Saturday Update: Tom Cruise and director Doug Liman claimed the top box office spot on Friday as American Made earned an estimated $6.067 million in its debut, including Thursday night grosses. That comes in 5 percent ahead of American Assassin‘s $5.8 million first day two weeks ago, as well as 9 percent ahead of War Dogs ($5.55 million), while being 31 percent behind Jack Reacher: Never Go Back ($8.85 million), and 45 percent behind The Accountant ($10.965 million). The mid-budget film continues to earn strong reviews and positive audience reception, likely leading to a leggy run for the film. The studio projects a $16.375 million opening weekend, while we’re staying a bit more conservative for now with a $16.0 million projection.
Meanwhile, IT registered another $4.93 million yesterday, bringing its domestic tally up to a stellar $278.8 million. Kingsman: The Golden Circle added $4.85 million in a nearby third place, giving it $66.1 million through eight days of play. Fox projects a $16.375 million for the latter sequel, however, Boxoffice currently projects the race for the top three spots this weekend is too cluttered to definitively project who will win the weekend. Our tentative expectation is a $16.2 million frame for IT and $16.1 million for Golden Circle.
The LEGO Ninjago Movie slid 53 percent from opening day last week to $2.7 million yesterday as it continues to underperform. With $26.26 million in the bank through eight days, its sophomore frame looks to claim around $11.9 million.
Flatliners opened to a lukewarm $2.15 million yesterday, with no Thursday shows to account for. Sony is currently projecting a weekend between $5.7 million and $6 million, as are we.
Just outside the top five, Battle of the Sexes expanded to 1,213 locations this weekend and earned $1.1 million on Friday for a $3.95 million domestic running cume. This weekend looks to tally around $3.3 million.
Meanwhile, moderate openers ‘Til Death Do Us Part ($507K) and A Question of Faith ($370,000) look to be hovering around the bottom/slightly outside the weekend top ten with respective projections of $1.3 million and $1.0 million for their openings. (Studio Correction: A Question of Faith has earned $400K thus far, including $30K from a special preview screening on Wednesday.)
Early weekend estimates are below. Updated studio estimates will follow on Sunday.
| # | TITLE | WEEKEND | LOCATIONS | AVG. | TOTAL | WKS. | DIST. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | It (2017) | $16,200,000 | -46% | 3,917 | -90 | $4,136 | $290,072,790 | 4 | Warner Bros. / New Line |
| 2 | Kingsman: The Golden Circle | $16,100,000 | -59% | 4,038 | 35 | $3,987 | $65,801,588 | 2 | Fox |
| 3 | American Made | $16,000,000 | — | 3,024 | — | $5,291 | $16,000,000 | 1 | Universal |
| 4 | The LEGO Ninjago Movie | $11,900,000 | -42% | 4,047 | 0 | $2,940 | $35,456,065 | 2 | Warner Bros. |
| 5 | Flatliners | $5,700,000 | — | 2,552 | — | $2,234 | $5,700,000 | 1 | Sony Pictures |
| 6 | Battle of the Sexes | $3,300,000 | 540% | 1,213 | 1192 | $2,721 | $3,973,158 | 2 | Fox Searchlight |
| 7 | American Assassin | $3,200,000 | -49% | 3,020 | -134 | $1,060 | $31,748,581 | 3 | CBS Films / Lionsgate |
| 8 | Home Again | $1,700,000 | -47% | 2,370 | -315 | $717 | $25,125,565 | 4 | Open Road |
| 9 | mother! | $1,400,000 | -57% | 1,840 | -528 | $761 | $16,260,846 | 3 | Paramount |
| 10 | Friend Request | $725,000 | -64% | 2,081 | -492 | $348 | $3,407,958 | 2 | Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures |
| 11 | The Hitman’s Bodyguard | $685,000 | -57% | 1,119 | -918 | $612 | $74,630,128 | 7 | Lionsgate / Summit |
| # | TITLE | WEEKEND | LOCATIONS | AVG. | TOTAL | WKS. | DIST. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ‘Til Death Do Us Part | $1,300,000 | — | 562 | — | $2,313 | $1,300,000 | 1 | Novus Content |
| 2 | A Question Of Faith | $1,000,000 | — | 661 | — | $1,513 | $1,000,000 | 1 | Pure Flix Entertainment |
| 3 | Stronger | $840,000 | -48% | 645 | 71 | $1,302 | $3,082,077 | 2 | Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions |
| 4 | Judwaa 2 | $585,000 | — | 192 | — | $3,047 | $585,000 | 1 | FIP |
| 5 | Spider-Man: Homecoming | $560,000 | -47% | 679 | -327 | $825 | $332,678,317 | 13 | Sony / Columbia |
| 6 | Brad’s Status | $360,000 | -62% | 453 | 0 | $795 | $1,725,544 | 3 | Amazon Studios / Annapurna Pictures |
| 7 | Despicable Me 3 | $340,000 | -33% | 419 | -120 | $811 | $262,245,360 | 14 | Universal |
| 8 | Dunkirk | $295,000 | -49% | 401 | -277 | $736 | $186,845,949 | 11 | Warner Bros. |
| 9 | War for the Planet of the Apes | $132,000 | -50% | 204 | -102 | $647 | $146,449,659 | 12 | Fox |
| 10 | The Glass Castle | $55,000 | -52% | 136 | -83 | $404 | $17,152,194 | 8 | LionsgateLionsgate |
| # | TITLE | WEEKEND | LOCATIONS | AVG. | TOTAL | WKS. | DIST. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Victoria & Abdul | $770,000 | 385% | 77 | 73 | $10,000 | $990,345 | 2 | Focus Features |
| 2 | Cars 3 | $50,000 | -35% | 88 | -26 | $568 | $152,472,133 | 16 | Disney |
| 3 | The Big Sick | $40,000 | -62% | 81 | -41 | $494 | $42,783,469 | 15 | Lionsgate |
| 4 | Hazlo Como Hombre | $33,000 | -38% | 68 | 18 | $485 | $2,518,525 | 5 | Lionsgate / Pantelion |
| 5 | Because Of Grácia | $1,400 | — | 7 | — | $200 | $1,400 | 3 | ArtAffects Entertainment |
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Friday Report: Tom Cruise and Doug Liman’s American Made debuted to an estimated $960,000 from opening night shows at 2,455 locations last night. By comparison, that’s slightly ahead of the $920,000 earned by American Assassin two weeks ago, but markedly below the $2.2 million of last fall’s The Accountant and Cruise’s own Jack Reacher: Never Go Back ($1.33 million). War Dogs‘ $1.25 million is also worth mentioning as a comparison, although that film opened in August last year before summer vacations were coming to an end.
Meanwhile, Sony’s Flatliners remake did not screen Thursday night shows for the very reason of school being back in as they target the teen crowd with a PG-13 rating. For the weekend, it’s looking more and more likely that Kingsman: The Golden Circle and IT will retain the top two spots at the box office, although Friday business will hopefully paint a clearer picture of how close the openers can come to those key holdovers.
Official Friday estimates from the studios alongside early weekend estimates will be published here tomorrow. Follow Boxoffice on Twitter for updates.
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