The domestic box office is feeling a little hungover from the last two week's monster take from Warner Bros./New Line Cinema's horror "It."
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'Kingsman: The Golden Circle' wins a bland weekend at the box office
New releases, "Kingsman: The Golden Circle," "The Lego Ninjago Movie," and "Friend Request" all underperformed at the box office.
This week, audiences had a diverse selection of titles in wide release to choose from: "Kingsman: The Golden Circle," "The Lego Ninjango Movie," and the horror "Friend Request." Though the "Kingsman" sequel took the win, all three titles underperformed compared to industry projections.
"The Golden Circle," continuing the James Bond-like antics of franchise star Taron Egerton along with new additions Channing Tatum, Halle Berry, Julianne Moore, and Jeff Bridges, took in an estimated $39 million on 4,000 screens, according to Exhibitor Relations.
That's just below its $40 million projection. However, thanks to the added star power, the movie was able to earn more in its opening weekend than the 2015 original, "Kingsman: The Secret Service," which opened with $36.2 million. It pulled that off with just a 51% Rotten Tomatoes score, compared to the 74% score that "The Secret Service" got.
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"It" came in second with a strong $30 million third week. The adaptation of the Stephen King novel is now the highest-grossing R-rated horror movie of all time (not counting inflation) with a domestic total of $266 million.
"The Lego Ninjango Movie" placed in third with $21 million. That's below the $30 million projection for the latest title from the successful animated franchise of the Lego brand. This is the first disappointing opening for the titles, which include 2014's "The Lego Movie," with a $69 million opening and a lifetime worldwide box office of $469.1 million.
2017's "The Lego Batman Movie" opened to $53 million ($311.9 million worldwide lifetime gross). With "Lego Ninjango" costing around $70 million (not counting marketing), it looks like Warner Bros. animation will take a hit with this one. And with each title dropping in earnings, it would be helpful if the next one could be an overachiever.
The horror "Friend Request" had the task of trying to attract fans of the genre following the hit that "It" is. The low-budget title didn't succeed. Taking in only $2.4 million over the weekend (it was made for $9.9 million), it proves that horror audiences won't just run to anything that has scares.
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