Joker narrowly reclaims top box office spot from Maleficent sequel with $18.9 million
It’s a battle of the baddies at the box office this weekend with Joker narrowly reclaiming the top spot from Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.
Joker continues to dominate the box office in its fourth week in theaters, besting Maleficent: Mistress of Evil by a very small percent but just enough to return to the top. The Joaquin Phoenix-led film earned approximately $18.9 million over the weekend, while the Disney sequel took in $18.5 million.
This total adds to the Joker‘s box office domination, earning the title of highest-grossing R-rated film beating previous record-holders Deadpool and Deadpool 2. The Todd Phillips directed drama has earned an estimated $277.6 million domestically to date, according to Comscore.
The third and fourth spot are also returning titles that are perfectly themed for the spooky October holiday of Halloween. The Addams Family follows Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent: Mistress of Evil in third place with $11.7 million followed by Zombieland: Double Tap, which earned $11.6 million for fourth place.
Rounding out the top five is a new addition this week — Countdown earned an estimated $9 million during its opening weekend. Just in time for Halloween, the horror thriller, stars Peter Facinelli, Tichina Arnold, Elizabeth Lail, and Anne Winter. It tells the story of a nurse who discovers a phone app that tells her when someone is going to die.
Countdown raked in the dollars despite its bad reviews, with audiences agreeing, in hindsight, it was probably worth skipping. Filmgoers gave the Justin Dec-directed title a dismal C+ Cinemascore, while Rotten Tomato critics declared it decidedly rotten with a 26% on their Tomatometer.
Also making its debut in theaters this week is Deon Taylor’s Black and Blue led by James Bond star Naomie Harris and action star Tyrese Gibson. It earned an estimated $8.3 million at the box office, placing it in the number six spot at the box office and an opening spot in the weekend’s top 10.
The drama tells the story of rookie cop Alicia West (Harris), who is caught between a rock and hard place after witnessing corrupt cops killing an informant. With the help of her old neighborhood friend Mouse (Gibson), the pair race against the clock to get the evidence she caught on her body cam before the bad guys have a chance to destroy it.
Black and Blue is a balanced and timely story that proves that the only color that turns good people bad is green. The film co-stars Mike Colter, Frank Grillo, Beau Knapp, and Nafessa Williams.
EW gave the film a B, emphasizing that “Taylor’s rogue-cop drama still manages to land more visceral hits than other recent films that have tried and failed to do the same.”
Another new release for the weekend, Benedict Cumberbatch’s The Current War: Director’s Cut, nabs the ninth place spot, opening to an estimated $2.7 million across 1,022 locations. Cumberbatch brings to life Thomas Edison who is battling against time and two businessmen who think they have a better idea to bring electricity to the United States.
The businessmen, George Westinghouse and his partner Nikolai Tesla, are portrayed by Michael Shannon and Nicholas Hoult, respectively.
Originally to be distributed by The Weinstein Company, The Current War found its buzzy awards season release stopped in its tracks back in 2017 when the first allegations against Weinstein broke. The Current War was shelved until May when a new distributor announced the Alfonso Gomez-Rejon-directed historical drama would finally be released in October. Jake Gallenhaal was originally attached to the role of Westinghouse when the film was announced in 2012.
Overall box office is down 5.1 percent year-to-date, according to Comscore. Check out the Oct. 25-27 numbers below:
Joker — $18.9 million
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil — $18.5 million
The Addams Family — $11.7 million
Zombieland 2: Double Tap — $11.6 million
Countdown— $9 million
Black and Blue—$8.3 million
Gemini Man — $4 million
The Lighthouse—$3 million
The Current War: Director’s Cut—$2.7 million
Abominable — $2 million