Heading into its third frame in theaters, most box office analysts believed Marvel’sBlack Panthercould not be beat, coming off arecord-breaking debut($202M) and an impressive second weekend ($111.6M), where it dropped just 44.7%. In its third frame, it posted an even smaller drop, 41.2%, to win at the box office for a third straight weekend with $65.7M. The superhero adventure easily beat out two R-rated newcomers, 20th Century Fox’sRed Sparrow, which took second place with $17M and MGM’sDeath Wishremake, which opened in third place with $13M.
This updated tally pushesBlack Pantherpast the $500M mark at thedomestic box officein just its third weekend in theaters, with its domestic total currently at $501.1M. It took just 17 days forBlack Pantherto cross the $500M domestic box office threshold, the third fastest ever to reach that mark, behindStar Wars: The Last Jedi(16 days) andStar Wars: The Force Awakens.Black Pantheralso managed to add 64 theaters this weekend, to capitalize on themassive buzzswirling around the movie, bringing its theater count to 4,084, pulling in an impressive $16,088 per-screen average. With a jam-packed frame next weekend with four new movies debuting in wide release, thestreak of Disney movieswill likely continue withBlack Pantherperhaps ceding the box office throne toA Wrinkle in Time.
Heading into the weekend, neitherRed SparrownorDeath Wishwere expected to giveBlack Panthermuch of arun for its money, and both movies' critical receptions didn’t help matters much either.Red Sparrowposted largely mixed reviews with critics almost divided right down the middle on this spy thriller starring Jennifer Lawrence, with a 51% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.Death Wish, on the other hand, wasn’t nearly as divisive, with director Eli Roth’s remake starring Bruce Willis posting just a 15% rating on RT. While neither movie was a huge hit, neither of them were produced for huge budgets, so they still may fare well, when all is said and done.
Red Sparrowdebuted in 3,056 theaters, with a decent $5,563 per-screen average. It also added an additional $26.5M overseas for a worldwide opening weekend total of $43.5M. While that certainly isn’t a blockbuster number, the movie was produced under a relatively-modest $69M production budget, so it could still eke out a minor profit throughout its theatrical run. While it has already opened in most international territories, it will debut in Japan on March 30, France on April 4 and Russia on May 31. It’s worth noting thatRed Sparrowwill not open in China, the second biggest box office market in the world behind the United States.
Death Wisharrived in 2,847 theaters, for a middling $4,575 per-screen average. No international figures have been given forDeath Wishyet, but even with this disappointing opening weekend, its $13M debut is still just under half of the movie’s $30M production budget, so it still could pull in a profit as well. This movie also won’t open in China, and will open in far fewer international markets, so it’s possible that the international grosses won’t be much of a factor, in terms of the movie’s worldwide box office performance. Rounding out the top 5 this weekend areGame Nightin fourth with $10.7M andPeter Rabbitin fifth with $10M, but it’s possible that they could swap spots when the actual numbers are released tomorrow, since they’re so close to each other.
The top 10 is rounded out byAnnihilation($5.6M),Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle($4.5 million),Fifty Shades Freed($3.3 million),The Greatest Showman($2.6 million) andEvery Day($1.5 million). Also opening in limited release this weekend was Sony Pictures Classics’Foxtrot, which earned $36,786 from four theaters for a $9,197 per-screen average, and Hannover’sDeath House, which took in $10,295 from one theater. Next weekend, Disney will roll out its highly-anticipated adaptationA Wrinkle In Time, which will go up against STX Entertainment’sGringo, Aviron’sStrangers: Prey At Nightand Entertainment Studios’The Hurricane Heist. Take a look at the box office estimates for the weekend of March 2, courtesy ofBox Office Mojo, and check back on Tuesday for next weekend’s predictions.
