“To more than double your production budget on opening weekend is a fantastic result”, declared Sony worldwide president of marketing and distribution Josh Greenstein.
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“As it turns out horror is the least scary genre this summer, especially to the bean counters in Hollywood”, said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for box office tracker comScore. The film, which had a $10 million price tag, joins a long list of horror hits this summer that made far more money than they cost to make. As Deadline points out, other recent horror movies Lights Out and The Conjuring 2 had box office drops of 22 percent and 15 percent respectively from their first Friday to Saturday.
Falling to No. 2 is Warner Bros.’ “Suicide Squad”.
Don’t Breathe took the top spot at the weekend box office, earning $26.1 million and scaring the crap out of moviegoers.
“Kubo and the Two Strings” moves up one slot to the third place in its second week. The $5 million found-footage horror film drew his strongest reviews in more than a decade and grossed nearly $100 million worldwide.
Jason Statham-starrer Mechanic: Resurrection debuted to $7.5 million from 3,246 theaters, below the $11.4 million opening of The Mechanic in 2011. The thriller “Don’t Breathe” took the top spot in theaters with an impressive $26.1 million. “Sausage Party” has earned $88.0 million worldwide. Cheaper genres that used to flood the release market, like biopics, romantic comedies, and teen-focused dramas, have mostly been pushed to specific seasons (like close to Valentine’s Day or the final weeks of Oscar eligibility in November and December).
War Dogs fell exactly as you might expect for a male audience-targeted action dramedy, off 51% to $7.3 million for #7 in its second weekend. It is showing a bit more overseas strength than might be expected for what was marketed as a war on terror-related film; that genre doesn’t often perform almost as well internationally.
“The Secret Life of Pets”, $24.6 million.
Bad Moms’ summer sleeper hit status continues as it held onto #8 in its fifth weekend with $5.8 million, down just 28%.
An unnecessary Jason Bourne sequel and unwarranted retelling of Ben-Hur complete the top ten.
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Note: Numbers include Sunday estimates and are three-day estimates.
