Weekend Wrap-Up: Meg Chows Down on Moviegoers
August 14, 2018
The Meg was arguably the biggest box office surprise of the summer, earning more during its opening weekend than many thought it would earn in total and it doubled our prediction. It also earned more than the next three films earned combined, so it was a rather one-sided affair at the box office. Its $45.40 million debut did help the overall box office rise 5.6% from last weekend reaching $147 million. More importantly, this is 26% higher than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2018 now has a 9.1% / $640 million lead over 2017 at $7.68 billion to $7.04 million.
The Meg opened with $45.40 million and it would take some really weak legs to not get to $100 million domestically after a start like that. Its reviews have fallen to just under 50% positive, while it only managed a B plus from CinemaScore, so I don’t expect great reviews. That said, it is very likely the last $100 million release of summer, so without any real competition, it could stick around for a while.
Mission: Impossible—Fallout fell a little further than anticipated to $19.35 million over the weekend for a three-week total of $161.32 million. It is still on pace for $200 million domestically, but it might not overtake Ant-Man and the Wasp after this weekend.
Christopher Robin landed in third place with $12.96 million over the weekend for a two-week total of $50.55 million. This is better than the numbers the studio released for the weekend estimates, but not by enough to make $100 million a realistic goal. That said, Disney has had an amazing year so far, so there’s no reason to dwell on this one result.
Slender Man managed fourth place with $11.37 million, which may or may not be more than it cost to make. I don’t think it will have great legs, as horror films rarely last long in theaters. Additionally, its reviews and its D minus from CinemaScore won’t help matters. That said, it could become a hit on the home market and break even sooner rather than later.
BlacKkKlansman was right behind with $10.85 million in just over 1,500 theaters. Its theater average is $7,173, which is high enough to convince more theater owners to book the movie. Additionally, its Tomatometer Score is 97% positive, while its CinemaScore rating is an A minus. Both of these factors should help its word-of-mouth, which will in turn help its legs.
On the other hand, Dog Days bombed. There’s no polite way to say that. It only managed 12th place with $2.55 million / $3.60 million during its three-day / five-day openings. Its word-of-mouth might be good, as its reviews are good and it earned an A minus from CinemaScore. More likely, bombing this hard will have a more lasting impression on moviegoers.
Moving onto the sophomore class, The Spy Who Dumped Me is found in sixth place with $6.46 million over the weekend for a two-week total of $24.42 million. It only fell 47%, which would normally be a good result, but this is a case of too little, too late. The Darkest Minds wasn’t as lucky falling 63% to just $2.14 million for a two-week total of $10.99 million. The film deserved better, but it is just too far behind the times. Death of a Nation also plummeted, down 58% to $988,000 over the weekend for a two-week total of just $4.52 million.
There were also a couple of major milestones this weekend. Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! topped $100 million over the weekend, while Ant-Man and the Wasp reached $200 million. These two milestones won’t be the last for a summer release.
- The Meg Comparisons
- BlacKkKlansman Comparisons
- Slender Man Comparisons
- Dog Days Comparisons
Filed under: Weekend Wrap-up, The Darkest Minds, Christopher Robin, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Mission: Impossible—Fallout, The Meg, Slender Man, The Spy Who Dumped Me, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!, BlacKkKlansman, Dog Days, Death of a Nation