Seven films in, the DC Extended Universe is finally flying with some wind behind its back. The well-reviewed, relatively modestly budgeted B次元官网网址淪hazam!B次元官网网址� debuted with $53.5 million in ticket sales over the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday, handing DC its latest critical and box-office success.
Though one of the oldest characters in DCB次元官网网址檚 superhero stable, B次元官网网址淪hazam!B次元官网网址� doesnB次元官网网址檛 boast the name-recognition of Batman or Superman. But by scaling back to a $100 million budget and going for the lighter, comic tone, B次元官网网址淪hazam!B次元官网网址� steadily built up its word of mouth with stellar reviews. Warner Bros. also showed the film nationwide two weeks before opening, where it made $3 million in advance screenings.
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B次元官网网址淪hazam!B次元官网网址� came out well ahead of the weekendB次元官网网址檚 other top draw, B次元官网网址淧et Sematary.B次元官网网址� Paramount PicturesB次元官网网址� remake of the original 1989 Stephen King adaptation opened in a distant second with $25 million. ItB次元官网网址檚 a solid start for B次元官网网址淧et Sematary,B次元官网网址� though far from the haul that the last big-screen adaptation of KingB次元官网网址檚 conjured up: B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址� opened with $123.4 million in 2017.
Last weekB次元官网网址檚 top film, B次元官网网址淒umbo,B次元官网网址� slid steeply in its second week. Landing in third, the Disney live-action remake dropped 60% with $18.2 million.
Pitched as B次元官网网址淏次元官网网址楤igB次元官网网址� meets Superman,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淪hazam!B次元官网网址� stars Asher Angel as Billy Batson, a teenage foster kid who transforms into an adult superhero (played by Zachary Levi).
Jeff Goldstein, distribution chief at Warner Bros., said the studio originally forecast a $40 million opening. B次元官网网址淭hat was the right number for us,B次元官网网址� Goldstein said. B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 what we needed to make money on it.B次元官网网址�
But expectations grew based on reviews (91% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and audience reaction (an B次元官网网址淎B次元官网网址� Cinemascore). The PG-13-rated film attracted an especially young crowd; 45% were under 25.
The result further validated DCB次元官网网址檚 pivot following the disappointments of Zack SnyderB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淏atman v SupermanB次元官网网址� and David AyerB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淪uicide Squad.B次元官网网址� Warner Bros. has since steered its comic book adaptions in a different direction, leaning more on stand-alone entries less predicated on the overall B次元官网网址渦niverseB次元官网网址� and more fluctuating in tone. Following B次元官网网址淲onder WomanB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淎quaman,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址漇hazam!B次元官网网址� makes it three in a row for DC superhero standalones.
Earlier in the week, Warner Bros. also teased the DC release B次元官网网址淛oker,B次元官网网址� with Joaquin Phoenix, at CinemaCon. An even smaller-budgeted origin story with a similarly unique, albeit much darker, tone; it was one of the most talked-about movies at the Las Vegas event.
B次元官网网址淏次元官网网址榃onder WomanB次元官网网址� was really the start of changing the ship,B次元官网网址� Goldstein said. B次元官网网址淲hen you look at each of these properties, theyB次元官网网址檙e all very different. Their approach is different. Their tone is different. But hereB次元官网网址檚 the commonality: All good movies, all well done. I think thatB次元官网网址檚 what youB次元官网网址檒l see out of DC is very specific approaches for that property.B次元官网网址�
Overseas, B次元官网网址淪hazam!B次元官网网址� grossed $102 million in 79 markets, including $30.9 million in China.
B次元官网网址淒C has really found its groove,B次元官网网址� said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e really breaking out each character. Shazam and the Joker could not be two more different characters within the DC Universe. But I think that diversity of content is going to serve them well.B次元官网网址�
Dergarabedian noted the two most dominant genres in movies right now B次元官网网址� superheroes and horror B次元官网网址� swamped theatres over the weekend, taking up four of the top five spots at the box office. The stiff competition in similar-styled holdovers could have slightly depressed results for both B次元官网网址淪hazam!B次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淧et Sematary.B次元官网网址� But right now, thereB次元官网网址檚 scant room on the calendar between major comic book films and horror releases.
In fourth was Jordan PeeleB次元官网网址檚 horror thriller B次元官网网址淯s,B次元官网网址� which added $13.8 million in its third week. Its cumulative global total stands at $216.6 million.
MarvelB次元官网网址檚 Brie Larson-led B次元官网网址淐aptain Marvel,B次元官网网址� which recently crossed $1 billion in worldwide ticket sales, took in $12.7 million domestically in its fifth weekend. Captain Marvel, ironically, was ShazamB次元官网网址檚 original name when the character was first crafted, as a Superman knockoff, in 1939. He was relaunched in 1973 as Shazam after decades of lawsuits and the debut of MarvelB次元官网网址檚 own Captain Marvel.
The weekendB次元官网网址檚 other wide-release newcomer was STX EntertainmentB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淏est of Enemies,B次元官网网址� starring Taraji P. Henson as a civil rights activist and Sam Rockwell as a Ku Klux Klan leader. It opened with $4.5 million.
In limited release, Claire DenisB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淗igh Life,B次元官网网址� starring Robert Pattinson, opened with about $100,000 in four theatres for A24.
NeonB次元官网网址檚 Aretha Franklin documentary, B次元官网网址淎mazing Grace,B次元官网网址� debuted with $96,000 in eight locations. The film, shot over two days at the New Bethel Baptist Church in the Watts section of Los Angeles in 1972, was lost for decades in part because its director, Sydney Pollack, failed to slate the images, leaving them not synced with the audio. Before her death last August, Franklin sued several times to prevent its release.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Comscore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included.
1. B次元官网网址淪hazam!B次元官网网址� $53.4 million ($102 million international).
2. B次元官网网址淧et Sematary,B次元官网网址� $25 million ($17.3 million international).
3. B次元官网网址淒umbo,B次元官网网址� $18.2 million ($39.6 million international).
4. B次元官网网址淯s,B次元官网网址� $13.8 million ($10.3 million international).
5. B次元官网网址淐aptain Marvel,B次元官网网址� $12.7 million ($14.1 million international).
6. B次元官网网址淭he Best of Enemies,B次元官网网址� $4.5 million.
7. B次元官网网址淔ive Feet Apart,B次元官网网址� $3.7 million ($4.1 million international).
8. B次元官网网址淯nplanned,B次元官网网址� $3.2 million.
9. B次元官网网址淲onder Park,B次元官网网址� $2 million ($3.3 million international).
10. B次元官网网址淗ow to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,B次元官网网址� $2 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Comscore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included.
1. B次元官网网址淪hazam!B次元官网网址� $102 million.
2. B次元官网网址淒umbo,B次元官网网址� $39.6 million.
3. B次元官网网址淧 Storm,B次元官网网址� $27.5 million.
4. B次元官网网址淧et Sematary,B次元官网网址� $17.3 million.
5. B次元官网网址淐aptain Marvel,B次元官网网址� $14.1 million.
6. B次元官网网址淯s,B次元官网网址� $10.3 million.
7. B次元官网网址淎ndhadhun,B次元官网网址� $7.6 million.
8. B次元官网网址淪ong of Youth,B次元官网网址� $4.5 million.
9. B次元官网网址淔ive Feet Apart,B次元官网网址� $4.1 million.
10. B次元官网网址淐loud in the Wind,B次元官网网址� $3.4 million.
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
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