| Rank | Title | Domestic Gross (Weekend) | Worldwide Gross (Cume) | Week # | Percentage Change | Budget |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Meg | $44,500,000 | $141,500,000 | 1 | N/A | $130M |
| 2 | Mission: Impossible - Fallout | $20,000,000 | $437,567,284 | 3 | -43.4% | $178M |
| 3 | Disney's Christopher Robin | $12,430,000 | $62,119,317 | 2 | -49.4% | $75M |
| 4 | Slender Man | $11,325,000 | $11,325,000 | 1 | N/A | $10M |
| 5 | BlacKkKlansman | $10,799,000 | $11,200,000 | 1 | N/A | $15M |
Notable Box Office Stories:
- The Meg - If there's one thing I've learned in the few years I've done these articles, it's that Americans really really realllllly love sharks. As evidence of this I present The Meg, the $130M megalodon shark epic that has been in development hell for decades was finally released this weekend and it seems like the wait was worth it as it opened to an incredibly high $44.5M. This film going into the weekend feel like a classic diversify your risk type film. It has a major asian star, the rating was slashed from R to PG-13 (much to the notable displeasure of the director Jon Turteltaub and star Jason Statham), and was released in the dead of August where at least small openings could equal solid runs. Well not so much for this film which far exceeded the $20M or so expected opening by many analysts which makes this a three for three year run of shark movies no one thinks will play but end up opening well. The film also opened to a great $90M debut overseas, mostly lead by China where the film is a Chinese co-production meaning it will be able to stay longer in theaters and get a higher cut of the gross for parent studio Warner Bros. Unlike it's predecessors The Shallows and 47 Meters Down, The Meg is a massive player blockbuster player with an extremely long development time and history.
- The Meg (cont.) - The novel The Meg was written in 1997 with the express intention of creating a big shark movie hit a la Jaws, with originally 90s schlock maestro Jan De Bont set to direct. But they were beat to market by Deep Blue Sea which caused the film to enter development hell until 2016 when 2010s schlock gore maestro Eli Roth joined. Roth eventually left the project (almost certainly due to the similar issues of Warner Bros concerns over the R-rating). Eventually it landed strangely with 90s and 2000s Disney kid's film auteur Jon Turteltaub who finally got the film to market, not before the film shot to be an R was drastically recut as well as the studio demanding they include actress Li Bingbing in a major role to appeal to Asian markets. All that to say The Meg seemed to be an absolute disaster in the making but again US people love sharks! It certainly helps that the film was released the same weekend as Shark Week as well as the last major blockbuster of the season. After 47 Meters Down, a film that was originally set to go straight to DVD, opened to $11.1M it was clear there was just this devoted shark fanbase that you could tap into ever summer. Now it's even more clear that fanbase is much bigger than we imagined. 40+ years after Jaws and people still just go absolute nuts about sharks. This just in, Avengers 4 now title Avengers: Revenge of the Space Sharks? Crazy.
- Slender Man - If there's one adage I wish I could drill into the mind of Hollywood it would be this: the internet moves fast, movies move slow. As such the hot film adaptation of 2011 is "finally" here as the horror film based on the famous internet creepypasta character opened to a pretty low $11.3M at #4. While usually that's fine for the usually extremely cheap genre (I mean people have been making no budget shorts about Slender Man for years now) bizarrely this film cost $28M to make. The film by Screen Gems was apparently a nightmare to market and distribute, likely due to the controversy surrounding the figure who was the primary motivation for the stabbing of Payton Leutner by two young girls in 2014. The film was also apparently recut down to the last minute which is why there wasn't even a second trailer released until two weeks before and why this film had some of the least marketing I've ever seen. All that in mind it's actually pretty telling of how memorable the brand of this figure is that it did score in the double digits despite the radio silence but don't expect Slender Man fever. The film scored absolutely abysmal critic reviews and audiences agreed, giving it a D- on Cinemascore, the second worst rating possible. It's just so bizarre that a Slender Man movie wasn't rushed and shat on in a few years but that's the way Hollywood works. Infighting, arguments, focus grouping, and all you get is a movie that scores a 14% on Rotten Tomatoes and an over inflated budget.
- BlacKkKlansman - August is such a weird month for movies. What new movie should we see this weekend: a massive prehistoric killer shark, a horror film based on a meme, or a film about racial injustice in the 70s? Hmmm. Well seems enough people were down for the latter as the latest Spike Lee joint is also his biggest opener since 2006's Inside Man as it opened on 1,500 screens to a good $10.7M. Lee has not had a great run at things this decade, producing weird changeling movies like Chi-Raq that are beloved but not popular, or attempts at popular fare like Oldboy that totally flop. Many critics felt this was a return for Lee, especially his embracing of a more commercial and exciting style while still keeping that textbook Lee political messaging. Audiences seemed to respond well to the film, giving it an A- on Cinemascore which will be interesting to see how that plays out compared to the usual controversy that always surrounds Lee and his work. In particular the ending of the film, which ties the events of the 70s into modern day, is likely to rile a few feathers which could explain why that, while this film is the widest release for Lee in a decade, it still is fairly limited to major cities with the feeling subject matter could limit expansion. It's tough right now for openly political films to get mainstream attention and putting the film in August where a similarly political film about black oppression, Detroit, failed so miserably last year is risky. But with a $15M budget the film has an easier time and it seems at least at the start this could be one of Lee's better earning and most widely seen films.
Films Reddit Wants to Follow
This is a segment where we keep a weekly tally of currently showing films that aren't in the Top 5 that fellow redditors want updates on. If you'd like me to add a film to this chart, make a comment in this thread.
| Title | Domestic Gross (Cume) | Worldwide Gross (Cume) | Budget | Week # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avengers: Infinity War | $678,412,107 | $2,045,528,284 | $315M | 16 |
| Deadpool 2 | $318,125,396 | $733,111,911 | $110M | 13 |
| Solo: A Star Wars Story | $213,290,445 | $391,560,694 | $275M | 12 |
| Hereditary | $43,982,273 | $79,249,638 | $10M | 10 |
| Incredibles 2 | $589,874,600 | $1,088,474,600 | $200M | 9 |
| Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom | $409,632,945 | $1,276,432,945 | $170M | 8 |
| Ant-Man and the Wasp | $203,518,344 | $448,918,344 | $162M | 6 |
Notable Film Closings
| Title | Domestic Gross (Cume) | Worldwide Gross (Cume) | Budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Panther | $700,059,566 | $1,346,792,258 | $200M |
| Book Club | $68,566,296 | $79,911,958 | $10M |
As always r/boxoffice is a great place to share links and other conversations about box office news.
Also you can see the archive of all Box Office Week posts at r/moviesboxoffice (which have recently been updated).