"Ready Player One" Makes #1 during Easter Weekend

[JamesG]

Ready Player One Tops Easter Weekend Box Office with $53M Four-Day Debut
by Brad Brevet
April 1, 2018


Coming in on par with Mojo's pre-weekend forecast, Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One topped the weekend box office and delivered the director's largest opening weekend in ten years.

The weekend also saw a strong second place debut for Lionsgate's Acrimony, the latest film from Tyler Perry, while Black Panther and I Can Only Imagine remain in the top five with their continued impressive runs.

Not so impressive was the debut for Pure Flix's God's Not Dead: A Light in Darkness, which finished outside the top ten and short of expectations.







At the top of the box office is Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One, delivering an estimated $53.2 million four-day after debuting on Thursday, and $41.2 million for the standard three-day weekend for the fifth largest Easter opening ever.

The film is the largest opening weekend for Spielberg since the $100 million debut for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull back in 2008. Ready Player One received an "A-" CinemaScore from opening day audiences.

Internationally, Ready Player One opened in 62 markets and brought in a healthy $128 million for a strong $181.2 million global debut.







In second, Lionsgate's release of Tyler Perry's Acrimony delivered a healthy $17.1 million from 2,006 theaters for a $8,524 per theater average. The film received an "A-" CinemaScore from opening day audiences

The film's opening is within the range of Perry's The Family that Preys (2008) and For Colored Girls (2010), both of which went on to gross $37 million.







Marvel and Disney's Black Panther landed in third position with an estimated $11.2 million, pushing the film's domestic cume over $650 million.

The film currently places as the fifth largest domestic release of all-time and will soon top Jurassic World ($652.2m) and Titanic ($659.3m), likely finishing its domestic run as the third largest domestic release of all-time.

Internationally, Black Panther added an estimated $7.7 million, pushing its global cume to $1.273 billion, passing Beauty and the Beast ($1.26b), now placing eleventh worldwide all-time and will soon enter the top ten once it passes Frozen ($1.277b).







In fourth is Roadside and Lionsgate's I Can Only Imagine, which expanded for the second weekend in a row, this weekend playing in 2,648 theaters (+395) and bringing in a strong $10.75 million.

This pushes the film's domestic cume over $55.5 million, becoming Roadside's largest domestic release ever, topping Manchester by the Sea's $47.69 million run in 2017.







Rounding out the top five is Universal and Legendary's Pacific Rim Uprising, dropping a hefty 67% for a $9.2 million sophomore weekend.

The film's domestic cume currently stands at $45.6 million after ten days in release.







Elsewhere in the top ten, both Sherlock Gnomes and Love, Simon, held on well in their second and third weekends respectively.

Sherlock Gnomes held on better than expected after a soft debut last weekend, delivering an estimated $7 million weekend, pushing the film's cume to $22.8 million while Love, Simon dropped 37% in its third weekend, finishing with $4.8 million for a domestic cume just over $32 million.







Outside the top ten, Fox Searchlight's Isle of Dogs expanded to 165 theaters (+138) and brought in an estimated $2.8 million for a satisfying $17,030 per theater average.

The film will expand to 450-500 locations next weekend before going wide on the weekend of April 13.







Also outside the top ten is the disappointing debut for Pure Flix's God's Not Dead: A Light in Darkness.

Debuting in 1,693 locations, pre-weekend expectations were for an opening around $4 million, but the film managed just $2.6 million over its first three days, ~$5 million short of the $7.6 million opening for God's Not Dead 2 in 2016 and more than $6.5 million shy of the $9.2 million opening for the first film back in 2014, despite the fact the first film opened in just 780 theaters.







In limited release, Fox International's Baaghi 2 brought in an estimated $580,000 from 123 theaters ($4,715 PTA); Roadside's Finding Your Feet opened with $61,295 on 14 screens ($4,378 PTA); Neon debuted Gemini in four theaters where it opened with an estimated $34,184 ($8,546 PTA); The Orchard's Outside In brought in $11,339 from nine theaters ($1,260 PTA); IFC opened Love After Love in one location with an estimated $11,263; Film Movement re-released Sergio Corbucci's The Great Silence in one location with an estimated $7,639; and Gravitas debuted The Gardener in one theater with an estimated $6,800.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4384&p=.htm









March 30 - April 1, 2018 Weekend Studio Estimates:


1. Ready Player One $53,215,000
2. Tyler Perry's Acrimony $17,100,000
3. Black Panther $11,263,000 / $650,699,634
4. I Can Only Imagine $10,750,685 / $55,576,022
5. Pacific Rim Uprising $9,205,000 / $45,670,820
6. Sherlock Gnomes $7,000,000 / $22,820,646
7. Love, Simon $4,800,000 / $32,140,794
8. Tomb Raider $4,700,000 / $50,502,178
9. A Wrinkle in Time $4,694,000 / $83,250,414
10. Paul, Apostle of Christ $3,500,000 / $11,530,838