Kingsman sequel a soft No. 1
LOS ANGELES — “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” and “The Lego Ninjago Movie” underwhelmed critics. The masses seemed to agree.
“The Golden Circle,” a sequel to the quirky 2015 action comedy “Kingsman: The Secret Service,” collected about $39 million (all figures US) at 4,003 theatres in North America — a No. 1 total for 20th Century Fox, which noted that turnout was especially strong in Canada.
Still, most box office analysts had expected a bit more for a heavily marketed film that cost $104 million to produce. Sequels should ideally retain fans from the first film and add new ones, substantially expanding overall ticket sales. “The Secret Service” took in $36.2 million over its first three days in 2015, according to comScore.
The upshot: “The Golden Circle” did fine, but the “Kingsman” series does not appear to have the makings of a blockbuster domestic franchise. The second chapter also received weaker reviews, with critics complaining about an overstuffed plot and a nearly 2 ½-hour running time.
Second place for the weekend went to “It” (Warner Bros.), which collected about $30 million, for an astounding three-week domestic total of $266.3 million.
“This movie has turned into the definition of a zeitgeist hit,” said Jeff Goldstein, Warner’s president of domestic distribution.
The worldwide total for “It” now stands at $478 million and is now the highest-grossing horror film of all time, not accounting for inflation.
But Warner stumbled with “The Lego Ninjago Movie,” which was in third place with $21.2 million in ticket sales — sharply less than box office analysts had predicted going into the weekend.
The animated “Ninjago,” based on a ninja-themed line of toys, is part of a Lego-based “cinematic universe” that Warner has called a business pillar, with additional original instalments and sequels exploring different genres planned for the next decade.