Of all the terrible YA adaptations we’ve suffered through the last ten years or so, I’ve always had a soft spot for THE MAZE RUNNER franchise because I thought it had some interesting ideas and was executed pretty well considering the genre. So I’m glad the third and final chapter managed to take the top spot at the weekend box office, even though it made about $10 million less than the original. The bigger surprise is the overperformance of Christian Bale’s HOSTILES, which will finish in third place with close to $10 million, which is a strong number for a Western. And predictably, THE SHAPE OF WATER expanded into more theaters this weekend and received a nice boost from its Oscar nominations.
Next week is a very slow weekend, with the only thing of note coming out being the horror drama WINCHESTER with Helen Mirren. The idea of a woman building a house for the ghosts that haunt her is spooky in its own right and when you couple that with the fact it’s based on a true story, you have the makings for a good horror film. But I question how well it will do at the weekend box office since the marketing has been slim. But it will be the only horror movie in theaters and that usually means a strong showing for a horror film. However, I’m not sure it will make enough to beat JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE or even MAZE RUNNER: DEATH CURE, although I expect the latter to drop heavily in its second weekend. Note: the numbers below will be updated as they become final.
1. Maze Runner: Death Cure $23m
2. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle $15.8m
3. Hostiles $9.8m
4. The Greatest Showman $9.4m
5. The Post $8.7m
6. 12 Strong $7.9m
7. Den of Thieves $7.3m
8. Paddington 2 $5.7m
9. The Shape of Water $5.4m
10. Star Wars: The Last Jedi $4m
(Deadline)
