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 Eli Roth's adaptation of the popular children's book picked up a
better-than-expected $26.8 million when it opened in 3,592
locations. The fantasy film, starring Jack Black and Cate
Blanchett, didn't face much competition. A number of holdovers
filled out the top five as a trio of new releases came in way
under expectations.
"The House With a Clock in Its Walls" topped "Hostel" as Roth's
biggest opening to date. The family-friendly film bowed with
$3.1 million overseas for a global start of $29.9 million. Imax
screens accounted for $2.5 million of its box office total.
Universal's head of domestic distribution Jim Orr said the
release date in a wide open market, along with the team of Roth,
Black, and Blanchett, helped bolster the film above earlier
projections.
"Obviously, we couldn't be more pleased," Orr said. "It's always
great to kick off your fall slate at No. 1."
Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 11/9," a satirical look at President
Donald Trump, fared the best among newcomers. The Briarcliff
Entertainment political documentary landed in eighth place,
coming in way under estimates with $3.1 million from 1,719
venues. Launching the film in over a thousand theaters might
have hurt its box office potential. Most specialized films start
small in a select amount of theaters before slowly expanding
nationwide as word of mouth builds.
It was a good summer for docs -- "RBG," "Won't You Be My
Neighbor," and "Three Identical Strangers" all hit double
digits, but they all had modest expansions. Dinesh D'Souza took
a similar route to Moore just a few months ago, opening "Death
of a Nation" on over 1,000 screens. The pro-Trump doc was the
worst showing for the right-wing conservative filmmaker, bowing
with $2.3 million and picking up just $5.8 million. It's a tough
time to be serving up even more Trump. Moore's 2004 film
"Fahrenheit 9/11" is still the highest grossing documentary
ever. It debuted with $23 million in North America and went on
to earn $22 million globally.
"Life Itself," a tear-jerker from "This Is Us" creator Dan
Fogelman, didn't even crack the top 10, pocketing just $2.1
million from 2,609 screens. That's cause for concern, especially
considering Amazon Studios paid $10 million for the star-studded
drama with Oscar Isaac, Olivia Wilde, Antonio Banderas, and
Annette Bening. It didn't help that the movie was savaged by bad
reviews ahead of its release. It currently holds a 13 percent
average on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, as well as a
B+ CinemaScore.
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Meanwhile, Neon's "Assassination Nation" scraped together a
disappointing $1 million in 1,403 locations. Sam Levinson wrote and
directed the edgy teen thriller.
Lionsgate's "A Simple Favor," the neo-noir mystery drama starring
Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, and Henry Golding, landed in second
place with $10.4 million in 3,102 locations in its second frame. To
date, it has earned $32 million. In third is Warner Bros.' "The Nun"
with $10.2 million, taking its domestic tally to $100 million.
Fox's "The Predator" dropped to No. 4 after leading the domestic box
office last weekend. The sci-fi thriller earned $8.6 million for a
domestic total of $40.3 million. Rounding out the top five is Warner
Bros.' "Crazy Rich Asians." The acclaimed romantic comedy earned
another $6.5 million, bringing its North American earnings to $159
million.
In limited release, Bleecker Street's "Colette" earned $156,788 when
it showed in four theaters. That translates to a solid $39,197 per
theater. The biographical drama with Keira Knightley and Dominic
West about the life of the French novelist who was forced to publish
her novels under her husband's name.
Annapurna's "The Sister Brothers," Jacques Audiard's western dark
comedy stars John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix, picked up $122,028
from four locations for a per-theater average of $30,507.
Even with the sleepy weekend, the domestic box office remains up 8.5
percent, according to comScore. However, the frame is down 21.8
percent compared to the same weekend last year when "Kingsman: The
Golden Circle" launched with $39 million.
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