By Chris Kavan - 02/21/16 at 08:33 PM CT
So what if the Merc with the Mouth isn't going to be hosting Saturday Night Live? It turns out the red-suited hero prone to violence has plenty left to celebrate after another dominating weekend victory and an increasingly impressive world-wide total. But don't think that just because Deadpool is leading the charts that the newcomers were left out. Two out of the three managed to break in to the top five, with one just outside. Although their totals might pale in comparison, all three were also operating on limited budgets, meaning it looks like all three will also come out as winners when their final numbers are tallied. All in all, another great weekend and makes this February buck the trend of being a dumping ground for questionable films.
1) DEADPOOL
After setting all kinds of records for R-rated films, Deadpool showed little signs of slowing down. At $55 million, Deadpool dropped about 58.5% in its second weekend - a bit more than the 52% hit of The Dark Knight and just slightly ahead of the 59% drop of Avengers: Age of Ultron. That drop was still enough to be the second-best second weekend for any R-rated film (behind the $67 million for American Sniper - which itself dipped only 27%) and its new $235.39 total is already the sixth-best R-rated film ever - between the $234 million of Beverly Hills Cop and the $254 million of The Hangover Part II. Depending on how many screens it can keep a hold of in the next month, it ultimately has a chance to catch the big two: The Matrix Reloaded ($350 million) and Passion of the Christ ($377 million). On top of that, Deadpool is officially the biggest X-Men movie on record - surpassing the 234.2 million of X-Men: The Last Stand and the 3-D inflated $233.9 million for X-Men: Days of Future Past. It is the biggest R-rated comic book movie of all time, passing 300 at $210 million and in terms of all comic book movies is currently in 12th place, just behind Captain America: Winter Soldier ($259 million) and will have no problem breaking in to the top 10 in the coming weeks. Those are all domestic numbers, in world-wide totals it sits at $491.9 million and will soon become one of the few R-rated films to hit $500 million total. It trails only X-Men: Days of Future Past ($747 million total) in terms of X-Men films on the global front. This spin-off success is already changing things - with the studio saying the next Wolverine film will also be rated R and it could mean big things for other adult-skewing characters. We'll see how this runaway success changes the film landscape over the next few years, but change it, it will.
2)
KUNG FU PANDA 3
Yes, the animated panda Po and his motley bunch of friends managed to snag the second-place spot after four weeks in theaters, dropping only 36.7% in the process. The third Kung-Fu Panda film raked in an estimated $12.5 million, giving the film a new total of $117.1 million. The film is still within striking distance of $150 million at this point, though it may finish just below that mark. Still, for a film that opened under expectations, it is now looking like the film is going to finish not too much under the sequels $165.2 million total. Not a complete win, but still good enough that I'm sure the studio is already exploring options for a Kung-Fu Panda 4. Expect this to cross $125 million by next weekend.
3)
RISEN
The first of the new releases to crack the top five is the Resurrection drama Risen. Following a Roman Military Tribune and his aide tasked with investigating the story about what happened to Jesus following his crucifixion, the film, targeting the faith-based crowd, opened in third place with $11.8 million. That is not a bad start at all for a film with a $20 million budget and should mean the movie will have no problem topping that total. Starring Joseph Fiennes, Tom Felton, Peter Firth and Cliff Curtis, among others, if Risen can hold on to a decent theater count through the Easter holiday frame, it could approach the $50 million mark. The film does a better-than-average job of appealing to not only the Christian audience, but coming across as a more mainstream movie. We'll see if any of that helps it maintain a foothold through March.
4)
THE WITCH
Coming in on the heels of Risen was the horror film, The Witch. Following a family in 1630s America dealing with supernatural forces and inner family turmoil, it brought in a decent $8.68 million. It was released by A24, the same studio who found success with Room ($12.5 million and plenty of awards buzz), Spring Breakers ($14.5 million) and Ex Machina ($25 million). Depending on how The Witch plays out - it will certainly come out on the top end (if not the top) of the heap for that studio. The biggest concern is its current "C-" Cinemascore, which is not uncommon for horror films, but also doesn't suggest a lot of hope for its long-term prospects. Even if it drops off quickly, A24 paid just $1 million for the film, suggesting someone there knows exactly what they're doing as this should top at least $20 million, if not a bit higher. We'll see how this one plays out, but by all accounts it has already proven its worth.
5)
HOW TO BE SINGLE
The comedy tailor-made for the Valentine's Day crowd managed to sneak in one more week in the top five. Dipping 54%, How to Be Single added $8.22 million giving the film a new total of $31.7 million. In the next week or two it will be able to top its $38 million budget on its way to a likely $45-$50 million total. While I'm sure the ensemble cast was hoping for a bit more, that's not a bad result to look forward to in the end.
Outside the top five: Race, the Jesse Ownes biopic opened just outside the top five in sixth place with a $7.27 million opening. The film was only lightly-advertised and came in somewhat under-the-radar and I admit I was expecting more. But the reported $5 million budget has already been crossed so even if it drops off quickly,
Not much in milestone news, Hail, Caesar! managed to cross the $25 million mark clinging to the top 10 with $2.64 million and a new $26.1 million total.
In limited release, The Mermaid (which is currently the highest-grossing film ever in China with $400 million and counting) opened in limited release in 35 theaters with $1.01 million (for a $29,000-per-theater average.
Next week brings us the epic (failure) Gods of Egypt, another uplifting sports biopic in Eddie the Eagle and the crime thriller Triple 9.
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