The Meg defied its box office tracking and debuted at number one to impressive numbers. With a domestic opening that was larger than expected and international numbers that were also solid, The Meg is likely to be a big hit for the studio.
The Meg reeled in a solid gross of $44.5 million and honestly, no one really saw it coming. The film was tracking in the $20-25 million range and some thought Mission: Impossible – Fallout could’ve claimed the box office crown for the third weekend in a row but solid marketing propelled The Meg beyond expectations. Maybe it’s the presence of Jason Statham or maybe it’s just a shark box office renaissance because films featuring the monsters of the sea have done really well in recent years.
The Meg received mixed reviews from critics with a 48% rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes but it looks like audiences ignored that and decided they wanted to check their brains at the door and just have a fun time at the movies. I’m going to assume that timing was a big factor in its box office win because the summer blockbusters have come and are mostly all gone so The Meg essentially had the marketplace to itself. The film has a reported budget between $130-170 million but this impressive start and an overseas launch that saw the film grossing nearly $100 million, Warner Bros. could be looking at a potential franchise. The big takeaway here? Start making shark movies! They sell!
Dropping to second is Mission: Impossible – Fallout with $20 million. That’s a drop of 43.4% and gives it a second weekend with a drop of less than 50%. Audiences are really responding to the film and it’s definitely providing proper summer entertainment. After three weekends the film has grossed $161.9 million and it’s well ahead of Rogue Nation at this point of release (it was at $138.3 million by its third weekend). Still in play is topping the final gross of Ghost Protocol ($209 million) and Mission: Impossible II ($215.4 million), which would make Fallout the highest grossing film of the franchise.
Christopher Robin falls to third with $12.4 million. That’s steep drop of 49.4% and that’s pretty hefty for a family film. The film has grossed $50 million after two weekends which isn’t bad but it’s going to need better holds if it wishes to match its reported $75 million budget.
Debuting in fourth is Slender Man with $11.3 million. The good news is that it opened a tad above tracking but the bad news is that it cost about $30 million to make and I doubt it will gross that by the end of its run. Essentially Blumhouse Productions could’ve made five movies with their business model compared to this one. It’s sitting pretty right now with this debut but I expect it to fall like a ton of bricks in the coming weeks.
Debuting in fifth is BlacKkKlansman with $10.7 million. This is the first wide release for Spike Lee since 2006’s Inside Man and it’s his biggest opening since that film. The film has been lauded by critics with a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes and this could likely be an awards contender, which may allow for some decent holds in the coming weeks. The budget is at $15 million and the studio is likely to expand the film further so the future of the film is looking pretty bright.
Check out the full top ten results below:
| Film | Total | % Change | Gross to Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Onward | $10,601,952 | -72.9% | $60.3 |
| Bloodshot | $9,176,695 | NEW | $9.17 |
| I Still Believe | $9,103,614 | NEW | $9.10 |
| The Invisible Man | $5,890,805 | -61.1% | $64.3 |
| The Hunt | $5,304,455 | NEW | $5.3 |
| Sonic the Hedgehog | $2,522,584 | -67.3% | $145.7 |
| The Way Back | $2,356,115 | -71.2% | $13.3 |
| The Call of the Wild | $2,226,720 | -67.1% | $62 |
| Emma. | $1,295,215 | -73% | $9.9 |
| Bad Boys for Life | $1,102,208 | -63.5% | $204.2 |
