August is an infamously slow month at the box office. Last August in fact was the worst August in 20 years. The story is a bit different this year, however. This weekend was the third in a row to top its equating weekend from last August. It’s also the second weekend in a row that Warner Bros. wins the box office.
Last weekend The Meg over-performed, taking the number one spot with over $45 million. This week Crazy Rich Asians also surpassed expectations with $25 million through the regular three-day and $34 million over the course of its long five-day weekend. That’s a strong start for a film built off the back of a merger $30 million. Crazy Rich Asians is also making a splash for representation being just the first studio film in 25 years to boast an all-Asian cast.
The Meg swallowed an additional $21.1 million this weekend bringing its domestic catch to $84 million in just ten days of release. Globally, the giant creature feature has reeled in nearly $315 million and has yet to open in France and Japan. Believe it or not, this overly-budgeted shark movie may be on track to make some money or at least break even.
Mile 22 fell in third place with a softer-than-expected $13.6 million. The latest Mark Wahlberg/Peter Berg collaboration was working against negative reception domestically with an unimpressive 20% rating on the Tomatometer and a “B-” CinemaScore. STX will have to look to the international market for some relief. Taking a more positive spin, the film is a Chinese coproduction that has yet to open in China and features a prominent Indonesian star.
It was a close race for the bottom two slots between box office veteran Mission: Impossible– Fallout and newcomer Alpha. ‘Fallout’ ultimately came out on top with $10.6 million. So far the sixth film in the Mission: Impossible franchise is holding 17% stronger than its predecessor, ‘Rogue Nation’ and will open in China on August 31st. The film’s global haul currently stands over $500 million.
Sony’s coming-of-ice-age flick Alpha rounds out the top five with an expected $10.5 million. With a reported production budget of “50+ million”, the film will need to hold strong overseas in order to turn a profit. Fortunately the film has positive buzz on its side with an impressive 85% on the Tomatometer and a “B+” CinemaScore.
There are your top five box office performers from the weekend. What are your thoughts? Do any of these surprise you? I want to hear from you so hit me up in the comments below!
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