Weekend box office: Pacific Rim Uprising dethrones Black Panther but still doesn’t impress

Brad Sturdivant March 25th, 2018

So PACIFIC RIM UPRISING is the film that finally knocks BLACK PANTHER out of the top spot at the weekend box office, but it did so with such a disappointing number that it’s hard to give it too much credit. However, the original PACIFIC RIM has such a loyal fanbase now that it’s easy to forget the original only opened with $37 million, so ten million less for the PACIFIC RIM UPRISING (click the link to read our review), although not great, isn’t terrible. Still, this should be a warning shot to studios that want to make sequels to movies that find life on home video; stay loyal to the original or risk losing the fans that made it successful in the first place. There were a couple of other movies opening this week, none of which did very well. SHERLOCK GNOMES was hoping to attract the kid audience since there are no other animated films in theaters right now, but it’s tracking for a $10 million opening. PAUL, APOSTLE OF CHRIST had the Christian audience in mind, but the Christians were still showing up to I CAN ONLY IMAGINE.

Barring in major surprises, next week should belong to READY PLAYER ONE. The hugely popular novel is getting the Steven Spielberg treatment and early word says the film is fantastic and not just of the massive nostalgia trip. It has been a long time since Spielberg has made a fantastic film, so I’m hoping he gets back to his roots with this one. There are a couple of other films opening that could also do well, including TYLER PERRY’S ACRIMONY with Taraji P. Henson and GOD’S NOT DEAD: A LIGHT IN DARKNESS. Note: the numbers below will be updated as they become final.

1. Pacific Rim Uprising $26.2m

2. Black Panther $16.6m

3. I Can Only Imagine $13.7m

4. Sherlock Gnomes $10.3m

5. Tomb Raider $10m

6. A Wrinkle in Time $8.1m

7. Love, Simon $7.9m

8. Paul, Apostle of Christ $4.9m

9. Midnight Sun $4.2m

10. Game Night $6m

(Deadline)