Box Office: Terminator Genisys #1 Internationally, ‘Hitman: Agent 47’ & ‘American Ultra’ Flat
$FOX, $SNE, $CMCSA, $VIA, $TWX
‘Sinister 2,’ ‘Hitman: Agent 47’ and ‘American Ultra’ failed to find any traction at the domestic box office, Terminator Genisys’ took the # 1 spot internationally on a big opening in China Sunday.
“Compton” took $26.8-M in its 2nd frame is the dog day’s of August’s domestic draw, with this weekend’s 3 new releases all flat at the domestic box office.
All failed to meet their projected numbers this weekend coming in below both Compton and MI- Rogue Nation, which is in its 4th week in theaters. Compton dropped around 56%t in its 2nd frame and will not have any major international recognition. But, put Universal’s (a unit of Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) at its 13th weekend on top the North American box office.
Universal, having a record-breaking year, now has 7 movies that have passed $100-M domestically this year.
Tom Cruise’s 5th take as agent Ethan Hunt in MI-Rogue Nation continues to do solid business and it took the #2 spot at the domestic box office this weekend with an estimated $11.7-M. Its total domestic tally is now at $158-M.
Rogue Nation also took the # 2 spot internationally, earning $25.2-M from 63 territories this weekend. The international take is now $280.8-M, and the spy actioner’s global take through Sunday is $438.6-M.
Paramount (a unit of Viacom (NASDAQ:VIA), and Skydance’s Terminator Genisys took the # 1 spot internationally thanks to its big opening in China Sunday. It earned a huge $27.4-M at 25,000 locations. The film, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, took in $2.2-M at Midnight shows for the 4th biggest result ever for Midnight shows.
The take marks the 4th biggest opening day at the box office ever for a US film, and is the biggest opening in the Terminator franchise. Terminator Genisys’ international take is now $264-M, and its global take has hit $335-M.
The 3 newcomers, all rated R, may be suffering from the August blues because they’re all going for the same under 25 audience. Plus, many schools are already in session again, which can put a damper on attendance.
Sinister 2, a Blumhouse production released by Focus’ genre label Gramercy Pictures, did well enough to place # 3 with a $10.6-M take. The microbudgeted horror film is directed by Ciaran Foy from a script by franchise creators Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill.
While Sinister 2’s tally is below the $14-M projected by tracking, the horror project about a mother and her 2 sons who move into a rural house that’s inhabited by an evil deity is cushioned by the fact that it was made for under $10-M.
Blumhouse’s other recent release, STX’s first film The Gift, is having a solid run at the box office with an $11.8-M domestic debut in early August, and it took the # 7 spot this weekend, adding around $4.3-M to its total and only dropping 34% in its 3rd week.
Fox’s (NASDAQ:FOX) video game adaptation Hitman: Agent 47 earned an estimated $8.2-M in its debut for 4th place. Starring Homeland’s Rupert Friend, the actioner was directed by Aleksander Bach from a script by Skip Woods and Michael Finch.
Fox’s 2nd attempt at adapting the popular video game series fell below the 2st film’s tally. The Y 2007 movie, starring Timothy Olyphant, earned $13-M when it debuted in November that year, and went on to take in just under $100-M worldwide.
Warner Bros. a unit of Time Warner (NYSE:TWX) 1960’s spy film The Man From U.N.C.L.E was able to crack the Top 5 in its 2nd outing, earning $7.4-M domestically, a drop of just 45%. The Guy Ritchie film, which had a soft debut last weekend, has taken in $26.6-M domestically to date.
This weekend’s final wide release, American Ultra, got no traction eitehr. The stoner action comedy, starring Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart, will end the weekend with just $5.5-M, for a 6th place finish at the box office.
Lionsgate acquired Ultra ahead of the start of production for $7 million. The film centers on a stoner (Eisenberg) who discovers he’s a sleeper CIA assassin. It was originally projected to earn between $6-M and $8-M in its debut.
Universal and Illumination’s Minions, which placed #9 at the domestic box office, grossed an estimated $8.8-M in 57 territories this weekend for a new international box office total of $669.4-M. Its worldwide total is now $989.4-M, beating the lifetime totals of Despicable Me 2 ($975.5-M) and The Lion King ($987.5-M) to become the 3rd-highest-grossing animated film of all time worldwide.
In the specialty sphere, Grandma, starring Lily Tomlin, earned $120,856 this weekend from 4 locations. Sony Pictures Classics (NYSE:SNE), which bought the indie out of Sundance, released the film, which had a strong per theater average of $30,000.
Isabel Croixet’s Learning to Drive from Broad Green Pictures earned around $67,417 from four theaters for a per screen average of $16,854. The film, starring Patricia Clarkson as a Manhattan writer who takes driving lessons from a Sikh instructor, hopes strong word of mouth will help boost its numbers as it expands into more theaters; including Chicago, San Francisco, Boston and Phoenix next weekend.
Have some fun, see a movie this week.
HeffX-LTN
Paul Ebeling
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