Year: 2017

Box office report: Fate of the Furious zooms past $1 billion

The eighth film in the car-based franchise joins its predecessor, Furious 7, as the second film featuring Dom and the family to pull in more than 13 figures thanks to an estimated domestic box office haul of $19.4 million this weekend, as well as an estimated international earning of $68.4 million. With estimated total worldwide earnings of $1.1 billion, the popular film (which scored an A on CinemaScore) not only sits atop the North American box office for the third week in a row, but it also marks Universal’s fourth highest grossing film (adjusted for inflation) after Jurassic World ($1.67 billion), Furious 7 ($1.52 billion), and Minions ($1.16 billion).

However, even though F8 has matched Furious 7‘s total worldwide performance in crossing the $1 billion mark after only three weeks, its domestic box office trajectory has been closer to that of Fast & Furious 6, which also saw a more than 45 percent drop in domestic ticket sales and earned a similar amount ($19.6 million) in its third week out. In fact, much of F8‘s success comes from the international box office, where the film has proved to be an immense crowdpleaser, having pulled in an estimated $867.6 million so far, in addition to the estimated domestic total of $192.7 million.

Second place this week belongs to How to Be a Latin Lover, a second big hit for Lionsgate and Televisa’s joint venture Panthelion (and the studio’s biggest so far) with the film earning an estimated $12 million from 1,118 locations. The romantic comedy sees international star Eugenio Derbez — also the lead in the studio’s 2013 sleeper hit Instructions Not Included — play a rich woman’s husband, who is dumped for a younger man, thus prompting him to move in with his sister (Salma Hayek) and her son (Raphael Alejandro) as he schemes to seduce a billionaire widow (Raquel Welch). Kristen Bell and Rob Lowe also star in the film, which marks actor Ken Marino’s directing debut.

Also joining the top five in the No. 3 spot is Baahubali: The Conclusion. The Telugu language film earned an estimated $10.1 million after opening in only 420 locations for an impressive estimated earning of $24,139 per location. The S.S. Rajamouli-directed movie stars noted South Indian actor Prabhas in what is the continuation of the 2015 epic fantasy Baahubali: The Beginning.

Coming in fourth is The Circle. The Dave Eggers adaptation did not go over well with audiences and critics alike, earning a D+ on CinemaScore, as well as largely negative reviews. The movie pulled in an estimated $9 million, a disappointing number, especially given that the cast boasts Tom Hanks (Sully), Emma Watson (Beauty and the Beast), and John Boyega (The Force Awakens), all of whom have pulled in big numbers in recent box office offerings — especially Watson, whose Beauty and the Beast continues to do well, having already earned more than $1 billion worldwide and an estimated $480 million in the domestic box office since opening in March.

And rounding out the top five is animated feature The Boss Baby, whose long legs as a family favorite (it earned an A- on CinemaScore) see it take only a 29 percent decline in the box office for an estimated weekend haul of $9 million. This brings it just shy of the $150 million mark at the domestic box office after five weeks in theaters.

A little lower down on the top 10 this week is Gifted. The film pulls in an estimated $3.3 million from 2,215 locations, its highest earnings yet. So far the movie, which stars Chris Evans as the guardian of a mathematically gifted young girl, has earned an estimated total of $15.6 million.

Elsewhere at the box office, Sleight, the latest film from Blumhouse’s BH Tilt genre label, took in an estimated $1.7 million dollars, around what was expected for the J.D. Dillard-directed film about a street magician using his skills to save his kidnapped sister. The film stars Jacob Latimore along with Seychelle Gabriel and Dule Hill.

Meanwhile, The Lost City of Z slipped a little in its fourth weekend out, earning an estimated $1.7 million from 866 locations. This brings the James Gray-directed film’s estimated domestic totals to $4.8 million.

Per ComScore, overall box office is up 4.2 percent the same frame last year. Check out the April 28-30 box office figures below.

1 – The Fate of the Furious – $19.4 million
2 – How to Be a Latin Lover – $12 million
3 – Baahubali 2: The Conclusion – $10 million
4 – The Circle – $9.3 million
5 –The Boss Baby – $9 million
6 – Beauty and the Beast – $6.4 million
7 – Going In Style – $3.6 million
8 – Smurfs: The Lost Village – $3.32 million
9 – Gifted – $3.3 million
10 – Unforgettable – $2.3 million

Star Wars: Episode 9 gets release date, Indiana Jones 5 gets pushed back

The Star Wars saga is moving from December to May, and the fifth Indiana Jones movie will be pushed back a year from July 2019 to 2020, according to a new rundown of release dates from Walt Disney Studios.

The young Han Solo movie, starring Alden Ehrenreich, is already breaking the winter cycle for the Star Wars stand-alones, with its release of May 25, 2018, but now we see the saga films will shift back to that traditional springtime berth with Episode 9. That follow-up to this December’s The Last Jedi will be in theaters on May 24, 2019.

The other major move in the announcement was the untitled fifth Indiana Jones movie, which director Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford have promised fans. Instead of July 19, 2019, it will be in theaters July 10, 2020.

Part of the reason for that is Spielberg keeps letting other new projects cut in line. In addition to Summer 2018’s Ready Player One, which he has already shot and is currently in postproduction, he’ll be starting the Pentagon Papers movie with Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep in a few weeks, with plans to have it in theaters by the end of the year.

He’s also planning The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara, about the Vatican baptism of a young Jewish boy in the 1850s, before returning to his bullwhip-cracking archaeologist.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is out Dec. 15.

Jeff Goldblum Joins ‘Jurassic World’ Sequel

Jeff Goldblum is returning to the land of dinosaurs.

The actor, who co-starred in 1993’s Jurassic Park and 1997’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park, will appear in Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment’s next Jurassic World film.

J. A. Bayona (A Monster Calls) is directing the next installment in the studio’s hit franchise. Jurassic World earned $1.67 billion worldwide in 2015 and is the fourth-highest-grossing film in history.

Stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are returning for the sequel, which also stars Justice Smith, James Cromwell and Toby Jones. Colin Trevorrow, who directed Jurassic World, wrote the script for the sequel with Derek Connolly.

Producers Frank Marshall and Pat Crowley once again join executive producers Steven Spielberg and Trevorrow in the next chapter of the franchise. Belén Atienza is also producing. Vice president of production Sara Scott is overseeing production on behalf of the studio.

In 1993’s Jurassic Park, Goldblum first played Dr. Ian Malcolm, a know-it-all mathematician who came to Jurassic Park as an insurance consultant — and somehow survived both the original film and the sequel.

Goldblum will next be seen in Disney and Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok, hitting theaters Nov. 3. His other recent credits include Independence Day: Resurgence and The Grand Budapest Hotel. Plus, he’s reuniting with director Wes Anderson on his upcoming film Isle of Dogs. He is represented by ICM, Industry Entertainment and Hansen, Jacobson.

Box office report: Fate of the Furious finishes at No. 1, shatters worldwide opening record

The fate of the storied Furious franchise is to break a few box office records.

The eighth film in Universal’s car-based action series speeds its way to the largest worldwide debut weekend of all time with an estimated $532.5 million, breaking the record previously held by Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($529 million).

But this isn’t the only notable number the ensemble flick (which stars Vin Diesel, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Ludacris, and Charlize Theron, among others) has racked up this weekend. Not only has F8 pulled in an estimated $100.2 million domestically — becoming 2017’s ninth picture to do so — but it’s also earned an estimated $432.3 million internationally, beating the record set by Jurassic World ($316.7 million) among top foreign openers.

While the debut was a large one, it marks a significant decrease from the gross of its forerunner, Furious 7, which made $147 million in 2015 after opening in 4,004 theaters in North America, compared to F8‘s 4,310-screen domestic release.

This weekend also sees Boss Baby slip down to No. 2 after two straight weekends at the top. However, the Alec Baldwin-starring animated feature continues to perform well, crossing the $100 million mark domestically with an estimated weekend earning of $15.5 million.

Meanwhile, Beauty and the Beast‘s long legs continue carrying the film past the $1 billion mark at the global box office. The live-action adaptation of the 1991 animated fantasy came in third on the North American chart this weekend, adding an estimated $13.6 million to its $454 million U.S. and Canadian total while making it the 12th highest grossing film of all time (unadjusted for inflation) domestically.

Elsewhere, Smurfs: The Lost Village earned an estimated $6.5 million domestically this weekend. The animated blue creature feature — which earned an A on CinemaScore — continues to post fair numbers overseas, having earned $70 million to date. Premiere dates are still on deck for traditionally lucrative territories, including China and South Korea.

Rounding out the top five is Going In Style, which continues to be a steady performer among its older audience base. The Zach Braff-directed comedic caper film — starring Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, and Alan Arkin as a trio planning a heist — earned an estimated $6.3 million, which in turn makes for an estimated $23 million domestic gross for the film. The film seems to be following the trajectory of similarly aimed The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which also earned a B+ on CinemaScore and eventually pulled in a domestic total gross of $33 million.

Outside the top 10, James Gray’s newly released The Lost City of Z pulled in an estimated $112,633. The film, which tells the story of a real-life explorer who went missing on an expedition with his son and features an all-star cast of Charlie Hunnam, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Sienna Miller, and Angus Macfadyen, earned the highest per-screen average of the week ($28,158).

On the other end of the scale, the animated Spark managed to bring in an estimated $112,352 in its first opening weekend, however despite boasting a 365-theater release and an impressive voice cast that featured Hilary Swank, Susan Sarandon, Patrick Stewart, and Jessica Biel, the monkey-focused flick earned an estimated per-screen average of $308.

Per comScore, overall box office is up roughly 6.1 percent from the same frame last year. Check out the April 14-16 estimates below.

1 – The Fate of the Furious – $100.2 million
2 – The Boss Baby – $ 15.5 million
3 – Beauty and the Beast – $13.6 million
4 – Smurfs: The Lost Village – $6.5 million
5 – Going In Style – $6.3 million
6 – Gifted – $3 million
7 – Get Out – $2.9 million
8 – Power Rangers – $2.8 million
9 – The Case For Christ – $ 2.7 million
10 – Kong: Skull Island – $2.6 million

Box office report: Audiences rehire The Boss Baby, Colossal has monster debut

The Boss Baby is putting in the work.

Across a relatively tame weekend, Fox’s animated comedy extends its winning streak over a weak crop of newcomers, pulling in a decent $26.3 million between Friday and Sunday. With $89.4 million already under its belt, The Boss Baby should cross the $100 million mark in the days ahead, in the process becoming 2017’s eighth picture to do so.

For the second week in a row, Disney’s live-action adaption of Beauty and the Beast again trails The Boss Baby by a small margin as it posts around $25 million after its fourth go-round with domestic audiences. The $160 million blockbuster broke March opening records last month and has gone on to become 2017’s top-earning movie worldwide, tallying an astonishing $977.4 million globally after just 24 days in theaters.

Beauty and the Beast‘s North American total sits at $432.3 million (No. 15 on the all-time U.S. and Canada chart), registering career-high grosses (unadjusted for inflation) for its director and most of its principal cast, including Emma Thompson, Dan Stevens, Stanley Tucci, and Emma Watson, who previously appeared in eight high-profile Harry Potter flicks.

Further down the top five are a pair of new releases: Smurfs: The Lost Village ($14 million) and the Zach Braff-directed heist comedy Going in Style ($12.5 million). The former’s gross likely signals an end to Sony/Columbia’s current Smurfs revival series, which has waned in popularity since the release of 2011’s The Smurfs, a worldwide hit that went on to make $563 million after a $35.6 million North American bow. Lukewarm critical reviews didn’t sway audience opinion, however, as polled moviegoers gave the film an A on CinemaScore, which could signal longer-than-usual legs, as The Lost Village is the last major studio animated title to hit wide release until Pixar’s Cars 3 drives into theaters this summer.

As expected, Going in Style likely captured the interest of the mature set on Friday, a demographic with taste that’s consistently difficult to predict, as industry prognosticators had initially pegged the film (which stars Morgan Freeman, Alan Arkin, and Michael Caine) for a weekend in the $8-$10 million range.

Rounding out the top five is the Scarlett Johansson actioner Ghost in the Shell ($7.4 million), which takes a nasty tumble to the tune of 60.6 percent over its second weekend. Though its international grosses are still slightly padding its domestic underperformance (it has made $124.4 million worldwide on a $110 million budget), the film has a lot of ground to make up as it continues its global rollout.

Outside the top 10, Anne Hathaway’s brilliant kaiju comedy/addiction drama hybrid Colossal averages the highest per-theater number ($31,452) of the week, pulling in $125,809 from four domestic locations after sustaining glowing critical reviews dating back to its September 2016 world premiere at TIFF. The film marks Neon’s debut theatrical release, allowing the fledgling distributor to notch a specialty win over its freshman outing in North America.

Elsewhere, the Chris Evans-fronted drama Gifted — about a protective uncle fighting for a “normal” childhood experience for his niece, a mathematical child prodigy — opens to a solid $476,000 at 56 sites, averaging $8,500 per theater. The Japanese animated flick Your Name — which has amassed a staggering $328.7 million worldwide to date as one of Japan’s best-performing movies of all time — adds roughly $1.6 million to its ballooning total after opening Friday at 303 domestic locations.

Per comScore, overall box office is up roughly 5.5 percent from the same frame last year. Check out the April 7-9 weekend estimates below.

1 – The Boss Baby – $26.3 million
2 – Beauty and the Beast – $25 million
3 – Smurfs: The Lost Village – $14 million
4 – Going in Style – $12.5 million
5 – Ghost in the Shell – $7.4 million
6 – Power Rangers – $6.2 million
7 – Kong: Skull Island – $5.8 million
8 – Logan – $4.1 million
9 – Get Out – $4 million
10 – The Case for Christ – $3.9 million