By Chris Kavan - 04/16/17 at 09:03 PM CT
We all knew that the new Fate of the Furious was going to open big. While its domestic debut may not have shattered any records, it was on the the international front that it made the biggest impact, and it means this franchise still has a lot left in its tank. Meanwhile, most of the hold-overs managed to keep a decent grip, though Ghost in the Shell continued to drop like a rock. Next week a whopping five new films are going to debut, though I don't think any are going to be able to top Fate of the Furious, which looks to have a long and impressive run ahead of it.
1) THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS
It has been a great track record for the Fast and Furious films. The Fate of the Furious is no different, though the biggest distinction this time is on the international front. That is not to knock the film's domestic debut. With $100.1 million, it is only the second film in the Fast franchise to top $100 million on its opening weekend. That total is below the $147 million opening of Furious 7, but, remember, Paul Walker's death loomed large over that film and brought in a bigger audience because of it. Even so, audiences awarded this outing an "A" Cinemascore - with males making up 58% of said audience and 50% coming in under 25. That is solid, but the big news is its international debut. With an eye-popping $432.3 million, it obliterated the international record set by Jurassic World at a mere $316.7 million. It opened in first place in all 63 territories it debuted in, including a record for an American film in China with $195.5 million. In total, it broke opening-day records in 17 territories (including China). With its domestic total factored in, it also set a worldwide record with $532.5 million, topping the $529 million of The Force Awakens. It also set a record for the best opening from an African-American director as F. Gary Gray also passed Tim Story as the top worldwide grossing film... on opening weekend ($330 million for the Fantastic Four). With this kind of opening, Fate of the Furious will top the $1 billion mark without much issue, and it remains to be seen how close it can come to the $1.5 billion set by Furious 7. In any case, it will be right up there with Beauty and the Beast, Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and, of course, The Last Jedi as one of the highest-grossing films of 2017. We'll see where it ultimately winds up, but with these numbers around $1.3 billion is likely.
2)
THE BOSS BABY
Families not looking to see fast cars and improbable plot points instead turned back to The Boss Baby. The animated film managed to hold on pretty well, dipping 41.1% and taking in $15.5 million, giving the film a new total of $116.32 million. Its week-to-week numbers continue to trend very closely to fellow animated films Trolls, Home and How to Train Your Dragon 2 and it is still looking at a domestic total at around the $150-$160 million mark as long as it can hold on as summer approaches. Worldwide it is approached $240 million and it will be money-maker in the end without much problem as there are already talks about a sequel in the works and, why not? - when you have a good thing going, milk it for all its worth.
3)
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
The other big family films (and current 2017 champion) Beauty and the Beast also had a good hold, dropping 42.4% in its fifth weekend and adding $13.63 million to its $454.64 million. It sits at 12th place on the domestic charts, just behind the $459 million of Avengers: Age of Ultron. It has already crossed the $1 billion mark and sits at a nice $1.043 billion worldwide, 22nd on the all-time list and it certain to rise a bit more on both lists in the weeks ahead. Its last major market is Japan next week, though it still looks to have a good chance at hitting $475 million domestic and could still hit $500 if Disney keeps it around (and in decent number of theaters) for another few weeks.
4)
SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE
The other family option, Smurfs opened lower and also had a bigger second-week drop than the previous films. With a 50.8% hit, The Lost Village earned $6.5 million and gave the film a new total of $24.7 million. Both Smurfs 2 (46%) and the original Smurfs (41%) held up much better and the downward trend means this $60 million film is looking at a total of less than $40 million domestic and better hope its international numbers can push it in to the black. In any case, I have a feeling that this franchise is dead in the water - at least for the near future.
5)
GOING IN STYLE
The geriatric heist comedy dropped 46.8% in its second weekend where it brought in $6.35 million, giving the film a new total of $23.37 million. Despite its decent reviews and older audience, it didn't have a second-week hold one would expect for a film targeting said audience. In any case, the $25 million film is looking at a total of $35 million and while that is above its budget, it is still going to need help overseas to offset all its costs (including marketing) so it remains to be seen if the film will turn a profit or not.
Outside the top five: Gifted, expanded from 56 to 1146 theaters and did jump from 16th to 6th place (a 572% increase) bringing in $3 million for a new $4.37 million total - and about as good as was expected. The film is still scheduled to expand to more theaters, though I don't think the numbers are going to get much better for the niche title.
For the eight weekend in a row, the amazing performance of Get Out continued, as the horror film had the smallest drop out of any film in the top 10, with a mere 28.1% drop. Jordan Peele's directorial debut has earned $167.5 million to date, and could reasonable cross the $175 million mark.
Next week is bringing us a lot of new films: historical drama The Promise, action film Free Fire, the thriller Unforgettable, found footage horror film Phoenix Forgotten and the family-friendly Born in China. Despite this influx, Fate of the Furious should have no problem once again topping the box office and it will be interesting to see just how big a second weekend it can have on the worldwide front.
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