Labor Day Weekend Didn't Fill Movie Theaters

by Nathaniel R

Weekend Box Office (4 Day Labor Day Weekend)
W I D E	L I M I T E D
WIND RIVER	DO IT LIKE AN HOMBRE
1. THE HITMAN'S BODYGUARD $13.3 (cum. $58)	1. 🔺 INHUMANS  $1.5 new on 393 screens
2. ANNABELLE CREATION $9.3 (cum. $90.9)	2.  🔺 DO IT LIKE AN HOMBRE  $1.4 new on 382 screens
3. WIND RIVER $7.9 (cum. $20.3) REVIEW	3. 🔺  PATTI CAKE$  $315k (cum. $603k) on 295 screens
4. LEAP  $6.5 (cum. $13)	4.  TRIP TO SPAIN $301k (cum. $623K) on 140 screens

LOGAN LUCKY	I DO... UNTIL I DON'T
5. LOGAN LUCKY $5.6 (cum. $22.6) REVIEW	5. 🔺  MENASHE $272k (cum. $1.3) on 126 screens REVIEW
6. DUNKIRK $5.6 (cum. $180.2) PODCAST | TOM HARDY	6. 🔺 I DO... UNTIL I DON'T  $234k new on 165 screens
7. SPIDER-MAN HOMECOMING $4.7 (cum. $325.1)  REVIEW	7. 🔺 VALLEY OF BONES $138K new on 300 screens
8. THE EMOJI MOVIE $3.3 (cum. $81.2) REVIEW	8. A GENTLEMAN  $110k (cum. $385k) on 130 screens
9. DESPICABLE ME 3 $3.3 (cum. $258.8)	9. MAUDIE $109k (cum. $5.9) on 106 screens REVIEW
10. NUT JOB 2 $2.9 (cum. $26.7)	10. 🔺 CROWN HEIGHTS $83k (cum. $167k) on 55 screens
🔺 = new or significant expansion numbers from box office mojo

This was the worst Labor Day weekend for the movie business in nearly two decades! Marvel's Inhumans, a tv series launched in movie theaters, didn't even excite people much. I went to a lakehouse with friends to enjoy the last bit of sun and water but we did rewatch Moana with friends' kids though. 

If you did get to the movies, which ones? If you saw Do it Like an Hombre, please report: was it as dated and homophobic-despite-being-about-how-homophobia-is-stupid as it looked? If you didn't, which films have you been thinking about? I have to admit that Wind River has been rustling around in my mind quite a bit after seeing it so I'm glad it's holding steady with audiences.

What did you see this weekend?

by Nathaniel R

Weekend Box Office (Aug 25th-27th)
W I D E	L I M I T E D
1. THE HITMAN'S BODYGUARD $10 (cum. $39.6)	1. 🔺 T2 in 3D  $.5 on 386 screens ALL TIME FAV
2. ANNABELLE CREATION $7.3 (cum. $77.8)	2. 🔺  A GENTLEMAN $195k NEW 135 screens
3. 🔺 LEAP! $5 NEW	3. MENASHE $172k (cum. $973K) 103 screens REVIEW
4. 🔺 WIND RIVER  $4.4 (cum. $9.8) REVIEW	4. 🔺  THE TRIP TO SPAIN $132k (cum. $284K) 56 screens

5. LOGAN LUCKY $4.3 (cum. $15) REVIEW	5. 🔺 PATTI CAKE$  $105k  (cum. $197k) 59 screens
6. DUNKIRK $3.9 (cum. $172.4) PODCAST | TOM HARDY	6. MAUDIE $91K (cum. $5.7) 96 screens REVIEW
7. SPIDER-MAN HOMECOMING $2.7 (cum. $318.8)  REVIEW	7. AN INCONVENIENT SEQUEL  $80k  (cum. $3.3k) 127 screens  REVIEW
8. 🔺 BIRTH OF THE DRAGON $2.5 NEW	8. 🔺 GOOK $75k   (cum. $109k) 22 screens
9. THE EMOJI MOVIE $3.7 (cum. $76.4) REVIEW	9. 🔺 COLUMBUS  $68k (cum. $242k) 22 screens
10. GIRLS TRIP $2.2 (cum. $108) REVIEW | PODCAST	10. STEP $66k (cum. $972k) 118 screens
🔺 = new or significant expansion numbers from box office mojo

In a lame weekend All Saints, Leap, and Birth of the Dragon were the only new wide releases. To fill in that gap several films expanded including Ingrid Goes West, Good Time and Wind River though only the latter was sufficiently rewarded for doing so. The weekend was so dire that Wonder Woman and Despicable Me both took the opportunity to add back tons of theaters (earning $1.6 million each with that gambit). 

The most exciting indie release this weekend was the gay Sundance-winning drama Beach Rats (review coming soon). It opened in only 3 theaters (it would have been #11 in the limited release chart above) but to a strong per screen average so expect it to come to other cities soon. 

Weak Weekend Box Office - Did You Go To the Movies?

It was a rather tepid week and weekend at the box office aside from some milestones further down the list. Wonder Woman continues to break records despite falling out of the top 15. In its 12th weekend its just passed by Sam Raimi's Spider-Man (if you don't adjust for inflation) making it the top grossing origin story superhero film. In other happy news for fans, both Girls Trip and Baby Driver passed the important $100 million mark this week. The Girls Trip figure isn't as unusual as the internet seems to be  pretending -- how quickly people forget that The Color Purple, Hidden Figures and The Help, which all centered on black women, were megahits and two of those in the very recent past! But the Baby Driver milestone is rarer. It's a first for director Edgar Wright who has had a devoted fanbase for years but never quite crossed over in this way. More after the jump...

Weekend Box Office (Aug 18th-20th)
W I D E	L I M I T E D
1. 🔺 THE HITMAN'S BODYGUARD $21.6 NEW	1. AN INCONVENIENT SEQUEL $300k (cum. $2.9) 514 screens  REVIEW
2. ANNABELLE CREATION $15.5 (cum. $64)	2. A TAXI DRIVER $266k (cum. $842k) 41 screens
3. 🔺 LOGAN LUCKY $8 NEW   REVIEW	3.🔺 INGRID GOES WEST  $265k (cum. $438k) 26 screens REVIEW
4. DUNKIRK  $6.7 (cum. $165.5) PODCAST | TOM HARDY	4. 🔺  MENASHE $230k (cum. $715k) 86 screens REVIEW

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Scary doll in frilly dress rules box office

Today, in honor of creepy Annabelle from The Conjuring franchise earning the #1 spot with her prequel Annabelle: Creation, we break with our usual box office format. This week's box office will be represented entirely by dolls. Which of these movies have you seen?

01 NEW $35 million

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What did you see this weekend?

Weekend Box Office (Aug 4th-6th)
W I D E	L I M I T E D
1. 🔺 DARK TOWER $19.5 REVIEW	1. 🔺  AN INCONVENIENT SEQUEL $900k (cum. $1.0) 180 screens  REVIEW
2. DUNKIRK $17.6 (cum. $133.5)  PODCAST | TOM HARDY	2. WOLF WARRIOR 2 $460k (cum. $1.0) 32 screens
3. EMOJI MOVIE $12.3 (cum. $49.4) REVIEW	3. MAUDIE  $262k (cum. $5.1) 187 screens REVIEW
4. GIRLS TRIP  $11.4 (cum. $85.4) REVIEW	4. 🔺  LANDLINE $240k (cum. $503k) 141 screens

It's tough to know what to compare Dark Tower to, to know if it's had a good opening weekend or not but word-of-mouth is going to be a problem if the reviews are any indication. The reviews were kinder, though not as many ticket buyers turned out, for the other new releases...

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