The Meg munches on Moviegoers with $141 million at global box office
Warner Bros. Pictures mondo-sized monster movie The Meg opened this weekend in the #1 spot both domestically and internationally with a splash. The long in-development adaptation of the best-selling book by Steve Alten bit into the domestic box office with a $44.3 million weekend haul and swam into open waters internationally with an additional $97 million in 42 territories. Globally the film swallowed the competition bringing in $141.3 and exceeding expectations. Directed by John Turteltaub, the film stars Jason Statham, Li Bingbing, Cliff Curtis, Rainn Wilson, Ruby Rose, Winston Chao, Page Kennedy, Jessica McNamee, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Robert Taylor, Sophia Shuya Cai, and Masi Oka.
Mission: Impossible – Fallout continues to hold on, staying in second place in its third weekend of release and bringing in an additional $20 million this weekend, giving it a domestic total of $161.9 million. The sequel brought in another $38.4 million from 59 overseas markets, giving it an international total of $275.6 million and a worldwide total of $437.5 million. The sixth entry in the series remains on par with earlier films in the franchise but still has time to catch up 2011’s Ghost Protocol and 2015’s Rogue Nation which finished their theatrical runs with $694.7 million worldwide and $682.7 million worldwide, respectively. Tom Cruise leads the Christopher McQuarrie film which co-stars Henry Cavill, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames, Angela Bassett, Michelle Monaghan and Alec Baldwin.
Disney’s Christopher Robin fell from second to third place in its second weekend of release, adding $12.4 million domestically and another $3.8 million internationally. The live-action Winnie the Pooh film now has a US total of $50 million and global total $62.1 million. Directed by Marc Forster, Ewan McGregor stars as the title character alongside Hayley Atwell, Bronte Carmichael, and Mark Gatiss. Voicing the characters from the hundred acre wood include Jim Cummings as Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, Brad Garrett as Eeyore, Toby Jones as Owl, Nick Mohammed as Piglet, Peter Capaldi as Rabbit, and Sophie Okonedo as Kanga.
Sony/Screen Gems’ Slender Man brought in $11.325 million for the weekend on a budget of $10 million and exceeding studio expectations. The film however did receive a terrifying “D-“ CinemaScore which will likely effect its remaining weeks of play in theaters. The meme-based movie was directed by and stars Joey King, Julia Goldani-Telles, Jaz Sinclair, and Annalise Basso, with Javier Botet as the titular internet monster.
Spike Lee’s latest joint BlacKkKlansman opened to $10.79 million domestically, the third highest opening of the director’s long prolific career and landing in fifth place. Based on a true story, the film stars John David Washington, Adam Driver, Laura Harrier and Topher Grace.
Lionsgate’s Mila Kunis/Kate McKinnon action comedy The Spy Who Dumped Me fell from third to sixth place, bringing in another $6.6 million for a domestic total of $24.56 million. Also starring in the comedy are Outlander’s Sam Heughan, Justin Theroux, Gillian Anderson, Hasan Minhai, and Ivanna Sakhno. Susanna Fogel directs from a script she co-wrote with David Iserson.
Universal’s Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again earned $5.8 million, clearing the sequel of the $100 million mark and giving it a total of $103.8 million domestically. Internationally the musical has now earned $177 million for a global tally of $280.8 million. The sequel is still a long ways away from reaching the original’s heights of $609 million worldwide. Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard, Amanda Seyfried, Christine Baranski and Dominic Cooper star.
Columbia Pictures’ The Equalizer 2 brought in another $5.5 million in its fourth weekend of release giving it a US total of $89.6 million, just behind the first film’s total of $101 million. Internationally the R-rated sequel has brought in just $10.2 million from just 16 markets, with a release coming next week in France, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, and the UK with Russia, Italy, Japan and South Korea to follow later in the fall. Directed by Antoine Fuqua, the film stars Denzel Washington in the title role once again in the first sequel of his career. Pedro Pascal, Ashton Sanders, Bill Pullman, and Melissa Leo co-star.
Sony Pictures Animation’s Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation fell from sixth to ninth place, but still managed a reasonable $5.1 million for its fifth weekend of release. Domestically the animated adventure has brought in $146.88 million. Internationally it put up another $17.1 milion for the weekend, bringing the international total $231.4 million, and giving it a global total of $378.28 million globally. The third entry in the animated series has now eclipsed the first film worldwide and is nipping at its heels domestically. Featuring the voices of Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kevin James, David Spade, Steve Buscemi, Keegan-Michael Key, Molly Shannon, Fran Drescher, Kathryn Hahn, Jim Gaffigan, and Mel Brooks, the sequel is directed by Genndy Tartakovsky.
