Maleficent Reigns Supreme at the Box Office

Angelina Jolie managed to hold off a horde of zombies at the box office this weekend with Walt Disney Pictures’ Maleficent: Mistress of Evil taking the #1 spot with an estimated $36 million domestically. While this was enough to win the weekend, it was far short of expectations for the $185 million budgeted sequel, and only half of the $69.4 million the first Maleficent made for its 2014 opening. It looks like it will still do quite well overseas, taking in $117 million internationally for a $153 million global total. Given that this was Jolie’s first live-action film in four years, it proves she’s still a bankable enough name to open a picture.

Warner Bros.’ dark DC Comics one-off Joker continues to hold strong in the #2 spot for its third weekend in theaters, taking in an estimated $29.2 million for a domestic total of $247.2 million and a worldwide cume of $737.5 million. That puts the $55 million budgeted Todd Phillips movie ahead of worldwides on Man of Steel and Justice League, now gunning to pass Suicide Squad and (potentially) Wonder Woman in the coming weeks!

Coming in at #3 is Sony’s ten-years-later sequel Zombieland: Double Tap, which grossed on the high-end of its opening weekend estimates with a $26.7 million opening. The original Zombieland opened at #1 ten years ago with $24.7 million, but against far less competition. This is another win for R-rated comedies this year after Good Boys. The film took in only $5.3 million overseas for a worldwide total of $32 million.

MGM’s animated The Addams Family continues to do robust business as we near Halloween, making the #4 slot in its second weekend with $16 million for a $56 million domestic total so far. The studio has already greenlit a sequel for release in 2021!

Paramount’s underperforming Will Smith vehicle Gemini Man fell from #3 to #5 on its second weekend, with the Ang Lee-directed film taking in $8.5 million for a domestic total of $36.5 million. Smith is still strong overseas where it sits at $82.2 million for a worldwide cume of $118.7 million, though it may not be enough to take the expensive film into the black when it finishes its run.

At the specialty box office Fox Searchlight’s JoJo Rabbit opened big with $350 thousand in just 5 locations, giving it the biggest per-theater average of the week, a great start for the Taika Waititi anti-hate satire. A24’s The Lighthouse starring Robert Pattinson also did well with $419 thousand in 8 locations.