You’re all in this together
M. Night Shyamalan’s thriller is the weekend champ again. ‘Rings’ takes second place.
The audience is integral to “Every Brilliant Thing” with its deep themes and frolicsome ways.
For the third weekend in a row, Universal’s “Split” landed in the No. 1 box-office spot, beating out new releases — Paramount’s “Rings,” STX Entertainment's “The Space Between Us” and Sony’s “The Comedian.” In fact, holdovers dominated on a relatively slow Super Bowl weekend.
“Split,” starring James McAvoy as a kidnapper with multiple personalities, added an estimated $14.6 million in the U.S. and Canada this past weekend for a domestic total of $98.7 million. The film from M. Night Shyamalan has pulled in $44 million internationally for a worldwide total of $142.7 million.
Landing in second place was newcomer “Rings,” with $13 million. It met analyst projections of $10 million to $15 million. Internationally, the picture brought in $15.2 million for a worldwide gross of $28.2 million to date.
“Rings,” about a video that kills people who watch it, is a reboot of a 15-year-old franchise and stars Matilda Lutz, Alex Roe and Johnny Galecki. The 2002 original, “The Ring,” was a highly profitable blockbuster for DreamWorks Pictures ($250 million in worldwide ticket sales) and launched a frenzy of efforts to remake Japanese fright-fests for American audiences. Its 2005 sequel, “The Ring Two,” opened with $35 million domestically. This means that the $25-million Paramount reboot has launched poorly, comparatively.
Perhaps because of the recent string of horror movies that have been successful at the box office, audiences (54% female, 67% under 25) didn’t take to the picture. It received a C-minus CinemaScore.
Universal’s “A Dog’s Purpose” took third, with $10.8 million in its second week. The film, at the center of a controversy regarding the treatment of its animal actors, has grossed $32.9 million domestically. It’s slowly on its way to a $50-million worldwide total.
Fox’s “Hidden Figures,” starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae, took fourth with $10.1 million. The film, about the black female mathematicians and engineers who helped put the first Americans in space, has been a hit with critics as well as moviegoers. On the heels of its surprising Screen Actors Guild Award win last week for best ensemble, the picture continues to be a box-office magnet in its seventh weekend with $119.4 million domestically.
In the weekend’s fifth spot is another awards-season favorite, Lionsgate’s “La La Land” with $7.5 million. In its ninth week, the musical — with a record-tying 14 Oscar nominations, including nods for its stars, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling — has brought in $118.3 million.
As for the other new releases, the sci-fi romance “The Space Between Us” landed in ninth in its first week. It brought in just $3.8 million, well below analyst expectations of a soft $10million debut. “Space” follows the birth of the first human born on Mars, played by Asa Butterfield.
Despite the film’s poor performance, moviegoers (69% female, 33% under 18) who did see the picture enjoyed it, giving it an A-minus CinemaScore. Still, the film is an overall disappointment after being produced for $30 million. (STX’s’ share was less than $3.7 million after foreign licensing, tax credits and co-financing.)
Sony’s “The Comedian” didn’t perform well, either. The comedy, starring Robert De Niro, Leslie Mann and Danny DeVito, did $1.1 million in ticket sales.