Weekend box office: Red Sparrow can’t catch Black Panther
The fact that Jennifer Lawrence’s RED SPARROW couldn’t crack $20 million at the weekend box office is not so much an indictment of the film or her star power, but more of a testament to the staying power of Marvel’s BLACK PANTHER. The film is a juggernaut at this point and it might not get dethroned for another month when it might get knocked off by PACIFIC RIM UPRISING. But J-Law’s film had a few things working against it, most notably the comparisons to Black Widow long before anyone had even seen the film. Although it was clearly nothing like Marvel’s character, sometimes perception is stronger than reality in Hollywood. The other new film of the weekend didn’t fare quite as well. DEATH WISH was supposed to be the surprisingly fun action film that returns Bruce Willis to mainstream audiences, but it fell flat, not even able to crack $15 million. I won’t officially say audiences don’t care about Willis anymore, but that’s kind of what it feels like.
Next week sees the release of A WRINKLE IN TIME. Although this has a high concept and a diverse, A-list cast, I’m getting too much of a TOMORROWLAND vibe from the film and I think it’s going to struggle next weekend. It should do well enough to take second place, but I can’t see it beating BLACK PANTHER. We also get the horror sequel THE STRANGERS: PREY AT NIGHT, which could end up surprising everyone because there are currently no horror films in the top ten. That said, I feel like the marketing for the film has been light. Note: the numbers below will be updated as they become final.
1. Black Panther $62.2m
2. Red Sparrow $17.4m
3. Death Wish $12m
4. Game Night $10.5m
5. Peter Rabbit $9.1m
6. Annihilation $5.4m
7. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle $4.2m
8. Fifty Shades Freed $3.4m
9. The Greatest Showman $2.5m
10. Early Day $1.5m
(Deadline)
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