This is a weird weekend for sure, but it’s as good a time as any to release a horror-ish kids movie. Since there weren’t any other family movies to stand in its way, THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS easily took the top spot at the weekend box office with just under $25 million. The film had a modest budget and Jack Black is always game for promoting the heck out of his movies, so it turned out to be a good investment. The other new movie of the weekend was Michael Moore’s FAHRENHEIT 11/9, which couldn’t crack $3 million. Like I said last week, it’s depressing enough reading the news; no wants to pay to go see more depressing news. Speaking of depressing, the tear jerker LIFE ITSELF was right behind with just over $2 million.
Next week sees the release of Kevin Hart’s NIGHT SCHOOL and the animated film LITTLE FOOT. Both of these are odd choices for a mid to late September release. NIGHT SCHOOL is hitting at a great time since there are zero comedies at the box office right now and since Kevin Hart is still a box office draw, the film should do pretty well. But why not release it in the middle of the summer? I wonder if the studio doesn’t have much confidence in the film. Then there’s LITTLE FOOT, which would also seemingly have a direct line of sight to the number one spot of the box office since there are no animated kids movies to compete with. The only problem is that this is such an awkward time to release a movie like this since the target audience is back in school. But you should never bet against a kids movie, so I think LITTLE FOOT will take the top spot and NIGHT SCHOOL will be close behind. Note: the numbers below will be updated as they become final.
1. The House With a Clock In Its Walls $24.6m
2. A Simple Favor $10.5m
3. The Nun $9.4m
4. The Predator $8m
5. Crazy Rich Asians $6.3m
6. White Boy Rick $5m
7. Peppermint $3.6m
8. Fahrenheit 11/9 $2.8m
9. Life Itself $2.1m
10. The Meg $2.1m
(Deadline)