Many critics have touted the latest M. Night Shyamalan thriller as his return to greatness. Looking at its opening weekend numbers, the box office also tells that story. Meanwhile, Vin Diesel’s latest action flick, the McDonald’s origin story, and a faith-based drama didn’t quite stick their landings.
Estimated to debut in the low- to mid-$20 million range, Shyamalan’s ‘Split‘ managed to whip up an impressive $40.1 million and a #1 finish. That’s a huge win for both Shyamalan and producing partner Jason Blum. An exact budget hasn’t been revealed, but the thriller is said to have cost less than $10 million. With $5.8 million in ticket sales from 20 overseas markets, the film’s $45.9 million worldwide opening has already put it in the black. Expect to see Shyamalan and Blum to continue partnering for some time.
Almost 15 years ago, Vin Diesel turned down the first ‘Fast & Furious’ sequel to do ‘xXx‘, an over-the-top extreme sports action movie that opened to $44.5 million. Three years later, he passed on the sequel (Ice Cube starred in it instead), which opened to $12.7 million. Now, with Diesel back in the driver’s seat, ‘xXx: Return of Xander Cage‘ has debuted in the lower end of the middle ground. The $85 million film opened in second place with $20 million. Although that number is just $1 million behind expectations, that’s still low for a title trying to piggyback on the lucrative ‘Fast & Furious’ brand. Luckily for Paramount, the international audience is eating it up. The movie grossed $50.5 million overseas, giving it a $70.5 million worldwide kickoff.
After two weeks in the top spot, ‘Hidden Figures‘ was bumped into third place – but that doesn’t mean it has stopped moving forward. Only down 22% from last weekend, the drama pulled in another $16.2 million, putting its domestic total at $84.2 million. Made for a $25 million budget, anything it earns domestically from here on out is pure profit.
Universal and Illumination’s ‘Sing‘ is also keeping up a great pace. After five weeks, the animated musical has only now fallen into fourth place. Down 37% from last weekend, it made another $9 million this weekend, bringing its domestic total to $249.3 million. With $178.6 million internationally, this $75 million picture has now hit $427.9 million worldwide.
Rounding out the Top 5 was ‘La La Land‘, one of the few Top 10 films to fall more than 40% in attendance this weekend. With a 43% week-over-week dip, the Best Picture front-runner added $8.3 million to its run, which now stands at $89.6 million. Overseas, it has collected $83.7 million. That brings its worldwide total to $173.3 million. This $30 million musical is unstoppable.
The Weinstein Company’s $7 million McDonald’s drama ‘The Founder‘ failed to find moviegoers during its wide release. From more than 1,100 screens, its $3.7 million was just enough to put it in ninth place.
High Top Releasing’s faith-based family film ‘The Resurrection of Gavin Stone‘ flopped hard. With a $1.3 million debut, it landed well outside the Top 10. Playing on 887 screens, its per-screen average was just $1,530.
Top 10:
1. ‘Split’ (Universal) – $40,190,000
2. ‘xXx: Return of Xander Cage’ (Paramount) – $20,000,000
3. ‘Hidden Figures’ (Fox) – $16,250,000
4. ‘Sing’ (Universal) – $9,036,530
5. ‘La La Land’ (Lionsgate) – $8,350,000
6. ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ (Buena Vista) – $7,036,000
7. ‘Monster Trucks’ (Paramount) – $7,000,000
8. ‘Patriots Day’ (Lionsgate) – $6,000,000
9. ‘The Founder’ (Weinstein) – $3,758,000
10. ‘Sleepless’ (Open Road) – $3,706,000
