Hanks’ Inferno gets burned by Perry’s Madea
Tom Hanks. Tom Cruise. Ben Affleck. None of them have been a match for Tyler Perry’s Madea.
In a surprise victory at the weekend box office, Perry’s Boo! A Madea Halloween toppled another A-lister as Hanks’ and Ron Howard’s latest Dan Brown adaption, Inferno, went up in flames. Perry’s latest movie about the tough-talking grandmother remained No. 1 for the second straight week with an estimated $16.7 million. That was enough to scare away the third instalment of the Da Vinci Code franchise. According to studio estimates Sunday, Inferno bombed with $15 million (U.S.), about half of what more bullish predictions anticipated.
In three weeks of international release, the Italy-set film has earned nearly $150 million.
“Inferno joins the long list of sequels that didn’t measure up to their predecessors this year and in particular this summer when only three of the 14 sequels released outperformed their immediate predecessors at the box office,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore.
Perry’s long-running character has fared much better, at least in North America. The Halloween-themed Boo, released by Lionsgate, has made $52 million in 10 days, making it Perry’s biggest hit since 2009’s Madea Goes to Jail.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to comScore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday. 1. Tyler Perry’s Boo! A Madea Halloween, $16.7 million (U.S.). 2. Inferno, $15 million. 3. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, $9.6 million. 4. The Accountant, $8.5 million. 5. Ouija: Origin of Evil, $7.1 million. 6. The Girl on the Train, $4.3 million. 7. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, $4 million. 8. Keeping Up With the Joneses,$ 3.4 million. 9. Storks, $2.8 million. 10. Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, $2.1 million.