Surprise victor at the box office
Film about 1942 battle upsets ‘Doctor Sleep,’ a followup to horror classic ‘The Shining.’
In upset, the WWII film “Midway” tops “Doctor Sleep,” a sequel to the horror film “The Shining.”
In an upset, Lionsgate’s “Midway” topped Warner Bros.’ “Doctor Sleep” at the box office, opening at No. 1 with $17.5 million, according to estimates from measurement firm Comscore.
Even though the film outdid expectations, it is the lowest debut for a new release to hit No. 1 this year. For a fourth straight weekend, the box office was down compared to a year ago, falling 28% short of the same period in 2018, when “The Grinch” opened with $67.6 million. The year-todate total stands at $9.5 billion, 5.5% below last year.
Directed by Roland Emmerich, “Midway” chronicles the 1942 Battle of Midway, which took place six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor and marked an early victory for the allied forces in World War II.
The $100-million movie, timed to coincide with Veterans Day on Monday, was originally pegged to earn about $13 million. It is one of the most expensive independent pictures ever made and stars Patrick Wilson, Woody Harrelson, Ed Skrein and Nick Jonas.
It earned an A CinemaScore from audiences but a 40% “rotten” rating on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.
In second place, “Doctor Sleep” disappointed with a $14.1-million opening, well under analyst projections of $25 million to $30 million.
A sequel to Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 horror classic “The Shining,” the $50-million film follows an adult Dan Torrance (Ewan McGregor) as he mentors a young girl (newcomer Kyleigh Curran) who exhibits the same “shine” he did as a kid. The movie is based on the 2013 Stephen King novel of the same name. It was well received, with a B-plus CinemaScore and a 73% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The film joins Warner Bros.’ previous flops this year including “The Sun Is Also a Star,” “Shaft,” “The Kitchen,” “Blinded by the Light,” “The Goldfinch” and “Motherless Brooklyn.”
At No. 3, Paramount’s “Playing With Fire” opened with $12.8 million, above projections of $7 million to $10 million. The $30-million film stars John Cena, KeeganMichael Key, John Leguizamo and Tyler Mane as firefighters turned babysitters. It got a mixed reception, with a B-plus CinemaScore and a 24% “rotten” rating on
Rotten Tomatoes.
In fourth place, Universal’s “Last Christmas” opened on the low end of analyst projections with $11.6 million. The romantic comedy stars Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding in a story inspired by the Wham! holiday song of the same name.
The $30-million movie was directed by Paul Feig. Emma Thompson cowrote the script and appearse in the picture. It was poorly received, with a B-minus CinemaScore and a 50% “rotten” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Rounding out the top five, Paramount’s “Terminator: Dark Fate” added $10.8 million.
At No. 6, Warner Bros.’ “Joker” added $9.2 million. It is now the most profitable comic book movie of all time. In seventh place, Disney’s “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” added $8 million. At No. 8, Focus Features’ “Harriet” added $7.2 million. In ninth place, Sony’s “Zombieland: Double Tap” added $4.3 million. Rounding out the top 10, United Artists Releasing’s “The Addams Family” added $4.2 million.
Fox Searchlight’s “Jojo Rabbit” expanded to more than 800 locations, landing just outside the top 10 with $3.9 million, and bringing its domestic cumulative to $9.1 million.