1. Hotel Transylvania 2 (review here)- $47.5M
Adam Sandler's live-action flicks may be the scorn of audiences everywhere but they'll still pay to hear his voice. Hotel Transylvania 2 broke September records with a $47.5M debut, surpassing the $42.5M set by Hotel Transylvania three years ago. In other words, audiences love these films and will probably continue to support them. It couldn't have come at a better time as there hasn't been a major studio animated movie since Minions. And for Sandler this is a strong comeback following the lousy response to Pixels just a couple of months ago.
2. The Intern (review here)- $18.2M
Proving there's still a place for Nancy Meyers' brand of glossy, light-hearted, somewhat antiquated comedies, The Intern got off to a respectable $18.2M debut. The film stars Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro, so no shortage of star power, in the story of a retired widower working as an intern for an online fashion company. The promos played to the film's strengths, namely the cast and breezy tone, the latter a change-of-pace for the serious drama season.
3. Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials- $14M/$51.6M
So after two weeks, a 53% drop and a $51M domestic haul, it's clear Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials won't do quite as well stateside. However, the worldwide totals should surpass its predecessor means we should get the third film, The Death Cure.
4. Everest- $13M/$23.1M
After a blistering IMAX run last weekend, Everest went wide to over 3000 theaters, earning $13M in the process. The $55M film with a ton of A-list stars has banked nearly $100M worldwide and should continue to do well even when its IMAX run ends in a few days.
5. Black Mass- $11.5M/$42.6M
Johnny Depp may be getting a lot of awards attention for his performance in Black Mass, but the gangster film is only looking like a modest success at this point.
6. The Visit- $6.7M/$52.2M
7. The Perfect Guy- $4.7M/$48.8M
8. War Room- $4.2M/$55.9M
9. The Green Inferno- $3.5M
Fans of horror director Eli Roth have waited seven years for his latest film, cannibal thriller The Green Inferno, and they packed the 1504 theaters to the tune of $3.5M. That's not bad for the low-budget, very grisly R-rated film. Roth has a reliable audience and they'll probably follow him to Knock Knock when it opens soon.
10. Sicario (review here)- $1.7M/$2.3M
Expanding slightly over last week (it goes wide next week) is Denis Villeneuve's well-reviewed drug thriller, Sicario. This one is looking more and more like a late year powerhouse, led by stars Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, and Benicio Del Toro. After a start like this we may see it make some serious noise, not only at the box office but when the awards race begins.
