411’s Box Office Report: A Quiet Place Soars With $50 Million Start

Horror ruled the box office this weekend as A Quiet One charged into first place like a freight train. The John Krasinski-directed horror thriller scored a fantastic $50 million opening to easily claim #1 and shoot past industry predictions. The film, which stars Krasinski and Emily Blunt as parents of a family trying to survive against monsters in a post-apocalyptic setting, was originally expected to score in the $25 million to $30 million range but blew past those numbers very quickly. It’s the best start for a horror film since It’s record-breaking $123.4 million bow in September and the second-best start of 2018, behind only Black Panther.

A Quiet Place has been on the radar for a while, with effective trailers showing off the film’s creepy concept. But interest shot through the roof after it received a stellar reception at SXSW in March (our own Ashish Pabari’s review of the film is here). Even then, it came into the weekend with good but not great expectations for box office. Audiences were lured in en masse though, bouyed by great reviews (it has an average of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes). And audiences who went very much enjoyed it; the film has a B+ CinemaScore which is more like an A when you consider the horror genre tends to average a C+ or so.

At this point, the film is well on its way to profitability. The budget was just $17 million, but Paramount spent a ton marketing this film and so the total spend was likely north of $100 million. That’s not going to be a problem for this film, which should be able to finish off with at least $150 million (and likely more) in the US alone. Overseas it has $21 million thus far for a $71 mllion first weekend total. Needless to say, this is a big hit and marks Krasinski as an in-demand Hollywood director.

While it was knocked out of first place, Ready Player One had a good hold in its second weekend. The novel adaptation had $25.1 million, down just 40% from last weekend. That number is impressively comparable to the 39.5% drop of director Steven Spielberg’s last film, Oscar-nominated drama The Post, and much better than his last genre exercise in the kids’ film The BFG (58%). Ready Player One is now up to $96.9 million domestically and $391.3 million overseas. It is important to note however that $161.3 million of the foreign total is from China, where Warner Bros.’ only recoups 25%. It still has a ways to go until it makes its $175 million production budget back, but it should be able to make it. The domestic total has a good shot at $150 million.

Coming in at #3 was the R-rated comedy Blockers. The ensemble film, which stars John Cena, Leslie Mann and Ike Barinholtz, brought in $20.5 million to slightly overperform its high teens industry predictions. R-rated comedy has had a difficult time at the box office as od late, but like A Quiet Place this one capitalized on hype following a screening at SXSW. It sits at a healthy 83% on RT, although the audience reaction is less enthusiastic with a B CinemaScore.

Still, that’s a pretty faint dark lining on a fairly bright cloud overall. Blockers reps the best start of a John Cena-toplining film to date beating out Ferdinand’s $13.4 million start in December. The movie added $10.7 million overseas for $32.1 million worldwide. It should be able to make it to $65 million or so in the US and will make it to likely profit on a $21 million production budget.

Meanwhile, Black Panther became the third-highest domestic grossing film of all-time. The MCU film was off a mere 27% to $8.4 million, bringing its North American take to $665.4 million. That pushes it past Jurassic World’s $652.3 million and Titanic’s $659.4 million. The movie has $1.299 billion worldwide and should end up with $680 million domestically. The budget was $200 million.

Faith-based drama I Can Only Imagine also continued to hold on well, down just 20% to $8.4 million in its fourth week. The Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions release has brought its total to $69.1 million, a hefty profit on just $7 million in production costs. The movie is aiming for around $80 million to $85 million in a final domestic gross.

Tyler Perry’s Acrimony dropped 53% in its second weekend, down to $8.1 million. The Taraji P. Henson-starring domestic thriller had a drop on par with Perry’s usual average; for example, Boo 2! A Madea Halloween was down by the same amount back in October. Acrimony is up to $31.4 million domestically and $31.7 million worldwide. It should finish at around $45 million to $50 million which will be a minor profit on a $20 million budget and limited marketing.

Political period drama Chappaquiddick scored $6.2 million to open at #7. The film, which stars Jason Clarke and is based around the story of Ted Kennedy’s fateful 1969 car accident that killed Mary Jo Kopechne, was around where people expected it to be. That’s thanks a to critical appreciation (80% on RT), balanced out by a lack of enthusiasm by audiences who gave the film a B.Chappaquiddick is not likely to expand and doesn’t have the buzz needed to break out, and should finish in the $15 million to $18 million range. The budget was low, but even then this won’t be a huge success.

Sherlock Gnomes found strength in its third weekend, down just 20% for a $5.6 million take. The animated family comedy is still not in great shape though. It is up to $33.9 million domestically and $45.8 million worldwide. On a $59 million budget, that’s not enough and in the US it should finish with about $45 million to $50 million.

Pacific Rim Uprising faded away, down 48% in its third weekend with $4.9 million. The sci-fi action film is relying heavily on overseas grosses like its predecessor did, with $54.9 million domestically but $267 million worldwide. On a $150 million budget, it still needs more money overseas to hit profit. In the US, it should finish with around $70 million.

Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs expanded to 554 theaters this weekend and claimed the #10 spot with $4.6 million. The stop motion animated film is now up to $12 million in the US and $17.4 million worldwide. It’s following the path of Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom more or less and may match that one’s $45 million domestic take. Isle of Dogs’ budget isn’t known.

A Quiet Place should drop to #2 next weekend as it goes against Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Rampage. The action film is looking at a $35 million to $40 million start. Meanwhile, Blumhouse’s Truth Or Dare should start in the low teens.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. A Quiet Place – $50 million ($50 million total)
2. Ready Player One – $25.1 million ($96.9 million total)
3. Blockers – $20.5 million ($20.5 million total)
4. Black Panther – $8.4 million ($665.4 million total)
5. I Can Only Imagine – $8.4 million ($69.1 million total)
6. Tyler Perry’s Acrimony – $8.1 million ($31.4 million total)
7. Chappaquiddick – $6.2 million ($6.2 million total)
8. Sherlock Gnomes – $5.6 million ($33.9 million total)
9. Pacific Rim Uprising – $4.9 million ($54.9 million total)
10. Isle of Dogs – $4.6 million ($12 million total)