This week’s box office race went down to the wire but it’s now pretty clear thatItwill take the top spot overAmerican Made. Weekend estimates currently have theStephen Kingadaptation at $17.3 million withDoug Liman’s latestTom Cruisevehicle bringing in $17 million in its opening bow. That’s a difference of about $300,000 between the top two spots, underlining the seemingly unstoppable appeal ofAndy Muschietti’s horror blockbuster.
It’s even more remarkable that some $16,000 separatesAmerican MadeandKingsman: The Golden Circle, which came in at third with $17 million. This speaks to a dwindling appeal for Cruise in general, at least domestically. Internationally, Liman’s film has made $64 million before even arriving in Japan, which means that the film’s $50 million budget has been neutralized on top of the undisclosed marketing costs both in the states and abroad. TheKingsmansequel, which is as bad a movie as this year has seen thus far, has also benefitted hugely from international audiences, which has racked up $68 million on top of the $66 million domestic take against the movie’s $104 million production tab.
As unimpressive asAmerican Made’s debut has been, it’s certainly not as bad as its fellow openers.Flatliners, a bad remake of an inexplicably boring 80s whatsit, came in at fifth with $6.7 million domestically and $3.1 million internationally, making up just about half of its $19 million budget. This wasn’t even enough to put the supernatural thriller pastThe LEGO Ninjago Movie, the worst of theLEGOmovies thus far, which held tight in fourth place with $12 million. Even lower down the list, expanded showings ofThe Battle of the Sexesonly netted $3.4 million, barely beating outAmerican Assassinin its third frame.
It’s hard to imagineNinjagoorFlatlinerssurviving next weekend, which will bringBlade Runner 2049for the adults andMy Little Ponyfor the kids andThe Mountain Between Usfor…somebody. After the down-to-the-wire competition that this week brought, it will prove fascinating to see how big a blow-outBlade Runnerwill cause, especially afterIthas made it clear that it’s not leaving the top five quietly.
Here’s your top five for the weekend:
Weekend Domestic BO
Total Domestic BO
$17,310,000
$291,182,790
2. ‘American Made’
$17,016,000
3. ‘Kingsman: The Golden Circle’
$17,000,000
$66,701,588
4. ‘The LEGO Ninjago Movie’
$12,000,000
$35,556,065
5. ‘Flatliners’
$6,700,000
