Weekend Actuals: ‘Dark Tower’ Is (Stephen) King w/ $19.1M; ‘Dunkirk’ Close 2nd w/ $17.1M; ‘Kidnap’ Steals $10.0M

Monday Update: While not quite “towering” over the competition, Sony’s The Dark Tower eked out a narrow win at the box office with $19.1 million. Warner Bros.’ Dunkirk, after leading the past two weekends and a contender to three-peat, took second place with $17.1 million.

Aviron’s Kidnap started decently with $10.0 million in fifth place, Annapurna’s Detroit came in slightly below expectations with $7.1 million and eighth place, and the Despicable Me franchise became the highest-grossing animated series of all time globally — overtaking the Shrek franchise.

The full table of weekend actuals is at bottom, after our Sunday update article featuring fuller numbers and analysis.


Sunday Update: While not quite “towering” over the competition, Sony’s The Dark Tower eked out a narrow win at the box office. Warner Bros.’ Dunkirk, after leading the past two weekends and a contender to three-peat, took second place.

Aviron’s Kidnap started decently, Annapurna’s Detroit came in slightly below expectations, and the Despicable Me franchise became the highest-grossing animated series of all time globally.

Contrary to some pre-release predictions that it would open as runner-up, The Dark Tower was able to snag first place with an estimated $19.5 million — despite poor reviews including an 18 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The hybrid sci-fi/Western Stephen King adaptation starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey continues Sony’s reversal of fortune, as the formerly-beleaguered studio posts three of the top six films this weekend, and four of the top 11. As recently as a month ago, Sony ranked last place for the year among the seven major studios, but they now rank in fifth place.

After leading for the past two weekends, Warner Bros.’ Dunkirk took second place with $17.6 million. Although some expected the film to three-peat, this should still be considered a win for the film.

It’s already earned $133.5 million and looks likely to potentially clear the $200 million mark by the end of its run — the absolute upper end of pre-release projections. If it can continue to post drops as low as its 34 percent decline this weekend, the title could potentially remain in the top 10 for two months, given the relative lack of competition expected this August and September.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-Ht8VRPRvU

Kidnap, a thriller starring Halle Berry and the debut release from the new studio Aviron, opened in fifth place with $10.2 million.

Despite a 40 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Kidnap was able to exceed expectations by several million dollars — the average prediction on Box Office Theory was $7.4 million. Along with Girls Trip and Atomic Blonde, three of this weekend’s top seven films star a woman in the lead role.

(A meaningless but quirky fun fact: the top six films this weekend came in alphabetical order.)

Annapurna’s Detroit, a drama directed by Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow and considered an awards contender, came in seventh place with $7.2 million on its first weekend in wide release After opening well if not amazingly on select screens last weekend, the film came in a bit below most expectations — the average prediction on Box Office Theory was $9.4 million.

Phrased another way, of this weekend’s two wide releases besides Dark TowerDetroit was expected to finish a few million dollars ahead of Kidnap, but instead it was the other way around. Still, the 88 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and awards buzz may help Detroit continue its run heading forward.

Although it finished in 10th place domestically this weekend, Universal’s Despicable Me 3 notched a major milestone. The Despicable Me franchise became the highest-grossing animated series of all time globally, overtaking the Shrek series.

One caveat: due to rising ticket prices through the years, the Shrek franchise has still sold more total tickets (at least for now). Nevertheless, this accomplishment reflects just what a cash cow Despicable has become, despite DM3 being on track to finish lower both domestically and globally than either DM2 or Minions.

And Warner Bros.’ Wonder Woman, coming in 12th place, finally fell out of the top 10 this weekend. But its nine weekends spent in the top 10 rank in the top five for that metric this year, alongside La La Land, Hidden Figures, Beauty and the Beast, and The Boss Baby.

The top 10 films this weekend earned an estimated $106.6 million. That’s 20 percent behind last weekend, and 39 percent below this same weekend last year, when Jason Bourne led with $59.2 million. Year-to-date gross is 3.1 percent behind last year.


Weekend Actuals for Friday, August 4 – Sunday, August 6, 2017:

WIDE (1000+)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 The Dark Tower $19,153,698 3,451 $5,550 $19,153,698 1 Sony / Columbia
2 Dunkirk $17,135,246 -36% 4,014 266 $4,269 $133,090,984 3 Warner Bros.
3 The Emoji Movie $12,005,409 -51% 4,075 0 $2,946 $49,107,113 2 Sony / Columbia
4 Girls Trip $11,401,495 -42% 2,582 -66 $4,416 $85,426,515 3 Universal
5 Kidnap $10,016,323 2,378 $4,212 $10,016,323 1 Aviron Pictures
6 Spider-Man: Homecoming $8,845,978 -33% 3,116 -509 $2,839 $294,953,754 5 Sony / Columbia
7 Atomic Blonde $8,157,555 -55% 3,326 22 $2,453 $34,037,930 2 Focus Features
8 Detroit $7,125,601 1935% 3,007 2987 $2,370 $7,641,083 2 Annapurna Pictures
9 War for the Planet of the Apes $6,169,134 -41% 2,704 -670 $2,281 $130,449,389 4 Fox
10 Despicable Me 3 $5,429,735 -28% 2,445 -585 $2,221 $240,920,645 6 Universal
11 Baby Driver $2,573,956 -35% 1,424 -537 $1,808 $97,074,886 6 Sony / TriStar
12 Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets $2,395,377 -62% 1,795 -1758 $1,334 $36,137,260 3 EuropaCorp/STXfilms
13 Wonder Woman $2,286,334 -32% 1,307 -344 $1,749 $399,432,413 10 Warner Bros.
14 The Big Sick $2,163,021 -32% 1,005 -584 $2,152 $33,927,449 7 Lionsgate

LIMITED (100 — 999)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Jab Harry Met Sejal $1,284,740 280 $4,588 $1,284,740 1 Yash Raj Films USA
2 An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power $961,193 670% 180 176 $5,340 $1,113,564 2 Paramount
3 Cars 3 $539,750 -44% 477 -384 $1,132 $147,620,695 8 Disney
4 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 $453,768 64% 252 21 $1,801 $388,399,203 14 Disney
5 Wish Upon $314,485 -67% 345 -562 $912 $13,774,273 4 Broad Green Pictures
6 Transformers: The Last Knight $302,214 -46% 322 -216 $939 $129,393,527 7 Paramount
7 47 Meters Down $289,252 48% 411 171 $704 $43,109,618 8 Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures
8 Maudie $253,833 -24% 187 -41 $1,357 $5,109,733 8 Sony Pictures Classics
9 Landline $226,812 78% 143 105 $1,586 $489,940 3 Magnolia Pictures
10 Captain Underpants $207,493 -30% 229 -38 $906 $72,866,165 10 Fox / DreamWorks Animation
11 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales $180,983 -14% 167 -43 $1,084 $171,338,511 11 Disney
12 Lady Macbeth $166,966 -5% 131 27 $1,275 $739,598 4 Roadside Attractions
13 A Ghost Story $144,442 -61% 208 -121 $694 $1,315,589 5 A24
14 Mubarakan $140,478 -55% 128 0 $1,097 $632,101 2 Sony Pictures Releasing International
15 The Mummy $139,695 -26% 146 -38 $957 $79,948,195 9 Universal
16 The House (2017) $97,859 -49% 124 -101 $789 $25,129,761 6 Warner Bros. / New Line
17 The Boss Baby $59,964 -38% 120 -29 $500 $174,804,209 19 Fox / DreamWorks Animation

PLATFORM (1 — 99)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Wolf Warrior 2 $506,961 131% 32 -21 $15,843 $1,110,380 2 The H Collective
2 Wind River $161,558 4 $40,390 $161,558 1 The Weinstein Company
3 Step $146,053 29 $5,036 $146,053 1 Fox Searchlight
4 The Midwife $83,436 5% 43 15 $1,940 $237,403 3 Music Box Films
5 Menashe $77,262 24% 10 7 $7,726 $175,779 2 A24
6 Megan Leavey $73,162 196% 96 50 $762 $12,964,933 9 Bleeker Street
7 The Little Hours $68,260 -43% 60 -36 $1,138 $1,341,050 6 Gunpowder & Sky
8 The Beguiled $55,550 -41% 89 -55 $624 $10,542,504 7 Focus Features
9 Lost in Paris $50,486 -9% 35 -6 $1,442 $410,522 8 Oscilloscope Laboratories
10 Rough Night $47,365 131% 27 -19 $1,754 $21,967,871 8 Sony
11 Beatriz at Dinner $43,097 -35% 44 -33 $979 $6,923,142 9 Roadside Attractions
12 Brigsby Bear $38,941 -2% 15 12 $2,596 $93,528 2 Sony Pictures Classics
13 Alien: Covenant $32,154 -25% 74 -24 $435 $74,204,630 12 Fox
14 The Hero $30,987 -51% 52 -54 $596 $3,921,145 9 The Orchard
15 We Love You, Sally Carmichael! $30,951 7 $4,422 $30,951 1 Purdie Distribution
16 Columbus $26,820 2 $13,410 $26,820 1 Sundance Institute’s Creative Distribution Fellowship
17 Paris Can Wait $15,818 -48% 28 -16 $565 $5,564,452 13 Sony Pictures Classics
18 The Women’s Balcony $14,922 -51% 14 -8 $1,066 $0 23 Menemsha Films
19 Brave New Jersey $14,105 14 $1,008 $14,105 1 Gravitas Ventures
20 Gifted $10,690 -11% 17 -4 $629 $24,779,154 18 Fox Searchlight
21 13 Minutes $10,686 -41% 13 -5 $822 $118,732 6 Sony Pictures Classics
22 Person to Person $9,202 -22% 13 10 $708 $26,650 2 Magnolia Pictures
23 From The Land Of The Moon $8,832 97% 9 7 $981 $16,207 2 IFC Films
24 Love, Kennedy $7,665 -17% 14 -3 $548 $348,941 10 Purdie Distribution
25 It Comes At Night $7,165 -36% 15 -8 $478 $13,856,732 9 A24
26 Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked The World $7,112 -20% 2 0 $3,556 $50,790 2 Kino Lorber
27 Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul $5,730 -63% 18 -18 $318 $20,728,336 12 20th Century Fox
28 The Untamed $5,611 38% 8 3 $701 $16,920 3 Strand Releasing
29 Slack Bay $4,821 21% 4 -2 $1,205 $95,375 16 Kino Lorber Films
30 Churchill $4,739 6% 4 -5 $1,185 $1,273,135 10 Cohen Media Group
31 The Exception $4,365 -70% 5 -6 $873 $694,821 10 A24
32 City of Ghosts $4,048 -68% 13 -5 $311 $113,494 5 IFC Films / Amazon
33 Dawson City: Frozen Time $3,790 20% 5 2 $758 $98,966 9 Kino Lorber Films
34 The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography $3,763 -43% 15 -6 $251 $121,498 6 Neon
35 4 Days in France $3,728 1 $3,728 $3,728 1 Cinema Guild
36 Pop Aye $3,458 -52% 5 1 $692 $56,897 6 Kino Lorber
37 Moka $2,880 29% 2 -5 $1,440 $115,513 8 Film Movement
38 Letters from Baghdad $2,837 -66% 7 -2 $405 $302,317 10 Vitagraph Films
39 KEDi $2,310 286% 4 1 $578 $2,799,611 26 Oscilloscope Laboratories
40 Stalker $1,721 3% 1 0 $1,721 $249,863 14 Janus
41 Marie Curie: The Courage of Knowledge $1,516 -72% 4 -3 $379 $115,907 6 Society Films
42 The Girl Without Hands $1,246 30% 4 3 $312 $7,461 3 GKIDS
43 Abacus: Small Enough to Jail $1,245 -13% 1 -2 $1,245 $113,278 12 PBS Distribution
44 The Wedding Plan $1,191 -18% 3 -5 $397 $1,409,102 13 Roadside Attractions
45 The Ornithologist $1,123 397% 5 3 $225 $44,678 7 Strand Releasing
46 It’s Not Yet Dark $811 2 $406 $811 1 FilmRise
47 My Journey Through French Cinema $766 5% 2 0 $383 $50,748 7 Cohen Media Group
48 Il Boom $705 48% 2 1 $353 $42,413 8 Rialto Pictures
49 Obit. $559 832% 2 1 $280 $310,349 15 Kino Lorber
50 I Dream in Another Language $524 -35% 1 0 $524 $2,306 2 FilmRise
51 L’Important C’est D’Aimer (2017 re-release) $519 -52% 1 0 $519 $15,828 4 Rialto Pictures
52 Hidden Figures $454 -10% 3 0 $151 $169,375,149 33 Fox
53 I Am The Blues $75 -98% 1 -3 $75 $17,916 4 Film Movement
54 The Skyjacker’s Tale $59 7% 1 0 $59 $2,788 6 Strand Releasing

Studio Weekend Estimates for Friday, August 4 – Sunday, August 6, 2017:

WIDE (1000+)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 The Dark Tower $19,500,000 3,451 $5,651 $19,500,000 1 Sony / Columbia
2 Dunkirk $17,600,000 -34% 4,014 266 $4,385 $133,555,738 3 Warner Bros.
3 The Emoji Movie $12,350,000 -50% 4,075 0 $3,031 $49,451,704 2 Sony / Columbia
4 Girls Trip $11,418,700 -42% 2,582 -66 $4,422 $85,443,720 3 Universal
5 Kidnap $10,210,000 2,378 $4,294 $10,210,000 1 Aviron Pictures
6 Spider-Man: Homecoming $8,800,000 -34% 3,116 -509 $2,824 $294,907,776 5 Sony / Columbia
7 Atomic Blonde $8,244,930 -55% 3,326 22 $2,479 $34,125,305 2 Focus Features
8 Detroit $7,251,000 1971% 3,007 2987 $2,411 $7,766,482 2 Annapurna Pictures
9 War for the Planet of the Apes $6,000,000 -43% 2,704 -670 $2,219 $130,280,255 4 Fox
10 Despicable Me 3 $5,288,640 -30% 2,445 -585 $2,163 $240,779,550 6 Universal
11 Baby Driver $2,550,000 -36% 1,424 -537 $1,791 $97,050,930 6 Sony / TriStar
12 Wonder Woman $2,360,000 -29% 1,307 -344 $1,806 $399,506,079 10 Warner Bros.
13 Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets $2,360,000 -63% 1,795 -1758 $1,315 $36,101,883 3 EuropaCorp/STXfilms
14 The Big Sick $2,200,000 -31% 1,005 -584 $2,189 $33,964,428 7 Lionsgate

LIMITED (100 — 999)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power $900,000 621% 180 176 $5,000 $1,052,371 2 Paramount
2 Cars 3 $605,000 -37% 477 -384 $1,268 $147,685,945 8 Disney
3 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 $445,000 61% 252 21 $1,766 $388,390,435 14 Disney
4 47 Meters Down $289,000 48% 411 171 $703 $43,109,366 8 Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures
5 Transformers: The Last Knight $270,000 -52% 322 -216 $839 $129,361,313 7 Paramount
6 Maudie $262,496 -21% 187 -41 $1,404 $5,118,396 8 Sony Pictures Classics
7 Landline $240,000 88% 141 103 $1,702 $503,128 3 Magnolia Pictures
8 Captain Underpants $195,000 -34% 229 -38 $852 $72,853,672 10 Fox / DreamWorks Animation
9 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales $177,000 -15% 167 -43 $1,060 $171,334,528 11 Disney
10 A Ghost Story $146,232 -60% 208 -121 $703 $1,317,379 5 A24
11 Mubarakan $140,000 -55% 128 0 $1,094 $631,623 2 Sony Pictures Releasing International
12 The Mummy $129,095 -32% 146 -38 $884 $79,937,595 9 Universal

PLATFORM (1 — 99)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Wolf Warrior 2 $460,000 110% 32 -21 $14,375 $1,063,419 2 The H Collective
2 Wind River $164,167 4 $41,042 $164,167 1 The Weinstein Company
3 Step $145,000 29 $5,000 $145,000 1 Fox Searchlight
4 The Midwife $82,698 4% 43 15 $1,923 $236,665 3 Music Box Films
5 Menashe $80,317 29% 10 7 $8,032 $178,834 2 A24
6 The Little Hours $75,260 -37% 60 -36 $1,254 $1,348,050 6 Gunpowder & Sky
7 Megan Leavey $71,852 191% 96 50 $748 $12,963,623 9 Bleeker Street
8 The Beguiled $54,495 -42% 89 -55 $612 $10,541,449 7 Focus Features
9 Lost in Paris $50,000 -10% 35 -6 $1,429 $410,036 8 Oscilloscope Laboratories
10 Brigsby Bear $42,790 8% 15 12 $2,853 $97,377 2 Sony Pictures Classics
11 We Love You, Sally Carmichael! $34,397 7 $4,914 $34,397 1 Purdie Distribution
12 The Hero $31,383 -50% 53 -53 $592 $3,921,541 9 The Orchard
13 Columbus $28,800 2 $14,400 $28,800 1 Kogonada
14 Love, Kennedy $7,728 -16% 14 -3 $552 $349,004 10 Purdie Distribution
15 City of Ghosts $4,650 -63% 15 -3 $310 $114,096 5 IFC Films / Amazon
16 The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography $3,375 -49% 15 -6 $225 $121,110 6 Neon
17 Churchill $3,159 -30% 5 -4 $632 $1,271,023 10 Cohen Media Group
18 It’s Not Yet Dark $1,000 2 $500 $1,000 1 FilmRise
19 My Journey Through French Cinema $935 28% 2 0 $468 $50,756 7 Cohen Media Group
20 I Dream in Another Language $600 -26% 1 0 $600 $2,382 2 FilmRise

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