411 Box Office Report: Deadpool & Wolverine Sets More Records, Trap Opens At #3

Deadpool & Wolverine continued to break records in its second weekend atop the box office. The MCU debut of the Merc With a Mouth stayed at #1 with ease, bringing in $97 million. That’s a very good hold for the film, which was down just 54% despite a big overperformance last week. The second-weekend drop was better than those of Deapool (57%) or Deadpool 2 (65%) and better even than that of 2017’s Logan (57%).

In just two weekends, Deadpool & Wolverine has already surpassed The Passion of the Christ to become the highest domestic-grossing R-rated film of all time. It is the third-highest worldwide gross for such at $824.1 million, behind Oppenheimer’s $977 million and Joker’s $1.064 billion. Both of those films seem likely to fall to MCU film. And the $97 million smashed past It’s $60.1 million to become the highest second weekend for an R-rated film.

At this point, D&W is destined for an easy $1 billion-plus at the worldwide box office while domestically $500 million is pretty well assured. Depending on the holds, $550 million or more is still very possible. Obviously it’s a mega-hit for Disney, even against a $200 million budget.

Twisters held on strong in its third weekend as it dipped just 35% to $22.7 million. The disaster film continues to bring in the money with $195.6 million domestically and $274.4 million worldwide. It’s another feather in Glen Powell’s cap (not to mention that of legacy sequels). The film isn’t yet at a profit margin against a $155 million budget, but it’s well on the way and $250 million domestically seems entirely doable.

M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap performed well enough if not great, opening at #3 with $15.6 million. That’s within the range of where analysts saw it coming into the weekend, albeit somewhat at the low end. The Josh Hartnett-starring thriller about a serial killer trying to evade authorities at a pop concert landed around the openings for Shyamalan’s last two films Knock at the Cabin ($14.1 million) and Old ($16.9 million).

Trap benefitted from a pretty straight-forward concept that Warner Bros. marketed well around, which was able to attract people to the theater. Unfortunately, it also ended up with just a tiny a bit of brand confusion with Smile s, which also centers around a pop star and arrives later this year. That didn’t cause too much damage though, because again this was about where it was expected to open after reviews came in and were mediocre with a 47% RT aggregated critic score.

The word of mouth isn’t going to be great on this one, with a 63% RT audience score and a C+ CinemaScore. But that’s also typical for the notoriously divisive Shyamalan. Trap added $4.4 million overseas thus far for a $20 million worldwide start. It has a ways to go to make back its $30 million budget but has a solid shot at it, with a likely $40 million domestic total.

Despicable Me 4 slipped just 23% in its fourth weekend to tally $11.3 million. The animated sequel brought its totals to $314 million domestically and $752.2 million worldwide to date, a huge against a $100 million production budget. The film is now looking at around $335 million or more by the end of its stateside run, which would put it at or above the $336 million domestic take of the first Minions.

Inside Out 2 continues to push its totals higher as it was down just 22% in its eighth frame to $6.7 million. The Pixar sequel has a total of $626.9 million domestically and $1.555 billion worldwide. The film is now the 12th-highest domestic grossing film ever, having surpassed The Avengers over the weekend, and has a shot at passing Barbie’s $636.2 million for #11. The budget was $200 million.

Harold and the Purple Crayon was unable to compete with the animated juggernauts for the family audience as it opened with $6 million. That’s exactly where it was expected to start. The live action-CGI hybrid film based on the children’s book was pretty much DOA in the face of other options, little marketing and rough reviews. Critics didn’t like the film, which has a low 28% aggregated RT score, though audiences who did see it liked it with an A- CinemaScore and a 91% RT audience rating.

While the word of mouth will be helpful, this film is still going to end up unprofitable in theaters based on its $40 million budget. Sony didn’t really expect otherwise here though, and this is a film that will try to find its audience in home viewing. It added $3 million overseas for a $9 million worldwide take, and it should end its run around $15 million domestically.

Longlegs continued to shine as it was down 39% in its fourth weekend to $4.1 million. The Osgood Perkins horror film has thus far grossed $66.9 million domestically and $79 million worldwide, making it a very big money maker against a $10 million budget. The film is now looking like it will top $75 million in the US.

Epoch Studios’ The Firing Squad opened at #9 with $1.6 million. The faith-based drama about three Christian prisoners facing execution in a Third world country resonated with its target demo, although the word of mouth is mild for a faith-based film at 73% on RT. No word on its budget, but this has to be a success for the nascent studio.

A Quiet Place: Day One was down 55% in its sixth weekend to bring in $1.4 million. The sci-fi horror prequel is now at $137.4 million domestically and $258.8 million worldwide, a hit against its $60 million budget. It should end its domestic run somewhere in the $140 million range.

The #10 spot went to the Hayao Miyazaki 2008 classic Ponyo, which Fathom screened as part of its Studio Ghibli fest. The film took in $800,000 and to goose its totals to $16.5 million domestically and $205.9 million worldwide.

Next weekend will almost certainly see Deadpool and Wolverine remain at #1. The weekend’s new films include the Blake Lively romantic drama It Ends With Us based on the hit novel, which is looking to gross $35 million or more; the long-awaited Borderlands movie, which is targeting $8 million to $12 million; and NEON’s latest horror flick Cuckoo which should gross in the mid-single digit range.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Deadpool & Wolverine – $97 million ($395.6 million total, $824.1 million WW)
2. Twisters – $22.7 million ($195.6 million total, $274.4 million WW)
3. Trap – $15.6 million ($15.6 million total, $20 million WW)
4. Despicable Me 4 – $11.3 million ($314 million total, $752.2 million WW)
5. Inside Out 2 – $6.7 million ($626.9 million total, $1.555 billion WW)
6. Harold and the Purple Crayon – $6 million ($6 million total, $9 million WW)
7. Longlegs – $4.1 million ($66.9 million total, $79 million WW)
8. The Firing Squad – $1.6 million ($1.6 million total, $1.6 million WW)
9. A Quiet Place: Day One – $1.4 million ($137.4 million total, $258.8 million WW)
10. Ponyo – $800,000 ($16.5 million total, $205.9 million WW)