411 Box Office Report: Maze Runner: The Death Cure Rules The Weekend, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle Holds Strong

The Maze Runner franchise ended on a solid note this weekend, as Maze Runner: The Death Cure topped the box office. The third and final entry in the young adult action franchise got off to a $23.5 million start, a decent opening for the film and on the high end of pre-weekend predictions. The number is lower than the openings for both the original Maze Runner ($32.5 million) and Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials ($30.3 million) but well above the starts for 2017’s young adult book adaptations in The Circle’s $9 million and Before I Fall’s $4.7 million.

While Death Cure’s start does look weak compared to the rest of the franchise, there’s an important bit of context here. That context is the amount of time that has passed since the last entry. Death Cure opened two and a half years after Scorch Trials due to the injury suffered by star Dylan O’Brien on the set of the film causing a long halt in production. That’s a long time for a film targeted at a pre-eighteen crowd to wait, and the young adult dystopian genre has largely died in the meantime. That meant that most of the momentum that the previous entries garnered had evaporated. 20th Century Fox did a good job of trying to stir up interest again, and it paid off well enough. Critics were lackluster on it (44% on Rotten Tomatoes), but audiences gave the film the same B+ CinemaScore that Scorch Trials received.

More importantly, the Maze Runner franchise has always done decently domestically, but its true profits come from overseas. Maze Runner earned 71% of its total gross internationally, while Scorch Trials counted 74% outside the US. Death Cure is off to a good start overseas with $82 million, some of that from last weekend as it opened in a few markets early. That gives the film $105.5 million worldwide thus far. Right now, the film looks likelty to make it to around $75 million to $80 million domestically, which will be a fine number even if it’s the lowest of the franchise. Overseas grosses will bring the film to profit on a $62 million budget.

While Thomas and his fellow Runners ruled the weekend, they didn’t take much of the wind from Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle’s sales. The action-comedy blockbuster was #2 with $16.4 million, down just 16% from last weekend. The box office legs of this film have been phenomenal thus far; it has acheived a stellar 9.3 multiple of its opening weekend through Sunday. Even for the traditional leggy holiday season, that’s incredible for an action franchise. The film now stands at $338.1 million domestically and $822.1 million worldwide on a $90 million budget. It should be able to make it to $365 million or more by the end of its run.

Christian Bale’s latest film did fine for the weekend, as western drama Hostiles took in $10.2 million. Late-week predictions had it pegged at the high single digits range, so this is a start that Entertainment Studios is going to be happy with. The film, which stars Bale as a U.S. Cavalry officer who must escort a Cheyenne war chief and his family back to their home in Montana, resonated better than expected with older crowds, who were expected to ignore it in favor of the recently Oscar-nominated films.

Entertainment Studios can thank the critical praise that the film has received as one reason why. The movie has a very solid 72% on Rotten Tomatoes, which may not be Oscar caliber but is strong enough to draw attention. Audiences didn’t necessarily love the film, but they gave it a mild pass with a B CinemaScore. The film may have trouble competing with the continued rise of the Oscar nominees in successive weeks but it is off to a good start with a $12.1 million domestic total (it had a few weeks in very limited release) and $13.1 million worldwide. It doesn’t seem too likely to make back its reported $39 million budget via its probably domestic final in the $35 million range, but losses will be less than expected.

The Greatest Showman rose a spot to #4 in its sixth weekend, bringing in $9.5 million. That is another stellar hold, down just 11% from last weekend. The musical drama is now up to $126.5 million domestically and $259.6 million worldwide. It is officially a profitable film for Fox and should be able to hit around $145 million domestically on an $84 million budget.

A couple of Oscar nominations helped Steven Spielberg’s The Post hold decently, off 25% in its third weekend of wide release with $8.9 million. The journalism drama stands at $58.5 million domestically and $83.1 million worldwide, not a terrible place to be at this point in its run. The movie is likely aiming for around $75 million to $80 million in the US and is a likely money-maker on a $50 million budget.

12 Strong had an okay hold in its second weekend, down 45% to $8.6 million. The Chris Hemsworth-led war drama has brought in $29.8 million domestically and $35.2 million worldwide. These are low but acceptable numbers for a movie that has a $30 million budget. It should still be able to hit profit with $55 million probably in the US and enough overseas money to make up the difference.

Den of Thieves followed 12 Strong’s example, off by 45% from last weekend with $8.4 million. The crime thriller has made its way to $28.5 million in two weekends, and looks like it will end around $50 million. On a $30 million budget it should be okay once foreign grosses begin to come in.

On the strength of its thirteen Oscar nominations, Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water leapt back into the top ten. The fantasy drama brought in $5.7 million, up 161% from last weekend, to bring its domestic total to $37.7 million. Worldwide it is at $51.6 million and will continue to climb as it is positioned to be a frontrunner for Best Picture. The film should make it to at least $70 million in the US and that plus foreign grosses will make this a winner for Fox Searchlight on a $19.5 million budget.

Paddington 2 was down 31% in its third weekend with $5.6 million. The critically-loved family film now sits at $32 million domestically and $185.8 million worldwide. Warner Bros. is not making money off this one, as foreign rights were sold to other distribution companies. The budget was $50 million, which is likely to be the same end point for the box office run.

Coming in at #10 was Indian period epic Padmaavat. The Deepika Padukone-led film got off to a solid start in the US with $4.3 million. Billed as the most expensive Indian-made film of all-time with a $30 million budget, it is sitting at $4.8 million domestically after opening on Thursday and $22 million worldwide. Final box office numbers for foreign films are always a crap shoot because of the films’ targeted nature, but it should be in okay shape for Viacom 19 and Paramount.

Death Cure and Jumanji will likely be fighting for the box office crown next weekend, as the only wide release comes in the Helen Mirren-starring horror flick Winchester. That film is targeting a start in the low teens.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Maze Runner: The Death Cure – $23.5 million ($23.5 million total)
2. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle – $16.4 million ($338.1 million total)
3. Hostiles – $10.2 million ($12.1 million total)
4. The Greatest Showman – $9.5 million ($126.5 million total)
5. The Post – $8.9 million ($58.5 million total)
6. 12 Strong – $8.6 million ($29.8 million total)
7. Den of Thieves – $8.4 million ($28.5 million total)
7. The Shape of Water – $5.7 million ($37.7 million total)
9. Paddington 2 – $5.6 million ($32 million total)
10. Padmaavat – $4.3 million ($4.7 million total)