‘Equalizer 2’ edges ‘Mama Mia’ sequel
In the battle of two very different sequels at the box office this weekend, Denzel Washington’s action pic “The Equalizer 2” narrowly won out over the ABBA jukebox musical “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.”
Studios estimated Sunday that the R-rated Washington movie grossed $35.8 million from North American theaters over the weekend.
It is Washington’s first sequel and the biggest opening of director Antoine Fuqua’s career. The first “Equalizer,” from 2014, opened similarly and went on to earn more than $190 million worldwide.
Second place went to Universal Pictures’ “Mamma Mia 2,” which took in $34.4 million, a sum that was driven by an audience that was 83 percent female and 64 percent older than 25.
The movie brought back much of the original cast, such as Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried and Pierce Brosnan, and added Cher, Andy Garcia and Lily James to the mix.
Critics overall gave the sequel better marks than the first, which still went on to gross more than $600 million worldwide 10 years ago.
The weekend also was a rare showdown of two star-driven movies that succeeded in targeting two different audiences.
Sequels powered the top six spots at the domestic box office this weekend and eight out of the top 10 overall.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Final domestic figures will be released today. 1. $35.8 “The million Equalizer 2”: 2. “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again”: $34.4 million 3. “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation”: $23.2 million 4. “Ant-Man and the Wasp”: $16.1 million 5. “Incredibles 2”: $11.5 million 6. “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”: $11 million 7. “Skyscraper”: $11 million 8. “The First Purge”: $5 million 9. “Unfriended: Dark Web”: $3.5 million 10. “Sorry to Bother You”: $2.8 million