The Meg takes big bite out of box office
Adding to Hollywood’s sizzling summer, shark thriller The Meg opened well above expectations with an estimated $44.5 million (U.S.) in ticket sales, while Spike Lee had his best debut in a decade.
The Meg had been forecast by some analysts for closer to half that total. An AmericanChinese co-production between Warner Bros. and Gravity Pictures, it also debuted well overseas, taking in $50.3 million in China, according to studio estimates Sunday. With an international cast led by Jason Statham and featuring Li Bingbing, Rainn Wilson and Winston Chao, The Meg cost at least $130 million to make.
Lee’s critically acclaimed BlacKkKlansman also opened strongly with $10.8 million in 1,512 theatres. The Focus Features release starring John David Washington was timed to the anniversary of the violent clashes between white nationalists and counterprotesters in Charlottesville, Va.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to comScore: 1. The Meg, $44.5 million 2. Mission: Impossible — Fallout, $20 million 3. Christopher Robin, $12.4 million 4. Slender Man, $11.3 million 5. BlacKkKlansman, $10.8 million 6. The Spy Who Dumped Me, $6.6 million 7. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, $5.8 million 8. The Equalizer 2, $5.5 million 9. Hotel Transylvania 3, $5.1 million 10. Ant-Man and the Wasp, $4 million