Weekend Box Office: The Darker Knight Rises

Three new movies took the stage over this President’s Day weekend, yet none of them managed to steal the spotlight. In fact, none of them even came close.

The latest Lego and ‘Fifty Shades’ movies were able to retain their respective #1 and #2 ranks. One of the new releases came close to whipping ‘Fifty Shades’ into submission, but failed to outgross it. Another debuted in the middle of the Top 10, while the third barely made it onto the charts.

The Lego Batman Movie‘ kept its seat at the top of the box office by only slipping 38% during its second outing, which gave it a solid $33 million over the three-day weekend. Over the four-day holiday, it drew $42.5 million, putting its domestic 11-day total up to $107 million. The spinoff’s international box office reached $72.1 million, handing ‘Lego Batman’ a worldwide total of $179.1 million. Not a bad couple of weeks for the $80 million kids’ movie, right?

Although ‘Fifty Shades Darker‘ opened well below ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ last week, it only fell 56% over its second week. In comparison, ‘Grey’ dropped a whopping 74% in its second week. The three-day weekend drew $20.3 million and the four-day total reached $23.2 million. The sequel’s domestic 11-day total stands at $91.9 million, which is still down from the $121.9 million ten-day total for the first ‘Grey’. Internationally, it has made $187.2 million so far, putting its worldwide total at $279.1 million. Even though the numbers are trending down from the first installment, ‘Darker’ was produced on a budget of $55 million and is already wildly profitable for the studio.

The first of the weekend’s newcomers finished in third place. ‘The Great Wall‘ scored $18.4 million over the three-day weekend and $21.6 million over the four days. Considering the movie’s $150 million price tag, those low numbers would be staggering. However, the Chinese film already made $244.6 million overseas. Much like 2013’s ‘Pacific Rim’, it looks like foreign sales will make ‘The Great Wall’ bankable without much (if any) help from U.S. moviegoers.

‘The Great Wall’ bumped ‘John Wick: Chapter Two‘ out of its #3 spot and into fourth place. It fell 48% over the three-day weekend and added $16.1 million to its haul. Over the four days, it made $19.1 million altogether, putting its 11-day total at $61.2 million, which is already higher than the $43 million domestic gross that the first ‘John Wick’ earned in 2014. The sequel’s international total is up to $31.8 million, nearing the $45.7 million earned overseas by the first. Worldwide, ‘Chapter Two’ has collected $93 million to date, while the first only made $88.7 million in total.

The no-so-funny R-rated comedy ‘Fist Fight‘ rounded out the Top 5 with $12.2 million over the three-day weekend and $14.5 million over the four days. It pulled another $1.5 million from an undisclosed number of international markets. Budgeted at $16 million, it’s unlikely to churn a profit while in theaters.

Gore Verbinski’s latest horror effort came in at the bottom of the three-day Top 10 and didn’t even make it into the four-day Top 10 at all. ‘A Cure for Wellness‘ grossed just $4.3 million over three days and $5 million over four days. The overlong $40 million thriller pulled $4.5 million from an undisclosed number of international markets, but will need to play stronger as it expands if it’s going to be profitable. Considering the movie’s very European feel, that’s still a possibility.

Three-Day Top 10:

1. ‘The Lego Batman Movie’ (Warner Bros.) – $33,040,00

2. ‘Fifty Shades Darker’ (Universal) – $20,352,800

3. ‘The Great Wall’ (Universal) – $18,475,685

4. ‘John Wick: Chapter Two’ (Summit) – $16,180,000

5. ‘Fist Fight’ (Warner Bros.) – $12,200,000

6. ‘Hidden Figures’ (Fox) – $7,250,000

7. ‘Split’ (Universal) – $7,171,325

8. ‘A Dog’s Purpose’ (Universal) – $5,698,580

9. ‘La La Land’ (Summit) – $4,580,000

10. ‘A Cure for Wellness’ (Fox) – $4,350,000

Four-Day Top 10:

1. ‘The Lego Batman Movie’ (Warner Bros.) – $42,500,000

2. ‘Fifty Shades Darker’ (Universal) – $23,268,290

3. ‘The Great Wall’ (Universal) – $21,651,060

4. ‘John Wick: Chapter Two’ (Summit) – $19,100,000

5. ‘Fist Fight’ (Warner Bros.) – $14,515,000

6. ‘Hidden Figures’ (Fox) – $8,700,000

7. ‘Split’ (Universal) – $8,344,925

8. ‘A Dog’s Purpose’ (Universal) – $7,426,580

9. ‘La La Land’ (Summit) – $5,400,000

10. ‘Lion’ (Weinstein) – $5,173,000

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