A big surprise at the box office
“Mamma Mia!” sequel was projected to debut at No. 1. “Equalizer 2” had other ideas.
Sequels dominated the box office over the weekend, with every film in the top five (and eight out of the top 10) a continuation of an established franchise.
In a surprising upset, Sony’s “The Equalizer 2” beat out Universal’s “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” for the top spot, opening with $35.8 million in the U.S. and Canada, according to figures from measurement firm ComScore.
“It’s surprise No. 1 for us,” said Adrian Smith, head of domestic distribution at Sony. “All the industry predictors had us in second place. But the film totally delivered.”
Friday box office analysts projected that the PG 13rated sequel to 2008’s “Mamma Mia!” would be tops over the R-rated thriller. Though both opened bigger than their predecessors, “Equalizer 2” continued to grow past the $25 million to $30 million that analysts had expected.
A follow-up to 2014’s “The Equalizer,” the film stars Denzel Washington in his first sequel as a retired special ops agent who doles out violent justice as he sees fit. It’s a big box office comeback for Washington, whose most recent picture, “Roman J. Israel, Esq.,” earned him an Oscar nomination but was one of his lowest-grossing movies.
The original “Equalizer,” based on a 1980s TV show starring Edward Woodward, opened with $34.1 million domestically before going on to gross $101.4 million in North America. The latest entry earned mixed reviews from audiences and critics, with an A rating on CinemaScore and a 51% “rotten” rating on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.
“Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” debuted in second place with $34.4 million. The $75-million movie matched analysts’ predictions of $30 million to $35 million.
Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried and Pierce Brosnan return for the ABBA-centric musical starring Lily James (“Cinderella”) as the younger version of Streep’s character and Cher as her mother. Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard and Dominic Cooper (“Preacher”) also star.
The original “Mamma Mia!” opened with $27 million before going on to gross $144 million in North America and $600 million globally, with 76% of its ticket sales coming from international sales. “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” earned an Aminus rating on CinemaScore and a 79% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In third place, Sony’s animated “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation,” now in its second weekend, added $23.1 million in ticket sales.
Disney’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp” came in at No. 4, adding $16.1 million.
Rounding out the top five, the studio’s “Incredibles 2,” added $11.5 million.
Also new, BH Tilt’s “Unfriended: Dark Web” earned $3.5 million. The sequel to 2015’s $1-million supernatural thriller “Dark Web” follows in the style of the original by taking place on a character’s computer screen.
The movie came in below analysts’ predictions of $6 million to $8 million and well below the $16-million debut of the original, which went on to earn an impressive $64 million globally.
“Dark Web” earned negative reviews from both audiences and critics, with a C rating on CinemaScore and a 57% “rotten” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In limited release, Annapurna Pictures’ “Sorry to Bother You,” added $2.8 million and 245 locations.
sonaiya.kelley@latimes.com Twitter: @sonaiyak