Weekend box office: The Post opens strong but can’t beat Jumanji
With the expansion to ten nominees and the long overdue updating of Academy members, the Best Picture Oscar is almost impossible to predict. But my prediction for a long time has been that THE POST (click the link to read our review) will take home the coveted Oscar and after opening with more than $20 million at the weekend box office, I’m more convinced then ever. Even though I actually didn’t like the film, I think it just has too much going for it to not win. But THE POST wasn’t the only film of the weekend that opened strong. Liam Neeson’s token yearly action thriller, THE COMMUTER opened in fourth place with almost $15 million, putting it right on par with all of his other action thrillers. PADDINGTON 2 opened in fifth place with a very disappointing $14 million. The original opened with $18, but found a huge audience on home video. Even with strong critical praise, the sequel just couldn’t find an audience. Finally, Taraji P. Henson took a dip into the action genre with PROUD MARY and opened with a respectable $11 million.
Next week sees the release of 12 STRONG, starring Chris Hemsworth and Michael Shannon. Although everyone loves Chris Hemsworth, people don’t traditionally love modern war movies (AMERICAN SNIPER being the exception). I’m not sure 12 STRONG will be…err…strong enough to beat out Jumanji, but it should be strong enough to beat out DEN OF THIEVES, which looks like it should be released straight to video. My guess is that JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE makes it another week on top and 12 STRONG will finish second. Note: the numbers below are for the four day holiday weekend and will be updated as they become final.
1. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle $30.9m
2. The Post $20.5m
3. Star Wars: The Last Jedi $15.1m
4. The Commuter $14.7m
5. Paddington 2 $14.2m
6. The Greatest Showman $14m
7. Insidious: The Last Key $12.1m
8. Proud Mary $11.4m
9. Pitch Perfect 3 $6.5m
10. Darkest Hour $6.1m
(Deadline)
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