“The Hitman’s Bodyguard” Shoots Its Way to the Top

By Kip Mooney • On • In Weekend Box Office Report Weekend Box Office Report 0

BOX OFFICE REPORT

August 18-20, 2017

(estimates from BoxOfficeMojo.com)

TOP 5

The Hitman's Bodyguard  $21.6 million
Annabelle: Creation $15.5 million
Logan Lucky  $8.0 million
Dunkirk $6.7 million
The Nut Job 2 $5.1 million

Even with the combined presence of Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson, the buddy comedy The Hitman's Bodyguard only managed $21.6 million in its opening weekend. While that's still more than The Dark Tower managed two weeks ago, it was a marker for a weekend – and an upcoming season – in which audiences just chose to stay home. The R-rated comedy was far and away the top film, and should feature no competition until September 8th.

Annabelle: Creation held better than many horror movies, falling only 55 percent. With no horror challenger on the horizon until It, there's a good chance it surpasses its predecessor to become the third-biggest movie in the Conjuring series.

Steven Soderbergh sadly did not have as warm a welcome as his last few movies before his retirement had gotten. Unlike Magic Mike (2012) and Contagion (2011), Logan Lucky did about as well as Side Effects (2013) and Haywire (2011), taking in only $8 million. If it does as well as Side Effects, it will end up in the black at around $30 million. If it crashes and burns like Haywire, it's going to end up below $20 million. Either way, it's good to have the modern master back making movies. Dunkirk and The Nut Job 2 rounded out the top 5.

Outside the top 5:

  • This Weekend's Indie Champ: Once again, the dark comedy Ingrid Goes West reigned supreme. Aubrey Plaza's film averaged $10,214 as it expanded to 26 screens.
  • It was an exceptionally tough weekend for little indies. Seven titles tried to ride good-to-great reviews into box office revenue. None of them even cracked the top 35. That's especially sad for Patti Cake$, a movie I really adored.
  • Wind River, the latest from the very busy and acclaimed Taylor Sheridan, finally cracked the top 10. Playing on fewer than 700 screens, the thriller earned $3 million, and should slow burn throughout the rest of the late summer.

Next week:

The Hitman's Bodyguard is going to repeat, even though it's only going to make about $12 million. No one's going to see the martial arts flick Birth of the Dragon or the animated ballerina movie Leap! The latter will only be remembered for its terrific theme song.

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About Kip Mooney

Kip Mooney
Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about. I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague. Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work. In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo. I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.

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