Madea Shows No Signs of Slowing Down with $27M Start
After a three year absence, Madea is back on top of the box office. Tyler Perry’s latest film, Boo! A Madea Halloween won the top spot this weekend with an estimated $27.6 million.
With the exception of A Madea Christmas, the franchise has been fairly solid landing between $20-30 million. However, Madea Goes to Jail is the other rarity, opening with $41 million. Despite being panned by critics, Boo! A Madea Halloween is actually one of better reviewed films in the franchise. Though, audiences did grade the film an A on Cinemascore, it may have the same frontloaded legs as the previous films.
Falling a few million shy of winning the weekend, Tom Cruise sequel, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back claimed second place. Debuting with $23 million, the film blew past the original’s $15 million start in 2012. This is actually Cruise’s weakest debut since the first film as well. Mission: Impossible: Rogue Nation, Edge of Tomorrow and Oblivion all gunned past this latest installment. The one week IMAX engagement helped, but with Inferno laying claim next weekend to those screens, it’ll be hard to gauge its second weekend. Don’t expect Never Go Back to play like the first film, which had holiday legs.
Out of the three major newcomers this weekend, Ouija: Origin of Evil debuted the weakest with $14.1 million. Despite a complete 180 degree reception with critics since the 2014 film, Origin of Evil opened much lower. Ouija pulled in $19.9 million exactly two years ago, albeit a very frontloaded run. Universal is hoping that word of mouth will bring audiences in to at least match the first film in the long run. Positively reviewed horror films such as Don’t Breathe, Lights Out and The Witch all managed to pull in at least a 3X multiplier. We’ll have a better idea next weekend whether Ouija will follow suit.
With three new releasing gunning for the top spot, last week’s champion The Accountant dropped to fourth place with $14 million. Down 43.2% from last weekend, the Ben Affleck film is falling much harder than Argo (-15.5%) and The Town (-34.5%). That doesn’t bode well for a crack at the century mark. The Accountant currently stands at $47.9 million after 10 days. Based on its currently trajectory, we could be looking at a finish around $75-80 million.
Rounding out the charts this weekend is The Girl on the Train. In its third weekend, the Emily Blunt thriller dropped 40.6%, grossing another $7.3 million. That brings its 17-day total up to $58.9 million. A 3X multiplier seems likely at this point, finishing around $70 million. With only Inferno due out next weekend, The Girl on the Train is expected to keep its theater count going. Once November hits, expect the film to wrap up in theaters rather quickly.
Note: These #’s are based on Sunday’s projections and can change with Monday’s actual #’s.
#1 – Boo! A Madea Halloween (NR)
$27.6 million / $27.6 million total
#2 – Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (NR)
$23.0 million / $23.0 million total
#3 – Ouija: Origin of Evil (NR)
$14.1 million / $14.1 million total
#4 – The Accountant (1)
$14.0 million / $47.9 million total
#5 – The Girl on the Train (2)
$7.3 million / $58.9 million total
Opening Next Week: Inferno
Source: Box Office Mojo
