LEGO Batman Tops Fifty Shades Darker & John Wick 2 with $55.6 Million
by Brad Brevet
February 12, 2017


It was the best weekend at the 2017 box office so far, led by WB's The LEGO Batman Movie along with fellow newcomers Fifty Shades Darker and John Wick: Chapter Two topping the box office in that order.

But along with the new releases, five of the weekend's holdovers, especially Lion, held on extremely well, dropping 35% or less compared to last weekend. Overall the weekend top twelve came in just a fraction below our overall expectation of $180 million as the top twelve combined for an estimated $176.9 million.







At #1, WB's second film in their LEGO franchise, The LEGO Batman Movie, delivered an estimated $55.6 million, which is well below Mojo's forecast and even a bit below the $60 million the studio was expecting.

However, opening day audiences gave the film a strong "A-" CinemaScore, which plays well with the strong critical reception the film received. Of that audience, 48% were males vs. 52% females and 48% were over the age of 25.

Outside of North America, LEGO Batman brought in an estimated $37 million from 60 overseas markets for a combined, $92.6 worldwide opening.







In second position is Universal's Fifty Shades Darker, which topped the box office on Friday and held on well over the weekend, finishing with a slightly stronger than expected $46.79 million from 3,710 theaters.

Opening day audiences gave the film a "B+" CinemaScore and of that audience 70% was female vs. 30% male. The age breakdown saw 56% of the audience coming in under the age of 30.



Looking ahead, while this opening is nearly $40 million less than 2015's Fifty Shades of Grey, that was to be expected and how it plays this week with Valentine's Day on Tuesday and next weekend's four-day holiday weekend will be the true test as Fifty Shades of Grey dipped a massive 74% in its second weekend.

Overseas, Fifty Shades Darker delivered an estimated $100.1 million from 57 markets, the fourth largest international opening weekend ever for an R-rated film.







Third place belongs to Lionsgate's John Wick: Chapter Two, which more than doubled its predecessor's opening with an estimated $30 million from 3,113 theaters.

Opening day audiences scored the film with an "A-" CinemaScore (the first received a "B") to go along with its 76 Metacritic score (the first received a 68). The opening day audience was 64% male vs. 36% female, identical to the first film.



Looking ahead, the question now is to wonder if John Wick 2 can approach $90 million domestically. The first film delivered a 2.98x multiplier, which would suggest a nearly $90 million domestic run for the sequel. Based on the CinemaScore, opening weekend and R-rating a run closer to $73 million would trend closer to the average, but don't be surprised if John Wick 2 crosses $80 million if not a little bit higher.

Internationally, John Wick 2 debuted in 41 markets with an estimated $10.6 million.







Universal's Split finished in fourth, dropping just 35.4% for an estimated $9.3 million as its domestic cume climbs to $112.3 million.

The film will soon pass The Village's $114.2 million domestic total to become M. Night Shyamalan's fourth largest domestic release.







Rounding out the top five is the continued strong performance of Hidden Figures with an estimated $8 million, dropping just 21.5% in its eighth week since its limited, Christmas Day debut.

Its domestic cume now stands at an impressive $131.4 million, currently the highest grossing domestic release of the 2016 Best Picture nominees.







Elsewhere in the top ten, Lionsgate's La La Land grossed an estimated $5 million (-32.2%) for a total domestic cume of over $126 million.

Additionally, the film brought in an estimated $11.5 million internationally bringing its worldwide total to an estimated $294.3 million through Sunday.







The best holdover in the top ten was the Weinstein's Lion, which saw a 9% bump compared to last weekend despite dropping 68 theaters.

The Oscar contender delivered an estimated $4 million this weekend as its domestic cume now stands at $30.3 million since its limited bow 12 weeks ago.







Outside the top ten, other new openers include FIP's Jolly LLB 2, which brought in an estimated $780k from 173 theaters ($4,509 PTA); Magnolia's release of The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2017 brought in an estimated $660k from 184 theaters ($3,587 PTA); China Lion's Duckweed debuted in 27 theaters with an estimated $160k ($5,926 PTA); Fox Searchlight's A United Kingdom delivered an estimated $70k from four theaters ($17,500 PTA) and Sony Classics' Oscar contender Land of Mine debuted with an estimated $15,758 from three theaters ($5,253 PTA).

Lastly, Oscilloscope's Kedi delivered the best per theater opening average of the year so far as it brought in an estimated $40,510 from one theater this weekend.







Additional highlights this weekend include the release of xXx: The Return of Xander Cage, which brought in a whopping $61.9 million in China this weekend from 6,600 locations. It's the largest opening for a Hollywood film in February and with $6 million it delivered the second largest IMAX February opening in China behind The Monkey King 2.

The film's international cume now stands at an estimated $186.5 million for a worldwide total nearing $230 million, placing it second to 2002's xXx within the franchise.







This weekend also saw Illumination and Universal Pictures' Sing top $500 million worldwide as it brought in an estimated $7.5 million from 61 overseas markets this weekend bringing its overseas cume to $235.5 million.

Combined with $265.3 million domestically the film's worldwide cume stands at $500.8 million.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4267&p=.htm









February 10-12, 2017 Weekend Studio Estimates:


1. The LEGO Batman Movie $55,635,000
2. Fifty Shades Darker $46,797,825
3. John Wick: Chapter Two $30,015,000
4. Split $9,321,110 / $112,293,380
5. Hidden Figures $8,000,000 / $131,452,250
6. A Dog's Purpose $7,365,335 / $42,595,010
7. Rings $5,820,000 / $21,492,286
8. La La Land $5,000,000 / $126,010,345
9. Lion $4,083,000 / $30,368,722
10. The Space Between Us $1,760,000 / $6,595,158

LEGO Batman Tops Presidents' Day Weekend, Great Wall Leads Newcomers
by Brad Brevet
February 19, 2017


The LEGO Batman Movie topped the weekend box office for a second week in a row, holding off a trio of newcomers led by Universal's The Great Wall.

Fellow new releases, Fist Fight and particularly Fox's A Cure for Wellness, fizzled in their respective debuts as the start of 2017's Presidents' Day weekend saw the top twelve come in 47% behind last year. While that was mostly to be expected, it's a rather significant dip as 2017 is currently pacing 10.4% behind 2016's yearly grosses.







With an estimated $34.2 million, WB's The LEGO Batman Movie finished #1 by a considerable margin, dropping 35.4% and raising its domestic cume to $98.7 million after ten days in release. The film should top $43 million for the four-day weekend, pushing it over $100 million by end of day Monday.

Internationally, LEGO Batman is up to $72 million after bringing in an estimated $21.5 million from 62 markets this weekend elevating its worldwide total over $170 million.







In second place is Universal's Fifty Shades Darker, performing mostly as expected, dipping 55% in its second weekend and bringing in an estimated $20.9 million for the three-day weekend as its domestic cume grows to $89.6 million after ten days in release. The film is expected to top $24 million for the four-day holiday weekend.

In addition to its domestic performance, Fifty Shades Darker finished atop the international weekend box office for a second week in a row, bringing in an estimated $43.7 million from 59 markets. As a result, the film's international cume has grown to $187.2 million, bringing its worldwide total to $276.9 million.







In third we find the first of the weekend's new releases in Universal and Legendary's The Great Wall, which bested industry expectations delivering an estimated $18.1 million for the three-day and is expected to gross $21 million for the four-day weekend. The film received a so-so "B" CinemaScore from opening day audiences of which 59% were male vs. 41% female of which 50% were under the age of 30.

With a reported budget of $150 million that domestic opening looks weak, but when you consider The Great Wall has already generated over $244 million internationally and now stands at $262.7 million worldwide things come a bit more in focus.

However, a $150 million budget looms large and this one is still going to be looking for additional earnings as it continues to roll out internationally over the coming months as similar Legendary openers have failed to reach $45 million domestically.







Lionsgate's John Wick: Chapter Two finished in fourth position with an estimated $16.5 million for the three-day and is expected to deliver an estimated $19.5 million for the four-day weekend. The film's domestic cume stands at an estimated $58.6 million after just ten days, which already tops the entire domestic run of the first film's $43 million gross, a figure Chapter Two topped after just eight days in theaters.

Internationally, John Wick 2 is up to $31.8 million, bringing its worldwide total to just over $90 million with openings in France, Belgium, South Korea and Mexico set for next weekend.







Rounding out the top five is our second new release of the weekend, that being Warner Bros' release of New Line's comedy Fist Fight, which delivered an estimated $12 million from 3,185 theater and is expected to finish just over $13 million for the four-day weekend. Opening day audiences were only mildly impressed, awarding the film a "B" CinemaScore.

Looking ahead, a $30-35 million domestic run seems about right given the film's opening performance.







Hidden Figures finished in sixth as its domestic cume climbs over $140 million, continuing to solidify its position as the highest grossing release among 2016's Best Picture nominees.

The film also brought in an estimated $7.3 million internationally this weekend as its worldwide cume now stands at $163.9 million.







Universal's Split added an estimated $7 million as its cume now stands over $123 million domestically and Lionsgate's La La Land added an estimated $4.5 million this weekend bringing its domestic cume to $133.5 million.

Additionally, La La Land added $31.7 million from 73 international markets this weekend bringing its worldwide and international totals to an estimated $340.1 million and $206.1 million respectively.







Finally, rounding out the top ten is Fox's A Cure for Wellness, delivering an estimated $4.2 million from 2,704 theaters. Expectations were low for this one headed into the weekend and while we tried to present a case for how it might be able to outperform in our weekend preview it just wasn't to be.

The film is expected to fall short of $5 million for the four-day and word of mouth doesn't appear as if it will be helping matters over the coming weeks as it scored a disappointing "C+" CinemaScore with opening day audiences.

Internationally, A Cure for Wellness scrounged up $4.5 million from 2,734 screens in 36 markets including France and South Korea where it brought in an estimated $950K and $862K, respectively.





Outside the top ten, Lionsgate's release of Pantelion's Everybody Loves Somebody delivered an estimated $1 million from 333 theaters.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4269&p=.htm









February 17-19, 2017 Weekend Studio Estimates:


1. The LEGO Batman Movie $34,225,000 / $98,791,314
2. Fifty Shades Darker $20,966,845 / $89,663,300
3. The Great Wall $18,079,140
4. John Wick: Chapter Two $16,500,000 / $58,692,083
5. Fist Fight $12,015,000
6. Hidden Figures $7,100,000 / $142,591,830
7. Split $7,038,400 / $123,603,930
8. A Dog's Purpose $5,560,855 / $50,676,365
9. La La Land $4,500,000 / $133,504,066
10. A Cure for Wellness $4,200,000