Next weekend will bring the biggest shake-up to the domestic market since theaters first reopened last summer. Two wide releases from major studios with cross-quadrant appeal—Paramount’s A Quiet Place Part II and Disney’s Cruella—will test the market when they open on May 28 for Memorial Day weekend. This weekend, however, was anti-climactic in comparison. It was yet another frame at the domestic box office without a new wide release hitting the market.
Lionsgate’s Spiral: From the Book of Saw led the box office with a $4.55 million haul in its sophomore frame from 2,991 theaters, a 48% drop from last weekend’s debut, reaching $15.82 million domestically. The horror spin-off added $2.67 million from 21 overseas markets to take its international cume to $6.72 million. The film’s $22.5 million global total now lifts the Saw franchise above the billion dollar mark at the global box office.
“We congratulate our friends at Twisted Pictures and all of the filmmakers and stars who have been a part of the Saw legacy,” said David Spitz, Lionsgate’s president of domestic theatrical distribution. “Over the years, our partners have been innovative, creative, and open to new ideas as they have nurtured a microbudget film into a billion-dollar-plus-grossing cultural phenomenon.”
Wrath of Man finished second in its third frame, adding $2.9 million to its tally from 3,007 theaters. The action flick has now earned $18.8 million at the domestic box office, slightly above Universal’s Nobody at the equivalent point of release.
The real action at the box office this weekend occurred overseas. F9 clocked in the biggest international debut for a Hollywood title during the pandemic, earning $162.4 million from only 8 overseas markets in its first weekend. The ninth instalment of the Fast & Furious franchise opened in China on May 21, becoming the first Hollywood title since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame to claim a $100 million debut in the market. Universal is estimating a $135.6 million bow for F9 in China, which includes a $59.1 million Friday that places the title fifth among the biggest opening days of all time in the market. $12.4 million of the global Imax gross came from China alone, the company’s third-best weekend in the country on record.
China is a crucial market for the franchise, responsible for nearly a third of its cumulative global gross in recent years. F9’s pre-pandemic predecessor, 2017’s The Fate of the Furious, set new box office benchmarks for a Hollywood release in China when it opened to $184.9 million, reaching $392.8 million in its theatrical run. The prior two installments in the franchise are among the three highest-grossing titles of all time in the market.
The Fast & Furious franchise has earned over $6 billion worldwide across its 10 entries, including the spin-off Hobbs & Shaw. It ranks sixth among all Hollywood franchises at the global box office.
DOMESTIC WEEKEND BOX OFFICE ESTIMATES
MAY 21 – 23, 2021
| TITLE | WEEKEND | LOCS | PSA | TOTAL | WEEK | DISTRIBUTOR |
| Spiral | $4,550,000 | 2991 | $1,521 | $15,827,700 | 2 | Lionsgate |
| Wrath Of Man | $2,935,000 | 3007 | $976 | $18,809,000 | 3 | United Artists Releasing |
| Those Who Wish Me Dead | $1,835,000 | 3379 | $543 | $5,537,000 | 2 | Warner Bros. |
| Raya And The Last Dragon | $1,662,000 | 2375 | $700 | $48,301,545 | 12 | Disney |
| Godzilla vs. Kong | $1,435,000 | 2552 | $562 | $96,910,000 | 8 | Warner Bros. |
| Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train | $1,300,000 | 1900 | $684 | $44,507,141 | 5 | FUNimation Films |
| Mortal Kombat | $935,000 | 2386 | $392 | $41,239,000 | 5 | Warner Bros. |
| Dream Horse | $844,279 | 1254 | $673 | $844,279 | 1 | Bleecker Street |
| Finding You | $670,330 | 1447 | $463 | $1,906,366 | 2 | Roadside Attractions |
| Profile | $500,000 | 2104 | $238 | $1,507,000 | 2 | Focus Features |
| Tom & Jerry | $330,000 | 1623 | $203 | $45,621,000 | 13 | Warner Bros. |
| Here Today | $322,000 | 1230 | $262 | $2,452,000 | 3 | Sony |
| Nobody | $315,000 | 1464 | $215 | $25,745,000 | 9 | Universal |
| The Unholy | $310,000 | 745 | $416 | $15,206,000 | 8 | Sony |
| Separation | $200,000 | 704 | $284 | $4,391,526 | 4 | Open Road/Briarcliff |
| Final Account | $150,000 | 308 | $487 | $150,000 | 1 | Focus Features |
| The Croods: A New Age | $140,000 | 1054 | $133 | $58,199,000 | 26 | Universal |
| New Order | $130,000 | 236 | $551 | $130,000 | 1 | Neon Rated |
| The Dry | $129,000 | 186 | $694 | $129,000 | 1 | IFC Films |
| Top Gun (Re-Release) | $63,000 | 56 | $1,125 | $434,000 | 2 | Paramount |
| The Courier | $44,440 | 108 | $411 | $6,537,830 | 10 | Roadside Attractions |
| The Girl Who Believes in Miracles | $42,297 | 322 | $131 | $3,118,372 | 8 | Atlas Distribution Company |
| Minari | $38,000 | 149 | $255 | $3,108,828 | 15 | A24 |
| The Djinn | $35,000 | 44 | $795 | $92,142 | 2 | IFC Films |
| Four Good Days | $31,000 | 170 | $182 | $828,728 | 4 | Vertical Entertainment |
| Together Together | $17,297 | 83 | $208 | $1,400,085 | 5 | Bleecker Street |
| The Truffle Hunters | $17,006 | 51 | $333 | $307,576 | 12 | Sony Pictures Classics |
| The Killing of Two Lovers | $15,480 | 36 | $430 | $50,254 | 2 | Neon Rated |
| The Father | $12,606 | 46 | $274 | $2,076,905 | 13 | Sony Pictures Classics |
| The War With Grandpa | $11,954 | 62 | $193 | $21,258,962 | 33 | 101 Studios |
| The Resort | $10,000 | 26 | $385 | $190,628 | 4 | Vertical Entertainment |
| Gunda | $2,400 | 14 | $171 | $110,708 | 6 | Neon Rated |
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