Weekend Wrap-Up
Suicide Numbers Plummet; Sausage Parties
By John Hamann
August 14, 2016
The Secret Life of Pets is sixth, and is in its sixth weekend of release. Pets earned another $8.8 million this weekend, a drop of only 23%. That brings its domestic total up to a stellar $335.9 million, and is accompanied by an overseas total over $250 million. Remember, this Universal/Illumination release cost only $75 million to make, so the gross versus spend here is going to be one of the best of the summer.
Star Trek Beyond continues its decent into the nether regions of the box office. This weekend, it earned only $6.8 million and drops 32%. Paramount will be facing a write-down on this one, as the cost here was $185 million, and the domestic gross has reached only $139.7 million. The overseas gross isn’t much healthier, sitting at $66 million prior to the start of the weekend.
Newcomer Florence Foster Jenkins opened this weekend, but only on 1,528 venues, starting small and hoping for word-of-mouth and legs in its future. This weekend, it earned $6.6 million after opening strongly in limited release last weekend. Reviews were of course great at 87% fresh, thanks to stellar performances from Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant, and the Cinemascore was excellent at an A-. The opening here is equal to Ricki and the Flash ($6.6 million), which was Meryl’s last August release, but the reviews and Cinemascores are much better with Florence Foster Jenkins.
Talking cat movie Nine Lives manages to stay in the top ten despite its 8% fresh rating. In its second weekend, Nine Lives earned $3.5 million and fell 44%. It has made $13.6 million so far, and should not be seen by anyone.
Horror flick Lights Out continues its strong run this weekend. This small, $4.9 million thriller earned another $3.2 million and declined 46%. The domestic gross has reached a stunning $61.1 million, but it has also earned over $35 million from overseas cinemas.
Overall, the box office remains solid, as the top 12 films this weekend stayed ahead of last year. A year ago, the top 12 films were led by Straight Outta Compton, and the top 12 earned $136 million. This weekend, the top 12 pulled in $157.8 million, as the wealth was spread beyond the top two. Next weekend should be a bit bizarre. The remake of Ben Hur opens (why not just go straight to Gone With the Wind?) and is another summer film that likely won’t work. Also opening is the animated feature Kubo and the Two Strings, and War Dogs, the latest Todd Phillips flick, which features Jonah Hill and Miles Teller.
|
Top Ten for Weekend of August 12-14, 2016
|
Rank |
Film |
Exhibitor |
Estimated Gross (millions) |
Weekly Change |
Running Total (millions) |
|
1
|
Suicide Squad
|
Warner Bros.
|
43.8
|
-67%
|
222.9
|
|
2
|
Sausage Party
|
Sony
|
33.6
|
New
|
33.6
|
|
3
|
Pete's Dragon
|
Walt Disney
|
21.5
|
New
|
21.5
|
|
4
|
Jason Bourne
|
Universal
|
13.6
|
-39%
|
126.8
|
|
5
|
Bad Moms
|
STX Entertainment
|
11.5
|
-18%
|
71.5
|
|
6
|
The Secret Life of Pets
|
Universal
|
8.8
|
-23%
|
335.9
|
|
7
|
Star Trek Beyond
|
Paramount
|
6.8
|
-32%
|
139.7
|
|
8
|
Florence Foster Jenkins
|
Paramount
|
6.6
|
New
|
6.6
|
|
9
|
Nine Lives
|
Europacorp
|
3.5
|
-44%
|
13.6
|
|
10
|
Lights Out
|
Warner Bros.
|
3.2
|
-46%
|
61.1
|
|
11
|
Nerve
|
Lionsgate
|
2.7
|
-46%
|
33.1
|
|
12
|
Ghostbusters
|
Sony
|
2.3
|
-51%
|
121.7
|
Continued:
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