Friday Box Office Analysis
By Tim Briody
May 20, 2017
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Starting out with $15.3 million on Friday, Alien: Covenant leads the box office handily. The Alien prequel/Prometheus sequel or whatever the heck it is is off a bit from the $21.4 million earned by Prometheus on its first day in 2012, though that was in June. So, Covenant stands to benefit a little bit more from the Memorial Day bump next weekend. I can’t account for the drop from Friday-to-Friday here, maybe it’s that Prometheus had a middling reception or that audiences didn’t know it was part of the Alien mythos and think this is the reboot/prequel. Either way, it’s still the top film headed into Memorial Day and looks to hold up in the face of Pirates and Baywatch. This weekend, it’s looking at a shade under $40 million.
Everything, Everything
The young adult five-hanky weeper (with an awful twist contained inside, discovered when researching the movie) aims to be another The Fault In Our Stars but only manages $4.7 million on Friday. That’s somewhat ahead of expectations, most of which expected it to come in under $10 million on the weekend. Even if Friday is its peak (which is likely), Everything, Everything is headed to a weekend of $12.2 million.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul
The fourth Wimpy Kid movie (and first in five years) has seen its audience grow up and move on. The Long Haul only earned $2 million on Friday, where 2012’s Dog Days started with $5.8 million on its way to a weekend of $14.6 million. It’s looking at a $6.3 million weekend, which is a big time disappointment for the reboot and probably stops the franchise here.
Notable Holdovers
After two weekends on top, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. dips another 46% to $8.8 million as it closes in on the $300 million mark, which it’ll pass next weekend. The weekend boost will make it pretty close between Vol. 2 and Alien: Covenant, as Guardians of the Galaxy adds another $34.8 million.
Amy Schumer’s Snatched drops 54% from last Friday to $2.3 million as her Trainwreck followup has yet to match that film’s opening weekend (it’ll pass it today, though). For the weekend, the comedy is headed to a total of $7.2 million.
Meanwhile, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is staking a claim to the title of biggest flop of the summer (and we’re still in May) after collapsing 63% from last Friday to just $1.9 million. The Guy Ritchie film is looking at $5.8 million for the weekend.