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It didn’t look like it was going to be an iconic showdown this weekend, but that’s exactly what happened, as GOOD faced off versus EVIL for the number one spot at the box office.

The good this weekend is last weekend’s number one film Dunkirk, looking to repeat up top and hold on to as much of that $50.3 million opening weekend gross as it can. Given that 92% fresh Rotten Tomatoes score, and A- Cinemascore, it had the public with it going into its second frame. Facing off with the World War II film is The Emoji Movie, a title I am still grappling to understand what you do with for 84 minutes. I watched The James Corden Show the other night (he stars) and Anna Faris was guesting. During the show, the question came up as to what the movie was about. There was an uncomfortable silence to start, followed by a “do you want to answer?” back and forth, before Corden squeezed something out. The Emoji Movie is 6% fresh and earned a B Cinemascore (!!), a score that does not occur in kids’ films. While good and evil stared each other down, Atomic Blonde also opened, and while it may have missed its $20 million target, it did debut better than John Wick’s $14.4 million, and we know how that all turned out.

It was terribly, frightfully close this weekend, but I am happy to report that Dunkirk is our number one film, earning a classy $28.1 million, down a fantastic 44% compared to last weekend. As Kim Hollis reported in BOP’s Friday Box Office Update, The Emoji Movie was number one for a day, joining crazy news around the firings at the Trump White House and McCain’s voting choice on the health care bill – it was a nutty day. The Emoji Movie blasted off with $10.1 million on opening day, taking in $900,000 from Thursday previews and the remainder on Friday. If you are like me, you were hoping that was the peak, and the rest of the weekend would slide downward. That’s what happened with Cars 3, another film that no one should see, as it earned $19.6 million on Friday, $18.4 million on Saturday and $15.6 million on Sunday. If it had followed that pattern it would earn about $27.5 million. However, given the reviews and word-of-mouth indicated by the Cinemascore, we had to hope it would be even worse.

By Sunday, The Emoji Movie had picked up $25.7 million over three days, still far too much for a film that should be kept in the same warehouse as the Ark of Covenant. I am not going to try and describe something that eludes me, but from what I’ve read, it is a rip off of Inside Out, this time taking place in a phone instead of a child’s brain. Sony spent $50 million on this one, not realizing it was money better spent on just about anything else. Still, depending what happens over the next few weeks, they will likely make money off it, if overseas children are as forgiving as their North American brethren. Reviews are actually humorous to read, so if you have some time, wander over to RT and at least read the excerpts. I don’t like The Smurfs or the idiot Chipmunks, but this is worse as it’s about nothing, and not the cool Jerry Seinfeld version of nothing. I beg you to keep your kids at home or go see Despicable Me 3 again instead.

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