Friday Box Office Analysis
By Tim Briody
September 27, 2014
BoxOfficeProphets.com
[bp:2065_]Denzel Washington[/bp] delivers again with The Equalizer, which starts with a solid $12.6 million on Friday. Washington has been one of the most consistent actors in the last 15 years in terms of box office, and The Equalizer is no exception. The adaptation of the '80s TV show got middling reviews, but Washington is well established as a box office draw that reviews tend to not have too much of an effect, and The Equalizer is actually headed towards being one of the better openings of his career. As a bonus, Washington may have found his first true franchise should he decided to go that route. The Equalizer wins the weekend with a strong $35.6 million.
The Boxtrolls
Stop-motion animated film The Boxtrolls starts with $4.9 million on Friday. This is right in line with Laika’s other releases, 2009’s Coraline and 2012’s ParaNorman. Both of those had strong weekend performances and the trend should continue, giving The Boxtrolls a decent $16.2 million weekend.
The Maze Runner
Taking in about $5 million on Friday, last weekend’s winner The Maze Runner drops 54% from last Friday. That’s a slightly better than expected hold and means it’ll race with The Boxtrolls for second place on the weekend with about $16 million.