Weekend Estimates: ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Eyes Strong $23.5M+ Second Frame; ‘Happytime Murders’ ($10M) & ‘A.X.L.’ ($2M+) Debut Softly

Saturday Update: As expected, Warner Bros.’ Crazy Rich Asians is easily on pace to hold the first place throne in its second weekend, albeit with a far stronger hold than projected.

The studio reports the hugely successful rom-com earned another $7 million on Friday, down just 4 percent from the same day last week (its third day of release). With a robust $58.8 million in the domestic bank through ten days of play, the adaptation continues to excel with its appeal to under-served audiences. Asians‘ sophomore frame will land well north of $20 million (with a shot at $25 million), increasing 2018’s streak of weekends with at least one movie earning that amount to 29 straight frames (dating back to post-Super Bowl weekend in February).

The Meg added another $3.3 million yesterday to begin its third frame, down just 43 percent from the same day last week. With $95.6 million earned domestically, the surprise summer hit looks to bring in another $12 million+ this weekend.

Unfortunately, The Happytime Murders posted $3.95 million on opening day Friday (including Thursday’s night $950,000). The comedy is pacing to fall a bit short of expectations that had it pegged for a mid-teen millions weekend as it now looks to finish with around $10 million by Sunday’s end.

Meanwhile, A.X.L. bowed to $812,109 on opening day Friday. Global Road projects the weekend will end up around $2.6 million.

Early weekend estimates are below. Check back on Sunday for complete studio estimates.

Early Weekend Estimates (Domestic)
FRI, AUG. 24 – SUN, AUG. 26

WIDE (1000+)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Crazy Rich Asians $23,500,000 -11% 3,526 142 $6,665 $75,307,947 2 Warner Bros.
2 The Meg $12,100,000 -43% 4,031 -87 $3,002 $104,370,646 3 Warner Bros.
3 The Happytime Murders $10,000,000 3,256 $3,071 $10,000,000 1 STX Entertainment
4 Mission: Impossible – Fallout $8,200,000 -24% 3,052 -430 $2,687 $194,100,660 5 Paramount
5 Disney’s Christopher Robin $6,500,000 -27% 3,394 -208 $1,915 $77,788,783 4 Disney
6 Mile 22 $5,700,000 -58% 3,520 0 $1,619 $24,840,954 2 STX Entertainment
7 Alpha $5,700,000 -45% 2,719 0 $2,096 $20,260,574 2 Sony / Columbia
8 BlacKkKlansman $5,200,000 -30% 1,914 126 $2,717 $31,893,540 3 Focus Features
9 Slender Man $2,600,000 -46% 2,065 -293 $1,259 $25,218,116 3 Sony / Screen Gems
10 A.X.L. $2,600,000 1,710 $1,520 $2,600,000 1 Global Road Entertainment
11 Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation $2,400,000 -36% 1,802 -385 $1,332 $158,517,389 9 Sony / Columbia
12 The Equalizer 2 $2,000,000 -30% 1,914 26 $1,045 $98,020,332 6 Sony / Columbia
13 Ant-Man and the Wasp $1,800,000 -32% 1,178 -342 $1,528 $211,466,699 8 Disney
14 Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again $1,800,000 -47% 1,557 -713 $1,156 $115,155,110 6 Universal Pictures
15 Incredibles 2 $1,600,000 -30% 1,060 -178 $1,509 $597,012,966 11 Disney
16 The Spy Who Dumped Me $1,100,000 -58% 1,295 -1114 $849 $32,378,142 4 Lionsgate

LIMITED (100 — 999)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom $710,000 -39% 608 -206 $1,168 $412,978,695 10 Universal
2 Beautifully Broken $690,000 651 $1,060 $690,000 1 ArtAffects Entertainment
3 Death of a Nation $110,000 -65% 180 -174 $611 $5,592,563 4 Quality Flix / Pure Flix
4 Uncle Drew $77,000 -27% 127 -20 $606 $42,309,298 9 Lionsgate / Summit
5 Solo: A Star Wars Story $69,000 -31% 118 -34 $585 $213,590,649 14 Disney
6 Avengers: Infinity War $49,000 -51% 108 -40 $454 $678,679,680 18 Disney

PLATFORM (1 — 99)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Searching $300,000 9 $33,333 $300,000 1 Sony Pictures
2 Blindspotting $73,000 -33% 38 -9 $1,921 $4,148,289 6 Lionsgate / Summit

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Friday Update: STX reports this morning that The Happytime Murders took in an estimated $950,000 from last night’s first shows. For comparison purposes, here’s how that stacks up against similar films:

  • 28 percent behind Tag ($1.325 million)
  • 5 percent behind Game Night ($1.0 million)
  • 71 percent behind Sausage Party ($3.25 million)
  • 7 percent ahead of A Million Ways to Die In the West ($890,000)

No Thursday earnings have been reported for A.X.L. as it also debuts this weekend. As previously reportedCrazy Rich Asians is widely expected to repeat in the top spot at the box office for the penultimate weekend of summer.

Follow Boxoffice throughout the weekend for further updates.