2 | 0.01 | |
| Get the Sucker Back | Factory | 3,200 (3,200) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| Domestic Market Share (January 2 – August 23, 2018) | |||||
| Distributor (releases) | Box Office (millions) | Market Share | |||
| Buena Vista (10) | 2698.6 | 33.50% | |||
| Universal (13) | 1069.8 | 13.30% | |||
| Warner Bros. (22) | 918.8 | 11.40% | |||
| Sony (17) | 752.5 | 9.30% | |||
| 20th Century Fox (11) | 715.5 | 8.90% | |||
| Paramount (8) | 532.2 | 6.60% | |||
| Lionsgate (12) | 236.1 | 2.90% | |||
| STX (7) | 156.2 | 1.90% | |||
| Focus (10) | 144.3 | 1.80% | |||
| Fox Searchlight (4) | 139.7 | 1.70% | |||
| Roadside Attractions (7) | 102.2 | 1.30% | |||
| A24 (8) | 76.1 | 0.95% | |||
| Entertainment (3) | 51.7 | 0.65% | |||
| Other * (279) | 462.3 | 5.70% | |||
| 8056 | 100% | ||||
| * none greater than 0.45% | |||||
| Domestic Box Office Champs (January 2 – August 23, 2018) | |||||
| Title | Distributor | Box Office | |||
| Black Panther | BV | 700,059,566 | |||
| Avenger Infinity War | BV | 678,630,680 | |||
| Incredibles 2 | BV | 595,412,966 | |||
| Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom | Uni | 412,268,695 | |||
| Deadpool 2 | Fox | 318,365,417 | |||
| Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle * | Sony | 219,290,534 | |||
| Solo: A Star Wars Story | BV | 213,521,649 | |||
| Ant-Man and the Wasp | BV | 209,666,699 | |||
| A Quiet Place | Par | 188,071,846 | |||
| Mission: Impossible – Fallout | Par | 185,900,660 | |||
| Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation | Sony | 156,117,389 | |||
| Ocean’s 8 | WB | 138,876,427 | |||
| Ready Player One | WB | 137,236,383 | |||
| The Greatest Showman * | Fox | 119,917,641 | |||
| Peter Rabbit | Sony | 115,254,425 | |||
| Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again | Uni | 113,355,110 | |||
| A Wrinkle in Time | BV | 100,478,608 | |||
| Fifty Shades Freed | Uni | 100,407,760 | |||
| Rampage | WB | 100,170,940 | |||
| The Equalizer 2 | Sony | 96,020,332 | |||
| * does not include 2017 box office | |||||
