Weekend Box Office (September 28 - 30, 2018)
THIS WEEKEND Comedy stars Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish joined forces to propel their new film Night School to a number one debut grossing an estimated $28M. The PG-13 film from Universal averaged a strong $9,302 from 3,010 locations and capitalized on the hot starpower of its leads.
Reviews were not so positive, but ticket buyers instead responded to the names on the marquee and were happy with what they got as evidenced by the A- CinemaScore. Studio data showed the crowd to be split 50/50 among males and females, 59% over 25, and 63% non-white. The weekend tally was close to the $31.2M of Haddish's breakout hit Girls Trip from last summer and the $29.2M of Hart's Think Like A Man Too.
The new animated comedy Smallfoot opened in second place with an estimated $23M from 4,131 locations for a $5,573 average. That was a respectable debut at this time of year for a toon not associated with a known brand. The performance was a bit above the $21.3M of Storks from two years ago. Both were Warner Bros. animated flicks with PG ratings released in late September. A similar fall run would put Smallfoot on course to finish in the $80M neighborhood.
Tumbling 53% in its second weekend was the spooky kidpic The House with a Clock in Its Walls which took in an estimated $12.5M pushing the cume to $44.8M for Universal. Competition from another PG-rated film aimed at younger patrons was a factor as was mixed word-of-mouth.
Still holding up well in its third weekend was the mystery thriller A Simple Favor which grossed an estimated $6.6M slipping 36%. Lionsgate has taken in a healthy $43.1M so far. Fright fans were still lining up for some punishment from The Nun which collected an estimated $5.4M in its fourth round, down 46%. Warner Bros. has banked an impressive $109M to date.
The new horror entry Hell Fest opened just outside the top five with an estimated $5.1M from 2,297 theaters for a soft $2,209 average. The R-rated serial killer pic from CBS Films and Lionsgate offered scares that were more from the slasher genre and did not earn much love from film critics. The production budget was only $5.5M.
Rom-com sensation Crazy Rich Asians dropped 35% to an estimated $4.2M in its seventh weekend and boosted the cume to $165.7M for Warner Bros. Continuing to crash was The Predator which fell 60% to an estimated $3.7M giving Fox $47.6M overall.
Sony's White Boy Rick followed with an estimated $2.4M, down 51%, and $21.7M to date. Dropping 52% was STX's revenge thriller Peppermint with an estimated $1.8M putting the sum at $33.5M.
Fox Searchlight enjoyed a strong start for its new Robert Redford pic The Old Man and the Gun which opened to an estimated $150,000 from five locations for a sturdy $30,000 average with more markets opening over the weeks ahead, including eight more next weekend. Reviews were quite positive.
With lackluster reviews and limited starpower, the drama Little Women opened poorly with an estimated $747,000 from 643 theaters across the country for a dismal average of only $1,162 for Pinnacle Peak.
The top ten films grossed an estimated $92.6M which was up 15% from last year when Kingsman: The Golden Circle remained at number one with $16.9M; but down 9% from 2016 when Miss Peregrine debuted in the top spot with $28.9M.
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Be sure to check back on Thursday for a complete summary, including projections, for next weekend when Venom and A Star is Born kick off the October box office.
| # | Title | Sep 28 - 30 | Sep 21 - 23 | % Chg. | Theaters | Weeks | AVG | Cumulative | Distributor |
| 1 | Night School | $ 27,257,615 | 3,010 | 1 | $ 9,056 | $ 27,257,615 | Universal | ||
| 2 | Smallfoot | 23,045,635 | 4,131 | 1 | 5,579 | 23,045,635 | Warner Bros. | ||
| 3 | House with a Clock in Its Walls | 12,605,120 | 26,608,020 | -52.6 | 3,592 | 2 | 3,509 | 44,858,345 | Universal |
| 4 | A Simple Favor | 6,540,666 | 10,252,206 | -36.2 | 3,073 | 3 | 2,128 | 43,007,474 | Lionsgate |
| 5 | The Nun | 5,428,875 | 9,965,635 | -45.5 | 3,331 | 4 | 1,630 | 109,011,923 | Warner Bros. |
| 6 | Hell Fest | 5,130,963 | 2,297 | 1 | 2,234 | 5,130,963 | CBS Films | ||
| 7 | Crazy Rich Asians | 4,102,788 | 6,346,641 | -35.4 | 2,347 | 7 | 1,748 | 165,634,563 | Warner Bros. |
| 8 | The Predator | 3,860,826 | 9,176,459 | -57.9 | 2,926 | 3 | 1,319 | 47,795,077 | Fox |
| 9 | White Boy Rick | 2,402,240 | 4,857,655 | -50.5 | 2,017 | 3 | 1,191 | 21,732,021 | Sony |
| 10 | Peppermint | 1,766,458 | 3,684,122 | -52.1 | 2,002 | 4 | 882 | 33,523,366 | STX |
| 11 | My Hero Academia | 1,355,972 | 508 | 1 | 2,669 | 3,934,746 | FUNimation | ||
| 12 | Fahrenheit 11/9 | 1,111,134 | 3,008,563 | -63.1 | 1,719 | 2 | 646 | 5,180,428 | Briarcliff |
| 13 | The Meg | 1,032,182 | 2,265,438 | -54.4 | 1,243 | 8 | 830 | 141,980,287 | Warner Bros. |
| 14 | Searching | 955,577 | 2,150,829 | -55.6 | 1,014 | 6 | 942 | 24,839,159 | Sony |
| 15 | The Wife | 714,351 | 890,350 | -19.8 | 437 | 7 | 1,635 | 6,041,025 | Sony Classics |
| 16 | Little Women | 705,063 | 643 | 1 | 1,097 | 705,063 | Pinnacle Peak | ||
| 17 | Life Itself | 658,799 | 2,123,463 | -69.0 | 2,355 | 2 | 280 | 3,641,320 | Amazon |
| 18 | Mission: Impossible - Fallout | 621,619 | 1,162,813 | -46.5 | 538 | 10 | 1,155 | 219,190,552 | Paramount |
| 19 | Sui Dhaaga - Made in India | 582,006 | 193 | 1 | 3,016 | 582,006 | Yash Raj | ||
| 20 | Unbroken: Path to Redemption | 487,470 | 1,284,253 | -62.0 | 741 | 3 | 658 | 5,595,589 | Pure Flix |
| Top 5 | $ 74,877,911 | $ 62,348,961 | 20.1 | ||||||
| Top 10 | 92,141,186 | 78,315,568 | 17.7 | ||||||
| Top 20 | 100,365,359 | 88,031,712 | 14.0 | ||||||
| Top 20 vs. 2017 | 100,365,359 | 87,420,009 | 14.8 |
This column is updated three times each week: Thursday (upcoming weekend's summary), Sunday (post-weekend analysis with estimates), and Monday night (actuals). Opinions expressed in this column are those solely of the author.
Last Updated: September 30, 2018 at 11:50AM ET
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