Bodyguard endures in slow week
LOS ANGELES — Lionsgate’s R-rated buddy romp The Hitman’s Bodyguard, as predicted, topped the domestic box office for the second weekend in a row as Hollywood’s newest releases slumped into theaters, all three opening short of $6 million.
The film earned about $10.3 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters for a total of about $40 million.
The top 12 films took in $49.6 million in North America, according to comScore. To find a lower top-12 total, you have to go back to 2001, when the Sept. 11 attacks resulted in mid-September weekend ticket sales of about $43.5 million, according to data from Box Office Mojo. But even that total rises to $59.7 million after adjusting for inflation.
Maintaining the No. 2 spot was Warner Bros’ horror prequel Anabelle: Creation, which took in about $7.7 million in its third week for a total of $78.2 million.
The Weinstein Co. locked the third and fourth spots with the animated adventure Leap! and the thriller Wind River, respectively.
Leap! — about an orphan who dreams of becoming a dancer in Paris — debuted at $4.8 million, on par with predictions. It features the voices of Elle Fanning, Kate McKinnon and pop singer Carly Rae Jepsen. Leap! earned an A rating on CinemaScore yet only a 37 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The film is meant to kickstart a new line of business for Harvey and Bob Weinstein, who are launching an animated film label, Mizchief, to compete in the crowded family film market. Known for indie movies, the Weinstein Co. has distributed kidfriendly pictures in the past, including Paddington in 2015 and the live-action Spy Kids series that began in 2001.
Wind River, meanwhile, jumped 48 percent over last weekend, bringing in $4.6 million for a total of $10 million.
Rounding out the top 5 was Steven Soderbergh’s action comedy Logan Lucky, which brought in $4.2 million in its second weekend for a total of about $15 million.
Blumhouse Productions’ experimental label BH Tilt and WWE Studios’ martial arts origin story Birth of the Dragon debuted at No. 8, earning $2.7 million (but under the studio’s hopes of at least $3.25 million) across 1,618 locations. The film earned a B rating on CinemaScore and a 27 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Dragon grossed just $101,100 more than Saturday night’s Floyd Mayweather Jr. versus Conor McGregor boxing match. The event, distributed across 481 theaters by Fathom Events, brought in $2.4 million, good enough for 10th place.
Fellow newcomer All Saints, distributed by Columbia Pictures’ faith-based division Affirm Films, earned $1.5 million in just 846 theaters. Based on a true story, Saints got an 89 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In limited release, Beach Rats debuted in three sites, earning $45,000. The R-rated film stars newbie Harris Dickinson as a Brooklyn teen who seeks to escape the bleakness of his life.
This week, Columbia Pictures re-releases Close Encounters of the Third Kind, marking its 40th anniversary. The Weinstein Co. debuts the drama Tulip Fever, and in limited release is Film Arcade’s I Do … Until I Don’t.