Weekend Wrap-Up: Fate Falls to Great Expectations, Still Earns $98.79 million

April 18, 2017

The Fate of the Furious

As expected, The Fate of the Furious dominated the box office this weekend, earning nearly a 60% share of the total box office. It did miss predictions, however, with “just” $98.79 million. This is the curse of great expectations. Overall, the box office rose 40% from last weekend, reaching $167 million. However, this was 5.1% lower than the same weekend last year. Had The Fate of the Furious matched expectations, then 2017 would have had a 5% lead over last year. Year-to-date, 2017 has pulled in $3.37 billion and has a 7.2% lead over 2016. That will shrink as last year’s The Jungle Book’s legs will undoubtedly be better than The Fate of the Furious’s legs, but I don’t think 2017 will fall behind 2016 any time soon.

The Fate of the Furious missed expectations earning $98.79 million during its opening weekend. This is the second best opening in the Fast and the Furious franchise, but is still substantially lower than most people were predicting. The reviews also took a hit with a Tomatometer Score of 65%. (Granted, the CinemaScore was stable at an A, but there are fewer gradients in that measurement, so it might have dropped, just not enough to go from an A to an A minus.) This suggests the franchise has peaked in popularity and the studio will see declining returns for installments eight and nine. That said, the film set records internationally and the studio’s share of the global opening is nearly $200 million. It will break even, perhaps before it reaches the home market. It depends on its legs and how much the studio spent on global advertising.

The Boss Baby held on a little better than expected with $16.01 million over the weekend for a total of $116.79 million after just three weeks of release. It is on pace for $150 million domestically, which is more than enough to break even during its initial push onto the home market, at the latest.

Beauty and the Beast added $13.71 million to its running tally, which now sits at $454.72 million after a full month of release. The film could fight for a spot in the top five next week, while it should still be semi-wide by the time the summer blockbuster season officially starts.

Smurfs: The Lost Village grabbed fourth place with $6.71 million over the weekend for a total of $24.95 million after two weeks of release. There’s no way to spin this result in a positive light.

Going in Style fell a little faster than expected with $6.29 million over the weekend for a ten-day total of $23.32 million. It only cost $25 million to make, so it might break even, if it is a hit on the home market.

Gifted expanded semi-wide earning sixth place with $3.08 million over the weekend for a running tally of $4.45 million after two weeks of release. Its reviews are good, but its theater average is low enough that it likely won’t expand too much further. That said, it could become a sleeper hit and every day in theaters is advertising for its home market debut.

The Case for Christ rose to ninth place with $2.76 million over the weekend for a two-week total of $8.49 million. Unfortunately, its theater average dipped just below $2,000, so a lot of theater owners will be looking to drop it relatively quickly, especially now that the Easter weekend is over.

- Weekend Box Office Chart

- Fate of the Furious Comparisons

Filed under: Weekend Wrap-up, Smurfs: The Lost Village, The Boss Baby, Beauty and the Beast, The Fate of the Furious, Gifted, The Case for Christ, Fast and the Furious