1. Deadpool & Wolverine
Marvel Studios | Week 5
$18.3M Domestic Weekend
$577.2M Domestic Cume | $1,211.3B Global Cume
There truly is no ceiling for this movie. After a week at #2, Marvel Studios’ Deadpool & Wolverine has clawed its way back in the top position with $18.3M (-39%, its lowest drop yet) in 3,840 locations for a Per Screen Average of $4,766. Right now the film has a $577.2M domestic cume and remains the #6 MCU movie here (close to knocking on the door of The Avengers‘ $623.3M), while overseas it took in $20.2M in 52 material territories for a global cume of $1,211.3 billion. It is now within whistling distance of Iron Man 3‘s global take of $1,215.3B but remains the #8 MCU movie WW.
With Sony’s It Ends With Us now at #3 with $11.8M for the weekend and a $120.8M domestic cume, the manufactured Blake Lively vs Ryan Reynolds news stories have largely vanished.
2. Alien: Romulus
20th Century Studios | Week 2
$16.2M Domestic Opening Weekend
$72.6M Domestic Cume | $225.4M Global Cume
Disney’s facehugger opus Alien: Romulus dropped to #2 in its second frame with $16.2M in 3,915 locations (+30), for a PSA $4,138 and a drop of -61% from Week 1. It is about to pass Alien: Covenant’s lifetime take of $74.3M to become the fourth-highest earning film in the franchise domestically, but this is for unadjusted gross in a 45-year-old series.
Here’s how Romulus‘ second frame compares to previous entries in the franchise in terms of percentage drop…
- Aliens (1986) – $8.6M (-14%)
- Alien (1979) – $2.1M (-38%)
- Aliens vs. Predator – Requiem (2007) – $4.4M (-55%)
- Prometheus (2012) – $20.7M (-59%)
- Alien: Resurrection (1997) – $6.6M (-60%)
- Alien: Romulus (2024) – $16.2M (-61%)
- Alien 3 (1992) – $8.3M (-64%)
- AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004) – $12.4% (-68%)
- Alien: Covenant (2017) – $10.6M (-71%)
On average an Alien movie drops around 55% in its second week, so Romulus is not doing much worse or better than any of the previous entries.
Overseas the movie took in an additional $41.6M from 50 material territories for an estimated $225.4M global cume, which is already 86% of the lifetime global of A Quiet Place: Day One ($261M). China is still posting huge numbers for this movie where it was the #1 non-local film with $19.7M (more than the US). Here are the current Top 5 foreign markets for Romulus:
- China – $73.3M
- UK – $10.7M
- Korea – $9.7M
- France – $7.0M
- Mexico – $5.6M
4. Blink Twice
Amazon/MGM | NEW
$7.3M Domestic Opening Weekend
$14M Global Cume
Amazon/MGM Studios’ suspense thriller Blink Twice opened to $7,323,661 million from 3067 screens for a PSA of $2,388. This is on the lower-end of our prediction panel’s forecast for this title, and neither the Rotten Tomatoes scores (79% critical/69% audience) nor the CinemaScore reactions (“B-“) were where they needed to be to turn this original pitch into must-see cinema-going.
Here’s how the 3-Day looked:
- Friday – $2,892,206
- Saturday – $2,606,738
- Sunday – $1,824,717
Audiences skewed 54% Female / 46% Male, with 64% in the 34-or-younger age bracket. The film’s “R” rating and mature subject matter cut off younger teens. Here’s the full age range:
- 32% 18-24 years old
- 32% 25-34 years old
- 14% 35-44 years old
- 10% 45-54 years old
- 8% 55+ years old
Here’s how demographics looked:
- 56% White
- 18% Latino
- 17% Black
- 5% Asian
- 4% NatAm/Other
In terms of star Channing Tatum’s pulling power, Blink Twice is at the bottom of domestic openings for his last five theatrical star vehicles:
- The Lost City (2022) – $30.4M opening/$105.3M cume
- Dog (2022) – $14.8M opening/$61.7M cume
- Fly Me to the Moon (2024) – $9.4M opening/$20.4M cume
- Magic Mike’s Last Dance (2023) – $8.3M opening/$26M cume
- Logan Lucky (2017) – $7.6M opening/$27.7M cume
- Blink Twice (2024) – $7.3M opening
Clearly when Tatum is playing the hunky lead in a mainstream comedy audiences are game, but once he gets into artier Steven Soderbergh fare, or, in the case of Blink Twice, plays against type as a creep, there is less appeal. Except for minor parts in Deadpool & Wolverine or Kingsman: The Golden Circle, the action figure-ready Tatum has eschewed traditional action leads since the 2015 dud Jupiter Ascending.
Blink Twice also debuted in 73 foreign markets this weekend with an estimated $6.7M from 7,215 screens, a majority of that business generated on Saturday and Sunday. Top 3 markets were U.K. ($971K), France ($621K), and Australia ($558K), while global cume is $14M.
5. The Forge
Sony | NEW
$6.6M Domestic Opening Weekend
AFFIRM Films’ faith-based drama The Forge, which Sony distributed, took in a projected $6.6M in its debut frame from 1,818 locations. Earning enough to breach the Top 5, the film clearly struck a chord with its target audience with an A+ CinemaScore, 100% on Rotten Tomatoes’ Popcornmeter, and a 5-star PostTrak score. The film was barely reviewed in the mainstream press, so critical played little part positive or negative on this title.
Here’s how the 3-Day looked:
- Friday – $2.425M
- Saturday – $2.310M
- Sunday – $1.865M
This performance is on-par with this year’s previous Christian dramas Ordinary Angels ($6.1M opening) and Unsung Hero ($7.7M opening), all with no name stars in The Forge‘s cast. The opening is also better than last few Kendrick Brothers releases including Lifemark ($2.1M opening/$5M domestic) and Show Me the Father ($700K opening, $1.8M domestic). Sony is expecting multiples over upcoming weekends for The Forge.
8. The Crow
Lionsgate | NEW
$4.6M Domestic Opening Weekend
In development since 2008, Lionsgate’s redo of 1994’s cult classic comic book adaptation The Crow is dead on arrival with a $4.6M debut to open at #8. The box office funeral was provided with pallbearers in the form of critics, who gave the film 20% on Rotten Tomatoes (select influencers who screened the film early were allowed to post reviews before critics). The RT audience score of 66% is slightly better, as is the “B-” CinemaScore which tracks for an R-rated horror-leaning supernatural revenge movie.
Here’s how the estimated 3-Day looked:
- Friday – $2M
- Saturday – $1.55M
- Sunday – $1.05M
Other Notable Performances
The Fathom re-release of Laika’s 2009 animated charmer Coraline has been doing surprisingly robust business since opening August 15. This weekend it placed at #7 with $5M on 1,422 screens for a re-release total of $22,514,982 million and a lifetime domestic gross of $106.9M. That means 21% of the lifetime gross has been earned in the last 11 days, and we discussed this release on this week’s Podcast.
Director JT Mollner’s cat & mouse thriller Strange Darling earned $1,144,182 million in its opening frame to take the #12 rspot on 1,135 screens. Featuring Willa Fitzgerald, Kyle Gallner, Barbara Hershey, and Ed Begley Jr., the movie also holds the distinction of being the cinematography debut of actor Giovanni Ribisi.
Sunday’s Studio Weekend Estimates | Weekend 34 – 2024
Total Domestic Estimates: $90,832,417M | (+0.07% vs 2023)
| Title | Weekend Estimate | % Change | Locations | Location Change | PSA | Domestic Total | Week | Distributor |
| Deadpool & Wolverine | $18,300,000 | -39% | 3,840 | -120 | $4,766 | $577,203,366 | 5 | Walt Disney |
| Alien: Romulus | $16,200,000 | -61% | 3,915 | 30 | $4,138 | $72,639,383 | 2 | 20th Century… |
| It Ends With Us | $11,850,000 | -50% | 3,839 | 100 | $3,087 | $120,824,000 | 3 | Sony Pictures |
| Blink Twice | $7,323,661 | 3,067 | $2,388 | $7,323,661 | 1 | Amazon MGM S… | ||
| The Forge | $6,600,000 | 1,818 | $3,630 | $6,600,000 | 1 | Sony Pictures | ||
| Twisters | $6,200,000 | -38% | 3,206 | -277 | $1,934 | $248,670,000 | 6 | Universal |
| Coraline | $5,006,175 | -49% | 1,422 | -105 | $3,521 | $106,917,857 | 812 | Fathom Events |
| The Crow | $4,600,000 | 2,752 | $1,672 | $4,600,000 | 1 | Lionsgate | ||
| Despicable Me 4 | $4,400,000 | -30% | 2,591 | -197 | $1,698 | $348,280,000 | 8 | Universal |
| Inside Out 2 | $2,100,000 | -39% | 1,560 | -290 | $1,346 | $646,311,114 | 11 | Walt Disney |
| Trap | $1,775,000 | -49% | 1,604 | -832 | $1,107 | $38,584,000 | 4 | Warner Bros. |
| Strange Darling | $1,144,182 | 1,135 | $1,008 | $1,144,182 | 1 | Magenta Ligh… | ||
| Good One | $522,000 | 31 | 18 | $16,839 | $1,577,000 | 3 | Metrograph P… | |
| Borderlands | $485,000 | -80% | 1,147 | -1,978 | $423 | $15,179,912 | 3 | Lionsgate |
| Dìdi (弟弟) | $470,000 | -36% | 435 | 8 | $1,080 | $3,611,000 | 5 | Focus Features |
| Harold and the Purple Crayon | $425,000 | -61% | 661 | -1,168 | $643 | $16,861,000 | 4 | Sony Pictures |
| Longlegs | $320,590 | -54% | 375 | -270 | $855 | $73,585,909 | 7 | Neon |
| Sing Sing | $241,118 | -4% | 191 | 79 | $1,262 | $1,597,776 | 7 | A24 |
| Cuckoo | $177,100 | -80% | 250 | -1,200 | $708 | $6,049,930 | 3 | Neon |
| CatVideoFest 2024 | $35,110 | -51% | 32 | -40 | $1,097 | $586,780 | 4 | Oscilloscope… |
| Widow Clicquot | $27,500 | -33% | 44 | -5 | $625 | $896,170 | 6 | Vertical Ent… |
| Mountains | $11,478 | 79% | 5 | 4 | $2,296 | $20,569 | 2 | Music Box Films |
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