By Chris Kavan - 07/22/18 at 07:46 PM CT
It was a spectacular weekend for sequels as, for the first time in the history of the box office, 8 out of the top 10 films in theaters were all sequels (and for just the second time ever, all top five films were sequels). The weekend was up slightly compared to last weekend, but still fell about 7% behind the same weekend last year. It's still good news as 2018 is still pacing well ahead of 2016 (8.1%) and next week's release of Mission: Impossible - Fallout should provide a nice bump as July comes to a close. It was a bit of an upset over the weekend as Denzel Washington's Equalizer 2 was able to top Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. Not by much, but a win is a win.
1) THE EQUALIZER 2
It turns out vigilante justice triumphs over Abba - that's right, Denzel is back with a vengeance, and he stormed the box office in the process. The Equalizer 2 stormed the top of the box office with $35.8 million opening, just topping the $34.1 million opening of the first film. It also impressed audiences a bit more too, as they awarded it an "A" Cinemascore, above the "A-" for the first film. That audience ran 58% male, a bit higher than the 52% of the first film. Without inflation taken into account, The Equalizer 2 represents the highest opening for Washington in a solo starring role (not as high as American Gangster's $43 million or Safe House's $40 million - but both had a Russell Crowe and Ryan Reynolds helping out). Along with John Wick, The Equalizer franchise represents a resurgence in the R-rated action films, and its success probably means we will be getting a third entry. If this plays out like a typical Washington film (think Book of Eli or Magnificent Seven) the film should wind up in the $95-$100 million range. The big question, however, is how much impact Mission: Impossible is going to have on this film, as both share a similar audience. Even if it falls short, the $62 million film should have no problem making a profit. It is rolling out slowly in the international market with $3.3 million out of 11 markets, but the good news is the studio is reporting a solid 30% increase across those markets compared to the first film.
2)
MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN
While the musical celebrating romance and Abba didn't top the box office, it was really close. In fact, when actuals come in, I wouldn't be surprised if it was $1 million or less. As it stands now, the Mamma Mia sequel is just $1.44 million behind with a $34.38 million opening. That is a great opening, over $7 million above the first Mamma Mia. It is also the 4th-best opening for a musical and while the film isn't likely to have the 5x multiplier as the original, the "A-" Cinemascore (from an 83% female audience) means it will probably do better in the long run than Equalizer 2. It also represents a career-best opening for Meryl Streep despite the fact her role is just a step above a glorified cameo. The worry factor for this sequel is that the opening was quite front-loaded, with a 2.39x and 9.8% of the grosses coming from Thursday previews. Still, a finish around $110 million is likely and shouldn't have near the competition to worry about. Internationally, the film hit $42.4 million out of 41 markets (it outperformed the original in 34 of those markets) with a global total of $76.78 million.
3)
HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3: SUMMER VACATION
The animated sequel dropped 47.5% from its opening for a second weekend of $23.15 million for a $91 million total. While that drop isn't as steep as The Emoji Movie (51%) it was far worse than the 36% drop for Hotel Transylvania 2 and the 31% drop for the original film. It is still pacing on par with the first two films on the domestic front, but it is doing much better on the international market with a $37.7 million and $115.6 million total - a healthy 36% ahead of the second film. It still has some pretty big markets left, as well, meaning the third film in the animated franchise is probably going to be just fine.
4)
ANT-MAN AND THE WASP
Marvel's latest dipped about 45% in its third weekend out, earning $16.12 million and raising its total to $164.6 million. It is looking like it will have no problem topping the $180 million total of the original Ant-Man with a good shot at hitting $200 million domestic before its exit. With an extra $21.6 million on the international front, it now has a global total of $353.5 million - over double its $160 million budget. It also still has plenty of territories left to open to and looks to increase its solid performance as it rolls out over the next few weeks.
5)
THE INCREDIBLES 2
Rounding out the top five is the animated champion, Incredibles 2, adding $11.52 million to its dominating performance which topped the $550 million mark and now stands at $557.33 million. It is very close to topping the $1 billion mark worldwide with $940 million (including a record Pixar/Disney animated $10.4 million in South Korea). It has opened in about 75% of foreign markets with Japan being the new major market on the way. While it will face both Teen Titans and Christopher Robin in the near future, a total of $590 million domestic seems feasible.
Outside the top five: Unfriended: Dark Web didn't find many friends and, as I predicted, the hook of its social media perspective has probably been played out. The film opened in 9th place with $3.5 million. The upside is its paltry $1 million budget means the film doesn't have to be a huge hit to be successful (as is the case for most horror films). That is well below the first film, which broke out with over $15 million, but even if it ends its run with just $7 million, it will still be okay.
In limited release, McQueen was the weekend's winner, opening in four theaters with $96,928 and a chart-topping $24,232 per-theater average.
Next weekend brings us Mission: Impossible - Fallout as well as the animated Teen Titans Go! to the Movies.
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