1. Black Panther– $108M/$400M
Black Panther continued to hold the crown in its second weekend, dropping only 46% and earning another $108M. That’s only behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘ $149M as the second-biggest second weekend ever. The $400M domestic haul is among the fastest to ever reach that point, and at this rate it’s only a question of whether it will surpass The Avengers‘ $623M to be the highest-grossing superhero movie of all-time. Worldwide it now sits at $704M with major markets Japan and China still to go.
2. Game Night (review)- $16.6M
I’m happy to see the genuinely funny Game Night open to a solid $16.6M, based mostly on good reviews that note the terrific cast and fun premise. The film stars Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, and a superb group led by Billy Magnussen, Lamorne Morris, Kyle Chandler, Sharon Horgan, and Jesse Plemons as competitive game night players who get wrapped up in a real-world kidnapping plot. It’s a silly, disposable comedy that too often just gets ripped and discarded, but I think this one will stick around for a while.
3. Peter Rabbit– $12.5M/$71.2M
4. Annihilation (review)- $11M
Alex Garland’s brainy monster movie sci-fi film Annihilation was always going to have better prospects overseas, but it’s still somewhat disappointing to see only $11M domestic. The film stars Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Gina Rodriguez as scientists who enter a paranormal region known as Area X, where all sorts of weird crap happens. Paramount recouped most of the film’s budget early on by selling the international rights to Netflix, so I guess from their perspective this is all gravy. But as someone who adores smart sci-fi movies and wants to see more of them, like Arrival (which hit over $200M thanks to Oscar buzz) and Garland’s Ex Machina ($36M worldwide) that number could have been higher.
5. Fifty Shades Freed– $6.9M/$89.5M
6. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle– $5.6M/$387.2M
7. The 15:17 to Paris– $3.6M/$32.2M
8. The Greatest Showman– $3.4M/$160.7M
9. Every Day– $3.1M
Orion didn’t feel the need to screen teen sci-fi/romance Every Day for press, which is a shame because I thought it looked pretty good. The film stars Angourie Rice (The Beguiled), Justice Smith (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom), and more in the story of a spirit that wakes up each day in a different host body, and the girl who loves it no matter what form it takes. An interesting concept, and the $3.1M debut for the $5M-budgeted film suggests the targeted marketing campaign strategy worked.
