‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Ranks Among Top Labor Day Box Office Successes
Crazy Rich Asians topped the box office for a third straight weekend, joining Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War as the only 2018 films to do so. The acclaimed romantic comedy brought in an estimated $28.3 million over the extended Labor Day weekend.
With $117 million so far, there’s nothing to stop Crazy Rich Asians. Well, The Nun already has its sights on first place next weekend. That’s a story for next Sunday. Regardless, Crazy Rich Asians (4.4x multiplier) is already the leggiest wide release of summer outside of Book Club (5x multiplier). It won’t break a sweat topping Book Club either, which will probably happen sometime next weekend. Week-to-week drops have been astounding as Crazy Rich Asians only dropped another 10.9% when comparing Friday to Sunday hauls. $150 million is practically a lock at this point. Legs like 2011’s The Help send the romantic comedy over the $200 million mark. That’s optimism at its finest, though a more realistic projection would be around $180 million. It’ll be difficult to find another wide release left in 2018 with such staying power at the box office.
Jason Statham’s The Meg maintained second place for a third straight weekend, only behind Crazy Rich Asians once again. Like Crazy Rich Asians (which is quickly finding a league of its own box office-wise), The Meg is becoming one of the leggiest films of the summer. With another $10.5 million from Friday to Sunday and about $2.8 million on Labor Day, The Meg grossed $13.4 million over the long weekend. After 25 days in theaters, The Meg is up to $123.4 million domestically and could easily reach $135 million or higher.
Mission: Impossible – Fallout proved to be even more successful in its sixth frame. Back up to third place, the Tom Cruise sequel crossed the $200 million milestone over the weekend. Fallout joins Ghost Protocol ($209.4 million) and Mission: Impossible II ($215.4 million) as the third chapter to break $200 million. With $7 million for the Friday to Sunday frame and another $1.5 million factoring in Monday, Fallout stands at $206.4 million. Barring no major theater drops next weekend, Fallout should pass Ghost Protocol with ease in the coming days. Topping Mission: Impossible II will take a bit longer, but remains doable.
MGM’s historical drama, Operation Finale, claimed fourth place this weekend. Debuting this past Wednesday, the Chris Weitz directed film has enjoyed a six-day stretch in theaters so far. From Friday to Sunday, Operation Finale grossed $6 million. Monday brought in another $1.8 million. With a $1.8 million start heading into the weekend, Operation Finale made about $9.5 million since Wednesday. Solid reviews from Rotten Tomatoes critics and CinemaScore audiences could push for a decent run ahead. A finish around $20 million wouldn’t seem out of the question.
After opening in very limited release last weekend, Sony’s expansion of Searching performed rather decently. The Sundance hit starring John Cho found its way to the fifth place spot. That’s a major leap from opening at 22nd in a mere nine theaters. Over the three-day frame, Searching brought in $6 million. Labor Day added another $1.7 million for a $7.7 million four-day weekend. That’s a major win over the $500,00 the film made in its first week. No CinemaScore polling was taken as of this posting. However, a favorable 91% on Rotten Tomatoes could see some legs in the coming weeks. A $15-17 million finish seems probable.
Note: These #’s are based on Monday’s projections and can change with Tuesday’s actual #’s
#1 – Crazy Rich Asians (1)
$22.1 million / $28.3 million / $117.0 million total
#2 – The Meg (2)
$10.5 million / $13.4 million / $123.4 million total
#3 – Mission: Impossible – Fallout (4)
$7.0 million / $9.1 million / $206.4 million total
#4 – Operation Finale (NR)
$6.0 million / $7.8 million / $9.5 million total
#5 – Searching (22)
$6.0 million / $7.7 million / $8.1 million total
Opening Next Week: God Bless This Broken Road, Peppermint, The Nun
Source: Box Office Mojo
