After it’s stunning,record-breaking launch last weekend, it’s no surprise that Fox’sDeadpoolwill remain the number one domestic draw at the box office this weekend. The R-rated superhero pic ended its first week with $180.4 million, putting it 34% ahead of whereGuardians of the Galaxystood at the same point in its run. That’s significant because: 1)Guardianswas a late summer feature, 2) it was released in 3D, 3) it was rated PG-13. At this point you’re probably familiar with the reasonsDeadpoolis a box office outlier, but it bears repeating how amazing it is that this R-rated, 2D, winter release has outperformed all but a handful of superhero pics that have come before it.
Deadpoolearned another $16.2 million on Friday, its eighth day in theatres. That puts the film on track to pass $200 million on Saturday, and $350 million worldwide. For its second weekend,Deadpoolis expected to earn at least $56 million, or a decline of approximately 58 percent from its opening. That’s a standard drop for recent superhero films, equivalent to that ofIron Man 3. Looking again atGuardians of the Galaxy, the Disney pic was down 55% in its own sophomore frame in August 2014.
Unsurprisingly, this weekend’s three new releases all opened in the shadow of the still-surgingDeadpool. First among the newbies is Sony’sRisen. The faith-based feature starringJoseph Fienneswas expected to open with about $7 million despite a big theatre count of 2,915 locations. But it looks likeRisenmay rise above expectations. The movie took in an estimated $4 million on Friday and is now targeting a $12 million debut.
The next newcomer is trending in the opposite direction.Race, Focus Features’ biopic of Olympic legend Jesse Owens, was projected to open with at least $10 million. That would have put the film on par withMcFarland, USA– the football drama that opened to $11 million on this same weekend in 2015. ButRacewound up sluggish out of the gate, taking in an estimated $2.3 million on Friday from 2,369 locations. It’s now expected to fall short of $8 million through Sunday.
Finally,The Witchappears surprisingly strong after its first day in just over 2,000 theatres. The R-rated horror pic from distributor A24 (Ex Machina,Spring Breakers) was a bit of a question mark entering this weekend. The movie was promoted almost exclusively through digital media and was originally scheduled for a VOD-only release. A theatrical debut was secured bypositive reviews, though the film was not expected to earn much more than $5 million this weekend. ButThe Witchwound up earning an estimated $3.2 million on Friday alone and is now projected to exceed $8.5 million through Sunday. That’s pretty good given the film cost A24 just $1 million to acquire at last year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Here’s Friday’s top six films. We’ll have full details on the weekend’s box office tomorrow.
$16,225,000
$4,000,000
$3,200,000
Kung Fu Panda 3
$2,875,000
How to be Single
$2,685,000
$2,344,000
