Weekend Actuals: ‘Dunkirk’ Storms the Beaches w/ $50.5M Opening, ‘Wonder Woman’ Becomes Highest Grosser of the Summer

Monday Update: Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk came in at a confirmed $50.5 million, Universal’s Girls Trip in second place at $31.2 million, and EuropaCorp’s Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets started in fifth place with $17.0 million. Wonder Woman finally became the highest-grossing film of the summer, almost two months after release.

The full table of weekend actuals is at bottom, after our Sunday update which featured more number and analysis.


Sunday Update: Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk “shored up” a first place debut with $50.5 million this weekend, as parent company Warner Bros. crossed the $1 billion mark domestically. Wonder Woman finally became the highest-grossing film of the summer, almost two months after release.

Meanwhile, Universal’s Girls Trip with $30.3 million broke this summer’s streak of three straight underperforming R-rated comedies. And EuropaCorp’s Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets took fifth place with $17.0 million.

Dunkirk captured first place on a weekend during the summer, a very rare feat for a drama. The ensemble film was helped by its terrific word of mouth, including a 92 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, an “A-” average CinemaScore, and currently ranking #1 on Awards Wire’s early Best Picture projections.

Compared to other non-Batman films from Nolan, Dunkirk opened 19 percent below Inception and about on par with Interstellar. (6 percent higher in pure dollars, a fraction of a percent lower when adjusted for ticket price inflation.) Marketing heavily publicized Nolan as the director, more so than even any of the Oscar nominated actors including Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance, and Kenneth Branagh.

Dunkirk opened higher than any other WWII drama from the past decade, including more than double the openings for Hacksaw RidgeAlliedFury, and The Monuments Men. It also opened higher than other recent modern military thrillers including Lone Survivor and Captain Phillips, though behind American Sniper. Among WWII dramas, when adjusted for ticket price inflation, Dunkirk did start 45 percent behind Pearl Harbor and 12 percent behind Saving Private Ryan.

“We were hoping to do between 35 and 40. If we could get 42 or 43 would be an overachievement,” Warner Bros. President of Domestic Distribution Jeff Goldstein tells Boxoffice in an interview. “To hit 50 on a film that takes place on an unknown beach in France? That’s a huge reach.”

Goldstein also notes that with the summer season winding down and lesser competition ahead, Dunkirk is poised to keep earning, potentially for as much as two months. “We’re feeling pretty cocky!” Goldstein laughs. “As you saw with Wonder Woman, when you have an unusual and interesting IP, audiences reward it with strong holds. Releasing in late July, you can hold for many weeks, right through September.”

The film’s success helps Warner Bros. pass the $1 billion mark this weekend, the third studio to achieve the feat this year after Disney and Universal. Warner has now reached that mark for 17 consecutive years, a longer active streak than any other studio.

[Read our standalone story on Dunkirk‘s overseas grosses here.]

Universal’s Girls Trip came in on the higher end of  expectations with a $30.3 million debut.

The R-rated comedy starring four middle-aged women may not have sounded like an instant recipe for success, especially given the genre’s track record this summer. The HouseRough Night, and Snatched were all R-rated comedies that underperformed at the box office. Yet Trip came in at more than triple the openings of The House or Rough Night, despite lacking ostensibly bigger names like Will Ferrell, Amy Poehler, and Scarlett Johansson.

“Funny is funny. People like laughing. When it feels like the market is being underserved, for a variety of reason, there’s a pent-up energy to see something,” Universal’s President of Domestic Distribution Nick Carpou tells Boxoffice in an interview. “That could be true in any genre, really. Interestingly, it’s taken this far into the summer for a comedy to actually resonate.”

Carpou notes that Universal has had success in this format before. “For female-empowered comedies, Bridesmaids, Pitch Perfect, Sisters, Trainwreck — we have a way with that. The characters are highly relatable.”

EuropaCorp’s science-fiction Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets came in a fifth place debut at $17.0 million. Its audience skewed male and young: 63 percent male and and 40 percent under age 24.

While that opening weekend gross was about in line with pre-release expectations, it’s bad news relative to the film’s estimated $150 million budget. Valerian will have to look to great overseas grosses to make up for a domestic total that at this rate may not surpass $40 million.

However, overseas success is hardly a sure bet for a non-sequel with a relatively small built-in for the original graphic novel. Otherwise, it may befall the same fate as The Mummy or King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, two other films this summer which relied on an overseas-heavy strategy that failed to pan out as much as hoped.

Warner Bros.’ Wonder Woman officially became the highest-grossing film of the summer on its eighth weekend of release, almost two months after it was first released. With a $4.6 million gross in ninth place this weekend , the film has now earned$389.0 million total to date.

That overtakes Disney’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 with $387.2 million to date as the highest grosser of the summer. Despite opening lower than other summer titles including Guardians and Spider-Man: HomecomingWonder never fell further than 43 percent in a single weekend — a remarkable streak of low declines for the traditionally front-loaded superhero genre.

Wonder Woman is also the second-highest grosser of the year so far behind Beauty and the Beast. (Although upcoming releases Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Justice League are both strong contenders to overtake Wonder Woman by the end of the year.)

Overseas Update:

Dunkirk led the global weekend, with $55.4 million overseas and $105.9 million globally. It earned first place in every major market, including $12.2 million in the U.K,  $10.3 million in South Korea, and $4.9 million in France. However, it may be a bit surprising that it fall outside the top 100 openings of all time in the U.K., considering its ensemble cast is almost entirely British.

Elsewhere… Despicable Me 3 earned $47.5 million overseas and $60.2 million globally, Spider-Man: Homecoming earned $33.2 million overseas and $55.2 million globally, and War for the Planet of the Apes earned $17.2 million overseas and $37.6 million globally.


Weekend Actuals for Friday, July 21 – Sunday, July 23, 2017:

WIDE (1000+)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Dunkirk $50,513,488 3,720 $13,579 $50,513,488 1 Warner Bros.
2 Girls Trip $31,201,920 2,591 $12,042 $31,201,920 1 Universal
3 Spider-Man: Homecoming $22,150,085 -50% 4,130 -218 $5,363 $251,851,666 3 Sony / Columbia
4 War for the Planet of the Apes $20,884,223 -63% 4,100 78 $5,094 $98,235,137 2 Fox
5 Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets $17,007,624 3,553 $4,787 $17,007,624 1 EuropaCorp/STXfilms
6 Despicable Me 3 $13,012,050 -33% 3,525 -630 $3,691 $213,620,275 4 Universal
7 Baby Driver $6,070,912 -30% 2,503 -540 $2,425 $84,304,851 4 Sony / TriStar
8 The Big Sick $5,008,143 -34% 2,597 0 $1,928 $24,547,521 5 Lionsgate
9 Wonder Woman $4,608,028 -32% 1,971 -773 $2,338 $389,011,307 8 Warner Bros.
10 Wish Upon $2,475,013 -55% 2,154 -96 $1,149 $10,519,278 2 Broad Green Pictures
11 Cars 3 $1,918,697 -38% 1,294 -755 $1,483 $144,013,262 6 Disney
12 Transformers: The Last Knight $1,169,678 -59% 1,025 -1298 $1,141 $127,606,483 5 Paramount

LIMITED (100 — 999)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Captain Underpants $461,114 39% 291 14 $1,585 $71,865,351 8 Fox / DreamWorks Animation
2 47 Meters Down $447,820 -61% 449 -583 $997 $42,272,275 6 Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures
3 The House (2017) $430,021 -75% 453 -1180 $949 $24,456,269 4 Warner Bros. / New Line
4 Maudie $391,064 59% 233 134 $1,678 $4,065,731 6 Sony Pictures Classics
5 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 $364,450 -28% 268 -131 $1,360 $387,259,952 12 Disney
6 The Beguiled $257,555 -72% 331 -395 $778 $10,160,989 5 Focus Features
7 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales $247,547 -50% 229 -219 $1,081 $170,617,747 9 Disney
8 The Mummy $217,260 -40% 214 -187 $1,015 $79,401,065 7 Universal
9 The Little Hours $170,496 -42% 114 9 $1,496 $979,603 4 Gunpowder & Sky
10 The Hero $144,745 -55% 191 -124 $758 $3,704,546 7 The Orchard
11 The Boss Baby $137,293 -2% 163 -7 $842 $174,456,979 17 Fox / DreamWorks Animation
12 Jagga Jasoos $118,425 -76% 107 -103 $1,107 $789,653 2 UTV Communications
13 Beatriz at Dinner $116,819 -48% 116 -89 $1,007 $6,708,662 7 Roadside Attractions
14 Baywatch $80,098 -40% 125 -31 $641 $58,009,442 9 Paramount
15 Alien: Covenant $67,502 -16% 103 -1 $655 $74,084,353 10 Fox

PLATFORM (1 — 99)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 A Ghost Story $137,384 1% 43 23 $3,195 $476,424 3 A24
2 Lady Macbeth $125,367 94% 40 35 $3,134 $221,647 2 Roadside Attractions
3 Munna Michael $64,949 75 $866 $64,949 1 Eros Entertainment
4 Lost in Paris $58,346 -27% 43 3 $1,357 $239,022 6 Oscilloscope Laboratories
5 Paris Can Wait $56,919 -62% 66 -111 $862 $5,451,705 11 Sony Pictures Classics
6 Landline $52,555 4 $13,139 $52,555 1 Magnolia Pictures
7 Megan Leavey $42,621 -59% 87 -75 $490 $12,819,036 7 Bleeker Street
8 Everything, Everything $41,733 -45% 90 -41 $464 $34,091,886 10 Warner Bros.
9 The Women’s Balcony $34,475 -29% 24 2 $1,436 $978,247 21 Menemsha Films
10 All Eyez On Me $30,038 -79% 62 -133 $484 $44,824,998 6 Lionsgate / Summit
11 Rough Night $24,168 -74% 63 -60 $384 $21,865,491 6 Sony
12 The Midwife $21,341 3 $7,114 $21,341 1 Music Box Films
13 City of Ghosts $20,981 -10% 18 7 $1,166 $75,866 3 IFC Films / Amazon
14 The Exception $19,861 -68% 28 -16 $709 $651,903 8 A24
15 Gifted $17,246 -21% 26 -9 $663 $24,734,949 16 Fox Searchlight
16 It Comes At Night $16,980 -41% 33 -24 $515 $13,815,874 7 A24
17 The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography $16,636 -10% 25 10 $665 $94,955 4 Neon
18 The Journey $16,358 15% 13 -13 $1,258 $135,637 6 IFC Films
19 Smurfs: The Lost Village $15,930 -34% 38 -11 $419 $44,986,234 16 Sony / Columbia
20 Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul $14,615 -33% 47 -21 $311 $20,678,250 10 20th Century Fox
21 Marie Curie: The Courage of Knowledge $14,118 -4% 11 2 $1,283 $95,430 4 Society Films
22 Love, Kennedy $12,391 -38% 15 2 $826 $305,724 8 Purdie Distribution
23 My Cousin Rachel $12,122 16% 21 -1 $577 $2,695,082 7 Fox Searchlight
24 Letters from Baghdad $11,950 -41% 13 -6 $919 $277,708 8 Vitagraph Films
25 13 Minutes $11,555 14% 19 10 $608 $74,111 4 Sony Pictures Classics
26 Snatched $8,966 -35% 21 -11 $427 $45,843,009 11 Fox
27 Slack Bay $6,164 294% 4 2 $1,541 $68,323 14 Kino Lorber Films
28 The Fencer $5,572 2 $2,786 $5,572 1 CFI Releasing
29 Pop Aye $4,082 -21% 4 -1 $1,021 $39,808 4 Kino Lorber
30 Dawson City: Frozen Time $4,029 5% 4 -1 $1,007 $82,898 7 Kino Lorber Films
31 Churchill $3,684 -64% 7 -6 $526 $1,255,014 8 Cohen Media Group
32 The Wedding Plan $3,559 -11% 7 -2 $508 $1,404,929 11 Roadside Attractions
33 False Confessions $3,269 -56% 3 1 $1,090 $19,669 2 Big World Pictures
34 Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan $2,932 31% 3 -1 $977 $139,558 9 Abramorama
35 Our Time Will Come $2,840 -86% 3 -13 $947 $111,584 3 China Lion
36 Il Boom $2,741 2 $1,371 $39,197 6 Rialto Pictures
37 The Untamed $2,718 1 $2,718 $2,718 1 Strand Releasing
38 Band Aid $2,663 142% 10 5 $266 $242,401 8 IFC Films
39 The Pulitzer at 100 $2,577 1 $2,577 $2,577 1 First Run Features
40 The Girl Without Hands $2,523 1 $2,523 $2,523 1 GKIDS
41 La Chinoise (2017 re-issue) $2,340 1 $2,340 $2,340 1 Kino Lorber
42 Stalker $2,179 -34% 1 -1 $2,179 $240,290 12 Janus
43 L’Important C’est D’Aimer (2017 re-release) $2,073 -61% 1 0 $2,073 $11,355 2 Rialto Pictures
44 Obit. $1,821 45% 2 -2 $911 $308,586 13 Kino Lorber
45 Manifesto $1,818 -59% 3 0 $606 $153,151 11 FilmRise
46 The Bad Batch $1,525 -3% 3 -2 $508 $180,851 5 Neon
47 Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary $1,485 -14% 2 0 $743 $390,460 15 Abramorama
48 Hidden Figures $1,340 -73% 5 -12 $268 $169,373,983 31 Fox
49 KEDi $1,111 -74% 5 0 $222 $2,792,243 24 Oscilloscope Laboratories
50 Abacus: Small Enough to Jail $1,019 -30% 2 0 $510 $108,451 10 PBS Distribution
51 The Ornithologist $944 -70% 2 -3 $472 $42,955 5 Strand Releasing
52 Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer $890 -77% 8 -8 $111 $3,813,245 15 Sony Pictures Classics
53 The Wrong Light $868 -84% 1 0 $868 $7,553 2 Cinema Guild
54 Food Evolution $798 1 $798 $15,310 5 Abramorama
55 My Journey Through French Cinema $551 -82% 3 0 $184 $46,436 5 Cohen Media Group
56 Santoalla $489 1 $489 $1,206 1 Oscilloscope Laboratories
57 Hare Krishna! $458 -93% 2 -2 $229 $61,270 6 Abramorama
58 Leon Morin, Priest (2017 re-release) $446 1 $446 $42,670 11 Rialto Pictures
59 Le Trou $384 -78% 1 0 $384 $24,546 4 Rialto Pictures
60 Hermia & Helena $332 -81% 3 0 $111 $38,913 9 Kino Lorber
61 Like Crazy $227 103% 1 0 $227 $106,774 12 Strand Releasing
62 A Woman’s Life $86 -24% 2 0 $43 $37,298 12 Kino Lorber Films

Studio Weekend Estimates for Friday, July 21 – Sunday, July 23, 2017:

WIDE (1000+)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Dunkirk $50,500,000 3,720 $13,575 $50,500,000 1 Warner Bros.
2 Girls Trip $30,370,720 2,591 $11,722 $30,370,720 1 Universal
3 Spider-Man: Homecoming $22,000,000 -50% 4,130 -218 $5,327 $251,701,581 3 Sony / Columbia
4 War for the Planet of the Apes $20,400,000 -64% 4,100 78 $4,976 $97,750,914 2 Fox
5 Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets $17,020,000 3,553 $4,790 $17,020,000 1 EuropaCorp/STXfilms
6 Despicable Me 3 $12,714,475 -34% 3,525 -630 $3,607 $213,322,700 4 Universal
7 Baby Driver $6,000,000 -31% 2,503 -540 $2,397 $84,233,939 4 Sony / TriStar
8 The Big Sick $5,000,000 -34% 2,597 0 $1,925 $24,539,378 5 Lionsgate
9 Wonder Woman $4,630,000 -32% 1,971 -773 $2,349 $389,033,279 8 Warner Bros.
10 Wish Upon $2,477,816 -55% 2,154 -96 $1,150 $10,522,081 2 Broad Green Pictures
11 Cars 3 $1,927,000 -38% 1,294 -755 $1,489 $144,021,565 6 Disney
12 Transformers: The Last Knight $1,125,000 -60% 1,025 -1298 $1,098 $127,561,805 5 Paramount

LIMITED (100 — 999)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 47 Meters Down $440,000 -61% 449 -583 $980 $42,264,455 6 Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures
2 Maudie $390,198 58% 233 134 $1,675 $4,064,865 6 Sony Pictures Classics
3 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 $357,000 -30% 268 -131 $1,332 $387,252,502 12 Disney
4 Captain Underpants $355,000 7% 291 14 $1,220 $71,759,237 8 Fox / DreamWorks Animation
5 The Beguiled $251,600 -73% 331 -395 $760 $10,155,034 5 Focus Features
6 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales $250,000 -50% 229 -219 $1,092 $170,620,200 9 Disney
7 The Mummy $196,820 -46% 214 -187 $920 $79,380,625 7 Universal
8 The Little Hours $162,530 -44% 114 9 $1,426 $971,637 4 Gunpowder & Sky
9 The Hero $145,214 -55% 191 -124 $760 $3,705,015 7 The Orchard
10 Beatriz at Dinner $114,342 -49% 116 -89 $986 $6,706,185 7 Roadside Attractions
11 Baywatch $78,000 -42% 125 -31 $624 $58,007,344 9 Paramount

PLATFORM (1 — 99)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 A Ghost Story $141,438 4% 43 23 $3,289 $480,478 3 A24
2 Lady Macbeth $123,140 91% 40 35 $3,079 $219,420 2 Roadside Attractions
3 Lost in Paris $61,500 -23% 42 +2 $1,464 $242,176 6 Oscilloscope Laboratories
4 Paris Can Wait $53,784 -64% 66 -111 $815 $5,448,570 11 Sony Pictures Classics
5 Landline $52,336 4 $13,084 $52,336 1 Magnolia Pictures
6 Megan Leavey $41,049 -60% 87 -75 $472 $12,817,464 7 Bleeker Street
7 All Eyez On Me $30,800 -79% 62 -133 $497 $44,825,760 6 Lionsgate / Summit
8 The Midwife $20,250 3 $6,750 $20,250 1 Music Box Films
9 City of Ghosts $18,216 -21% 18 7 $1,012 $73,101 3 IFC Films / Amazon
10 Marie Curie: The Courage of Knowledge $16,341 11% 11 2 $1,486 $97,653 4 Society Films
11 The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography $16,265 -12% 25 10 $651 $94,584 4 Neon
12 13 Minutes $11,984 18% 19 10 $631 $74,540 4 Sony Pictures Classics
13 Love, Kennedy $11,796 -41% 14 1 $843 $305,129 8 Purdie Distribution
14 The Fencer $5,400 2 $2,700 $5,400 1 CFI Releasing
15 Churchill $4,150 -60% 8 -5 $519 $1,255,480 8 Cohen Media Group
16 False Confessions $3,828 -48% 3 1 $1,276 $20,228 2 Big World Pictures
17 Manifesto $1,800 -59% 3 0 $600 $153,133 11 FilmRise
18 The Bad Batch $1,735 10% 3 -2 $578 $181,061 5 Neon
19 My Journey Through French Cinema $594 -80% 3 0 $198 $46,365 5 Cohen Media Group

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