Friday Box Office Analysis
By Tim Briody
September 23, 2017
Kingsman: The Golden Circle
The sequel to 2015’s Kingsman: The Secret Service starts out with a very strong $15.3 million on Friday. The first entry is a kind of forgotten hit, it opened to $36.2 million but was overshadowed by the $85 million opening for Fifty Shades of Grey. It ended up with $128 million domestic, so the sequel was inevitable. The Golden Circle besting the $10.4 million opening day of The Secret Service is a very good sign. Even with the somewhat inflated Friday by nature of being a sequel, (also earning $3.4 million of the Friday total on Thursday), an opening weekend of $40.2 million is solid, and will likely keep the franchise going as long as everyone’s still interested.
The LEGO Ninjago Movie
After the runaway successes of 2014’s The LEGO Movie and The LEGO Batman movie from earlier this year, the wheels fall off a bit as The LEGO Ninjago movie can only take in $5.8 million on Friday. While it’s going to have a much stronger Saturday and Sunday, that’s a big drop from even the $14.4 million LEGO Batman earned back in February. It’s still good for $22 million on the weekend, but the battle between this and Kingman should have been much closer.
Friend Request
The ancient horror movie (filmed in 2014, released only in Germany in 2016) about how Facebook is evil and stuff is completely ignored here, with just $750,000. Because we’re still dealing with some August leftovers, it’s making the top ten with about $1.6 million, but this is the last you’ll ever hear of it.
Stronger
Stronger, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, also makes the top ten on Friday with $500,000 in just 574 theaters. Based on the memoir of a survivor of the Boston Marathon bombing who lost both of his legs, Stronger has gotten excellent reviews and is hoping to establish Gyllenhaal as an Oscar contender. The Lionsgate release may see a further expansion based on this weekend, where it comes in with just under $2 million.
It
It continues its historic march through September despite dropping another 53% to $9 million. It’s already earned $245 million, and $300 million is well within striking distance by the end of the weekend. The Stephen King adaptation will finish the weekend with around $28 million.
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Projected Estimates for the Top Ten (Three-Day)
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Projected
Rank |
Film |
Estimated Gross |
|
1
|
Kingsman: The Golden Circle
|
40.2
|
|
2
|
It
|
28.1
|
|
3
|
The Lego Ninjago Movie
|
22.0
|
|
4
|
American Assassin
|
5.3
|
|
5
|
Home Again
|
3.3
|
|
6
|
mother!
|
2.7
|
|
7
|
Stronger
|
2.0
|
|
8
|
The Hitman's Bodyguard
|
1.8
|
|
9
|
Friend Request
|
1.6
|
|
10
|
Wind River
|
1.2
|
|
|
|
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