Studio Weekend Box Office Report: Bad Boys for Life, 1917, The Gentlemen, The Turning

Following Bad Boys for Life’s impressive $73 million four-day debut over the MLK weekend — a result that helped contribute to a five percent rise in the year-over-year box office to date — the Sony threequel remained at the top of the heap this weekend with an estimated $34 million, while wide-release newcomers The Gentlemen and The Turning opened to mixed results and 1917 continued on a strong trajectory that saw it surpass the $100 million mark in North America.

Enjoying its second weekend at No. 1, Sony’s Bad Boys for Life dipped 46% from its debut, a strong hold that brought the total for the action-comedy to $120.6 million after ten days of release. Not adjusting for inflation, that puts it 27% ahead of 2003’s Bad Boys II at the same point in its run.

Second place went to Universal’s WWI drama 1917, which dipped to No. 3 in its third weekend of wide release with an estimated $15.8 million. That brings the 10-time Oscar nominee to a solid $103.8 million to date, with potentially much more left in the tank as it shapes up as a favorite for Best Picture honors at next month’s Oscars.

Universal has enjoyed considerably less success with Dolittle, another newcomer from last weekend, which brought in an estimated $12.5 million in is sophomore frame. That’s a drop of 42% for the mega-expensive Universal title, which now has $44.6 million domestically. While not an awful tally, that’s a major disappointment relative to the Robert Downey Jr. vehicle’s reported $175 million budget.

Newcomer The Gentlemen grossed an estimated $11.03 million from 2,165 locations in its debut weekend, a healthy opening for the action-comedy release. The film was certainly boosted by a marquee cast that includes Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Henry Golding and Michelle Dockery as well as the name value of director Guy Ritchie, who returned to his Lock, Stock and Snatch roots after a decade of helming franchise films like Sherlock Holmes, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and last year’s live-action blockbuster Aladdin. Notably, this is his best non-franchise wide opening ever, topping Snatch‘s $8 million debut in January 2000.

Indeed, The Gentlemen is shaping up to be a solid win for distributor STX, which acquired U.S. rights to the film from Miramax for $7 million. Its 72% Rotten Tomatoes critics score, a marketing campaign that emphasized the project’s well-liked stars and strong appeal with an older male audience also helped juice its total this weekend. The audience for the film was, predictably, 60% male, while 55% of those who turned out were between the ages of 25 and 44.

Sony’s leggy threequel Jumanji: The Next Level dipped just 18% to an estimated $7.9 million in fifth place, bringing its total to a sturdy $283.4 million through the end of its seventh weekend. At this rate, the family adventure is looking like a lock for $300 million domestically.

The weekend’s other freshman, Universal’s horror film The Turning, opened in sixth place with an estimated $7.3 million from 2,571 locations, which is right around what the Kristen Stewart horror-thriller Underwater opened to a couple of weeks back. That’s a so-so start for the low-budget title, which suffered from abysmal critical notices (it currently sits at just 12% on Rotten Tomatoes) and a January market that has been crowded with similar fare like Underwater and The Grudge, making it more difficult for the film to stand out. The studio reports that The Turning received an “F” Cinemascore from opening day audiences, boding poorly for its long-term prospects.

Falling out of the top five for the first time was Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which scooped up an estimated $5.2 million in its sixth weekend of release for $501.6 million to date. That makes the Disney blockbuster only the 15th film ever to top the $500 million mark in North America, albeit at a much slower pace than The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi and even Rogue One, which managed the feat a weekend earlier in 2017. While Skywalker is an undeniable smash on almost every metric, it’s notable that it probably won’t even match the $532.1 million total brought in by Rogue One — a spin-off of the main series — by the end of its domestic run.

Slipping just 25% in eighth place was Sony’s Little Women, which brought in an estimated $4.7 million in its fifth weekend of release. With $93.7 million to date, the hit adaptation and Best Picture nominee has its sights set on $100 million, a figure it should reach at some point next weekend.

Also holding well was the Warner Bros. title Just Mercy, which slipped just 29% to an estimated $4.05 million in ninth place. The Jamie Foxx-Michael B. Jordan drama has now brought in just over $27 million after three weekends of wide release and five weekends overall.

Rounding out the Top 10 was Lionsgate’s Knives Out, which brought in an estimated $3.6 million (a drop of just 15%) for a smashing $151.8 million total through the end of its ninth weekend.

Notable outside the Top 10 this weekend was Neon’s Parasite, which expanded to 1,060 screens on the heels of its Best Picture nomination and brought in an estimated $2 million, enough for it to become distributor Neon’s highest-grossing title to date with $30.9 million.

Overseas Update:

Continuing its strong run internationally, Bad Boys for Life brought in an estimated $42 million from 58 markets, pushing its total to $95 million overseas and $215 million global. Major markets including Japan, Brazil and Italy have yet to open.

1917 crossed the $200 million global mark this weekend with an estimated $23.7 million, bringing its overseas total to $96.6 million and its global tally to $200.5 million.

Dolittle brought in an estimated $13.2 million overseas this weekend, brining its international total to $46.4 million and its global tally to $91.1 million.


Sunday’s Studio Weekend Estimates (Domestic)

FRI, JAN. 24 – SUN, JAN. 26

WIDE (1000+)

# TITLE WEEKEND   LOCATIONS   AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Bad Boys For Life $34,000,000 -46% 3,775 0 $9,007 $120,644,165 2 Sony / Columbia
2 1917 $15,800,000 -28% 3,937 325 $4,013 $103,883,309 5 Universal Pictures
3 Dolittle $12,500,000 -43% 4,155 0 $3,008 $44,684,730 2 Universal
4 The Gentlemen $11,030,000 2,165 $5,095 $11,030,000 1 STX Entertainment
5 Jumanji: The Next Level $7,900,000 -19% 3,121 -202 $2,531 $283,445,800 7 Sony Pictures
6 The Turning $7,300,000 2,571 $2,839 $7,300,000 1 Universal Pictures
7 Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker $5,173,000 -38% 2,800 -258 $1,848 $501,583,140 6 Disney
8 Little Women $4,700,000 -26% 2,528 25 $1,859 $93,727,401 5 Sony Pictures
9 Just Mercy $4,055,000 -30% 2,408 -49 $1,684 $27,078,382 5 Warner Bros.
10 Knives Out $3,650,000 -15% 1,677 10 $2,177 $151,865,922 9 Lionsgate
11 Frozen II $2,549,000 -33% 1,750 -330 $1,457 $469,812,568 10 Disney
12 Parasite $2,000,000 17% 1,060 217 $1,887 $30,939,009 16 NEON
13 Spies in Disguise $1,790,000 -33% 1,323 -438 $1,353 $62,049,741 5 20th Century Fox
14 Like a Boss $1,535,000 -62% 1,723 -1358 $891 $20,532,029 3 Paramount Pictures
15 Jojo Rabbit $1,360,000 -9% 1,160 155 $1,172 $25,934,637 15 Fox Searchlight
16 Underwater $1,195,000 -68% 1,677 -1114 $713 $15,905,984 3 20th Century Fox

LIMITED (100 — 999)

# TITLE WEEKEND   LOCATIONS   AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Ford v. Ferrari $822,000 -23% 804 -276 $1,022 $114,352,875 11 20th Century Fox
2 Uncut Gems $703,150 -46% 490 -440 $1,435 $47,681,505 7 A24
3 Weathering With You $693,231 -62% 458 -28 $1,514 $6,552,876 2 GKIDS
4 Bombshell $565,000 -8% 596 186 $948 $30,242,418 7 Lionsgate
5 The Grudge $310,000 -66% 420 -557 $738 $20,757,664 4 Sony Pictures
6 Panga $281,000 102 $2,755 $281,000 1 FIP
7 A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood $190,000 -35% 240 -125 $792 $60,912,027 10 Sony Pictures
8 Once Upon a Time In Hollywood $115,000 -64% 325 -380 $354 $141,828,823 27 Sony Pictures
9 Cats $112,000 -22% 133 -13 $842 $26,985,835 6 Universal Pictures
10 The Song Of Names $111,417 20% 182 106 $612 $663,537 5 Sony Pictures Classics
11 Clemency $86,500 392% 127 117 $681 $229,203 5 Neon

PLATFORM (1 — 99)

# TITLE WEEKEND   LOCATIONS   AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Color Out Of Space $217,800 81 $2,689 $358,164 1 RLJE Films
2 Les Misérables (2020) $59,674 -14% 69 27 $865 $207,502 3 Amazon Studios
3 Pain and Glory $56,621 -41% 68 -99 $833 $4,317,655 17 Sony Pictures Classics
4 Maleficent: Mistress of Evil $51,000 -29% 90 -15 $567 $113,834,669 15 Disney
5 Queen & Slim $38,000 -43% 72 -48 $528 $43,790,275 9 Universal Pictures
6 A Hidden Life $37,000 -22% 43 -12 $860 $1,691,540 7 Fox Searchlight
7 Chhapaak $16,000 -85% 21 -79 $762 $601,302 3 FIP
8 Citizen K $14,000 47% 7 6 $2,000 $55,327 10 Greenwich Entertainment
9 Invisible life $10,970 -53% 11 -4 $997 $141,154 6 Amazon Studios