Saturday Update: Universal reports this morning that Fifty Shades Freed opened to $18.5 million domestically on Friday, including Thursday night’s $5.6 million haul. That comes in an expected 14 percent behind the $21.45 million opening day of Fifty Shades Darker on this same weekend last year, setting the trilogy finale’s weekend up for a strong first place showing with an estimated $39 million in North America.
Universal also reports that the Fifty Shades franchise officially crossed the $1 billion global mark on Friday thanks to Freed‘s strong worldwide debut. The third film in the series has earned $50.7 million internationally through Friday, with the studio projecting an overall $100 million overseas weekend.
Also coming in strong on Friday was the first day of Peter Rabbit. The live action family film brought in $5.725 million, comping well with the first day of 2015’s first Paddington film ($4.65 million). Boasting an all-star cast and minimal competition for families with young kids in the weeks ahead, Peter Rabbit is poised to enjoy a leggy run at the box office following what is projected to be a $22 million North American opening weekend.
The 15:17 to Paris debuted with $3.73 million on Friday, a modest start compared to director Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper but still generally in line with pre-release expectations. Since the film lacked any Thursday night shows, straight-line comparisons are few at this point, but an early base line could be United 93 as it opened to a $3.7 million first day back in April 2006. Weekend projections for Paris currently stand around $12.9 million.
Meanwhile, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and The Greatest Showman continued to hold up extraordinarily well despite facing new competition this weekend. The former of the two added $2.205 million on Friday (down just 23 percent from last week) for an updated domestic cume of $358 million as it looks toward another $10 million weekend. The latter — Showman — posted $1.6 million in fifth place (off just 30 percent despite facing the Fifty Shades fan rush), giving it an impressive $141.7 million and a likely weekend around $6.2 million based on Fox’s own projections.
Early weekend estimates are below, to be followed by updated studio estimates on Sunday.
| # | TITLE | WEEKEND | LOCATIONS | AVG. | TOTAL | WKS. | DIST. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fifty Shades Freed | $39,000,000 | — | 3,768 | — | $10,350 | $39,000,000 | 1 | Universal |
| 2 | Peter Rabbit | $22,000,000 | — | 3,725 | — | $5,906 | $22,000,000 | 1 | Sony / Columbia |
| 3 | The 15:17 to Paris | $12,900,000 | — | 3,042 | — | $4,241 | $12,900,000 | 1 | Warner Bros. |
| 4 | Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle | $10,000,000 | -9% | 3,136 | -216 | $3,189 | $365,831,871 | 8 | Sony / Columbia |
| 5 | The Greatest Showman | $6,200,000 | -19% | 2,373 | -215 | $2,613 | $146,335,870 | 8 | Fox |
| 6 | Maze Runner: The Death Cure | $5,500,000 | -47% | 2,923 | -870 | $1,882 | $48,518,129 | 3 | Fox |
| 7 | Winchester | $4,500,000 | -52% | 2,480 | 0 | $1,815 | $16,627,358 | 2 | Lionsgate / CBS Films |
| 8 | The Post | $3,300,000 | -37% | 1,865 | -597 | $1,769 | $72,636,520 | 8 | 20th Century Fox |
| 9 | Den of Thieves | $2,900,000 | -36% | 1,468 | -644 | $1,975 | $40,971,323 | 4 | STX Entertainment |
| 10 | The Shape of Water | $2,800,000 | -37% | 1,780 | -561 | $1,573 | $49,565,691 | 11 | Fox Searchlight |
| 11 | Hostiles | $2,700,000 | -47% | 2,214 | -720 | $1,220 | $25,897,468 | 8 | Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures |
| 12 | 12 Strong | $2,600,000 | -45% | 1,901 | -1017 | $1,368 | $41,870,179 | 4 | Warner Bros. |
| 13 | Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri | $2,000,000 | -34% | 1,273 | -453 | $1,571 | $45,144,806 | 18 | Fox Searchlight |
| 14 | Darkest Hour | $1,500,000 | -37% | 1,045 | -441 | $1,435 | $51,380,092 | 12 | Focus Features |
| 15 | Paddington 2 | $1,100,000 | -66% | 1,429 | -959 | $770 | $38,332,364 | 5 | Warner Bros. |
| # | TITLE | WEEKEND | LOCATIONS | AVG. | TOTAL | WKS. | DIST. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Star Wars: The Last Jedi | $1,300,000 | -44% | 830 | -637 | $1,566 | $616,736,279 | 9 | Disney |
| 2 | La Boda de Valentina | $1,000,000 | — | 331 | — | $3,021 | $1,000,000 | 1 | Lionsgate / Pantelion |
| 3 | Coco | $800,000 | -54% | 833 | -803 | $960 | $206,086,341 | 12 | Disney |
| 4 | The Commuter | $570,000 | -66% | 590 | -904 | $966 | $35,535,864 | 5 | Lionsgate |
| 5 | Ferdinand | $390,000 | -42% | 387 | -188 | $1,008 | $81,987,553 | 9 | Fox |
| 6 | Wonder (2017) | $240,000 | 2% | 261 | 5 | $920 | $131,288,350 | 13 | Lionsgate |
| 7 | Thor: Ragnarok | $210,000 | -14% | 173 | -31 | $1,214 | $314,301,225 | 15 | Disney |
| 8 | Daddy’s Home 2 | $70,000 | -28% | 112 | -13 | $625 | $103,981,869 | 14 | Paramount |
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Friday Report: Fifty Shades Freed took in $5.6 million from last night’s opening shows, which began at 7pm in 3,150 locations, according to Universal. That’s only 2 percent below the $5.72 million earned by last year’s Fifty Shades Darker on the same pre-Valentine’s weekend. That film ended up taking in $21.45 million for Thursday night + Friday combined as part of an overall $46.6 million opening weekend.
While it stands to reason this third and final film in the trilogy could end up slightly more front-loaded — especially with many fans holding off viewing plans until Valentine’s Day on Wednesday — this start bodes well for the film to meet our pre-release expectations of a debut weekend close to $40 million or slightly above.
Meanwhile, no early opening shows were held for Warner Bros.’ The 15:17 to Paris or Sony’s Peter Rabbit. Targeting three very different audiences, it’s widely expected all three new releases will come in atop the weekend box office.
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