Studio Weekend Estimates: ‘Get Out’ Stays Put w/ $30.5M; ‘LEGO Batman’ Takes Second w/ $19.0M; ‘Rock Dog’ Doesn’t Rock w/ $3.7M; ‘Collide’ Posts Among Worst Wide Openings of All Time w/ $1.5M

“Get out” is exactly what audiences did this weekend, leaving the house and heading out to their local movie theater to see Universal and Blumhouse’s horror film Get Out. The title opened in first place at the box office with an estimated $30.5 million. With a roughly $5 million budget, the film could already be an early frontrunner for one of the most profitable releases of the entire year.

The satirical horror movie, starring Daniel Kaluuya and Allison Williams as an interracial couple who experience hauntings when visiting her parents’ house, had steadily improved in Boxoffice’s pre-release tracking over the past two months. The film was helped by its effective marketing campaign and stunningly positive reviews, including a 100 percent rating as of this writing on Rotten Tomatoes. (By comparison, the projected frontrunner for tonight’s Best Picture Oscar is La La Land with a “mere” 93 percent.)

Get Out opened 23.7 percent behind the $40.0 million opening of Universal’s most recent horror release, last month’s Split — although that represented one of the best non-sequel horror openings in years. Written and directed by Jordan Peele of comedy duo Key & Peele, Get Out also opened with more than triple the opening — and even more than the entire cumulative total — of Peele’s previous film, last year’s comedy Keanu.

Another factor helping the film was that Get Out sales actually improved from Friday to Saturday, unlike most horror films in Hollywood’s front-loaded genre where Friday comprises a higher share of the genre’s weekend sales. The film started with an estimated $10.9 million on Friday (including $1.8 million from Thursday night previews), then experienced an increase by an estimated 16.5 percent on Saturday to $12.7 million, and is projected to fall 46.5 percent on Sunday to $6.9 million. This places the film’s opening weekend to Friday ratio at an estimated 2.79 to 1, a higher than expected number and positive sign for the film going forward into coming weeks.

The audience was 39 percent African-American, 49 percent under age 25, and an even 50-50 gender split.

After two weekends on top, Warner Bros.’ The LEGO Batman Movie fell to second place, with an estimated 41.8 percent decline to $19.0 million. The film has now experienced larger second- and third-weekend percentage drops than 2014’s The LEGO Movie did. Its $113.0 million total through three weekends stands 27.3 percent behind its predecessor’s $183.0 million through the same point.

The rest of the top five were holdovers. Lionsgate’s John Wick: Chapter 2 actually rose up a spot from fourth to third place, with an estimated 44.5 percent decline to $9.0 million. The film’s $74.4 million total stands 72.9 percent above the final $43.0 million total of John Wick. Universal’s The Great Wall fell an estimated 52.8 percent to $8.7 million and fourth place. And Universal’s Fifty Shades Darker tumbled an estimated 62.0 percent to $7.7 million. Its $103.6 million through three weekends stands 29.6 percent below the $147.3 million that Fifty Shades of Grey earned through the same point.

The other two new wide releases both stalled at the box office, with studio weekend estimates projecting that neither will even crack the top 10 upon their debuts.

Lionsgate/Summit’s animated Rock Dog opened with an estimated $3.7 million and 11th place, one of the lowest wide openings for an animated film in the past few years. However, it did start 10.6 percent above the $3.3 million opening for Lionsgate’s previous animated film The Wild Life in September.

Rock Dog began with an estimated $902 thousand on Friday, improved an estimated 85.8 percent on Saturday to $1.6 million, and is projected to decline 33.0 percent on Sunday to $1.1 million. This places the film’s opening weekend to Friday ratio at 4.10 to 1, which would usually be considered an impressive ratio if the actual numbers here weren’t so low.

Open Road Films’ Collide began with $1.5 million despite playing in 2,045 theaters. Adjusted for inflation, that’s the sixth-lowest opening of all time for a film in at least 2,000 theaters. Also adjusted for inflation, its $753 per-screen average is the seventh-lowest of all time for a film in at least 2,000 theaters.

The top 10 films this weekend earned a cumulative estimated $99.6 million. That’s 22.6 percent behind the $128.8 million earned by the top 10 films last weekend. It’s also 17.7 percent behind the $121.1 million earned by the top 10 films on this weekend last year, when Deadpool led for the second straight weekend with $56.4 million.

Limited Releases:

A24’s Moonlight improved 41.6 percent to $765 thousand, likely in anticipation of its Oscar odds this weekend. Fox Searchlight’s A United Kingdom expanded into more theaters and took in $548 thousand. And GKids’ My Life as a Zucchini, nominated for Best Animated Feature, claimed the top per-screen average with an estimated $28 thousand on two screens for a $14,103 per-screen average.

Overseas Update:

Although it’s practically gone from American theaters, Sony’s Resident Evil: The Final Chapter earned a monster $97.0 million estimated overseas weekend, led almost entirely by a $94.3 million smash debut in China. Playing in 51 markets, the film catapulted from its $7 million overseas weekend last frame. Although this appears certain to end up as the lowest-grossing of the six Resident Evil films domestically with $26.5 million so far and grosses slowing to a trickle, this weekend actually propels it to become the highest-grossing installment overseas with $212 million. (Proof if one ever needed it of Hollywood’s overseas focus and especially on China during the past few years, as the studio would still consider The Final Chapter a financial success despite its poor American showing.)

Other solid overseas weekends include:

  • Fifty Shades Darker with $19.8 million (down 54.7 percent) in 59 markets, for a $224.7 million overseas and $328.1 million global total.
  • Split with $17.3 million (up 94.4 percent) in 57 markets, for a $90.4 million overseas and $221.2 million global total.
  • The Great Wall with $14.6 million (down 23.2 percent) in 46 markets, for a $265.6 million overseas and $300.0 million global total.
  • La La Land with $14.4 million (down 55.4 percent) in 76 markets, for a $228.1 million overseas and $369.0 million global total.
  • John Wick: Chapter 2 with $13.1 million (down 17.3 percent) in 79 markets, for a $51.1 million overseas and $125.5 million global total.
  • The LEGO Batman Movie with $12.9 million (down 40.0 percent) in 62 markets, for a $93.0 million overseas and $226.0 million global total.
  • Sing with $12.5 million (down 33.9 percent) in 50 markets, for a $282.8 million overseas and $550.4 million global total.

Studio Weekend Estimates for Friday, February 24 – Sunday, February 26, 2017:

WIDE (1000+)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Get Out $30,500,000 2,781 $10,967 $30,500,000 1 Universal
2 The LEGO Batman Movie $19,000,000 -42% 4,057 -31 $4,683 $133,006,578 3 Warner Bros.
3 John Wick: Chapter 2 $9,000,000 -45% 2,954 -159 $3,047 $74,412,700 3 Lionsgate / Summit
4 The Great Wall $8,700,000 -53% 3,328 3 $2,614 $34,405,640 2 Universal
5 Fifty Shades Darker $7,700,000 -62% 3,216 -498 $2,394 $103,635,215 3 Universal
6 Fist Fight $6,380,000 -48% 3,185 0 $2,003 $23,254,827 2 Warner Bros. / New Line
7 Hidden Figures $5,875,000 -19% 2,022 -195 $2,906 $152,815,804 10 Fox
8 La La Land $4,600,000 0% 1,733 146 $2,654 $140,860,065 12 Lionsgate / Summit
9 Split $4,100,000 -43% 1,901 -544 $2,157 $130,824,895 6 Universal
10 Lion $3,807,000 -9% 1,802 260 $2,113 $42,815,337 14 Weinstein Company
11 Rock Dog $3,700,000 2,077 $1,781 $3,700,000 1 Summit Premiere
12 A Dog’s Purpose $3,600,000 -37% 2,089 -311 $1,723 $57,608,605 5 Universal
13 Collide $1,539,590 2,045 $753 $1,539,590 1 Open Road
14 A Cure for Wellness $1,375,000 -68% 2,704 0 $509 $7,470,250 2 Fox

LIMITED (100 — 999)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Moana $840,000 -21% 378 -46 $2,222 $246,039,922 14 Disney
2 Moonlight (2016) $765,908 42% 585 130 $1,309 $22,286,232 19 A24
3 Fences $755,000 -10% 597 37 $1,265 $56,531,288 11 Paramount
4 Rings (2017) $680,000 -71% 719 -841 $946 $27,289,474 4 Paramount
5 A United Kingdom $548,000 105% 148 103 $3,703 $1,027,500 3 Fox Searchlight
6 Manchester By the Sea $487,500 -7% 442 49 $1,103 $46,862,978 15 Roadside / Amazon
7 Sing (2016) $461,460 -38% 391 -170 $1,180 $267,634,450 10 Universal
8 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story $442,000 -44% 284 -151 $1,556 $529,462,544 11 Disney
9 Everybody Loves Somebody $410,000 -56% 333 0 $1,231 $1,676,952 2 Lionsgate / Pantelion
10 Passengers $241,000 -39% 287 -371 $840 $98,950,408 10 Sony / Columbia
11 Arrival $215,000 -29% 443 114 $485 $100,305,463 16 Paramount
12 Bitter Harvest $207,235 127 $1,632 $207,235 1 Roadside Attractions
13 The Founder $166,000 -60% 161 -92 $1,031 $12,331,775 6 Weinstein Company
14 Toni Erdmann $140,417 -30% 112 10 $1,254 $1,182,589 10 Sony Pictures Classics
15 xXx: The Return of Xander Cage $140,000 -68% 180 -255 $778 $44,647,054 6 Paramount
16 Why Him? $135,000 86% 368 245 $367 $59,530,638 10 Fox
17 The Red Turtle $120,437 87% 115 79 $1,047 $595,540 6 Sony Pictures Classics
18 Patriots Day $107,000 -62% 157 -100 $682 $31,683,784 10 CBS Films / Lionsgate
19 Monster Trucks $105,000 -45% 150 -80 $700 $32,799,758 7 Paramount
20 Jackie $105,000 -32% 112 -18 $938 $13,713,943 13 Fox Searchlight
21 Elle (2016) $89,082 69% 147 104 $606 $2,231,287 16 Sony Pictures Classics
22 Doctor Strange $81,000 -35% 105 -31 $771 $232,526,026 17 Disney

PLATFORM (1 — 99)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 The Salesman $170,122 -52% 97 3 $1,754 $1,423,910 5 Cohen Media Group
2 KEDi $115,250 44% 13 6 $8,865 $303,048 3 Oscilloscope Laboratories
3 Paterson $87,072 -44% 55 -9 $1,583 $1,705,271 9 Bleecker Street
4 Hacksaw Ridge $75,000 -46% 60 -27 $1,250 $66,954,882 17 Lionsgate
5 20th Century Women $67,072 -51% 64 -51 $1,048 $5,452,891 9 A24
6 Sleepless $57,241 -68% 82 -70 $698 $20,670,497 7 Open Road
7 Julieta $42,052 -21% 33 2 $1,274 $1,338,635 10 Sony Pictures Classics
8 Un Padre No Tan Padre $34,000 -26% 52 16 $654 $2,102,067 5 Lionsgate / Pantelion Films.
9 My Life As A Zucchini $28,206 2 $14,103 $28,206 1 GKIDS
10 Neruda $27,684 -40% 27 -17 $1,025 $728,031 11 The Orchard
11 The Eagle Huntress $15,223 -38% 22 -6 $692 $3,058,865 17 Sony Pictures Classics
12 Land of Mine $15,167 10% 8 3 $1,896 $68,254 3 Sony Pictures Classics
13 The Comedian $10,509 -62% 30 -11 $350 $1,648,418 4 Sony Pictures Classics
14 Mr. Gaga: A True Story of Love and Dance $5,929 -30% 2 -1 $2,965 $111,900 4 Abramorama
15 Chapter & Verse $3,022 1 $3,022 $73,970 4 Paladin
16 Saving Banksy $1,300 2 $650 $44,540 7 Parade Deck Films