411 Box Office Report: Crazy Rich Asians Barely Slips in Second Weekend For #1

Crazy Rich Asians was an unstoppable force in its second weekend at the box office to hold onto the top spot. The Jon M. Chu-directed romantic comedy brought in $25 million, down an incredible 6% from its first weekend, to lay claim to the #1 spot. That is the fourth lowest non-holiday weekend drop of all-time for a film in over 3,000 theaters, behind only Mother’s Day in April of 2016 (+33%), Shrek in May of 2001 (+0.4%) and October 2011’s Puss in Boots (-3%).

It can’t be emphasized enough that this is a stellar hold. Crazy Rich Asians was expected to hold on well, thanks to its critical acclaim, audience appreciation and buzz. But that hold was expected to be in the 30% to 34% drop range. Instead, the film crossed from big success into potential blockbuster range (for a rom-com, at least). Asians is up to $76.8 million domestically and $83.9 million worldwide, with just eighteen markets in play. That includes record starts for a romantic comedy in Singapore and Malaysia, the former of which is its setting. At this point, the movie should end up with at least $145 million, with much higher potentially on the menu. Obviously this is a big hit on a $30 million budget, with a sequel based on the second book in the series already in the works.

With a relative lack of competition for the action crowd, The Meg held on quite nicely in its third weekend. The shark action-thriller brought in $13 million, down 38%. Warner Bros. took a big risk with this long-in-development film, particularly when you consider the spendy $130 million budget. But that risk has paid off. As of now the movie has $105.3 million domestically and $408.6 million worldwide, with its Chinese co-production status meaning it reaps a higher percentage of the $143 million take in that country than it otherwise would have. The Meg has likely hit a profit margin at this point, and if it hasn’t yet it soon will. Domestically it looks likely to finish off with around $140 million to $145 million.

The success of Warner Bros.’ two films atop the box office was bad news for The Happytime Murders, which fell flat in its opening weekend. The R-rated Melissa McCarthy film scored just $10 million, well below the mid–to-high teens start that was expected. Going into the weekend, many expected the film to be competing with Crazy Rich Asians, but obviously that wasn’t even close. The film reps the lowest start for a Melissa McCarthy wide-release film to date, ducking under The Life of the Party’s $17.9 million start for that “honor.”

There are a lot of things which led to Happytime Murders’ failure. To start with, the film was always going to be a bit of a weird place. Matching puppets with R-rated sensibilities makes for a tough sell. Inserting raunchy content into a traditionally family-friendly format worked great for Sausage Party, but that film came into its opening weekend with a ton of positive buzz. Happytime Murders didn’t, as critics disliked it (23% average on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences didn’t help with poor word of mouth. The film’s C- CinemaScore is lousy, to say the least.

It’s also notable that The Meg and Crazy Rich Asians’ success sucked all the air out of the room for Happytime. The film was hoping to bring in the comedy crowd and the fandom-heavy crowd, both of which helped push Sausage Party to a $34.3 million start. But audiences instead went to the other options. There really isn’t anything positive to say here, as comedies like this rarely do well overseas. As of now, Happytime is looking at maybe $35 million domestically, a money loser for STX on a $40 million budget. It will almost surely be the worst domestic gross for a film toplined by McCarthy to date.

Meanwhile, Mission: Impossible – Fallout is still killing it, as it was down a low 26% in its fifth weekend with $8 million. The action film has now totaled $193.9 million domestically and $538.7 million worldwide. The latest film in the franchise is looking like it will finish with around $215 million domestically, making it the highest-grossing film in the Mission: Impossible series to date. The budget was $178 million.

Christopher Robin continues to fight its way to a profit margin as it slipped a mere 29% in its fourth weekend. The Disney movie nailed down $6.3 million, bringing its totals to $77.6 million domestically and $112.7 million worldwide. The film is still facing a bit of an uphill battle to profit on its $75 million production budget plus marketing, but it’s looking better and better for the film. It should be able to bring in $90 million to $95 million or so in the US.

Mark Wahlberg and Peter Berg’s Mile 22 wasn’t able to keep pace with its competition, as it fell harder this week with $6 million. That’s a second week drop of 56%, which would be okay for a film that opened much higher than this one did. As it stands, the action-thriller is STX’s other dud in the top ten along with Happytime Murders. Mile 22 now sits at $25.2 million domestically and $31.5 million worldwide on a $50 million budget. It doesn’t seem likely to make it above $40 million in the US, likely killing its chances at a franchise.

Studio 8’s Alpha held on somewhat better in its second weekend, but isn’t in better shape than Mile 22. The adventure drama brought in $5.6 million, down 46% from its opening weekend. The film is now sitting at $20.2 million domestically and $27.5 million worldwide. Those aren’t good numbers for a $51 million-budgeted film. The movie is a sure money loser and its domestic prospects top out at around $35 million to $40 million.

Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman held on nicely, down 28% in its third weekend with $5.3 million. The critically-acclaimed drama stands at $32 million domestically and $40.3 million worldwide, with a likely $50 million final take. On a $15 milliom budget, this one is making money for the Focus Features.

Sci-fi adventure film A.X.L. opened with a whisper. The Global Road Entertainment film was dead on arrival with $2.9 million, below even the very modest $5 million that it was expected to make. This one felt very much like a film dumped in a quieter release window, and critic consensus seems to agree with an ugly 23% on Rotten Tomatoes. Its one positive note is that audiences liked it with a B+ CinemaScore, but word of mouth won’t be able to help this one much considering how little was put into marketing it. With even a $10 million budget, profit seems unlikely here and a $10 million domestic gross would be an overperformance at this point.

Slender Man closed out the top ten with $2.8 million, stabilizing a bit with a 42% slip in its third weekend. The PG-13 horror film is up to $25.4 million domestically and $33.4 million worldwide. It seems likely to bring in around $30 million to $33 million domestically and its profit margin is so-so on a $10 million budget.

Crazy Rich Asians will rule for a third frame next weekend, with very little new opening against it. Historical drama Operation Finale is likely to open in the mid single figure range, while sci-fi flick Kin is targeting the same.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Crazy Rich Asians – $25 million ($76.8 million total)
2. The Meg – $13 million ($105.3 million total)
3. The Happytime Murders – $10 million ($10 million total)
4. Mission: Impossible – Fallout – $8 million ($193.9 million total)
5. Christopher Robin – $6.3 million ($77.6 million total)
6. Mile 22 – $6 million ($25.2 million total)
7. Alpha – $5.6 million ($20.2 million total)
8. BlacKkKlansman – $5.3 million ($32 million total)
9. A.X.L. – $2.9 million ($2.9 million total)
10. Slender Man – $2.8 million ($25.4 million total)