411 Box Office Report: Spider-Man: No Way Home Reclaims Crown From Scream

It was a close battle atop the box office this weekend, but Spider-Man: No Way Home returned to the top spot in the end. The MCU film spent a fifth non-consecutive week at #1 with $14.1 million. That’s continues the film’s solid holds, as it slipped just 30% from last weekend.

No Way Home now stands at #4 on the all-time domestic chart with $721 million, and #6 on the all-time worldwide chart with $1.691 billion. Both of those seem to be the likely final rankings for the film, as it would need to pass Avatar’s $760.5 million domestic gross and Avengers: Infinity War’s $2.048 billion worldwide and neither seem likely. (It’s important to note for comparison’s sake that No Way Home hasn’t had an opening in China, where Infinity War grossed $359.4 million). Right now, No Way Home looks to be on course for a final domestic take of about $745 million or so, and it goes without saying that it is a mega-hit for Sony and Disney.

Scream had to settle for the #2 position, but it’s not crying any tears about that. The slasher sequel grossed $12.4 million this weekend, which is down 59% from last weekend’s start. That’s a very expected drop when considering how the film overperformed last weekend and the typical trajectory of horror. Comparing it to last year’s biggest horror grossers, it’s an identical drop to The Quiet Place Part II, about on par with The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It’s 57% and much stronger than Halloween Kills’ 71% drop.

Scream has now grossed $51.3 million domestically, putting it well ahead of Scream 4’s final $38.2 gross already, and $84.9 million worldwide which is not far off from Scream 4’s final worldwide tally of $96 million. It’s already a hit for Paramount and Spyglass Media, having cost just $24 million (Scream 4 cost $40 million by comparison). This one seems likely to top $75 million in the US, which is a great number all things considered.

Sing 2 continues to roll on, steady at #3 with $5.7 million. That’s down just 29% from last weekend. The animated sequel has climbed to $128.4 million domestically and $241.2 million worldwide, both great numbers against a $85 million production budget. It should finish off at around $140 million in the US.

Universal Pictures had a flat opening with Redeeming Love. The period faith-based drama from Universal and Pure Flix opened with just $4.1 million. That’s not a great start for this romance novel adaptation, but not an unexpected one considering how little it was promoted (Universal was not on the hook for print & advertising here).

In fairness, faith-based films usually rely not on TV ads or critical buzz, but on grassroots marketing through church organizations. Even that seemed to be lacking here, and general audiences probably saw the trailer once or twice in front of films but little else. Add in that this film fell flat with critics at an 11% aggregate score on Rotten Tomatos – but more importantly, it ranked at a B+ for CinemaScore. That sounds quite good, but the average CinemaScore for faith-based entries is an A, because of the way these films target their audience.

All this means that Redeeming Love is coming up very short as a performer. This genre is always subject to strong drops, and that should be the case here barring any surprises. The film is unlikely to get past $12 million domestically. No word on its budget.

The King’s Man continued its habit of strong legs, dropping just 20% in its fifth weekend to $1.8 million. The has now brought its totals to $31.5 million domestically $105.3 million worldwide. Those are very strong numbers considering where the film started, but they’re not going to help this film unless they continue to hold on well for a bit longer as it cost nearly $100 million to produce (plus marketing of course). As it currently stands, it is looking at perhaps $38 million to $40 million domestically.

Speaking of flops, The 355 held on solidly in its third weekend – far too late – with $1.6 million (down 30%). That brings this ensemble action film to $11.1 million domestically and $16.5 million worldwide. This film is a bomb for Universal, as its production cost $75 million. It should end its run at around $15 million stateside.

American Underdog was off 22% in its fifth weekend, down to $1.2 million. The Zachary Levi-starring sports drama now stands at $23.1 million, a decent number for what was likely not an expensive movie. It should close out at around $28 million.

Gravitas Ventures went for its widest opening ever with The King’s Daughter, and that did not pay off. The romantic fantasy adventure film grossed a meager $750,000 from 2,170 theaters. This Pierce Brosnan and Kaya Scodelario-starring film has had a rough road to the big screen, having been shot all the way back in 2014 (yes, eight years ago). It was set for release by Paramount Pictures in April of 2015, but the studio cancelled their release three weeks before the announced date without explanation. The film languished until Gravitas acquired the distribution rights last year.

All this means that Gravitas is not on the hook for the film’s expensive $40 million budget, though how much they bought in for the distribution rights is not known. This film was not loved by critics who saw it (26% on RT) and it’s going to vanish quickly. Frankly, if the domestic total tops $2.5 million I’ll be shocked.

West Side Story was off 25% in its sixth weekend with $698,000. The musical has now grossed $35.1 million domestically and $23.9 million, making it a failure against a reported $100 million budget no matter what at this point. Barring a major award season boost, the final domestic take should land at around $40 million.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza was down 22% in its seventh weekend, bringing in $683,357. The period dramedy now sits at $10.7 million domestically and $16.4 million worldwide as it slowly starts to expand its territories. With a $40 million budget, this has a long road to profit but award season might help.

Next weekend is a dead zone, with no new wide releases opening at all. That means Spider-Man should remain in the top spot, followed by Scream.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Spider-Man: No Way Home – $14.1 million ($721 million total, $1.691 billion WW)
2. Scream – $12.4 million ($51.3 million total, $84.9 million WW)
3. Sing 2 – $5.7 million ($128.4 million total, $241.2 million WW)
4. Redeeming Love – $3.7 million ($3.7 million total, $3.7 million WW)
5. The King’s Man – $1.8 million ($31.5 million, $105.3 million WW)
6. The 355 – $1.6 million ($11.1 million total, $16.5 million WW)
7. American Underdog – $1.2 million ($23.1 million total, $23.1 million WW)
8. The King’s Daughter – $750,000 ($750,000 total, $750,000 WW)
9. West Side Story – $698,000 ($35.1 million total, $59 million WW)
10. Licorice Pizza – $683,357 ($10.8 million total, $16.4 million WW)