Maze Runner: The Death Cure Unseats Jumanji for the #1 Spot – Weekly Box Office Report

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle has become a worldwide hit in recent weeks, showing that word of mouth can propel a movie to great returns.  Sadly, all good things come to end as Maze Runner: The Death Cure beat out Jumanji in route to a solid opening weekend.

Here are the weekend estimates:

#5: The Post – $8.85 Million

Although it was a slight disappointment for The Post to receive only two Oscar nominations, the film still benefitted from earning a nom for Best Picture, parlaying it into a small week-to-week drop of only 24.5%.  As of now, the film has grossed over $83 million worldwide, pushing closer to becoming profitable.

The film should experience a nice bump in traffic the next few weeks as people rush out to see all of the Best Picture nominations.  With only one wide release due out in theaters this weekend, The Post should manage to stay in the top five.

*To read my full review of The Post, please click here.

image via Vox

#4: The Greatest Showman – $9.5 Million

The Greatest Showman continues to defy the odds, dropping at a staggeringly low pace.  The film became profitable long ago, but it still doesn’t show any signs of stopping any time soon.

On its $84 million budget, The Greatest Showman has earned about $260 million worldwide.  This film is a curious case in that Fox was not confident at all in the film and even buried it to a degree.  Luckily, word of mouth made the film a hit anyway as it proved that sheer charm and catchy musical numbers can lift a film to great heights.

*To read my full review of The Greatest Showman, please click here.

image via RTE

#3: Hostiles – $10.21 Million

After delaying its wide release to this past weekend, Hostiles fell short of bullish expectations by Entertainment Studios but still impressed many pundits.

However, that news comes with a caveat in that Hostiles’ budget is $39 million.  This number seems a little curious in that the film is a gritty Western that only appeals to a small section of film fans, making it close to impossible for the film to get its money back.  In fact, many other studios were probably fearful of purchasing the film for this very reason, making it possible for Entertainment Studios to buy its rights.

To make matters even worse, the legs at the box office for Hostiles do not appear to be very strong.  Audiences gave the film a “B” CinemaScore which suggests rather lukewarm reception (most films end up in the B+ to A+ range).  Unlike The Greatest Showman, Hostiles might leave theaters rather quickly.

*To read my full review of Hostiles, please click here.

image via IndieWire

#2: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle – $16.4 Million

Jumanji might have lost the top spot on the chart, but executives at Sony are still pretty happy.  This week’s total help the film to surpass the $800 million mark worldwide.  Sitting at $338 million domestically, the film is now Sony’s third highest grossing movie of all-time.

With its latest totals, the film is now the fifth highest grossing film domestically and the ninth best worldwide of all films released in 2017.

*To read my full review of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, please click here.

image via The Verge

#1: Maze Runner: The Death Cure – $23.5 Million

Maze Runner: The Death Cure managed to take the top spot this weekend despite grossing less than the previous two films did in their opening weekends.  In combination with the largest budget of any of the film Maze Runner films, you would think that executives at Fox may be a little nervous.

However, with an added $82 million from overseas markets, Maze Runner: The Death Cure has already grossed about $106 million.  On a $62 million budget, The Death Cure will have to make about $155 million to breakeven.  The YA adaptation should have no problem reaching that number in the coming weeks.

But, one does wonder how well the movie would have performed if Dylan O’Brien hadn’t injured himself during production.  The production of the film was delayed for over a year in order to let O’Brien heal from his injuries.  There’s no doubt that the film would have made a bigger dent at the box office if it had released closer to the previous installment.

Regardless, the film has a built-in fan base from those that read the books.  Fox might have wanted more from the project, but not losing money from a film is never a bad thing.

*To read my full review of Maze Runner: The Death Cure: please click here.

image via Den of Geek

Notes

-Here’s how the rest of the top 10 shook out:

#6: 12 Strong – $8.64 Million

#7: Den of Thieves – $8.36 Million

#8: The Shape of Water – $5.7 Million

#9: Paddington 2 – $5.57 Million

#10: Padmaavat – $4.27 Million

-After receiving 13 Oscar nominations, The Shape of Water expanded into 1,001 more theaters, helping it to climb back up into the top 10.

image via IndieWire

–Padmaavat broke the all-time record for the largest Bollywood opening in North America with $4.27 million, becoming the per-screen average winner as well by amassing $13,188 per theater.

-Studios tend to avoid releasing films the same weekend as the Super Bowl, so Winchester starring Helen Mirren and Jason Clarke is the only new film getting a wide release this coming weekend.

Thanks for reading!  What are your thoughts on Maze Runner: The Death Cure replacing Jumanji for the top spot?  Comment down below!

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