Civil War pulled off a win at the box office, leaving new releases Abigail and The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare in its dust.
The battle of the box office has been won by A24 and Alex Garland’s Civil War, which defied expectations (ours included) to take first place at the box office. Comscore is estimating an $11.1 million weekend for the controversial film, which posted a modest 56% decline at the box office, which is way better than anyone was expecting. Indeed, the film has a $44 million running total at the North American box office, which is great for a movie like this, especially considering how divisive it’s been.
However, Civil War’s good fortune means this week’s big new horror release, Abigail, seriously underperformed. Radio Silence’s well-reviewed vampire flick made a disappointing $10.2 million, which is a shame as it’s a nifty little movie. Potentially, word-of-mouth could give it a boost, but let’s face it – that doesn’t happen with horror movies. They’re always front-loaded, so the chances of Abigail really doing well next weekend are limited. Just look at what happened to The First Omen. It opened soft (despite good reviews), and this weekend, it sunk like a stone to 10th place, ending any chance of a franchise.
Meanwhile, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire continued to do well, making just under $10 million this weekend for a $171 million total, well on its way to a strong finish north of $200 million. But, the news wasn’t as rosy for Guy Ritchie’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, which opened to a low $9 million. The movie would have no doubt opened better were it not designated as a Prime Video Original in every other territory, including Canada.
CrunchyRoll’s anime release Spy x Family Code: White made $4.87, which is pretty great considering how niche of a title it is. Kung Fu Panda 4 continued to pull in family audiences (despite already being available digitally) with a $4.6 million weekend. While it will no doubt finish south of $200 million, it’ll still be the second highest-grossing film in the franchise, which is great for a fourth entry.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire made $4.4 million with $102 million total. That’s an OK number but it remains to be seen whether or not that’s enough to sustain a franchise. Dune Part Two hit digital last week, but still managed to make $2.9 million, for a $276 million total. That’s great, but I question the wisdom of such an early digital release, as the movie could have probably made its way to $300 million had it not been released at home so early. Finally, Dev Patel’s Monkey Man made $2.2 million for a total north of $21 million, while The First Omen is cratering at 10th place with an underwhelming $17 million total.
Next weekend sees the release of Challengers, which stars Zendaya and is getting incredible buzz. Will it topple Civil War? We’ll have to wait and see.