Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Bodyguard No. 1 in dismal field
The credits have rolled on Hollywood’s worst summer in a decade, closing out with a dismal Labor Day weekend that was the first in a generation without a big, new movie opening in wide release.
The summer drew a little more than $3.8 billion in sales, the first time the season’s tally has dipped below the $4 billion mark since 2006, according to Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at researcher ComScore Inc. The holiday weekend generated about $99.5 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters from Friday through Monday, the least since 1998, according to Comscore data.
“Some comedies didn’t perform as expected and there were some great movies that didn’t resonate here, although they did better internationally,” Dergarabedian said Sunday. “All it takes are one or two movies to harm the bottom line in a profound way.”
The holdover picture The Hitman’s Bodyguard from Lionsgate led the box office for a third time, generating $10.5 million through Monday, according to ComScore.
The biggest film opening this weekend was a re-release of Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which opened in 901 theaters to celebrate the science fiction film’s 40th anniversary, according to ComScore. The film took in $2.2 million from Friday through Monday.
Among other returning films, Warner Bros.’ Annabelle: Creation returned to place second with $7.5 million, according to Box Office Mojo. That puts it on track to be one of the few sequels this summer to beat its predecessor, according to Gitesh Pandya at Box Office Guru.
Weinstein’s drama Wind River leapfrogged over Leap!, swapping with the animated family film for the No. 3 spot after adding 507 theaters for a total of 2,602. The crime thriller, set on an American Indian reservation in Wyoming and starring Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen, earned $6.2 million through Monday. Written and directed by Taylor Sheridan (screenwriter of Sicario and Hell or High Water), the film earned a solid 86 percent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Leap!, also distributed by Weinstein, brought in $4.8 through Monday for a cumulative total of $13 million after 10 days in theaters. The film, about an orphan girl who dreams of becoming a dancer in Paris, features the voices of Elle Fanning, Kate McKinnon and pop singer Carly Rae Jepsen and was met with mixed reviews, earning an A-rating on CinemaScore but only a 35 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Rounding out the top five was Bleecker Street and Fingerprint Releasing’s action comedy Logan Lucky, directed by Steven Soderbergh, which made $4.4 million through Monday for a total of $22.5 million. Starring Channing Tatum and Adam Driver as brothers who try to pull off a heist during a NASCAR race.
In limited release, Lionsgate opened Hazlo Como Hombre (Do It Like an Hombre) in 382 locations earning $1.4 million through Monday.