The Girl on the Train rode to first place at the box office this weekend, as fellow new releases The Birth of a Nation and Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life came in with middling grosses and Finding Dory earned $1 billion worldwide.
Universal’s The Girl on the Train, a drama thriller starring Emily Blunt as an alcoholic staring out the window of a train who may have inadvertently become the last person to see a woman alive before she goes missing, topped the box office with an estimated $24.66 million. The movie was based on the hit Paula Hawkins novel of the same name.
Compared to other R-rated female-centered films based on bestselling books of this decade, Girl starts 34.2 percent behind the $37.51 million opening of Gone Girl and 93.1 percent ahead of the $12.76 million debut of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The audience for Train was 68 percent female (not surprising for a movie with the word “Girl” in the title), 55 percent over age 35, and gave the film a weak B- CinemaScore.
Girl on the Train started with an estimated $9.37 million on Friday (including $1.23 million from Thursday evening shows), increased 1.9 percent on Saturday to an estimated $9.55 million, and is projected to decline 39.8 percent on Sunday to $5.74 million. This places its opening-weekend-to-Friday ratio at an estimated 2.63 to 1.
Fox Searchlight’s The Birth of a Nation, a Civil War slavery drama starring Nate Parker and Aja Naomi King, started with an estimated $7.10 million in sixth place. The film received generally positive reviews, although even that was down from the unbelievable hype after early film festival screenings — months ago some predicted that it could be the first-place frontrunner for Best Picture, a prediction that now seems highly unlikely. The film starts 6.2 percent behind the $7.57 million opening of June’s Civil War drama Free State of Jones and 6.3 percent ahead of the $6.67 million wide opening of 12 Years a Slave.
Birth started with an estimated $2.63 million on Friday (including $350-$450 thousand from Thursday evening shows), increased 2.4 percent on Saturday to an estimated $2.70 million, and is projected to decline 34.6 percent on Saturday to $1.76 million. This places its opening-weekend-to-Friday ratio at 2.69 to 1.
Lionsgate’s Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life, a family-friendly teen comedy starring newcomer Griffin Gluck and based on the James Patterson book, only managed seventh place in its debut. 2016 may prove to be the “worst year of the life” of the film’s producers, as the movie opened with an estimated $6.90 million. The film earned an A- CinemaScore from an audience 54 percent under age 18, as would be expected given the film’s adolescent theme.
Middle School earned an estimated $1.95 million on Friday, increased a substantial 47.6 percent on Saturday to an estimated $2.88 million, and is projected to drop 28.1 percent on Sunday to $2.07 million. This places its opening-weekend-to-Friday ratio at an estimated 3.53, a perhaps-encouraging sign for grosses in the weeks to come.
In second place this weekend was last weekend’s top film, Fox’s fantasy Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children, which dropped 48.0 percent to an estimated $15.0 million, and has earned $51.05 million total through two weekends. In this place was Lionsgate’s disaster drama Deepwater Horizon, which fell 41.9 percent to an estimated $11.75 million, and has earned $38.51 million total through two weekends.
The top 10 films this weekend earned an estimated $93.99 million cumulatively. That’s 8.0 percent behind the $102.19 million earned by the top 10 films last weekend, and 11.9 percent behind the $106.80 million on this same weekend last year, when The Martian led for a second straight frame with $37.00 million.
Overseas Update:
Fox’s Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children owned the overseas box office for a second straight frame with an estimated $42.6 million weekend, up 16.3 percent, in 75 markets. The film has earned $94.0 million overseas and $145.1 million globally, led by $14.8 million in South Korea, $8.9 million in the United Kingdom, $7.0 million in Mexico, and $6.0 million in Australia.
No other film was able to make anywhere near that ballpark overseas this weekend, but the real story was this weekend’s 18th-highest grossing film at the domestic box office, as Disney’s Finding Dory became the third movie of the year to cross the billion-dollar mark worldwide. With an estimated $8.9 million overseas this weekend, the film’s $516.7 million overseas total combined with its still-trickling-in $484.8 million domestic total to just barely top $1 billion to date. Notable grosses include $65.9 million in Japan, $55.0 million in the United Kingdom, $38.4 million in China, $36.2 million in Australia, and $34.5 million in Brazil.
It becomes the third release to reach the mark this year, in addition to two other Disney films: Captain America: Civil War and Zootopia. (They may yet reach $1 billion with their December release of Star Wars spinoff Rogue One as well.)
Studio Weekend Estimates for Friday, October 7 – Sunday, October 9, 2016:
| # | TITLE | WEEKEND | LOCATIONS | AVG. | TOTAL | WKS. | DIST. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Girl on the Train (2016) | $24,660,000 | — | 3,144 | — | $7,844 | $24,660,000 | 1 | Universal |
| 2 | Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children | $15,000,000 | -48% | 3,705 | 183 | $4,049 | $51,053,483 | 2 | Fox |
| 3 | Deepwater Horizon | $11,750,000 | -42% | 3,259 | 0 | $3,605 | $38,518,388 | 2 | Lionsgate / Summit |
| 4 | The Magnificent Seven (2016) | $9,150,000 | -41% | 3,696 | 22 | $2,476 | $75,915,393 | 3 | Sony / Columbia |
| 5 | Storks | $8,450,000 | -37% | 3,608 | -314 | $2,342 | $50,118,494 | 3 | Warner Bros. |
| 6 | The Birth of a Nation (2016) | $7,100,000 | — | 2,105 | — | $3,373 | $7,100,000 | 1 | Fox Searchlight |
| 7 | Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life | $6,900,000 | — | 2,822 | — | $2,445 | $6,900,000 | 1 | CBS Films / Lionsgate |
| 8 | Sully | $5,270,000 | -36% | 3,058 | -659 | $1,723 | $113,485,432 | 5 | Warner Bros. |
| 9 | Masterminds (2016) | $4,100,000 | -37% | 3,042 | 0 | $1,348 | $12,788,325 | 2 | Relativity Studios |
| 10 | Queen of Katwe | $1,618,000 | -35% | 1,259 | 17 | $1,285 | $5,384,636 | 3 | Disney |
| 11 | Don’t Breathe | $1,350,000 | -43% | 1,066 | -587 | $1,266 | $86,921,355 | 7 | Sony / TriStar |
| 12 | Snowden | $756,628 | -62% | 1,821 | 0 | $416 | $20,219,706 | 4 | Open Road |
| 13 | Sausage Party | $455,000 | 140% | 1,071 | 841 | $425 | $97,309,151 | 9 | Sony / Columbia |
| # | TITLE | WEEKEND | LOCATIONS | AVG. | TOTAL | WKS. | DIST. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Suicide Squad | $1,110,000 | -42% | 972 | -666 | $1,142 | $322,533,924 | 10 | Warner Bros. |
| 2 | Bridget Jones’s Baby | $826,000 | -65% | 915 | -1140 | $903 | $22,786,695 | 4 | Universal |
| 3 | Blair Witch | $500,000 | -68% | 668 | -1160 | $749 | $20,179,309 | 4 | Lionsgate |
| 4 | When the Bough Breaks | $465,000 | -61% | 460 | -441 | $1,011 | $29,330,880 | 5 | Sony / Screen Gems |
| 5 | Finding Dory | $346,000 | 137% | 207 | 68 | $1,671 | $484,780,568 | 17 | Disney |
| 6 | The Secret Life of Pets | $324,000 | -27% | 339 | -122 | $956 | $365,372,935 | 14 | Universal |
| 7 | M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story | $290,000 | -74% | 233 | -23 | $1,245 | $1,625,317 | 2 | FIP |
| 8 | Hell or High Water | $265,000 | -47% | 275 | -245 | $964 | $26,229,442 | 9 | CBS Films / Lionsgate |
| 9 | The Dressmaker | $234,970 | -36% | 174 | 15 | $1,350 | $1,038,271 | 3 | Broad Green Pictures |
| 10 | Kubo and the Two Strings | $214,000 | -54% | 251 | -275 | $853 | $47,108,048 | 8 | Focus |
| 11 | The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years | $204,122 | -36% | 120 | -35 | $1,701 | $2,420,305 | 4 | Abramorama |
| 12 | No Manches Frida | $190,000 | -50% | 138 | -118 | $1,377 | $11,197,144 | 6 | Lionsgate / Pantelion |
| 13 | Bad Moms | $180,000 | -62% | 265 | -294 | $679 | $112,860,839 | 11 | STX Entertainment |
| 14 | Pete’s Dragon (2016) | $176,000 | -44% | 224 | -216 | $786 | $75,005,131 | 9 | Disney |
| 15 | Star Trek Beyond | $130,000 | -39% | 191 | -89 | $681 | $158,656,005 | 12 | Paramount |
| 16 | Nine Lives (2016) | $75,000 | 89% | 114 | 54 | $658 | $19,539,691 | 10 | EuropaCorp Films |
| 17 | The Wild Life (2016) | $58,000 | 13% | 164 | 14 | $354 | $7,931,796 | 5 | Lionsgate / Summit |
| 18 | The Light Between Oceans | $49,000 | -60% | 101 | -75 | $485 | $12,371,798 | 6 | Disney / DreamWorks |
| # | TITLE | WEEKEND | LOCATIONS | AVG. | TOTAL | WKS. | DIST. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denial | $229,935 | 145% | 31 | 26 | $7,417 | $358,174 | 2 | Bleeker Street |
| 2 | I Belonged to You | $160,000 | -49% | 49 | -1 | $3,265 | $592,799 | 2 | China Lion Entertainment |
| 3 | A Man Called Ove | $95,000 | 74% | 27 | 18 | $3,519 | $178,721 | 2 | Music Box Films |
| 4 | American Honey | $88,641 | 24% | 25 | 21 | $3,546 | $185,191 | 2 | A24 |
| 5 | Don’t Think Twice | $58,171 | -41% | 50 | -24 | $1,163 | $4,231,922 | 12 | The Film Arcade |
| 6 | Florence Foster Jenkins | $45,000 | -54% | 72 | -56 | $625 | $27,251,789 | 9 | Paramount |
| 7 | Mechanic: Resurrection | $44,000 | -53% | 68 | -70 | $647 | $21,013,350 | 7 | Lionsgate / Summit |
| 8 | Hunt for the Wilderpeople | $30,984 | -35% | 39 | -14 | $794 | $5,139,457 | 16 | The Orchard |
| 9 | The BFG | $25,000 | -48% | 40 | -46 | $625 | $55,476,779 | 15 | Disney / DreamWorks |
| 10 | The Greasy Strangler | $25,000 | — | 11 | — | $2,273 | $25,000 | 1 | FilmRise |
| 11 | Girl Asleep | $24,000 | — | 24 | — | $1,000 | $33,540 | 3 | Oscilloscope Laboratories |
| 12 | Captain Fantastic | $21,727 | -42% | 26 | -17 | $836 | $5,802,625 | 14 | Bleecker Street |
| 13 | The Hollars | $18,568 | -80% | 40 | -157 | $464 | $964,559 | 7 | Sony Pictures Classics |
| 14 | Harry & Snowman | $18,000 | -68% | 12 | -6 | $1,500 | $97,164 | 2 | FilmRise |
| 15 | Indignation | $14,125 | -36% | 12 | -11 | $1,177 | $3,366,236 | 11 | Roadside / Summit |
| 16 | Hillsong – Let Hope Rise | $11,000 | -76% | 28 | -59 | $393 | $2,340,704 | 4 | |
| 17 | Command and Control | $9,050 | — | 6 | — | $1,508 | $46,603 | 4 | American Experience / PBS Films |
| 18 | White Girl | $8,000 | -37% | 2 | -3 | $4,000 | $190,754 | 6 | FilmRise |
| 19 | Newtown | $6,796 | — | 2 | — | $3,398 | $6,796 | 1 | Abramorama |
| 20 | Theo Who Lived | $5,539 | — | 1 | — | $5,539 | $5,539 | 1 | Zeitgeist Films |
| 21 | Blue Jay | $5,235 | — | 1 | — | $5,235 | $5,235 | 1 | The Orchard |
| 22 | Demon | $5,218 | -67% | 12 | -12 | $435 | $93,245 | 5 | The OrchardThe Orchard |
| 23 | Do Not Resist | $4,065 | — | 1 | — | $4,065 | $15,259 | 2 | |
| 24 | The Best Democracy Money Can Buy: A Tale of Billionaires & Ballot Bandits | $1,000 | -87% | 2 | -2 | $500 | $22,560 | 3 | Cinema Libre Studio |
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