Tom Hanks’ ‘Sully’ Repeats with $22M Sophomore Frame
While all three new releases sank to the bottom of the box office ocean, Tom Hanks’ Sully remained atop the top charts this weekend with an estimated $22 million.
In its second frame, the Clint Eastwood film dipped 37% from last weekend, bringing its 10-day total to $70.5 million. That’s a bit harder that Eastwood’s previous Oscar contenders American Sniper (-27.6%) and Million Dollar Baby (-29%). Then again, both those blockbusters expanded in January and February respectively. With Sully looking to be one of the first film of fall to crack the awards season radar, expect some pretty strong legs in the coming weeks. A better comparison would be more along the lines of Captain Phillips. Also based on a true story and starring Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips managed a 2x multiplier after its first 10 days. Sully may burn a bit faster, but a $130 million run could be possible.
In a distant second place, horror sequel Blair Witch failed to scare up a major box office debut, opening with $9.7 million. That’s an all-time low for the 17-year old franchise. The 1999 found footage film debuted to $29.2 million in its first weekend of expansion. A year later, Blair Witch: Book of Shadows opened to $13.2 million, making half its run on opening weekend. Negative reviews didn’t help as Blair Witch scored a 37% on Rotten Tomatoes and D+ on Cinemascore. That combination will result in a quick burn that will not finish above $20 million.
Bridget Jones’s Baby also fell behind its predecessors. The third installment of the Renee Zellweger romantic comedy series debuted in third place this weekend with $8.2 million. That’s almost on par with 2004’s Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason ($8.7 million), but a few million shy of the first film from 2001. The main difference is the previous two films opened to a fraction of Baby’s 2,927 theaters and yet opened much larger. Even with a B+ Cinemascore and mixed reviews, this won’t have the staying power of the last two films.
Bio-pic Snowden scored Oliver Stone his worst wide-release debut in nearly 20 years, opening with $8 million. With films like Alexander, World Trade Center and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps all opening between $10-20 million, Snowden is a box office misfire going into awards season. The Edward Snowden bio-pic was pushed back several times from an original Oscar-ready December 2015 release. Stone hasn’t fared well in recent Oscar campaigns in the past and with mixed reviews, Snowden may fall off the radar and box office in the next few weeks.
Rounding out the charts this week is horror favorite, Don’t Breathe. The late summer hit declined a soft 32% from last weekend, now passing the $75 million mark. With a bit more left in the tank and minimal competition, Don’t Breathe still has a chance to creep up on the $90 million mark before leaving theaters.
Note: These #’s are based on Sunday’s projections and can change with Monday’s actual #’s.
#1 – Sully (1)
$22.0 million / $70.5 million total
#2 – Blair Witch (NR)
$9.7 million / $9.7 million total
#3 – Bridget Jones’s Baby (NR)
$8.2 million / $8.2 million total
#4 – Snowden (NR)
$8.0 million / $8.0 million total
#5 – Don’t Breathe (3)
$5.6 million / $75.3 million total
Opening Next Week: The Magnificent Seven, Storks, The Dressmaker (limited), The Queen of Katwe (limited)
Source: Box Office Mojo
