‘Boo! A Madea Halloween’ Repeats Over Holiday Weekend
Gearing up for Halloween this Monday, Tyler Perry’s Madea shocked the world this weekend. His latest comedy, Boo! A Madea Halloween retained the top spot at the box office this weekend with an estimated $16.7 million.
With all eyes towards Inferno this weekend, A Madea Halloween was surely expected to drop to second place. The repeat itself is a shocker. But even more so, Perry’s latest film only dipped 41.5% from last weekend. Based on the previous films, the franchise typically plummets within a week minus A Madea Christmas. Madea’s Witness Protection dropped 59.9%, while Madea’s Big Happy Family fell 60.7%. A Madea Halloween was surely to follow suit. Wrong. Thank the Halloween holdover for breaking the mold. Though, we’ll know next weekend for sure if this was a fluke. If A Madea Halloween collapses above 60%, then it’s back to the status quo. Regardless, the film is still tracking to be the leggiest in the franchise.
Inferno was expected to claim the top spot this weekend at the box office. In an alarming turn of events, the Ron Howard sequel settled for second place with $15 million. From the start, it was obvious that Inferno would open way lower than The Da Vinci Code ($77.1 million) and Angels & Demons ($46.2 million). What’s worse is Angels & Demons made more on opening day than Inferno did its first weekend. What’s to blame? The odd October release? The seven year wait? At least with a B+ Cinemascore grade, audiences weren’t that negative towards the film. Golfed in its own box office disappointment, Inferno proved to be another 2016 sequel that underperformed. The Robert Langdon trilogy may have solved its last puzzle.
Down one spot this weekend, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back managed another $9.6 million. The Tom Cruise sequel is pushing almost $40 million after two weeks. Perhaps Reacher would’ve fared better around the holidays like the 2012 original. That film only fell 10% its second weekend with $13.6 million in the bank. Losing IMAX screens to a lackluster Inferno didn’t help matters either. On its current trajectory, this could very well be Cruise’s lowest grossing film since Rock of Ages ($38.5 million) back in 2012.
For the second week in a row, Ben Affleck’s The Accountant maintained its fourth place spot. In its third weekend, The Accountant calculated another $8.5 million, falling a respectable 37.9%. After 17 days of release, The Accountant stands at $61.3 million. Despite critical praise and Affleck’s brand ever growing, it just doesn’t have the legs as his previous films. Both Argo and The Town continued to hold stronger in week three on the road to leggy runs. The Accountant is playing more along the line of a mainstream October release. By the end of its run, we could still be looking at $80-85 million. That’s not terrible, but $100 million eludes Affleck this time around.
Rounding out the charts this weekend is Ouija: Origin of Evil. In its second weekend, the Universal sequel dipped 49.7%, grossing another $7.1 million. That’s slightly harder than the first film’s 46% sophomore drop in 2014. Ironically enough, Origin of Evil has been critically praised, while the original was severely panned. Still, an drop under 50% for a horror film is impressive. Most new releases in the franchises typically crash and burn within two weeks. With a crowded marketplace on deck next weekend, Origin of Evil will not be matching Ouija’s $50 million run.
Inferno couldn’t fuel enough of my $25 million prediction this past Thursday.
Note: These #’s are based on Sunday’s projections and can change with Monday’s actual #’s.
#1 – Boo! A Madea Halloween (1)
$16.7 million / $52.0 million total
#2 – Inferno (NR)
$15.0 million / $15.0 million total
#3 – Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2)
$9.6 million / $39.7 million total
#4 – The Accountant (4)
$8.5 million / $61.3 million total
#5 – Ouija: Origin of Evil (3)
$7.1 million / $24.6 million total
Opening Next Week: Doctor Strange, Trolls, Hacksaw Ridge, Loving (limited)
Source: Box Office Mojo