Weekend Wrap-Up: It Dominates the Chart, Maybe Reinvigorates the Box Office

September 10, 2019

It: Chapter Two

It: Chapter Two dominated the box office by almost as large a margin as expected. It certainly did well enough that I’m considering it a victory. It earned $91.06 million over the weekend, which is almost exactly what the total box office made last weekend. More importantly, it is almost as much as the top five made this weekend last year, giving the weekend box office a massive increase of 48% from last weekend to $136 million and more importantly, this was 12% more than the same weekend last year. 2019 is still behind 2018 by a massive margin of $500 million or 6.0% at $7.83 billion to $8.33 billion. However, we did catch up to 2017’s ticket sales pace, so as long as we can maintain this pace for the rest of the year, it won’t look like a disaster at the end of the year.

It: Chapter Two opened with $91.06 million, which is the second best opening for a September release and the second best opening for a horror movie, in both cases this film is behind only the original It. Likewise, its reviews are behind the first film’s reviews, while both films earned a B plus from CinemaScore. Because Chapter Two is a sequel, it very likely won’t have the same legs as the first film, but it is still on pace to become a monster hit.

Angel Has Fallen won’t become a monster hit, but with $53.45 million after three weeks of release, including $5.99 million this weekend, it is already a midlevel hit.

Good Boys was right behind with $5.48 million over the weekend for a total of $66.94 million after four weeks of release. This is enough to cover its production budget and a large chunk of its advertising budget. The film is really struggling internationally, but even so, it is on pace to break even very early in its home market run.

The Lion King was next with $4.32 million over the weekend for a total of $529.24 million after eight weeks of release.

Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw just managed to hold onto a spot in the top five with $3.81 million over the weekend for a total of $164.34 million after six weeks of release.

Overcomer was right behind with $3.71 million over the weekend for a total of $24.67 million after three weeks of release. This is a great run for a faith-based film.

Dora and the Lost City of Gold rose from eleventh to seventh, which is amazing, as it didn't see a boost in its theater count. The film pulled in $2.35 million over the weekend for a total of $54.33 million after a month of release. This is more than it cost to make and it could break even very early in its home market run, if it helped boost merchandise sales for the franchise.

- Weekend Box Office Chart

Filed under: Weekend Wrap-up, It, The Lion King, Good Boys, It: Chapter Two, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, Dora and the Lost City of Gold, Angel Has Fallen, Overcomer