411 Box Office Report: The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard Scores Easy Win, A Quiet Place Part II Holds Well

The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard sailed its way to a win at the box office this weekend, while A Quiet Place Part II continued to rake in money. Lionsgate’s sequel to the 2017 hit The Hitman’s Bodyguard nailed down $11.7 million to claim the top spot without too much hassle. While that’s not on the level of the first film’s $21.4 million, it’s still a good three-day take considering the action-comedy opened on Tuesday which meant its box office was more spread out. So far, its take over five days is $17 million, which is above the $15 million that most were predicting it would have by Sunday.

It’s a good start for a film that was always going to be a bit of a gamble. The Hitman’s Bodyguard was a hit upon its release four, but it was a surprise to do so and managed to make its $75.5 million domestically during a fairly quiet August. Add in the fact that the sequel is living in an era where everything has changed from four years ago and Lionsgate is going to be fairly happy with these numbers. The movie survived negative reviews, which currently sit at an aggregated 25% on Rotten Tomatoes. Audience word of mouth is okay if not great at a B, slightly down from the first film’s B+.

The film’s challenge now is to make its money back, which will mostly rely on international grosses. The first film grossed the majority of its $183.4 million overseas, and Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard is off to an okay start with $7.8 million in 21 markets (that’s $24.8 million worldwide so far). That doesn’t include China, where the first film pulled in $21.1 million. The movie cost a reported $70 million and so it will likely need to at least approach $150 million worldwide, which may be a challenge to accomplish. Stay tuned on that.

A Quiet Place Part II, meanwhile, is rolling on with a great hold in its third weekend. The horror sequel was off just 22% to $9.4 million, bringing its totals to $125.9 million domestically and $222.6 million worldwide. The film is continuing to serve as a crowd-pleaser and is making Paramount a huge amount of profit against its $61 million budget. It is now easily targeting $145 million or more in the US, and will drive eyes (and subscriptions) to Paramount+ when it arrives there in mid-July.

Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway had a solid second weekend, down 40% to $6.1 million. That’s a good hold for the CGI/live-action comedy, if slightly more than the 30% drop that the first film had. The Runaway now stands at $20.3 million domestically and $90.8 million worldwide, both good numbers and expected considering the decent ratings and great word of mouth. The film reportedly cost $45 million, which means Sony Pictures is already close to profit on a film that will continue to drive family business. It should be able to finish off with around $40 million in the US.

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It was down one spot this weekend to #4, as it brought in $5.2 million. That’s down 50% from last weekend, bringing its totals to $53.6 million domestically and $142.8 million worldwide. It has already topped the worldwide gross of fellow Conjuring Universe film The Curse of La Llorona ($121.7 million), and will top its $54.7 million very shortly. It should be able to approach the $74.2 million take Annabelle Comes Home did internationally and is a big hit for Warner Bros. against its $39 million budget.

Cruella also had a great hold, dropping just 24% in its fourth frame with $5.1 million. The Disney live-action film is proving its resilience and is now up to $64.7 million domestically and $159.9 million worldwide. The film continues to defy expectations; it has already grossed three times its opening weekend and should finish off with at least $80 million in the US. That, combined with the film’s Disney+ Premier Access revenue (which is 100% revenue for Disney, unlike theater grosses), makes this a major hit for the studio against its estimated $100 million budget.

The big disappointment for Warner Bros. continued for In the Heights, which followed up its underperforming weekend with a rough 61% drop in weekend two. The adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical grossed $4.2 million this weekend to bring its totals to $19.7 million domestically and $21.8 million worldwide. Those are not good numbers for a film that cost $55 million, and it may represent the first film that was actively hurt by the studio’s HBO Max day-and-date release strategy as it seems audiences who wanted to rewatch it are fine with doing so from home. WarnerMedia isn’t likely to be sweating this for the rest of their 2021 slate, as the successes like Godzilla vs. Kong and The Devil Made Me Do It far outweigh the failure here. The film is now looking like it will close out with $30 million in the US, so it will need to rely on foreign grosses to hit a profit in theaters.

Spirit Untamed stabilized slightly in its third weekend, dropping just 38% to $1.6 million. It’s too little, too late though for a film that cost $30 million. Right now the animated sequel sits at $13.8 million domestically and $17.4 million worldwide, and won’t top $20 million in the US.

Football drama 12 Mighty Orphans hit #8 in its first wide release weekend, taking in $870,000. The Sony Classics film, which based on the inspirational story of the Mighty Mites, went from 132 theaters to 1,047 and benefitted from a decent set of reviews (60% on RT). The movie now has $1.3 million and could conceivably hit $3 to $4 million by the end of its run.

The House Next Door: Meet the Blacks 2 added 119 theaters, which cushioned its fall to just 40% from its opening weekend. The parody sequel took in $604,000, bringing its total to $2 million to date. It should finish off with about $4 million to $5 million, but that still won’t be enough to profit from a $3.5 million budget plus marketing.

Wrath of Man was down 2 spots to #10 in its seventh weekend with $448,000, down 33% from last weekend. The revenge action thriller now stands at $26.8 million domestically and $92.3 million worldwide thus far. It will finish off around $28 million domestically, a big hit for United Artists.

Next weekend will see the box office bust open as F9: The Fast Saga hits US shores. The film, which has already grossed $292 million overseas, should be able to open with $50 million to $70 million.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard – $11.7 million ($17 million total)
2. A Quiet Place Part II – $9.4 million ($125.9 million total)
3. Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway – $6.1 million ($20.3 million total)
4. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It – $5.2 million ($53.6 million total)
5. Cruella – $5.1 million ($64.7 million total)
6. In The Heights – $4.2 million ($19.7 million total)
7. Spirit Untamed – $1.6 million ($13.8 million total)
8. 12 Mighty Orphans – $870,000 ($1.3 million total)
9. The House Next Door: Meet the Blacks 2 – $604.000 ($2 million total)
10. Wrath of Man – $448,000 ($26.8 million total)