Director David F. Sandberg, who helmed last summer’s stealth horror hit Lights Out, and will direct the comic book-based Shazam movie for Warner Bros., helmed Annabelle: Creation, the fourth film in the remarkably consistent horror film franchise. Though its debut total was a bit lower than the other three films in the series that started with The Conjuring in 2013 ($41 million), and continued with Annabelle in 2014 ($37 million), and The Conjuring 2 in 2016 ($40 million), Annabelle: Creation’s total looks pretty good considering it came during the current box office doldrums.
Produced for just $15 million, Annabelle: Creation did well with the critics (69% positive on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes), and earned a solid (for a horror film) “B” CinemaScore from opening weekend audiences that were 52% female and 54% over the age of 25. So far the four Conjuring films have earned $967 million worldwide. Maybe that’s not such a great total for a series of blockbuster action films, but considering the modest budgets of the Conjuring horror films, it is a great result that makes it easy to see why Warner Bros. has three more Conjuring films in various stages of development.
Second place went to Christopher Nolan’s World War II epic Dunkirk, which dropped just 33.4% in its fourth weekend as it earned $11.4 million to bring its domestic total to $153.7 million, the fifth straight Nolan movie to earn more than $150 million here in North America. It now appears that Dunkirk, which will undoubtedly get some Oscar nominations, has a great shot at passing the $200 million mark, a remarkable showing for a period war film.
There’s not a lot more positive box office news this week. The #3 film The Nut Job 2: Nutty By Nature earned just $8.9 million, the worst debut ever for a film that opened in more than 4 thousand theaters—by a bunch. The previous record holder was The Emoji Movie, which bowed with $24.5 million, nearly $16 million more than The Nut Job 2. The only good news for the film was the fact that opening weekend audiences gave it a solid “B+” CinemaScore, though with only a 12% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes and only a little bit of summer left, The Nut Job 2 is in big trouble.
The news doesn’t get any better for the #4 film Sony’s The Dark Tower, which tumbled nearly 59% from its weak debut, earning just $7.9 million and driving its disappointing domestic total to $34.3 million. Produced for just $60 million, this “blockbuster on the cheap” probably won’t lose a lot of money, but don’t expect any more Dark Tower movies. Sony is planning to go ahead with a Dark Tower TV series, and frankly episodic television appears to be a much better way to adapt Stephen King’s complex, multi-volume fantasy.
Sony’s animated Emoji Movie dipped 45% in its third weekend, earning $6.6 million for a domestic total of $63.6 million. With $33.6 million earned overseas, The Emoji Movie still has a long way to go to make up for its $50 million production cost (plus the considerable amount spent on advertising the film).
The news is better for Girls Trip, now the highest-grossing live-action comedy of 2017, which earned $6.5 million for a domestic total of $97.1 million, which means this $19 million production is already a solid box office success.
Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man: Homecoming continued its leggy performance this weekend, earning $6.1 million (down just 31%) as it boosted its domestic total to $306.5 million. Homecoming has earned $395 million overseas for a solid current global haul of $702 million, a solid total for the $175 million production, which is currently the #4 film of 2017 in the domestic market.
The Halle Berry-starring thriller Kidnap dropped 47.8% in its second frame as it earned $4.9 million to bring its North American total to $19.4 million.
Opening in just 1461 theaters Lionsgate’s adaptation of Jeanette Wells harrowing autobiography The Glass Castle earned $4.9 million, attracting an audience that was massively skewed to the distaff side (80% female), and which gave the grim saga a solid “A-“ CinemaScore.
The final spot in the top ten went to the comic book-based Atomic Blonde, which earned $4.6 million to bring its 17-day total to $42.8 million. The action-packed Cold War thriller deserved a better fate, and will hopefully find some success after its theatrical run ends.
Mention should be made of some films outside the top ten including Despicable Me 3, which has earned more outside of North America than any other film this summer ($672 million); Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver, which topped $100 million, the first of Wright’s films to hit that mark; and Taylor Sheridan’s Wind River, a thriller from the writer of Hell and High Water, which just expanded to 15 theaters and earned $642,067 for a solid $14,268 per venue average.
Be sure and check back here next week to see if a couple of action comedies, the Ryan Rennolds/Samuel L. Jackson-starring The Hitman’s Bodyguard, and Steven Soderbergh’s critically-acclaimed hillbilly heist movie Logan Lucky, which currently has a 100% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, can get the box office energized once again.