Suicide Squad finally vacated the box office throne, and it was deposed by none other than a low budget horror film. Don’t Breathe dominated the box office this weekend, exceeding even the loftiest of industry expectations. Bask in the glow, horror fans. 2016 has been a real boon to the genre. It doesn’t hurt that Don’t Breathe is a really solid picture.
Meanwhile, newcomers Mechanic: Resurrection and Hands of Stone didn’t make much of an impact. The action flick and the biopic couldn’t even crack $10 million and are probably on their way out in the next few weeks. September is usually a dull month due to school going back in session, so expect to see a few more releases like these that disappear as quickly as they showed up.
A few tidbits from the box office numbers:
- Don’t Breathe‘s awesome opening is over double what the film cost. There’s no way this isn’t counted among 2016’s best earners.
- Ben-Hur continued to plummet and it’s looking like it won’t even recoup half of its $100 million budget on the domestic side. Hopefully, this one will be a lesson learned for the big studios. …Nah.
The Numbers Game
Each week, I will guess how much wide-release films will be making on their opening weekend. My estimates come from my heart and my gut. You’d think I’d use my brain but that makes far too much sense. Fandom editor Nick Nunziata will also be providing his guesses because two stabs in the dark are better than one.
Last Week:
Don’t Breathe
My Guess: $11,500,029
Nick’s Guess: $16,000,000
Actual: $26,115,000
Result: Holy diver! My horror nerd self shouldn’t have doubted this one. Even Nick couldn’t predict how big this would hit. This is a huge win for the genre and director Fede Alvarez. We knew that guy was cool!
Mechanic: Resurrection
My Guess: $8,000,000
Nick’s Guess: $11,000,000
Actual: $7,500,000
Result: Nick let Jason Statham‘s beautiful bald head hypnotize him. Only Patrick Stewart can do that to me. A definite checkmark in my win column.
Ben-Hur
My Guess: $4,500,000
Nick’s Guess: $3,500,000
Actual: $1,734,000
Result: Nick wins but Bobby De Niro loses. Someone get that man in another Tarantino movie.
This week:
Morgan
Ridley Scott‘s son helms this sci-fi/horror flick that looks like it owes more than a little to Ex Machina. The trailers have bizarrely tried to play mysterious while also revealing exactly what the story is doing. Did the studio lose faith in a more obtuse marketing campaign? There doesn’t look to be a whole lot to discover with Morgan anymore, and it makes this writer just want to watch Hollow Man again.
My guess: $11,000,000
Nick’s guess: $9,000,000
The Light Between Oceans
The Oscar bait continues with this adaptation of a novel – always an Oscar bait tactic – about love and parenting in post World War I Western Australia. The cast is great, director Derek Cianfrance is a proven talent (Blue Valentine, The Place Beyond the Pines), and older audiences haven’t been catered to in a few weeks. This one could surprise but it does look a tad stuffy. That could hurt its chances with wider audiences.
My guess: $9,000,000
Nick’s guess: $5,000,000
See you next week, box office buddies!
Source: Box Office Mojo
