Weekend Box Office: Bad Boys Continue to Dominate, Gentlemen Fine, The Turning Flops

By Chris Kavan - 01/26/20 at 11:39 PM CT

The weekend was once again dominated by holdovers as Bad Boys for Life continued its strong run atop the box office. 1917 held on strong in second place while Dolittle managed to hold on to its third place spot, though it still is far from profitable. It isn't until the fourth place spot we find The Gentlemen, as Guy Ritchie's very British crime drama had a decent debut. Nothing, however, could save The Turning, which opened outside the top five and continued the January 2020 trend of disappointing horror offerings. A couple of big milestones where reached by Star Wars and Knives Out as January winds down.

1) BAD BOYS FOR LIFE

Bad Boys, whatcha gonna do - repeat atop the box office of course. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence's latest outing dipped a respectable 45.6% and held on to its top spot with a $34 million weekend. The film blasted across the $100 million mark as it steadily approaches $125 million with a new $120.6 million total. It is very close to passing Bad Boys II ($133 million) to become the highest-grossing film in the franchise. It should also have little trouble passing Paul Blart: Mall Cop ($146 million) to become the biggest January release (not including Oscar expansion films) of all time. It is also doing pretty good on the international front with $42 million for a new $95 million total and a worldwide total of $215 million. It will have no issue passing the $273 million total of Bad Boys II to also be the best in the franchise, though it may not have quite enough juice to dethrone Kung Fu Panda 3 ($517 million) as the worldwide January champ - but don't count it out just yet. In any case, with another Bad Boys film reportedly in the works, this franchise is thriving and I'm guessing Smith and Lawrence aren't going to complain one bit.

2) 1917

Also holding up well, 1917 dropped a hair over 28%, taking in $15.8 million and also crossing the $100 million mark with a new $103.8 million total. That hold is better than Lone Survivor in week three, meaning the film is on track for at least a $135 million total, which could go much higher should the film win a few Oscars and/or other accolades. The film also topped $200 million worldwide. This is truly the shining spot for Universal as both Cats and Dolittle struggle. The $90 million film is going to have no problem making a profit on the domestic front alone and anything else it adds on top of that will just be the icing on the cake. I expect this to hang around for most of February even as it trails off but this is exactly the kind of awards-season film that adults tend to support and I don't see it turning in any time soon.



3) DOLITTLE

Universal can claim the third-place spot as well, but, unlike 1917, Dolittle isn't going to make the studio any money. Dipping about 43%, Dolittle added $12.5 million to its total, which now stands at $44.68 million. Sure, it will cross $50 million very soon - but the $175 million film is still far in the red. With just $91 million worldwide thus far, Universal is going to be on the hook for this (and Cats) but the rest of its 2020 slate (including but not limited to Fast and Furious 9, Trolls: World Tour and the last of Daniel Craig as Bond in No Time to Die) looks much stronger and will hopefully give the studio a brighter future.



4) THE GENTLEMEN

Here in fourth place is where you'll find the only new film to grace the top five this weekend, with Guy Ritchie's British drug/crime romp earning $11 million in its freshman frame. The all-star cast featuring the likes of Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Hugh Grant, Henry Golding, Colin Farrell, Jeremy Strong, Michelle Dockery and Eddie Marsan and is about on par with Ritchie's non-blockbuster (think Aladdin and Sherlock Holmes) films. While Snatch remains his best effort thus far in this genre, The Gentlemen (which STX paid $7 million to distribute) still looks solid. While I'm sure the well-rounded cast wanted to bring in more, the fact remains the box office is packed - and Bad Boys for Life and 1917 (and even Knives Out) likely had a hand in eating into its potential audience. Those that did show up seemed happy enough - earning a "B+" Cinemascore from audiences, which wound up being 60% with 55% coming in over 25. STX seems happy, planning an even wider distribution next weekend, so we'll see if the extra theaters lead to some longevity.

5) JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL

Rounding out the top five, the Jumanji sequel continues to post some impressive number, dropping just 18.6% and adding another $7.9 million to the pot, adding up to a $283.4 million total. With $300 million likely before long, its worldwide total is fast approaching the $750 million mark as it now stands at $738 million. We'll see if it can leg it out in the top five through the end of the month, but the franchise is looking strong and should end the month sitting in a very good position.







Outside the top five: The week's other new wide release, The Turning, was yet another disappointing January horror offering (following The Grudge and Underwater). The film earned just $7.3 million in sixth place and also earned the dubious honor of getting the rare "F" Cinemascore from audiences (to go along with its excruciating 13% on Rotten Tomatoes). It's too bad as the main cast - Mackenzie Davis, Finn Wolfhard and Brooklynn Prince is damn solid. Even though this is still a budget horror offering, the final tally of around $15 million might barely be enough for the film to break even, if that.

Going from wide to limited release, The Last Full Measure, about finding the truth behind Vietnam hero William Pitsenbarger (Jeremy Irvine) in order to award him posthumously with the Medal of Honor, had a quiet $1.05 million opening (17th place). It's surprising given the impressive cast (Sebastian Stan, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Plummer, Bradley Whitford, Ed Harris, Michael Imperioli, Diane Ladd, William Hurt and Peter Fonda) that this wasn't given a bigger push - but I guess with 1917 dominating, this one just got pushed out of the way.

In milestone news, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker became just the 15th film to cross the $500 million mark on the domestic front with a $5.1 million weekend (7th place) and a new total of $501.5 million.

Knives Out added $3.65 million in 10th place, which was enough for the film to cross the $150 million mark with a new $151.8 million total. After it catches up to San Andreas ($155 million) it will be the biggest non-horror original film since Christopher Nolan's Interstellar dropped back in 2014.

Parasite hit $30.9 million after adding another $2 million over the weekend, topping I, Tonya ($30 million) to become the biggest domestic hit yet for Neon.

Next weekend, Blake Lively looks for revenge in The Rhythm Section while we get another thriller in an updated take on a classic fairytale in Gretel & Hansel.

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