Movie fans from Philadelphia to New England and from coast to coast mostly avoided the multiplexes as the Super Bowl frame sent box office sales plunging to their lowest levels since October. With its strong legs, the runaway action-comedy sensation Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle reclaimed the number one spot in its seventh weekend grossing an estimated $11M, off 32%. This marks the fourth time the Sony smash has held the top spot while the other three frames all saw a second place finish. It’s been all golds and silvers for the entire run so far.
The cume topped the $350M mark this weekend reaching $352.6M putting Jumanji at number 42 on the all-time list of domestic blockbusters. It’s also a day away from becoming Dwayne Johnson’s highest grossing domestic hit ever when it surpasses the $353M of Furious 7 – something nobody saw coming. A final North American gross in the $380-390M range is possible placing it in the all-time Top 30.
Overseas markets have been rocking too. Jumanji cracked the half-billion mark in offshore sales this weekend reaching $503.1M led by China’s $74.6M which is a whopping 81% higher than what Star Wars: The Last Jedi has made in that country. Global is now at $855.7M with Japan still to come in April so a final in the area of $950M seems likely.
Dropping from first to second was the sci-fi trilogy ender Maze Runner: The Death Cure with an estimated $10.2M. Fox’s action sequel fell 58% in its sophomore frame which is understandable for a threequel. Cume is $39.8M. Add in $37M from China, part of the $142.9M international total, and the global gross now stands at $182.6M. The trilogy has now amassed $839M worldwide combined.
Third place went to the only new wide release of the weekend – the Helen Mirren-led horror title Winchester which debuted to an estimated $9.3M. CBS Films and Lionsgate saw a $3,730 per theater average from 2,480 locations. Studios often program female-skewing fright films onto Super Bowl weekend targeting people who might be less interested in the Big Game. Data indicated that the crowd for the PG-13 thriller was 58% female and 64% over 25. Reviews were brutal but ticket buyers were pleased as the CinemaScore was a B- which is commendable for this genre.
The P.T. Barnum musical sensation The Greatest Showman continued to put on a great show and please the crowds taking fourth place with an estimated $7.8M, off a low 18%. The Fox film spent its seventh consecutive weekend in the top five which is something that last year’s top grossing blockbusters like Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Beauty and the Beast, and Wonder Woman could not do. The Hugh Jackman hit has taken in $137.5M and is on track to end above the $160M mark. Showman is now at $290.5M worldwide and climbing.
The Western Hostiles dropped 46% to an estimated $5.5M in its second weekend of national play. Entertainment Studios has banked $21.2M to date. Oscar contender The Post fell by 43% to an estimated $5.2M putting Fox at $67.2M. Steven Spielberg has another film right around the corner with the sci-fi pic Ready Player One opening next month.
Warner Bros. collected an estimated $4.7M, off 46%, for its military drama 12 Strong which has grossed $37.3M so far. Heist flick Den of Thieves also did an estimated $4.7M falling 46% for STX putting the new sum at $36.3M. Both films are in their third rounds of play.
Academy Award frontrunner The Shape of Water slipped 27% to an estimated $4.3M giving Fox Searchlight $44.6M. Director Guillermo del Toro won the DGA prize on Saturday night and the film overall has performed well during awards season picking up the PGA trophy as well. Rounding out the top ten was the well-reviewed kidpic Paddington 2 which grossed an estimated $3.1M, down 45%, putting Warner Bros. at $36.3M.
The top ten films grossed an estimated $65.7M which was down 13% from last year when Split threepeated at number one with $14.4M; and also down 13% from 2016 when Kung Fu Panda 3 stayed in the top spot with $21.2M.
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