Weekend Box Office (February 8 - 10, 2019)

by Gitesh Pandya

THIS WEEKEND Emmet and friends were back in the number one spot as the animated sequel The LEGO Movie 2 easily premiered on top, however the turnout was half that of its predecessor which launched this very same weekend five years ago with the LEGO brand showing franchise fatigue.

The new PG-rated comedy bowed to an estimated $34.4M this weekend from 4,303 locations for a $7,994 average. That represented a disturbing 50% fall from the $69.1M launch of 2014's The LEGO Movie. With two other films in 2017 (Batman and Ninjago) this was now the fourth LEGO toon in five years and some moviegoers felt no need to pay again for a trip to the theater. Add in numerous TV programs from the brand and there has been an abundance of content lately.

But reviews were positive and the CinemaScore grade was an A- so those who did come out did in fact enjoy it. Plus with the Presidents Day school holiday a week away, there is still plenty of cash to collect for the rest of the month. However Warner Bros. may need to rethink how many LEGO films are really necessary to match up with demand.

Taraji P. Henson headlined the new R-rated comedy What Men Want and surged to a second place debut with an estimated $19M from 2,912 locations for a solid $6,525 average. The Paramount release performed as expected and delivered a healthy number given how many R-rated comedies have struggled in recent years. Reviews were mixed but paying crowds gave a nice A- CinemaScore grade.

Liam Neeson attracted attention and outrage this past week for comments he made and his latest action thriller Cold Pursuit ended up generating his worst wide opening in a leading role in over a decade. The Lionsgate release debuted to an estimated $10.8M from 2,630 locations for a $4,106 average. Reviews were generally positive and the R-rated film skewed predictably with males at 58% and 79% being over 25. Since Taken ten years ago, Neeson has been a bankable box office star, especially for revenge thrillers, but between too much of the same thing and some people being turned off by his recent comments, the weekend saw only so many people show up.

The Kevin Hart-Bryan Cranston film The Upside held up very well again in its fifth weekend declining by only 17% to an estimated $7.2M. Normally at this time of year, only major Oscar players see this type of small dip. The STX release has collected an impressive $85.8M to date and is on its way to nine-digit territory.

Three-time box office winner Glass finally gave up the crown and dropped 33% to an estimated $6.4M putting Universal at $98.5M domestic. Disney has taken in an additional $123M from overseas markets putting the worldwide gross at $221.5M.

The newest evil-kid horror entry Prodigy debuted to soft results opening to an estimated $6M from 2,530 sites for a weak $2,373 average. Reviews were mixed for the R-rated film from Orion and a modest run will follow.

Green Book, one of the top contenders to actually win the Best Picture trophy at the Oscars this year, followed with an estimated $3.6M, off just 18%, putting Universal at $61.5M overall. Global has broken $100M and sits at $106.1M.

Box office titan Aquaman finally fell to the lower trenches of the top ten in its eighth week grossing an estimated $3.3M sliding 32%. The Warner Bros. smash has now hit $328.5M domestic making it the third biggest DCEU film and it is only one week away from surpassing the $330.4M of Batman v Superman. Only Wonder Woman has been bigger with $412.6M. Overseas rose to $791.9M for Arthur Curry putting global at an astonishing $1.12B.

The Oscar-nominated super hero toon Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse took in an estimated $3M, down 33%, giving Sony $179.8M from North America. Tumbling bad in its second weekend of play was the action title Miss Bala with an estimated $2.7M falling 60%. Sony has banked only $11.9M to date and could end at about $16M.

The top ten films grossed an estimated $96.5M which was down 15% from last year when Fifty Shades Freed opened in the number one spot with $38.6M; and off 44% from 2017 when The LEGO Batman Movie debuted on top with $53M.


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# Title Feb 8 - 10 Feb 1 - 3 % Chg. Theaters Weeks AVG Cumulative Distributor
1 The LEGO Movie 2 $ 34,115,335 4,303 1 $ 7,928 $ 34,715,335 Warner Bros.
2 What Men Want 18,232,087 2,912 1 6,261 18,232,087 Paramount
3 Cold Pursuit 11,030,233 2,630 1 4,194 11,030,233 Lionsgate
4 The Upside 7,082,763 8,677,981 -18.4 3,372 5 2,100 85,663,129 STX
5 Glass 6,279,655 9,548,795 -34.2 3,254 4 1,930 98,334,235 Universal
6 Prodigy 5,853,061 2,530 1 2,313 5,853,061 Orion
7 Green Book 3,443,975 4,347,485 -20.8 2,149 13 1,603 61,378,751 Universal
8 Aquaman 3,201,653 4,880,138 -34.4 2,202 8 1,454 328,448,695 Warner Bros.
9 Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse 3,043,626 4,548,595 -33.1 1,726 9 1,763 179,825,253 Sony
10 Miss Bala 2,745,129 6,864,744 -60.0 2,203 2 1,246 11,885,225 Sony
11 A Dog's Way Home 1,958,714 3,615,488 -45.8 2,009 5 975 38,936,733 Sony
12 They Shall Not Grow Old 1,707,803 2,438,575 -30.0 827 2 2,065 13,600,319 Warner Bros.
13 The Wandering Earth 1,700,000 64 1 26,563 2,200,000 CMC
14 Escape Room 1,577,360 2,917,935 -45.9 1,339 6 1,178 54,617,593 Sony
15 The Kid Who Would Be King 1,450,604 4,247,454 -65.8 1,846 3 786 15,665,409 Fox
16 Bohemian Rhapsody 1,301,745 1,818,020 -28.4 839 15 1,552 210,566,177 Fox
17 Oscar Nominated Shorts 938,455 270 1 3,476 938,455 Magnolia
18 Bumblebee 867,632 1,922,859 -54.9 976 8 889 125,773,102 Paramount
19 Mary Poppins Returns 830,005 2,038,092 -59.3 842 8 986 169,763,349 Disney
20 The Favourite 814,423 1,559,950 -47.8 605 12 1,346 30,214,464 Fox Searchlight
Top 5 $ 76,740,073 $ 34,520,253 122.3
Top 10 95,027,517 52,087,190 82.4
Top 20 108,174,258 66,399,343 62.9
Top 20 vs. 2018 108,174,258 131,271,676 -17.6

Last Updated: February 10, 2019 at 12:15PM ET

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