1. Transformers: The Last Knight (review)- $45.3M/$69M
The last few weeks have been dominated by big studio movies faring poorly domestically, but kicking major butt overseas. Just look at The Mummy for an example. But Transformers? We don't expect such numbers from Transformers. And yet, Transformers: The Last Knight opened to a weak $45M on Wednesday, and $69M for the weekend, the lowest of the franchise. Good thing for that $196M international box office otherwise we'd be calling this a franchise killer. By comparison, the original film a decade ago earned $155M over its first week. The truth is the domestic numbers have been falling for a while now. 2014's Age of Extinction opened with $100M on the way to $245M, a mere fraction of the $1B worldwide it would eventually end with. It's tough to say what this means so early on. I mean, the film is obviously going to be huge overall, but those U.S. totals have to be concerning to Paramount as they prepare to move on from Michael Bay, who is an audience draw all by himself.
2. Cars 3- $25.1M/$99.8M
Pixar's Cars 3 skidded 53% in the second weekend for $25M and $99M overall, $141M worldwide. That's good but not great, and look, this franchise is about selling toys anyway. Even if it isn't a gigantic blockbuster it will more than make up for it merchandising. On a side note, I literally just finished watching this and think it's one of Pixar's best. That's how you pass the torch and keep a franchise alive the right way.
3. Wonder Woman- $25.1M/$318.3M
4. 47 Meters Down- $7.4M/$24.2M
Not sinking far was the sleeper hit, 47 Meters Down, with the shark thriller dropping only 33% for $24M overall.
5. All Eyez On Me- $5.8M/$38.6M
If Tupac is around somewhere he's probably groaning at the second week drop for All Eyez On Me. The hip-hop biopic got off to a hot start last week but fell a massive 77% for $5.8M. Considering it only cost about $40M it should earn a few bills, and for sure it's going to do huge on the home release market, even though the movie is pretty awful.
6. The Mummy- $5.8M/$68.5M
7. Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales- $5.2M/$160M
8. Rough Night- $4.7M/$16.6M
How is Rough Night getting beat so handily by 47 Meters Down? This blows my mind. On the plus side, the 41% drop is one of the best holds of the week, meaning those who saw it are spreading the word. But there were such huge expectations that this has to be disappointing.
9. Captain Underpants- $4.2M/$65.7M
10. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2- $3M/$380.2M
Considering I've been saying since January that The Big Sick (review) is the best romantic comedy we're going to see this year, that it opened with an incredible $87K per site average does my heart proud. That's only in five locations for $435K overall, but the expansion begins in earnest next week. The film stars Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Ray Romano, and Holly Hunter, chronicling the real-life courtship of Nanjiani and his wife, Emily V. Gordon. It's a charming little film that blends culture clash comedy with illness drama, and it's damn funny, too. If you have a chance to check it out, make sure and do it.
