In spite of not meeting expectations, The Magnificent Seven, still posted the second best debut all-time for a western (not adjusted for inflation), behind only “Cowboys & Aliens” (more of a mash-up than a traditional western), which illustrates the sad fact that the “western” is one genre that has not enjoyed even a hint of success in the modern box office era (since 1990). In spite of a likeable cast that includes Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt, decent reviews (62% positive on Rotten Tomatoes, not at all bad for a remake) and a solid “A-“ CinemaScore, The Magnificent Seven failed to attract young viewers, who appear to be immune to the western’s simple pleasures. Opening weekend audiences skewed male as expected (56%), but were definitely on the older side (given the film’s “PG-13” rating) with 67% over 25.
At least The Magnificent Seven managed to avoid the “sequelitis” that has doomed so many of this year’s sequels and remakes. With a production cost of just $90 million, and decent prospects overseas this western should make money, but the film’s lackluster opening certainly doesn’t make it appear that the western genre is close to any sort of revival.
Though it certainly is a powerhouse in the creation of animation for television, Warner Bros. has not been known for its prowess in producing animated feature films, at least until the unexpected (and well-deserved) success of The Lego Movie in 2014. Storks was produced by the same unit responsible of The Lego Movie, but with Nick Stoller and Doug Sweetland replacing Phil Lord and Chris Miller as the writing/directing team. Though its debut was disappointing, Storks did earn an “A-“ CinemaScore, so it may be around for quite some time.
Third place went to Clint Eastwood’s Sully, which has led the box office for the past two weeks. Dropping just 36.1%, the adult-targeting, ripped-from-the-headlines saga has already earned $92.4 million in North America. Sully will face its first direct competition next weekend, when another disaster film based on real events, Deepwater Horizon, debuts nationwide.
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Weekend Box Office (Studio Estimates): September 23-25, 2016 |
||||||
|
Film |
Weekend Gross |
Screens |
Avg./Screen |
Total Gross |
Wk# |
|
|
1 |
The Magnificent Seven |
$35,000,000 |
3,674 |
$9,526 |
$35,000,000 |
1 |
|
2 |
Storks |
$21,805,000 |
3,922 |
$5,560 |
$21,805,000 |
1 |
|
3 |
Sully |
$13,830,000 |
3,955 |
$3,497 |
$92,393,447 |
3 |
|
4 |
Bridget Jones's Baby |
$4,520,000 |
2,930 |
$1,543 |
$16,457,675 |
2 |
|
5 |
Snowden |
$4,144,989 |
2,443 |
$1,697 |
$15,139,215 |
2 |
|
6 |
Blair Witch |
$3,950,000 |
3,121 |
$1,266 |
$16,128,695 |
2 |
|
7 |
Don't Breathe |
$3,800,000 |
2,438 |
$1,559 |
$81,110,808 |
5 |
|
8 |
Suicide Squad |
$3,110,000 |
2,172 |
$1,432 |
$318,133,343 |
8 |
|
9 |
When the Bough Breaks |
$2,500,000 |
1,444 |
$1,731 |
$26,613,349 |
3 |
|
10 |
Kubo and the Two Strings |
$1,103,000 |
1,209 |
$912 |
$45,954,573 |
6 |
The comedy sequel Bridget Jones’s Baby slipped from third to fourth place this week as it earned $4.5 million to bring its North American total to a very disappointing $16.5 million. Disappointing because the third Bridget Jones film is going like “gangbusters” overseas where it has earned $83.6 million, including $21.9 million alone in the U.K. It is possible that this “threequel” will eventually catch on in North America, though it may be on television.
Oliver Stone’s Snowden dipped 48.2% from its modest opening as it earned $4.1 million to bring its domestic total to $15.1 million. The $40 million production will have to do very well overseas to have even a chance to break even.
Blair Witch, the third film in the shaky camera, found-footage franchise, won’t lose money—the film’s miniscule $5 million production budget assures that—but it now appears that this third film in the franchise will have a hard time matching the ill-fated second Blair Witch: Book of Shadows’ $26.4 million total from 2000.
Sony’s home invasion thriller/horror film Don’t Breathe earned almost as much in its fifth weekend as Blair Witch did in its second frame. One of this summer’s unsung horror hits, Don’t Breathe dipped just 32.6% as it earned $3.8 million to bring its North American total to $81.1 million.
Warner Bros. Suicide Squad also suffered a small decline, just 33.9%, as it brought in $3.1 million to bring its domestic total to $318.1 million. While Suicide Squad has turned out to be incredibly frontloaded, its multiplier (2.38 times its $133.7 million opening to arrive at its current total) is already better than that of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice’s (1.99), though it remains far below the multipliers of Marvel Studios’ hits like Guardians of the Galaxy (3.54).
Be sure to check back here next week as three new films open nationwide including the disaster film Deepwater Horizon, Tim Burton’s big screen adaptation of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, and the Zack Galiafianakis, Owen Wilson, Kristen Wiig comedy Masterminds.
