- Avengers:Endgame Encore– $26M
Full disclosure, I literally just got back from catching Avengers: Endgame Encore at my nearby theater, in full Infinity Vision with the extra minutes of footage and new scenes bridging to Avengers: Doomsday. It was a smart strategy from Marvel Studios to re-release the film in this manner, accounting for the $26M and #1 spot at the box office. Already #3 all-time domesticallly, the 2019 event now has $884.37M. Internationally, it added a phenomenal $60M, bringing the worldwide total to $2.885M and within striking distance of Avatar for the top spot all-time worldwide. Combined with the all-time record holder Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Marvel is clawing its way back to former glory. In sports terms, Marvel is getting hot at just the right time.
2. Resident Evil– $23.3M/$103.4M
Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil took a hefty tumble, dropping 62% for $23M and $103M domestically. Worldwide it’s just shy of $200M after just two weeks.
3. Heart of the Beast (review)- $20M
Paramount Pictures released the David Ayer/Brad Pitt survival thriller Heart of the Beast into 3,435 theaters for $20M. This was on the low end for Pitt, and only $3M shy of what the duo’s previous film together, Fury, did in 2014. Overseas, the film added another $30M for a $50M global total. Despite the slow start, the 87% critical and 93% audience score on RT suggest it could do well over the long haul, especially if there’s Oscar buzz for Pitt’s performance.
4. Primetime (review)- $19.1M
Robert Pattinson helped give A24 a solid mid-level hit with Primetime, a dark thriller in which he plays To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen. The film opened with $19M at around 2,800 theaters. The partnership between Pattinson and A24 has been good all year, including the surprising $105M of The Drama.
5. Forgotten Island (review)- $12.8M
The best reviewed movie of the week, and one of the best-reviewed animated films of the year, Dreamworks Animation’s Forgotten Island, struggled out of the gate with just $12.8M. This is one of the lowest debuts ever for the studio, and a real disappointment given the huge push it received. On RT, it has a 94% critical and 96% audience score, which makes you wonder what the Hell is going on? I’ve heard minor complaints from a few that they thought the emphasis on two female antagonists of Filipino background was too niche, but I hope that’s not true. It’s too good of a movie to be disregarded for such stupid reasons. If there’s a plus side, it’s that Forgotten Island will certainly be in the Oscars conversation, and the word of mouth is too strong to ignore.
6. Practical Magic– $5.6M/$59.8M
7. Spider-Man: Brand New Day– $4.1M/$950.6M
8. The Odyssey– $3.7M/$616.5M
9. Coyote vs. Acme– $1.9M/$58.3M
10. Daniel and the Fiery Furnace– $1.5M/$6.2M
Also…Amazon MGM released the Mahershala Ali action flick Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother (review) to $199K in just six locations. The well-reviewed film has sparked a lot of interest because it teams Ali with director Bassam Tariq, who was to have directed the actor in Marvel’s Blade reboot.
Earning just $102K from 670 locations was comedy-biopic The Stunt Driver (review), about Canadian daredevil Ken Carter. The film reunites Goon duo of star Jay Baruchel and director Michael Dowse.
Sumerian Films opened in two locations for $18K the misfit comedy The Incomer (review), starring Domhnall Gleeson as a government officer sent to a remote Scottish isle to relocate its only two inhabitants, a brother and sister who despise visitors.
