Weekend box office: Spider-Man swings past The Mule
With a handful of new releases, it was a busy time at the weekend box office. The animated SPIDER-MAN INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE is at the front of the pack, flirting with a $40 million opening. We knew that putting Spider-Man in anything was going to sell tickets, but it’s nice to see an original, fresh take on the superhero do well and get good reviews. In second place is Clint Eastwood’s THE MULE, which is coming close to $20 million. The Eastwood starring film is on pace to be his second highest opening ever (as an actor) behind SPACE COWBOYS. Unfortunately, it was not all good news as MORTAL ENGINES was the lone “flop” of the weekend. The expensive sci-fi film couldn’t find an audience and was barely able to crack the top five. I’m not sure who to blame for this one, but the trailers made the film look terrible. Finally, ONCE UPON A DEADPOOL rounded out the top ten. I don’t think anyone was expecting too much from the re-release, but at least it was able to generate some money for cancer research.
Next week is an insanely crowded weekend and I suspect there will be a brand new top five next weekend. First up is AQUAMAN. I’ve all but given up trying to predict how DC movies will fare at the box office. I think AQUAMAN looks unwatchable, but comic fans will still show up and if it turns out to be fun, it could have a successful run. Then there’s BUMBLEBEE, which critics are saying is the best Transformers movie yet and then quickly pointing out that that’s not saying much. To complete the trifecta, we have MARY POPPINS RETURNS, where the consensus seems to be it’s an average movie. It’s going to be a tight race at the top. Note: the numbers below will be updated as they become final.
1. Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse $36m
2. The Mule $17.8m
3. The Grinch $12.5m
4. Ralph Breaks the Internet $9.5m
5. Mortal Engines $7.5m
6. Creed II $5.1m
7. Bohemian Rhapsody $4.2m
8. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald $3.9m
9. Instant Family $3.7m
10. Once Upon a Deadpool $2.6m
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