‘The Equalizer 2’ sneaks past ‘Mamma Mia 2’ at the weekend box office

The Equalizer 2

It was a record setting weekend at the box office where this was the first time in history that eight of the ten films at the box office were sequels. It was a close race between two of the new sequels as The Equalizer 2 upset Mamma Mia 2 this weekend.

The Equalizer 2 opened in first place with $35.8 million. This was considered a bit of an upset as most people expected this film to open in second place. The opening was just a bit higher than the $34.1 opening of the original film back in 2014. The original film crossed $100 million domestically and I think this film will finish between $85-$95 million domestically.

Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! opened with a very impressive $34.4 million. This opening was larger than the $27.8 million opening of 2008’s Mamma Mia! This opening was the fourth largest opening of all-time for a musical falling just below 2007’s Enchanted. I don’t think this film will outperform the original but I do expect it to pass $100 million domestically. The film’s worldwide opening was over $75 million.

HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3, box office

Hotel Transylvania 3 dropped two spots to third place with $23.2 million. The film dropped 49 percent during its second weekend and the film did cross $90 million domestically. The film’s worldwide gross has crossed $200 million and should increase with several international markets still awaiting release.

Ant-Man and the Wasp dropped two spots to fourth place with $16.1 million. The domestic gross stands just under $165 million and the worldwide gross is around $353 million. It is only $15 million behind the original’s domestic gross and I expect within the next week it should pass the $180 million mark.

Incredibles 2 rounds out the top five with $11.5 million and is approaching $560 million domestically. This is the second time in history that the top five films at the box office were all sequels. The worldwide gross of the film stands around $940 million.

The other new wide release this week was yet another sequel Unfriended: Dark Web opened in ninth place. The film brought in $3.5 million and is well below the $15.8 opening of the original film back in 2015. I think this film will finish below $20 million domestically.

Jurassic World 3

 

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom crossed $380 million domestically while Skyscraper dropped 56 percent during its second weekend and brought in $11 million to stand just below $50 million domestically.

The First Purge ($5 million) and Sorry to Bother You ($2.8 million) round out the rest of the top ten.

It will be tough for The Equalizer 2 to remain box office champion, especially with yet another sequel opening. Mission: Impossible—Fallout starring Tom Cruise will open and has already received excellent reviews and hoping to be another strong addition to the Mission: Impossible franchise.

Weekend Gross by Distributor:

Universal: $61.3 million (+11.2 percent)

Sony Pictures: $60.9 million (-12.7 percent)

Disney: $28.3 million (-17.8 percent)

OTL Releasing: $3.5 million (n/a)

Annapurna Pictures: $2.8 million (-1.5 percent)

Warner Bros.: $2.3 million (-1.9 percent)

Lionsgate: $1.9 million (-1.3 percent)

Neon: $1.4 million (+0.2 percent)

Focus Features: $1.3 million (-0.6 percent)

Next week’s openings: Mission: Impossible—Fallout, Teen Titans Go! To The Movies 

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