Rom-com Crazy Rich Asians had a strong, but not stellar, opening last weekend thanks to rave reviews from both critics and exit polls. This is the kind of film that does sustained business, as opposed to a big start and quickly tapering off, so it was hoped that this weekend’s second outing wouldn’t drop much.
The studio got its wish, and how, with the film pulling in another $25 million during its sophomore run – a drop-off of a tiny 6% from last week which is one of the best holds in recent history. In fact its numbers on Saturday where an almost unheard of drop of 0% – no audience lost. The film’s domestic total now sits at $76.8 million.
The film easily beat the other newcomers this weekend including the Melissa McCarthy-led muppet sex comedy The Happytime Murders”which debuted in third with just $10 million, easily the lowest opening of McCarthy’s solo career. The film was savaged by critics, and its pricey $40 million production budget means it will struggle to make a profit.
Also not faring well was family film A.X.L. which launched with a dismal $2.9 million, just another nail in the coffin for distributor Global Road Entertainment which is on shaky financial ground at the moment.
In terms of repeat business, The Meg and Mission: Impossible – Fallout” held well in second and fourth place respectively. The prehistoric shark vs. Statham film picked up an additional $13 million, taking over the $100 million mark domestically and $400 million globally. The Tom Cruise movie scored $8.1 million, pushing it just shy of $200 million domestically and up to $538 million globally
In limited release, the John Cho-led desktop thriller Searching debuted strong with a per-screen-average of $40,000 across nine cinemas, while the Papillon remake with Charlie Hunnam debuted very softly with just $1.1 million from nearly 600 screens.
