It was the battle of the sequels at this weekend’s box office and while Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again began Friday on top, The Equalizer 2 edged it out in the end to take the top spot.
The Equalizer 2 opened to an estimated $35.8 million which tops the $34.1 million start of the original back in 2014. The good news for the sequel is that it came in well above tracking which had it in the $27-30 million range and it received an “A” CinemaScore which indicates strong word of mouth. The potentially bad news is that Mission: Impossible – Fallout opens this Friday and it’s likely to take a sizeable chunk of The Equalizer’s audience in weekend 2 which puts into question whether or not it can match the final domestic take of the original which legged out to $101.5 million. That film was a September release and the one upside for the sequel is that it has the summer weekdays to make up some ground before Fallout takes over so it’s still possible to hit that century mark but it will still be tough.
Coming in second, with $1.44 million separating them, is Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again with an estimated $34.3 million. Despite coming in second, this is a very strong debut as it tops the opening of the original film by nearly $7 million. So why did the film dominate Friday yet still settle for second? Well, the main issue is likely that hardcore fans rushed out to see it on Friday which boosted the number and then the film naturally leveled off. The film received an “A-” CinemaScore and this is the one movie out there catering to the female demographic so its prospects are bright moving forward as its set to become another winner for the studio.
Falling to third is Hotel Transylvania 3 with an estimated $23.3 million. The film dipped 47% which is a little hefty for an animated film but the upside is that it’s pacing about the same level as the previous film was at this point of release. The film has grossed $91 million domestically and it still has some strong weeks ahead due to kids being out of school for summer vacation.
Dropping 45% to fourth is Ant-Man And The Wasp with $16.1 million. This is a much better drop than the previous week and it puts it on the trajectory to match the $180.1 million gross of the first film and maybe go a bit beyond that as well. The film has grossed just shy of $165 million domestically and $353.5 million worldwide. It’s only open in 57% of its foreign markets so there is still money to be made as the film expands. On the surface, the film looks like it’s underperforming a tad but realistically it’s another win for Marvel.
Rounding out the top five is Incredibles 2 with an estimated $11.5 million. The film has grossed $557.3 million and with the film landing in this spot, this marks the second time that the top five films were all sequels. The first time was just two weeks ago which shows you how much sequels have dominated most of the summer. $600 million domestic is still in play but it’s going to be by a smidge if it does.
Check out the full top ten results below:
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