Shyamalan's Split Impresses with $40 Million Debut as Rogue One Tops $1 Billion Worldwide
by Brad Brevet
January 22, 2017


M. Night Shyamalan has delivered a second hit in a row as his latest film, Split, is estimated to have delivered a top five January opening, leading the weekend charge with a three-day opening four times as big as its reported $10 million budget.

Meanwhile, Paramount's xXx: The Return of Xander Cage delivered as expected while the Weinstein's The Founder scored a top ten finish.

Additionally, Disney's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has become the 28th film to top $1 billion worldwide.







With an estimated $40.18 million, Split is currently the fourth largest January opening of all-time, just ahead of 2008's Cloverfield, which debuted with $40 million and went on to gross $80 million domestically.

This is also a dramatic improvement over Shyamalan's well-received 2015 thriller The Visit, which opened with $25.4 million and went on to gross over $65 million. Should Split be able to pull off a 2.5x multiplier we'd be looking at Shyamalan's first $100 million domestic earner since The Last Airbender brought in $131.7 million back in 2010.

Split received a "B+" CinemaScore from opening day audiences, of which 52% were female vs. 48% male and 52% were under the age of 25.







In second is Paramount's release of xXx: The Return of Xander Cage, which brought in an estimated $20 million from 3,651 theaters. The film also brought in an estimated $50.5 million internationally this weekend, finishing #1 in 32 of the 53 markets it opened in for an estimated $70.5 million worldwide debut.

Carrying a budget of $85 million, the third film in the xXx franchise received an "A-" CinemaScore from opening day audiences, of which 53% were male vs. 47% female and 62% were over the age of 25.







In third is Fox's breakout release of Hidden Figures, which brought in an estimated $16.25 million as its domestic cume is now just shy of $85 million.







Rounding out the top five, Lionsgate's La La Land brought in an estimated $8.35 million from 1,865 theaters as its domestic cume nears $90 million ahead of next weekend's Oscar nominations, following which it will expand into even more theaters nationwide.

The film also brought in an estimated $16.6 million from 57 international markets, lifting its international cume to $83.7 million for a worldwide total over $173 million.







Finishing just outside the top five is Disney's release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which brought in an estimated $7 million this weekend as its domestic cume climbs to $512.2 million plus an additional $9 million internationally.

This brings the film's international gross to $499.1 million for a worldwide gross over $1 billion, making Rogue One the 28th film to have ever grossed over $1 billion worldwide and Disney's fourth 2016 release to cross the milestone.







Inching into the top ten is The Weinstein Co.'s release of The Founder, which premiered in 1,115 theaters and brought in an estimated $3.75 million for a ninth place finish.

Additionally, A24's expanded release of 20th Century Women into 650 theaters (+621) brought in an estimated $1.4 million as its cume now stands at $2.3 million.







Speaking of expansions, after Martin Scorsese's Silence added 696 theaters last weekend and managed $1.98 million from 747 locations, Paramount added another 833 theaters this weekend and things didn't get much better.

From 1,580 locations, Silence brought in a mere $1.15 million as the film's domestic gross has so far limped over $5 million.







The last of the weekend's new wide releases is High Top's faith-based feature The Resurrection of Gavin Stone, which the studio was hoping would bring in $3 million this weekend from 887 theaters, but it could only muster $1.35 million.

This is on par with last year's Hillsong - Let Hope Rise, which went on to gross $2.39 million domestically.




In limited release, Sony Classics debuted The Red Turtle in three theaters where it brought in an estimated $21,811.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4261&p=.htm









January 20-22, 2017 Weekend Studio Estimates:


1. Split $40,190,000
2. xXx: The Return of Xander Cage $20,000,000
3. Hidden Figures $16,250,000 / $84,238,751
4. Sing $9,036,530 / $249,361,725
5. La La Land $8,350,000 / $89,680,497
6. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story $7,036,000 / $512,201,563
7. Monster Trucks $7,000,000 / $22,612,000
8. Patriots Day $6,000,000 / $23,639,945
9. The Founder $3,758,000
10. Sleepless $3,706,444 / $15,193,348

Split Dominates Newcomers in Second Weekend, Topping Dog's Purpose and Resident Evil
by Brad Brevet
January 29, 2017


M. Night Shyamalan's Split dominated in its second weekend at the box office, dropping only 34% to take the #1 spot for a second weekend in a row.

As a result, Universal held the #1 and #2 spots this weekend with Split and their release of Amblin and Walden Media's A Dog's Purpose, which topped the list of newcomers for a second place finish.



Meanwhile, Screen Gems's Resident Evil: The Final Chapter didn't blow the doors off domestically, delivering the lowest domestic opening for any film in the franchise, but the combined worldwide gross for this latest installment pushed the global cume for the six-film franchise over the $1 billion mark worldwide.

Additionally, Oscar frontrunner La La Land jumped 43% after nominations earlier this weekend as its global total now tops $220 million and Hidden Figures climbs over $100 million domestically.







With an estimated $26.26 million, Universal's Split delivered an impressive sophomore session, dropping a mere 34% and outperforming our weekend forecast by a wide margin for a second week in a row.

Internationally, Split brought in an estimated $14.8 million from 31 territories for an early international total of $23.7 million.







In second is Universal's A Dog's Purpose, which had to overcome some controversy in its opening weekend and ultimately delivered on expectation. The film premiered in 3,059 theaters and opened with an estimated $18.38 million.

Opening day audiences liked what they saw and gave the film an "A" CinemaScore, which could help it push toward a $61 million domestic run.







Screen Gems's Resident Evil: The Final Chapter wasn't able to secure a spot in the top three in its opening weekend as Fox's Hidden Figures narrowly edged it out with an estimated $14 million as it has now topped $100 million domestically on a $25 million budget.

As for Resident Evil, the film delivered an estimated $13.85 million from 3,104 theaters, the smallest opening for any film in the franchise, a distinction previously held by the original 2002 film which opened with $17.7 million.



Final Chapter is the sixth film in the long-running franchise adapted from the video game of the same name and along with this latest film's $64.5 million from 42 international markets its global cume stands at $78.35 million propelling the six film franchise above the $1 billion mark worldwide in collective box office receipts.

Looking ahead, the film received a "B" CinemaScore from opening day audiences, which is a slight improvement over recent installments, and it played to an audience that was 56% male vs 44% female, of which 45% were under the age of 25.

All that said, it will likely finish its run somewhere around $35 million or so.







Rounding out the top five is this year's front-runner at the Oscars, La La Land, which scored a record-tying 14 nominations on Tuesday and expanded its nationwide reach to 3,136 theaters (+1,271). The film brought in an estimated $12 million this weekend as its domestic cume now climbs to $106.5 million.

Internationally, La La Land added an estimated $23.4 million in 73 markets for an international cume of $117 million through Sunday, pushing its global cume over $223 million.







Finishing in tenth position is the last of the weekend's new wide releases, the Weinstein's Gold starring Matthew McConaughey. The film debuted in 2,166 theaters and heading into the weekend wasn't looking to make much of an impact and it ultimately delivered on that promise, opening with an estimated $3.47 million.

The film scored a "B-" CinemaScore from opening day audiences and a domestic run at or just below $10 million seems likely.







Outside the top ten several Oscar-nominated features saw a bump this weekend as several expanded their nationwide reach, some for a second time.

The release that saw the largest bump was Hacksaw Ridge, which was playing in 502 theaters (+377) and saw a 431% increase for a $415k weekend as its cume now stands at $65.9 million.

Outside of La La Land, Paramount's Arrival saw the largest expansion of the weekend as it played in 1,221 theaters (+1,041) and brought in an estimated $1.47 million as it continues to scratch and claw along, hoping to reach the century mark with a domestic cume that now stands at $97.3 million.

Tied with Arrival for the second largest number of Oscar nominations (8), A24's Moonlight expanded to its widest screen count to date in its 15th week of release and grossed an estimated $1.5 million from 1,104 theaters as its cume now stands at $17.7 million.







Of the weekend's new limited releases, Zee TV's debut of Raees began on Wednesday and this weekend it brought in an estimated $1.85 million from 265 theaters as its cume stands at $2.4 million after five days in release.

Lionsgate's release of Pantelion's Un Padre No Tan Padre brought in an estimated $1 million from 312 theaters; China Lion's Buddies in India debuted with $190k from 55 theaters; Well Go's Kung Fu Yoga opened with $112,300 from 14 theaters; and Cohen Media's release of Asghar Farhadi's The Salesman into three theaters topped the weekend's theater averages with an estimated $71,071, $23,690 per theater.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4263&p=.htm









January 27-29, 2017 Weekend Studio Estimates:


1. Split $26,268,685 / $77,998,775
2. A Dog's Purpose $18,386,020
3. Hidden Figures $14,000,000 / $104,021,694
4. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter $13,850,000
5. La La Land $12,050,000 / $106,509,372
6. xXx: The Return of Xander Cage $8,250,000 / $33,487,750
7. Sing $6,213,710 / $257,405,085
8. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story $5,124,000 / $520,049,573
9. Monster Trucks $4,100,000 / $28,135,147
10. Gold $3,470,000

Not the biggest M Night fan, but Split does look really good.

Split Threepeats Over Super Bowl Weekend as Newcomers Fumble
by Brad Brevet
February 5, 2017


Not many surprises this Super Bowl weekend as Universal's Split finished #1 for a third straight weekend in a row while the new releases struggled out of the gates.

Between the new releases, Paramount's Rings did manage a second place finish despite largely negative reviews while STX's The Space Between Us, floundered and finished well below expectations.

Overall, the top twelve grossed an estimated $81.1 million, a bit below the $82 million the top twelve combined for over last Super Bowl weekend, though actuals could show a bump as studios could be playing it a bit conservative with Sunday estimates ahead of this evening's big game.







With an estimated $14.6 million, M. Night Shyamalan's Split is the #1 movie for the third weekend in a row as the film's domestic cume climbs to $98.7 million. This is the first time Shyamalan has had a film top the weekend box office three weeks in a row since 1999's The Sixth Sense and will shortly be his fifth film to top $100 million at the domestic box office.

Combined with an estimated $44 million internationally, the film's worldwide total currently stands at $142.7 million.







Finishing in second is the first of the weekend's new wide releases, Paramount's Rings, the third film in The Ring franchise and the worst opener of the trilogy with an estimated $13 million from 2,931 theaters. In addition to its domestic opening, Rings brought in an estimated $15.2 million internationally from 35 markets for a $28.2 million worldwide debut.

It's hard to say the film's opening is a surprise as it had bounced around the release schedule after it was originally set to hit theaters in November of 2015 and upon release, reviews were embargoed until Friday morning. At that point the flood gates opened and the film scored a dismal 5% on RottenTomatoes and a 24 on Metacritic.

Looking ahead, opening day audiences gave Rings a "C-" CinemaScore. The audience was 46% male vs 54% female of which 67% were under the age of 25. At this point it might be a struggle for this one to climb much higher than $27 million, similar to how last year's Blair Witch could only manage a 2.16x multiplier after opening with $9.57 million.







Universal's A Dog's Purpose finished third, dropping 41% from its opening weekend with an estimated $10.8 million. This result comes on the heels of news that an investigation by the American Humane organization into alleged on set animal abuse found no injuries or cruelty took place.

The report also states the 2015 video that was released online ahead of the film's opening weekend was deliberately edited to mislead the public. The film's domestic cume now stands at $32.9 million, but there is no telling what kind of effect the pre-release controversy may have had on the feature.







In fourth, Hidden Figures continues its impressive run, bringing in an estimated $10 million this weekend as its cume is now just shy of $120 million domestically. Attempting to find satisfying comparisons for the film has not been easy given its initial limited release.

That said, we put together a group of films that had similar release patterns and Hidden Figures continues to hold its own.







Rounding out the top five, La La Land finished its march through awards season as it brought in an estimated $7.45 million domestically as its cume is now just shy of $120 million.

It also brought in an estimated $20.1 million internationally as its worldwide total has reached $268 million.







A little further down the list, the Weinstein's Oscar contender, Lion expanded into 1,405 theaters (+830) and finished in eighth with an estimated $4 million as its cume now stands at $24.7 million.







Finishing ninth is the weekend's other new wide release, STX's The Space Between Us, which finished well below the $8-10 million, pre-release industry expectations with an estimated $3.8 million.

The film received a bit of a critical drubbing as it scored a 33 on Metacritic and an 18% on RottenTomatoes. Opening day audiences didn't quite agree with reviews, giving the film an "A-" CinemaScore. Of that audience 69% were female moviegoers vs. 31% male, of which 33% of the audience was under the age of 18.







In moderate release, Sony Classics opened The Comedian in 848 theaters where it brought in an estimated $1.12 million.







In limited release, Magnolia debuted Raoul Peck's well-reviewed documentary I am Not Your Negro into 43 theaters with the Film Forum and Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York on target to break house records for opening weekend gross as they have sold out every show this weekend.

Magnolia is currently estimating a $709,500 opening for a $16,500 per screen average. Yet, that isn't the per screen champion this weekend as Jamal Joseph's Chapter & Verse brought in an estimated $32,713 from one theater, Harlem's MIST Theater.

Looking ahead, both films will be expanding over the coming weeks.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4265&p=.htm









February 3-5, 2017 Weekend Studio Estimates:


1. Split $14,584,485 / $98,700,950
2. Rings $13,000,000
3. A Dog's Purpose $10,824,830 / $32,926,095
4. La La Land $7,450,000 / $118,306,924
5. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter $4,500,000 / $21,851,775
6. Sing $4,080,715 / $262,907,195
7. Lion $4,006,000 / $24,711,674
8. The Space Between Us $3,820,000
9. xXx: The Return of Xander Cage $3,700,000 / $40,024,887
10. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story $2,933,000 / $524,642,512