Category: Movies

Thor: Ragnarok electrifies box office with $121 million opening weekend

Thor: Ragnarok may spell trouble for the realm of Asgard, but it brings good news for the box office. Disney and Marvel’s third solo movie starring Chris Hemsworth as the god of thunder is on track to gross an estimated $121 million in the U.S. and Canada over its first weekend, easily conquering the competition while heralding Hollywood’s first big opening in several weeks.

Ragnarok‘s haul represents the fourth-largest debut of 2017, behind Beauty and the Beast ($174.8 million), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ($146.5 million), and It ($123.4 million). It also crushes the openings of 2011’s Thor ($65.7 million) and 2013’s Thor: The Dark World ($85.7 million), and edges out the most recent installment of the Marvel cinematic universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming ($117 million).

Directed by with a distinctly humorous tone by Taika Waititi and boasting a powerhouse cast — including Cate Blanchett, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Hiddeslton, and Tessa Thompson — Ragnarok received glowing reviews and garnered an A CinemaScore, indicating good word of mouth. The threequel, which reportedly cost $180 million to make, has likewise fared well overseas, tallying about $306 million since it began rolling out last week.

After a sluggish October, Ragnarok could help spark a lively holiday moviegoing season, with fellow tentpoles like Justice League and Star Wars: The Last Jedi coming in the weeks ahead.

Back on earth, STX Films’ comedy sequel A Bad Moms Christmas is in line for second place with an estimated $17 million weekend, and a five-day total of about $21.6 million (after opening Wednesday). The latter figure is a bit below analysts’ expectations of about $25 million, and it falls short of the original Bad Moms‘ three-day $23.8 million opening.

The follow-up to the R-rated sleeper hit received largely negative reviews, and audiences gave it a so-so B CinemaScore (dropping down from the original’s A grade). Scott Moore and Jon Lucas returned to direct Bad Moms Christmas, which once again stars Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, and Kathryn Hahn as three overburdened, underappreciated women — who this time deal with the stress of the holidays and their own mothers.

Rounding out the top five are Lionsgate’s Jigsaw, with about $6.7 million, and Boo 2: A Madea Halloween, with about $4.7 million, and Warner Bros’. Geostorm, with about $3 million.

On the specialty front, actress Greta Gerwig’s critically acclaimed directorial debut, Lady Bird, is poised to gross about $375,612 from four locations, for a per-theater average of $93,903 — the best such mark of 2017. Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, and Tracy Letts star in the coming-of-age dramedy, which was released by A24.

Meanwhile Richard Linklater’s veteran drama Last Flag Flying will gross an estimated $42,000 from four locations, for a $10,500 per-theater average. Amazon and Lionsgate released the film — starring Bryan Cranston, Steve Carell, and Laurence Fishburne — to solid reviews.

According to ComScore, overall box office is down 4.8 percent year-to-date. Check out the Nov. 3-5 figures below.

1. Thor: Ragnarok — $16.3 million
2. A Bad Moms Christmas — $17 million
3. Jigsaw — $6.7 million
4. Boo 2: A Madea Halloween — $4.7 million
5. Geostorm — $3 million
6. Happy Death Day — $2.8 million
7. Thank You for Your Service — $2.3 million
8. Blade Runner 2049 — $2.2 million
9. Only the Brave — $1.9 million
10. Let There Be Light — $1.6 million

Box office: Jigsaw scares off competition, Suburbicon bombs

Moviegoers weren’t exactly dying to hit the multiplex on the weekend leading up to Halloween, as the horror movie Jigsaw is poised to top the box office with an estimated $16.3 million in the U.S. and Canada, coming in below industry projections along with fellow newcomers Suburbicon and Thank You for Your Service. When the dust settles, this should go down as one of the slowest frames of the year.

Making the eighth installment of Lionsgate’s Saw series, Jigsaw was intended to breathe new life into the gory franchise but is on track to open lower than all but one of its predecessors: Saw VI, which eked out $14.1 million in 2009.

Directed by brothers Michael and Peter Spierig, Jigsaw once again centers on a group of people held captive in intricate death traps by a mysterious assailant. The film received generally negative reviews, but the Saw movies have never been critical darlings, and audiences gave it a B CinemaScore — a solid mark for horror flicks in general and the Saw series in particular.

Dropping down to second place is another Lionsgate offering, Boo 2: A Madea Halloween, with about $10 million. That figure marks a so-so decline of 53 percent and brings the domestic total of the Tyler Perry comedy to $35.5 million after 10 days in theaters.

Rounding out the top five are Warner Bros’. disaster movie dud Geostorm, with an estimated $5.7 million; Universal’s slasher Happy Death Day, with an estimated $5.1 million; and WB’s sci-fi sequel Blade Runner 2049 with an estimated $4 million.

Further down the list, the Miles Teller-starring military drama Thank You for Your Service is coming in below expectations with about $3.7 million, good for sixth place, while the George Clooney-directed dark comedy Suburbicon is bombing with about $2.8 million, putting it in the No. 9 spot.

Despite boasting a heavyweight cast that includes Matt Damon, Julianne Moore, and Oscar Isaac, and a script originally penned by Joel and Ethan Coen (rewritten by Clooney and Grant Heslov), Suburbicon received poor reviews and a dreadful D-minus CinemaScore. The film centers on a 1950s community whose placid surface belies its inherent bigotry and rottenness.

Thank You for Your Service has fared better with critics and audiences, at least, garnering largely positive reviews and a sturdy A-minus CinemaScore. Directed by Jason Hall, the screenwriter of American Sniper, the film stars Teller as an Iraq war veteran who struggles to readjust to civilian life. Hall also wrote the script for Thank You, adapting David Finkel’s nonfiction book.

On the specialty front, Magnolia’s The Square will gross about $76,000 from four locations, for a per-theater average of $19,000; Open Road’s Blake Lively thriller All I See Is Your will take in about $135,504 from 283 locations ($479 per theater); and Atlas Distribution’s faith-based drama Let There Be Light will earn about $1.8 million from 373 locations ($4,826 per theater).

While the domestic box office has been quiet this weekend, Disney and Marvel’s superhero movie Thor: Ragnarok is making noise overseas, debuting to an estimated $107.6 million across 36 markets (which represent about 52 percent of its planned international footprint). That figure puts it ahead of recent Marvel offerings Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Doctor Strange, when comparing the same suite of territories at today’s exchange rates. Ragnarok opens domestically and in most remaining foreign markets Nov. 3.

According to ComScore, overall box office is down 5 percent year-to-date. Check out the Oct. 27-29 figures below.

1. Jigsaw — $16.3 million
2. Boo 2! A Madea Halloween — $10 million
3. Geostorm — $5.7 million
4. Happy Death Day — $5.1 million
5. Blade Runner 2049 — $4 million
6. Thank You for Your Service — $3.7 million
7. Only the Brave — $3.4 million
8. The Foreigner — $3.2 million
9. Suburbicon — $2.8 million
10. It — $2.5 million

Why horror movies are having their best box office year ever

This year’s horror movies are doing so well, it’s scary.

Frightening flicks such as “Get Out,” “It” and most recently “Happy Death Day” have made $733 million in ticket sales this year, the New York Times and Box Office Mojo reported. That’s the biggest box office year for horror ever, without adjusting for inflation. And there are still two months left in 2017, plus another “Saw” movie (“Jigsaw”) opening Friday that will scare up even more sales.

What’s interesting is that “Get Out” (which made $175 million) opened in February and “It” (more than $300 million and counting) floated in early September – well ahead of Halloween, when audiences are especially in the mood for psychological thrillers and creature features.

So why have viewers been so drawn to the dark side this year?

Dr. Margee Kerr, a sociologist specializing in fear and author of “Scream: Chilling Adventures in the Science of Fear,” told Moneyish that “fun-scary” activities like horror movies and haunted houses reprioritize the day-to-day stresses that freak us out. And this year’s many natural disasters, national tragedies and political controversies have been especially distressing.

“Horror and startle can distract us from the everyday thoughts and concerns,” said Dr. Kerr. “We’re not thinking about our bills, about the future of the economy, about health insurance – we’re completely in the moment and feeling powerful thanks to the cascade of chemicals released in times of threat.”

Robert Thompson, Syracuse University professor and pop cultural historian, agreed. “Evolution happens about more slowly than civilization does, so human beings are still wired for fear at a time when many of us, if we’re lucky, live daily lives now where we don’t have a lot of actual physical fear,” he told Moneyish. “So giving yourself a dose of artificial fear in a safe environment [like a movie theater] can be a fulfilling thrill.”

“Even better, we’re with our friends, the people we care about and that care about us,” Dr. Kerr added, “and research shows that people bond more closely when frightened.” Like snuggling up to your date during a scary part in a movie, or holding your best friend’s hand in a haunted house.

Horror movies have been a box office draw for decades and franchises like “Friday the 13th” and “A Nightmare on Elm Street” have reeled in $380.6 million and $370.5 million total, respectively.

But most of 2017’s fright shows have been critically-acclaimed films with broad appeal.

“These aren’t generic slasher or horror films, they are really compelling films that are well acted and well written and so people are talking about them and the good word of mouth is drawing more people to see them,” said Thompson.

And the scares have been particularly timely. “It” encourages viewers to confront the dangers of growing up while looking back at their childhood fears with nostalgia. And “Get Out” mined the racial divide the country is still mired in today.

“Horror movies have always been a way for us to talk about, share, educate and shine light on society’s biggest fears and ‘Get Out’ mirrored the very real, lived sentiment of many: This horrific, abusive, inhumane treatment of black Americans that it is not only condoned by whites, but approached with such an air of entitlement, arrogance and levity that seems invisible to everyone but those on the receiving end,” said Dr. Kerr.

She said “Get Out” has also tapped into the collective uncertainty of knowing what to believe anymore during an epidemic of fake news and politicians changing their stories every day.

“Horror movies give us a sense of closure and certainty that we just can’t always get in the real world … and that feels really good,” she said.

Tyler Perry’s Boo 2 tops box office as Geostorm and Snowman stumble

Nine days before Halloween, the October box office is looking grim. Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween is on track to debut atop a sluggish weekend with an estimated $21.7 million in the U.S. and Canada, while fellow newcomers Geostorm and The Snowman are struggling to attract moviegoers.

Although the ninth installment of writer, director, and star Perry’s Madea series should meet industry projections and reportedly cost a modest $20 million to make, the sequel’s opening numbers are lagging about 25% behind the original Boo! A Madea Halloween, which bowed at No. 1 last year.

Boo 2, which finds Madea and company dodging ghosts and ghouls at a haunted campground, was shredded by critics but garnered a solid A-minus CinemaScore. Lionsgate released the film.

Meanwhile, the forecast is dire for Warner Bros. and Skydance’s long-delayed disaster movie Geostorm, which reportedly cost $120 million to make and is on pace to open with about $13.3 million, putting it in the No. 2 spot.

Marking the directorial debut of Independence Day screenwriter Dean Devlin, Geostorm stars Gerard Butler as a climate scientist trying to save the world from a technologically induced weather apocalypse. Critics have savaged the movie, and unlike Boo 2 audiences seem to have agreed, giving it a weak B-minus CinemaScore.

Also turning off critics and audiences alike this weekend is Universal and Working Title’s crime thriller The Snowman, which is on track to debut at No. 8 with an estimated $3.4 million.

Based on Jo Nesbo’s Nordic noir novel of the same name, The Snowman received a dreadful D CinemaScore and is currently in the single digits on Rotten Tomatoes. Tomas Alfredson (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) directed the movie, which stars Michael Fassbender as a troubled detective who teams with a brilliant recruit (Rebecca Ferguson) to track a serial killer.

Coming in fifth place, behind holdovers Happy Death Day and Blade Runner 2049, is Sony’s new firefighter drama Only the Brave, which will gross about $6 million.

Recounting the true story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots and featuring an ensemble cast including Josh Brolin, Miles Teller, Jeff Bridges, and Taylor Kitsch, the film has garnered glowing reviews and an A CinemaScore. Joseph Kosinski (Tron: Legacy) directed the movie.

On the specialty front, Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Killing of a Sacred Deer is on track to gross an estimated $114,585 from four locations, for a per-theater average of $28,646, while Todd Haynes’ Wonderstruck is eyeing an estimated $68,762 from four locations, for a per-theater average of $17,190.

After a record-breaking September powered by the horror hit It, the past few weeks have lacked for breakout hits at the box office, particularly in the wake of Blade Runner 2049 underperforming.

According to ComScore, overall box office is down 4.8 percent year-to-date. Check out the Oct. 20-22 figures below.

1. Boo 2! A Madea Halloween — $21.7 million
2. Geostorm — $13.3 million
3. Happy Death Day — $9.4 million
4. Blade Runner 2049 — $7.2 million
5. Only the Brave — $6 million
6. The Foreigner — $5.5 million
7. It — $3.5 million
8. The Snowman — $3.4 million
9. American Made — $3.2 million
10. Kingsman: The Golden Circle — $3 million

Box office: Happy Death Day takes down Blade Runner 2049

Call it deja vu: Another horror movie is slaying at the box office.

Universal and Blumhouse’s microbudget slasher Happy Death Day is on track to gross an estimated $26.5 million in the U.S. and Canada during its first weekend in theaters, exceeding industry projections and easily knocking off last week’s No. 1 film, Blade Runner 2049.

Starring Jessica Rothe as a college student who relives the day of her murder again and again until she discovers her killer’s identity, Happy Death Day received mixed to positive reviews and garnered a B CinemaScore — solid for a horror movie. The film, which cost about $4.5 million to make and was directed by Christopher Landon, continues a strong year for Blumhouse and Universal, who previously released M. Night Shyamalan’s Split and Jordan Peele’s Get Out.

Happy Death Day also marks the latest horror movie to top the box office, joining those aforementioned films as well as Warner Bros. and New Line’s Annabelle: Creation and It.

In second place, Warner Bros. and Alcon’s sci-fi sequel Blade Runner 2049 is set to take in about $15.1 million in its second weekend, falling off 54% from a disappointing $31.5 million debut and bringing its domestic total to $60.6 million after 10 days in theaters.

Those are lackluster figures for an ambitious, highly anticipated, and critically acclaimed film that boasts major talent — director Denis Villeneuve, stars Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford — and cost upward of $150 million to make. Based on Ridley Scott’s groundbreaking 1982 film Blade Runner, 2049 continues its story of cops hunting down rogue androids in dystopian Los Angeles.

2049 could still get a bump from potential awards season success, and from foreign markets, where it has so far grossed about $98 million.

Debuting in third place is STX’s R-rated action flick The Foreigner, with an estimated $12.8 million. Pitting martial arts legend Jackie Chan against erstwhile James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan, the tale of international intrigue has received mixed reviews and an A-minus CinemaScore.

The Chinese co-production, directed by Bond veteran Martin Campbell, has grossed an additional $88.4 million overseas.

Rounding out the top five this weekend are It, with an estimated $6.1 million, and Fox’s survival romance The Mountain Between Us, with an estimated $5.7 million.

Also arriving this weekend, in fewer theaters than Happy Death Day (3,149) and The Foreigner (2,515), were Open Road’s Thurgood Marshall biopic Marshall and Annapurna’s Professor Marston and the Wonder Women, about the unconventional life of the creator of Wonder Woman.

Marshall is poised to collect an estimated $3 million from 821 locations, good for 11th place, while Professor Marston is looking at $737,000 from 1,229 locations, putting it in the No. 15 spot.

According to ComScore, overall box office is down 4.7 percent year-to-date. Check out the Oct. 13-15 figures below.

1. Happy Death Day — $26.5 million
2. Blade Runner 2049 — $15.1 million
3. The Foreigner — $12.8 million
4. It — $6.1 million
5. The Mountain Between Us — $5.7 million
6. American Made — $5.4 million
7. Kingsman: The Golden Circle — $5.3 million
8. The Lego Ninjago Movie — $4.3 million
9. My Little Pony: The Movie — $4 million
10. Victoria and Abdul— $3.1 million

Blade Runner 2049 disappoints with $31.5 million opening

The future isn’t looking all that bright for Blade Runner 2049‘s box office prospects. The long-awaited, highly anticipated sci-fi sequel is on track to gross an estimated $31.5 million in the U.S. and Canada during its opening weekend, surpassing its competition but falling considerably short of industry projections, which had put it in the $45 million-$55 million range.

Heading into the weekend, 2049 appeared to have the makings of a hit, including glowing reviews, strong advance ticket sales, a starry cast led by Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling, a name director in Denis Villeneuve (Arrival, Sicario), and the blessing of original Blade Runner filmmaker Ridley Scott (on board this time as executive producer).

Those who did turn out for the film this weekend skewed male (71%) and older (63% over 35, 86% over 25), and gave it a solid A-minus CinemaScore. But while $31.5 million represents a career high opening for both Villeneuve and Gosling, it’s a disappointing start for a production that reportedly cost upward of $150 million to make. The figure calls to mind Scott’s Alien: Covenant — another attempt at re-invigorating a beloved sci-fi property — which opened to $36.2 million and ultimately crashed at the box office.

2049 was produced by Alcon Entertainment and released by Warner Bros. domestically, with Sony handling international distribution. The film looks to add an estimated $50.2 million from overseas markets this weekend.

The original Blade Runner, released in 1982, was not embraced by critics or audiences at first. But appreciation for the cerebral, slow-burning, and visually striking film — which starred Ford as a jaded cop hunting down androids in dystopian Los Angeles — has grown over the years, and it has become enormously influential across pop culture. Time will tell whether 2049 can find more immediate success.

Coming in a distant second behind Blade Runner 2049 is Fox’s survival romance The Mountain Between Us, with an estimated $10.1 million. The new release, which stars Idris Elba and Kate Winslet as two strangers stranded by a plane crash in the snowy Utah wilderness, received mixed reviews and an A-minus CinemaScore.

The weekend’s other major newcomer, Lionsgate’s animated movie My Little Pony: The Movie, is in line for the No. 4 spot with an estimated $8.8 million. Based on the Hasbro franchise and featuring the voices of Liev Schreiber, Michael Pena, Emily Blunt, Kristin Chenoweth, Taye Diggs, and Zoe Saldana, My Little Pony also garnered an A-minus CinemaScore and mixed reviews.

Rounding out the top five are Warner Bros. and New Line’s horror hit It, in third place with an estimated $9.7 million, and Fox’s spy sequel Kingsman: The Golden Circle, with an estimated $8.1 million.

According to ComScore, overall box office is down 4.8 percent year-to-date. Check out the Oct. 6- 8 figures below.

1. Blade Runner 2049 — $31.5 million
2. The Mountain Between Us — $10.1 million
3. It — $9.7 million
4. My Little Pony: The Movie — $8.8 million
5. Kingsman: The Golden Circle — $8.1 million
6. American Made — $8 million
7. The Lego Ninjago Movie — $6.8 million
8. Victoria and Abdul — $4.1 million
9. Flatliners — $3.8 million
10. Battle of the Sexes— $2.4 million

It edging out American Made and Kingsman 2 at the box office

It is rising up from the sewers and looking to reclaim the box office crown. In its fourth weekend in theaters, Warner Bros. and New Line’s horror hit is on track to gross an estimated $17.3 million in the U.S. and Canada, narrowly topping the new Tom Cruise caper American Made and last week’s winner, Kingsman: The Golden Circle. Meanwhile Sony’s Flatliners reboot is showing few signs of life.

Based on Stephen King’s 1986 novel and directed by Andy Muschietti, It powered a record-breaking September at the domestic box office, where it has grossed $291.2 million. The film has added $262 million in foreign markets, pushing its worldwide total well past the half-billion-dollar mark, to $553.2 million.

Given It‘s critical and commercial success, it’s no surprise that a sequel was recently slated to hit theaters in 2019.

On It‘s tail, however, are Universal’s American Made with an estimated $17.016 million and Fox’s Kingsman: The Golden Circle with an estimated $17 million. (Final weekend grosses will be reported Monday.)

The former film, directed by Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow) and starring Cruise as TWA pilot turned drug runner and arms smuggler Barry Seal, has garnered positive reviews and received a decent B-plus CinemaScore from audiences. However, it also marks the lowest opening for a Cruise film since 2012’s Jack Reacher ($15.2 million).

Cruise remains a draw overseas, where American Made has been rolling out over the past several weeks to the tune of $64.7 million.

A hair’s breadth behind American Made, director Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman sequel is on pace to decline 56% in its second weekend, bringing its domestic total to $66.7 million. For the sake of comparison, the original Kingsman declined 49% in its sophomore frame, putting its total at $68 million.

The weekend’s other new major release, Flatliners, will gross an estimated $6.7 million, taking fifth place and falling short of industry projections, which had it closer to $10 million. A remake of Joel Schumacher’s 1990 thriller about a group of medical students who conduct dangerous near-death experiments, the film took a drubbing from critics (it currently has a 0% score on Rotten Tomatoes) and received a tepid B-minus CinemaScore from moviegoers.

The new film is directed by Niels Arden Oplev, who previously helmed the Swedish version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and stars Ellen Page, Diego Luna, and Nina Dobrev.

Filling out the top five is Warner Bros’. The Lego Ninjago Movie, in fourth place with $12 million. After 10 days in North American theaters, the animated film has taken in $35.6 million, lagging well behind the pace of predecessors The Lego Movie and The Lego Batman Movie.

Further down the list, Fox Searchlight’s Oscar hopeful Battle of the Sexes expanded from 21 theaters to 1,213 in its second weekend and is on pace to gross an estimated $3.4 million, while the Taye Diggs-led psychological thriller Til Death Do Us Part (distributed by Novus Content) is poised to crack the top 10 with a $1.5 million bow. Both figures are below industry projections.

According to ComScore, overall box office is down 4.7 percent year-to-date. Check out the Sept. 29-Oct. 1 figures below.

1. It — $17.3 million
2. American Made — $17.016 million
3. Kingsman: The Golden Circle — $17 million
4. The Lego Ninjago Movie — $12 million
5. Flatliners — $6.7 million
6. Battle of the Sexes — $3.4 million
7. American Assassin — $3.3 million
8. Home Again — $1.8 million
9. Til Death Do Us Part — $1.5 million
10. mother! — $1.46 million

Box office report: Kingsman 2 dethrones It as Lego Ninjago misfires

Fox’s over-the-top spy sequel Kingsman: The Golden Circle is on track to gross an estimated $39 million in the U.S. and Canada during its first weekend in theaters, unseating two-time box office champ It and outpacing fellow new release The Lego Ninjago Movie.

After getting roughed up by critics, The Golden Circle will likely debut below the $41.8 million four-day total pulled in by its predecessor over Presidents Day weekend in 2015, but above the original’s Friday-Sunday total of $36.2 million. With $39 million, the sequel would notch the fifth-highest September opening ever, not adjusted for inflation. It’s also on pace to add an estimated $61.2 million from 55 international markets this weekend.

Directed by Matthew Vaughn and loosely based on the comic book The Secret Service, the second Kingsman film finds young British spy Eggsy (Taron Egerton) and his mentor Harry (Colin Firth) teaming up with their American counterparts to save the world. The high-profile cast also includes Channing Tatum, Julianne Moore, Halle Berry, and Jeff Bridges.

Moviegoers gave The Golden Circle a decent B-plus CinemaScore.

Dropping down to the No. 2 spot, It is on pace for an estimated $30 million, which would bring its domestic total to $266.4 million after 17 days in theaters. The Warner Bros. and New Line film, adapted from Stephen King’s 1986 horror novel of the same name, has smashed several box office records, including highest September opening and highest-grossing horror movie (both unadjusted for inflation). A sequel is already in the works.

Things are less rosy in Legoland, as Ninjago is debuting in third place with an estimated $21.2 million — considerably below industry projections, which pegged it closer to $30 million. The Warner Bros. animated film, about a young ninja warrior and friends battling his warlord father, is lagging far behind the openings of predecessors The Lego Movie ($69.1 million) and The Lego Batman Movie ($53 million).

Reviews for Ninjago were underwhelming, and audiences gave it a B-plus CinemaScore.

Charlie Bean, Paul Fisher, and Bob Logan directed the movie, and the voice cast includes Dave Franco, Justin Theroux, Olivia Munn, Michael Pena, and Jackie Chan.

Rounding out the top five are the Dylan O’Brien action thriller American Assassin, with an estimated $6.3 million, and the Reese Witherspoon romantic comedy Home Again, with an estimated $3.3 million.

On the specialty front, this weekend saw the release of the sports biopic Battle of the Sexes, the Boston Marathon bombing drama Stronger, and the period pic Victoria and Abdul.

Starring Emma Stone as Billie Jean King and Steve Carell as Bobby Riggs, Fox Searchlight’s Battle of the Sexes is on pace to take in an estimated $525,000 from 21 locations, for a solid per-theater average of $25,000.

Focus Features’ Victoria and Abdul, starring Judi Dench as Queen Victoria and Ali Fazal as her attendant Abdul Karim, will gross an estimated $152,000 from four locations, for a strong per-theater average of $37,933.

And Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions’ Stronger, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as bombing survivor Jeff Bauman, is poised to crack the top 10 with an estimated $1.7 million from 574 locations. That works out to a per-theater average of $3,045.

According to ComScore, overall box office is down 4.6 percent year-to-date. Check out the Sept. 22-24 figures below.

1. Kingsman: The Golden Circle — $39 million
2. It — $30 million
3. The Lego Ninjago Movie — $21.2 million
4. American Assassin — $6.3 million
5. Home Again — $3.3 million
6. mother! — $3.3 million
7. Friend Request — $2.4 million
8. The Hitman’s Bodyguard — $1.9 million
9. Stronger — $1.7 million
10. Wind River — $1.3 million

It breaks box office records in second weekend as mother! flops

It has still got it. Warner Bros. and New Line’s big-screen adaptation of the Stephen King horror novel is on track to gross an estimated $60 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend, topping the box office for a second time. On the flip side, Darren Aronofsky and Jennifer Lawrence’s psychological thriller mother! is stumbling with an estimated a $7.5 million debut.

After a record-breaking bow last week, It declined just 51 percent, bringing its domestic total to an estimated $218.7 million after just 10 days in theaters. The movie is now the highest-grossing September release ever, eclipsing the $174.8 pulled in by Crocodile Dundee in 1984. It is also set to add another $60.3 million overseas, which would put its worldwide tally at $371.3 million.

Andy Muschietti (Mama) directed It, which stars Jaeden Lieberher, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, Jack Dylan Grazer, Chosen Jacobs, Wyatt Oleff, and Jeremy Ray Taylor as a group of unpopular kids in small-town Maine who battle an evil presence that feeds on its young victims’ greatest fears. Bill Skarsgard portrays the malevolent being in its favored form, a demonic clown named Pennywise.

King’s novel was published in 1986 and previously adapted as a 1990 miniseries. A sequel to Muschietti’s movie has not been officially given the green light but is already in development.

Fortunes are looking less favorable for mother!, which is on pace to come in well below industry projections of about $11 million. That puts the Paramount film in third place for the weekend and resets the bar as the lowest nationwide release of Lawrence’s career (displacing The House at the End of the Street and its $12.3 million five years ago).

Despite having a name director in Aronofsky and a star-studded cast — including Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, and Michelle Pfeiffer — mother! was largely rejected by audiences. They hit it with an F CinemaScore, putting it in rare company and likely hobbling word-of-mouth prospects. Critics’ reviews were not as dire but still somewhat mixed.

The film, which Aronofsky also wrote, stars Lawrence as a young woman whose tranquil life with her husband, a creatively blocked poet (Bardem), is upended by the arrival of an enigmatic couple.

Speaking about the extreme reactions to his movie, Aronofsky said, “Anytime you do something that aggressive there are going to be people who enjoy it, who want to be on that roller coaster ride, and then there are others who say, ‘Oh no, that was not for me.’ It’s a strange one. You see Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, and Michelle Pfeiffer and people are conditioned for a certain type of movie. And … we didn’t do that type of movie. [Laughs] It’s all good.”

Sliding between It and mother! at the No. 2 spot is another R-rated film, American Assassin. The new release, which marks Dylan O’Brien’s first time back on the big screen since his serious injury on the set of Maze Runner: The Death Cure last year, will gross about $14.8 million this weekend. It’s a satisfactory start for the action-thriller, about equal to that of the original John Wick (which just got a second sequel).

Directed by Michael Cuesta (Kill The Messenger) and released by Lionsgate, American Assassin stars O’Brien as a CIA black-ops recruit under the tutelage of a Cold War veteran (Michael Keaton). Critics were unimpressed by the film, but audiences gave it a respectable B-plus CinemaScore.

Rounding out the top five are the Reese Witherspoon romantic comedy Home Again, with an estimated $5.3 million, and the Ryan Reynolds-Samuel L. Jackson action-comedy The Hitman’s Bodyguard, which an estimated $3.6 million.

And on the specialty front, Mike White’s dramedy Brad’s Status, starring Ben Stiller as a middle-aged family man questioning his life choices while touring colleges with his son, is leading the pack with an estimated $100,179 from four locations. That breaks down to a solid per-theater average of $25,045 for the Amazon and Annapurna release.

According to ComScore, overall box office is down 4.9 percent year-to-date. Check out the Sept. 15-17 figures below.

1. It — $60 million
2. American Assassin — $14.8 million
3. mother! — $7.5 million
4. Home Again — $5.3 million
5. The Hitman’s Bodyguard — $3.6 million
6. Annabelle: Creation — $2.6 million
7. Wind River — $2.5 million
8. Leap! — $2.1 million
9. Spider-Man: Homecoming — $1.9 million
10. Logan Lucky — $1.3 million

Box Office: Stephen King’s ‘It’ Smashes Records With Massive $117 Million Opening

“It” came; “It” saw; “It” conquered.

The New Line and Warner Bros. adaptation of Stephen King’s novel is officially shattering box office records during its opening weekend. The R-rated horror film should make a whopping $117.2 million from 4,103 locations, far surpassing earlier expectations. That would give “It” the third largest opening weekend of 2017, about even with “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” which made $117 million. Only “Beauty and the Beast” and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” earned more this year. $7.2 million of “It’s” domestic grosses are coming from 377 Imax screens.

“There’s something really special about the story itself, the way the movie was made, and the marketing,” said Jeff Goldstein, distribution chief at Warner Bros. “The stars aligned on this, and we still have some room to grow for the weekend.”

“It” earned a fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes of 87% and a B+ CinemaScore. Its gender breakdown is reportedly 51% female and 49% male. About two thirds of the audience has been over 25 years old.

“It’s” opening is mostly unprecedented, crushing the record for largest September opening set by “Hotel Transylvania 2” in 2015 with $48.5 million, and the biggest opening weekend banked by a horror or supernatural film — “Paranormal Activity 3” earned $52.6 million in 2011. When it comes to R-rated movie openings, “It” falls only to “Deadpool,” which changed the game in 2016 with a massive $132.4 million opening. This, during a weekend when Hurricane Irma threatens huge portions of Florida and Georgia, which could dent attendance by as much as 5%.

In addition to its domestic grosses, the horror hit is expected to pull in $62 million from 46 markets overseas, giving “It” a $179 million global debut. That’s a huge win for a movie with an estimated $35 million production budget.

Horror films often have lower budgets than other more CGI-dense blockbusters, so the return on investment has potential to be massive. Goldstein said the genre is one that New Line particularly excels in, and there is potential to see more horror in the future if the right story comes along. “If we were able to find more films in this genre, we’d be thrilled to make them,” he said.

The movie comes courtesy of Argentine director Andy Muschietti, who is known for the 2013 horror film “Mama.” Bill Skarsgard stars as Pennywise the Clown, which terrorizes young children in Derry, Maine. The rest of the cast includes youngsters Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, Wyatt Oleff, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Dylan Grazer, Nicholas Hamilton, and Jackson Robert Scott in supporting roles.

That leaves Open Road’s “Home Again” trailing far behind. The Reese Witherspoon-led romantic comedy should earn $9 million this weekend from 2,940 locations. The $15 million project was directed by Hallie Meyer-Shyer, the daughter of Nancy Meyers, who also worked on the film as a producer. The story centers on Witherspoon’s character — a mother of two who unexpectedly has three young men come to live with her following a recent separation from her husband.

Lionsgate’s “Hitman’s Bodyguard” is landing in third with $4.9 million from 3,322 locations after winning the domestic box office for the past three weekends. “Annabelle: Creation” from Warner Bros. is next with $4 million from 3,003 spots. And “Wind River” caps the top five with an anticipated $3.2 million from 2,890 theaters.

For the movie business, “It” couldn’t have come at a better time. Following a dismal summer box office that plunged 14.6% from last summer to $3.8 billion, “It” serves in part as the pick-me-up the industry was desperately craving. A sequel is already in the works at New Line with Gary Dauberman attached to write the script, and Muschietti expected to return to the director’s chair.

Regarding plans for the next movie, Goldstein said, “It puts more pressure on us to come up with the best version of the story so we bring fans what they want to see. We’ve had a lot of history with franchises. Some are great, and some we wish we had a little bit more story. Fortunately, there’s a lot here in this story.”