Warner Bros. has had a lot of luck in recent years with the post-Labor Day box office, with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and The Conjuring: Last Rites both blowing away expectations, with the Tim Burton film earning a huge $111 million, while the Conjuring sequel made $84 million. Yet, the third time wasn’t the charm, with Practical Magic 2 opening far softer than expected, making only $30 million (and another $16 million overseas). While that was enough to top the box office, it was still $10 million less than we expected, which was already on the low end compared to some of the box office forecasts out there. The culprit? Practical Magic is not the franchise people think it is, with the original only earning $46.7 million in total back in 1998. While it will turn a profit thanks to its thrifty $75 million budget, it’s the latest in a weak run at the box office for Warner Bros., who’ve struggled to find a movie with any kind of staying power this year.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is about to make history
Spider-Man: Brand New Day hit second place with $8.4 million and a grand domestic total of $935.1 million. By tomorrow, it will pass Star Wars: The Force Awakens to become the highest-grossing movie domestically of all time. It was closely followed by The Odyssey, which is still showing great legs, making $7.4 million and allowing it to cross the $600 million mark domestically.
Coyote vs. Acme continues to show staying power
Coyote vs. Acme continued to show solid staying power with $6.24 million and a solid $47.8 million total. Had WB not dropped it, it would have been one of their higher-grossing films of the year. It was edged out by Alan Ritchson’s Runner, which is a change of pace for Angel Studios, only did modest business despite a solid A-minus CinemaScore, grossing $6.43 million. While Ritchson is a huge streaming star, his box office track record in theaters isn’t there, with his last film, Motor City, barely making a peep at the box office earlier this summer.
Hope and Buddy battle for horror audiences
Insidious: Out of the Further made another $3.35 million for a domestic total of $60.5 million. Neon’s Hope, which we loved at Cannes, did so-so business, earning $3.3 million on just over 1,500 screens. It opened on Wednesday, so its domestic total is just under $5 million, although it was a blockbuster in South Korea. Buddy, which has been a real sleeper, made $3.2 million, a decline of about 45%. Its grand total is a strong $20.9 million, making it a major hit for distributor Roadside Attractions.
The Uprising struggles at the box office
Focus Features had a flop with Paul Greengrass’ The Uprising, starring Andrew Garfield, with it only making a modest $3.25 million. It’s had a confusing marketing campaign, with it briefly and questionably marketed as a Robin Hood movie. It only opened marginally better than A24’s The Death of Robin Hood this summer, which started with a terrible $2.8 million. By Any Means rounded out the top 10, falling a big 65% to $2.5 million, with a poor $13.5 million total. That’s a lot better than Adam Wingard’s Onslaught, which suffered one of the worst second-week falls in history, plummeting 86% to $267k, with a mere $3 million total. OUCH.
Can Resident Evil dominate next weekend?
Next weekend sees the anticipated release of Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil. Will it crack $40 million? $50 million? Let us know in the comments.
Stay tuned for more international numbers as they come in!
| # | MOVIE TITLE | DOM. GROSS $ | % DROP | DOM. TOTAL $ | INTL. GROSS $ | TOTAL $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Practical Magic 2 | $30 M | NEW | $30 M | $16 M | $46 M |
| 2 | Spider-Man: Brand New Day | $8.4 M | -51 % | $935.1 M | $19 M | $2.45 B |
| 3 | The Odyssey | $7.4 M | -38 % | $600.5 M | $27 M | $1.684 B |
| 4 | Runner | $6.43 M | NEW | $6.43 M | — | — |
| 5 | Coyote vs Acme | $6.24 M | -47 % | $47.76 M | — | — |
| 6 | Insidious: Out of the Further | $3.35 M | -49 % | $60.5 M | $6.8 M | $155.2 M |
| 7 | Buddy | $3.5 M | -39 % | $21.29 M | — | — |
| 8 | Hope | $3.32 M | NEW | $5 M | — | — |
| 9 | The Uprising | $3.25 M | NEW | — | — | — |
| 10 | By Any Means | $2.5 M | -67 % | — | — | — |
The comment section exists to allow readers to discuss the article constructively and respectfully, focused on the topic at hand.
What’s Not Allowed