Three movies — one a holdover hit and two new releases — fought a closely contested battle for the top spot at the domestic box office this weekend. A24’s dystopian thrillerCivil Warended up narrowly out-performing Universal’s horror offeringAbigail, and Lionsgate’s World War II spy comedyThe Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. Touted as A24’s first major box office play,Civil Warset new records for the indie outfit in its debut week and has already emerged as one of the five biggest hits in the company’s history.
Directed byMatt Bettinelli-OlpinandTyler Gillett— better known asRadio Silence—Abigaildebuted with an estimated $10 millionacross its first three days of release, underperforming in a manner similar to fellow Universal releaseMonkey Man. Directed byDev Patel,Monkey Manalso opened to $10 million a couple of weeks ago, and has so far made around $20 million domestically. This is a worryingly low potential total for a Radio Silence film — the filmmaker duo is coming off of the two latest installments in theScreamfranchise, which grossed a combined total of $190 million domestically. The silver lining here is the dependably strong critical reception thatAbigailhas earned — the movie currently sits at a “fresh” 83% score on the aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes.
Civil Wargrossed an estimated $11 million this weekend, taking its running domestic total to $44 million in 10 days, and overtakingAri Aster’sHereditaryto become A24’s fifth-biggest release of all time. Produced on a reported budget of $50 million,Civil Warhas earned mostly positive reviews but hasproven to be divisive among audiences. The film follows a group of journalists on a cross-country road trip across a divided America in a vaguely defined future.Civil Waralso debuted in a handful of overseas markets this weekend, as it commences on its quest to become A24’s biggest-ever release.
Total Business This Weekend Failed to Crack the $70 Million Mark
The latest entry in writer-directorGuy Ritchie’s dazzlingly prolific mid-career period,The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfaredebuted with an estimated $9 million. While also positively reviewed — the movie hasa 73% RT ratingand an A CinemaScore —The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfarecost a reported $60 million to produce, and is coming off of two consecutive under-performers by Ritchie. But none of this appears to have affected the filmmaker, who already has two new moviesin different stages of productionlined up.The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfareis also shaping up to be the second box office underperformer in a row forHenry Cavill, who last starred in former Ritchie collaboratorMatthew Vaughn’sArgylle.
The third and fifth spots this weekend went toGodzilla x Kong: The New Empireand the latest Crunchyroll anime release,Spy x Family Code: White. While the monster mashup film added an estimated $9.5 million in its fourth weekend, taking its running domestic total to around $171 million and becomingthe second-biggest MonsterVerse movie,Spy x Family Codegrossed around $5 million domestically, having already made around $45 million in overseas markets.
Stay tuned to Collider for more updates and grab your tickets forAbigailbelow.
After a group of criminals kidnaps the ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, they retreat to an isolated mansion, unaware that they’re locked inside with no normal little girl.
