By Chris Kavan - 02/03/20 at 12:38 AM CT
With most eyes on the Super Bowl, this weekend tends to be a graveyard for new releases. And 2020 was not different as the two new films of the weekend failed to garner much attention. While Gretel & Hansel found some mild success, especially considering the chilly reception most horror has received this year, Blake Lively's The Rhythm Section fared far worse in record fashion - and not the kind of record any films want to be associated with. In the end, the holdovers once again ruled the day which should finally change next weekend as Birds of Prey should finally bring a new champion to the box office.
1) BAD BOYS FOR LIFE
For the third weekend in a row the Will Smith, Martin Lawrence re-team topped the box office, dipping 48% and bringing in $17.6 million and upping its total to $148 million, on the cusp of that $150 million milestone. That officially makes it the biggest "new" January release of all time - discounting Oscar season expansions (Amerian Sniper, Chicago and Hidden Figures among them). It is now the highest-grossing film in the Bad Boys franchise, both domestic as well as international - with $291 million, easily topping the $273 million of Bad Boys II. Even if Birds of Prey dethrones it next weekend, Bad Boys for Life is still looking at a domestic total in the $180 - $200 million range. That's a pretty amazing total for any January film and paints a nice picture for the future of this franchise.
2)
1917
Sam Mendes war epic dipped just a bit over 39%, raking in $9.66 million and raising its total to $119.2 million. The film also earned $20.9 million overseas, giving it a $129.8 million international total for a global cume just shy of $250 million. Given that this is poised to win a slew of Academy Awards, I expect this to have an extended February showing and it should approach $150 million in the end. Given this is (currently) my top film of 2019, I'm more than happy at its performance and I encourage anyone who has not experienced it yet to see it on the big screen, if only for the superb cinematography.
3)
DOLITTLE
Dolittle continues to take the struggle bus in third place (again) with $7.7 million (down 37%) and has now managed to cross the $50 million mark with a new $55.2 million total. It has also managed to top the $125 million mark worldwide with $126.6 million. I mean, it's about as good to be expected given all the bad press it has received, but that total is still a far cry from its reported $175 million budget and there is no way this is going to reach anything approaching profitability for Universal. In fact, despite the fact we have a whole year ahead of us I'm going to say this is going to go down as one of the bigger losers of the year.
4)
GRETEL & HANSEL
The lone new film in the top five was the fantasy/horror film Gretel & Hansel, which opened with $6 million - coming in under expectations. Given the lackluster horror offerings this year, this has to come as little surprise, even though it had an established horror director in Oz Perkins and It standout Sophia Lillis. The film earned a weak 55% on Rottentomatoes - and audiences agreed with a "C-" Cinemascore, with 53% coming in female and 73% coming in age 35 or older. This joins the long line of disappointing horror film to come out this year: Underwater, The Turning and The Grudge and we might have to wait until Invisible Man to find a decent horror offering that audiences will support (but even that is not a guarantee). In any case, I have a feeling this is going to wind up sub-$20 million, like most other horror films this year, and if you really want to catch it in theaters, you better make it quick.
5)
THE GENTLEMEN
Rounding out the top five, Guy Ritchie's British action/crime film The Gentlemen dipped 43.6% and earned $6 million for a new total of $20.4 million. It is in a dead heat with Jumanji: The Next Level and could easily switch places, as just $10,000 separates the two films. But, as it stands, here we are. Given that Ritchie's Snatch, at $30 million, is his highest-grossing crime/comedy/action film - this total isn't too bad and still has a chance to top that gangster performance. A lot will depend on how Harley Quinn and friends affect it next weekend, but for right now while The Gentlemen may not be burning up the big screen, it's at least performing within expectations and with STX on the hook for just $7 million, looks like a winner in the long run.
Outside the top five: The Rhythm Section, starring Blake Lively in a dark revenge-type action/thriller, fell well outside the top five, and, in fact, barely made it into the top 10 with a tepid $2.8 million debut. Playing in 3,049, the film can now boast the dubious record of the worst opening for a film in 3000 or more theaters. Given its reported $50 million budget, this is a huge disappointment but, as I said, this rather grim action film already faced an uphill battle given the Super Bowl, but its 32% on RottenTomatoes didn't help and neither did its "C+" Cinemascore. I guess those hoping for a strong, female-driven film better stick with superheroes as both Black Widow and Wonder Woman 1984 should deliver much better results this year.
In milestone news, Uncut Gems has earned over $48.4 million, which means it is less than $1 million away from topping Lady Bird ($49 million) to become A24's biggest domestic film of all time - which it will do by tomorrow.
Next weekend the only new wide release is Birds of Prey (which thankfully dropped the long-winded Fantabulous title extension), which should dethrone Bad Boys.
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