1. Joker– $18.9M/$277.6M
After slipping to #2 last week, Joker continues its historic run by claiming the top spot once again. You may have missed it, but a few days ago it surpassed Deadpool and Deadpool 2 to become the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all-time, and the first to ever break $800M. Currently, the Todd Phillips-directed supervillain film has $849M worldwide and really, the sky is the limit. With Joaquin Phoenix a frontrunner for Best Actor it could be sticking around for a long time yet.
2. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil– $18.5M/$65.4M
Disney’s Maleficent: Mistress of Evil swapped places with Joker and took the #2 slot with $18.5M. After two weeks the $65M number looks kinda small, and that’s because it is compared to its 2014 predecessor, which ended its run with $758M. The sequel won’t come close to that, even with a strong overseas showing. Currently, it stands at $293M globally, which I guess says a lot for Angelina Jolie’s remaining star power internationally.
3. The Addams Family– $11.7M/$72.8M
4. Zombieland: Double Tap– $11.6M/$47M
5. Countdown (review)- $9M
Truth: I had never heard of Countdown before this week, and chances are most people hadn’t. That didn’t stop the STX thriller from earning $9M, which ain’t bad against a $6.5M budget. The film centers on an app that tells its users exactly when they’re going to die, giving it a certain Final Destination-esque vibe and I’m sure that played a big part in drawing audiences.
6. Black and Blue (review)- $8.3M
Cop thriller Black and Blue opened with just $8.3M, although one might’ve thought it the new release with the most box office potential. It’s still a decent start for the Deon Taylor-directed movie, which stars Naomie Harris as a rookie cop who records a cop-involved murder and must get to safety with the evidence. This is Taylor’s second movie this year after the campy home invasion film The Intruder, which ended its run with $36M. I can see this one legging it out long enough to match or even surpass that. Reviews have been solid, and there simply isn’t a lot out there targeted for the black audience right now.
7. Gemini Man– 4M/$43.3M
8. The Lighthouse (review)- $3.1M/$3.6M
Moving into the top 10 with an expansion of 578 theaters was The Lighthouse, the latest insane horror movie from The Witch director Robert Eggers. This one had the benefit of Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe as lighthouse keepers who go crazy while on the job. Shot in black-and-white and unapologetically weird and grim, this one was always going to have a very targeted audience and they seem to be responding.
9. The Current War– $2.7M
Two years ago director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon premiered The Current War while in Toronto, and it didn’t go well. Notoriously, the film was edited into oblivion by Harvey Weinstein as one of his final acts before the roof collapsed in on his life and career. Fortunately, Gomez-Rejon was able to secure his own cut of the movie and release it into theaters this weekend, although the results ain’t great with just $2.7M. The film does boast the talents of Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Shannon, Nicholas Hoult, and Tom Holland, telling the story of a rivarly between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse over the future of electricity. I hope to check it out in the next few days since I stupidly missed this week’s screening by going to the wrong theater. Oops.
10. Abominable– $2M/$56.8M
