Weekend Box Office: THE NUN II Takes $32M First Place Debut

The Nun II

Warner Bros. horror sequel opened with $32.6M in first place, though that’s -39% below 2018’s The Nun: $53.8M.

However, It’s above the openings for the last three films in the extended Conjuring / Annabelle / Nun cinematic universe:

  • +35% above 2021’s The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It – $24.1M
  • +60% above 2019’s Annabelle Comes Home: $20.2M
  • +23% above 2019’s The Curse of La Llorona: $26.3M

Overseas / global

The Nun II opened to $52.7M overseas and $85.3M globally, or 61% from overseas.

That global opening is -36% below The Nun, slightly better than its -39% domestic opening. The Nun opened with $79.3M overseas and $133.2M globally, or 59% from overseas.

The sequel’s top five overseas market totals are:

  1. Mexico: $8.9M
  2. Indonesia: $4.4M
  3. Brazil: $4.4M
  4. Italy: $3.3M
  5. Spain: $2.3M

The Equalizer 3

Last frame, Sony Pictures’ R-rated action sequel debuted in first place with $34.6M. That’s the #2 Labor Day weekend of all time, behind only 2021’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: $75.3M.

However, it opened -4% below 2018’s The Equalizer 2: $36.0M.

This weekend, it drops a steep -65% to $12.1M and second place.

That’s steeper than the sophomore drops for both the two prior installments:

  • 2014’s The Equalizer: -45%
  • 2018’s The Equalizer 2: -61%

Through 10 days, it’s earned $61.9M. That’s below both of its two predecessors, through the same point in release, despite opening above the original installment:

  • -3% below 2014’s The Equalizer: $64.2M
  • -3% below 2018’s The Equalizer 2: also $64.2M

Overseas / global

This weekend, Equalizer 3 fell -54% overseas, milder than its -65% domestic drop.

The third installment has now earned $45.8M overseas and $107.7M globally. The first two films earned $190M and $192M globally.

Top five markets to date are:

  1. U.K.: $5.9M 
  2. France: $4.4M 
  3. Germany: $4.2M 
  4. Australia: $4.0M 
  5. Spain: $3.2M

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3

Focus Features’ comedy sequel opens to $10.0M in third place.

That’s -44% below 2016’s My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2: $17.8M.

However, it’s +49% above May’s similar foreign-set comedy sequel Book Club: The Next Chapter – $6.6M.

2002’s original Greek installment had a slowly expanding release over the course months, rendering an opening weekend comparison inexact.

MBFGW3 attracted estimated audience demographics of 71% female, slightly lower than 76% for the second installment.

The third installment’s audience was also an estimated 55% white and 26% Hispanic. 

Jawan

In a surprise finish that many didn’t anticipate, Yash Raj Films’ Indian foreign-language action thriller Jawan opened with a $6.1M weekend in fourth place.

That’s -10% behind January’s Pathaan: $6.9M.

Along with its $1.3M Thursday debut, Jawan has earned $7.5M total.

Barbie

In its eighth frame, Warner Bros.’ comedy declines -42% to $5.9M and fifth place.

That’s one percentage point below its steepest weekend decline to date, -43%, and may prove to be the steepest upon release of Monday afternoon’s box office actuals.

All time, Barbie has now earned the:

  • #20 opening weekend: $162.0M
  • #7 sophomore weekend: $93.0M
  • #11 third weekend: $53.0M
  • #9 fourth weekend: $33.9M
  • #11 fifth weekend: $21.0M
  • #16 sixth weekend: $15.1M
  • #28 seventh weekend: $10.2M
  • #75 eighth weekend: $5.9M

With $620.4M total through 52 days, it now ranks as the #12 biggest movie of all time domestically, between 2012’s The Avengers with $623.3M and 2017’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi with $620.1M.

Overseas / global

This weekend, Barbie declined -59% overseas in holdover markets, much steeper than its -42% domestic drop.

It’s now earned $782.2M overseas and $1.40B globally, or 55% from overseas.

Globally, that’s the #15 film of all time, ranking between 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron with $1.405B and April’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie with $1.36B.

Barbie’s top five overseas markets totals are:

  1. U.K.: $120.8M
  2. Germany: $56.5M
  3. Australia: $55.6M
  4. Mexico: $54.3M
  5. France: $47.6M

It’s also earned $35.1M in China.


Weekend comparisons

Total box office this weekend came in around $84.6M.

Here’s how this weekend compares to last weekend, the same weekend last year, and the same weekend in the last pre-pandemic year of 2019:

Weekend

Total

This weekend is:

Leader

Last weekend

$88.7M

-2%

The Equalizer 3: $34.6M

Same weekend in 2022

$43.1M

2.0x

Barbarian: $10.5M

Same weekend in 2019

$138.4M

-37%

It: Chapter Two – $91.0M

YTD comparisons

Year-to-date box office stands around $6.80B.

Here’s how that compares to last year and the last pre-pandemic year of 2019, through the equivalent point:

Year

YTD total

2023 YTD now:

2023 YTD after last weekend:

Trend

2022

$5.37B

+26.6%

+25.5%

Up

2019

$7.97B

-14.7%

-14.6%

Down

Top distributors

Grouped by parent company, the YTD leaders are:

  1. Disney + 20th Century + Searchlight + Star: $1.63B
  2. Universal + Focus Features: $1.51B
  3. Warner Bros.: $1.06B
  4. Sony Pictures + Sony Classics + Crunchyroll: $813.8M
  5. Paramount: $700.0M

Sunday’s Studio Weekend Estimates:

Title  Estimated weekend  % change Locations Location change Average  Total  Weekend Distributor
The Nun II $32,600,000   3,728   $8,745 $32,600,000 1 Warner Bros.
The Equalizer 3 $12,100,000 -65% 3,965   $3,052 $61,845,408 2 Sony Pictures
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 $10,000,000   3,650   $2,740 $10,000,000 1 Focus Features [Universal]
Jawan $6,191,506   813   $7,616 $7,555,773 1 Yash Raj Films
Barbie $5,900,000 -42% 3,281 -305 $1,798 $620,511,857 8 Warner Bros.
Blue Beetle $3,775,000 -47% 2,786 -530 $1,355 $63,703,555 4 Warner Bros.
Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story $3,375,000 -49% 2,765 -1,091 $1,221 $35,685,098 3 Sony Pictures
Oppenheimer $3,000,000 -48% 2,091 -452 $1,435 $315,136,955 8 Universal
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem $2,600,000 -44% 2,500 -455 $1,040 $111,327,215 6 Paramount
Bottoms $2,051,560 -33% 1,265 550 $1,622 $7,615,818 3 MGM
Meg 2: The Trench $1,200,000 -58% 1,574 -797 $762 $80,729,624 6 Warner Bros.
Strays $810,000 -68% 1,500 -986 $540 $22,845,000 4 Universal
Haunted Mansion $641,000 -53% 825 -355 $777 $65,525,328 7 Disney
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One $565,000 -55% 566 -399 $998 $171,432,689 9 Paramount
The Hill $520,000 -65% 1,208 -495 $430 $6,550,000 3 Briarcliff Entertainment
Golda $292,726 -64% 791   $370 $4,114,814 3 Bleecker Street
Elemental $253,000 -80% 710 -3,370 $356 $154,103,533 13 Disney
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe $240,414   525   $458 $240,414 1 Blue Fox
Catvideofest 2023 $64,150 451% 87 69 $737 $468,432 6 Oscilloscope
Amerikatsi $59,189   3   $19,730 $59,189 1 Variance Films
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny $57,000 -54% 100 -36 $570 $174,455,963 11 Disney
Theater Camp $43,000 -52% 70 -22 $614 $3,893,887 9 Searchlight [Disney]
Fremont $34,391 -4% 23 14 $1,495 $127,797 3 Music Box Films
Oldboy $30,000 -54% 33 -38 $909 $2,407,447   Neon
Jules $18,099 -42% 61 n/c $297 $1,866,299 5 Bleecker Street
Birth/Rebirth $11,485 -54% 9 -9 $1,276 $126,952 4 IFC Films
The Little Mermaid $9,000 -90% 45 -206 $200 $298,169,539 16 Disney
Piaffe $2,120 -5% 2 n/c $1,060 $12,279 3 Oscilloscope
The Unknown Country $1,500 -73% 4 -6 $375 $53,731 7 Music Box Films
Lakota Nation vs. United States $1,264 -72% 5 -4 $253 $86,063 9 IFC Films

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