Game Of Box Offices: The Nun scares up the crown (September 7th, 2018)

After three weeks with crown, “Crazy Rich Asians” was finally dethroned by the latest addition to the “Conjuring” universe titled “The Nun.” Although the crowning was not a shock to anyone, the eventual weekend total did surprise a few, grabbing $53.8 million off a prediction of around $39 million. Plus, a worldwide total of $131 million. It’s opening was enough to put it at the top of the “Conjuring” universe, beating the namesake “The Conjuring,” which had a debut of $41.8 million as well as making it the second largest September opening weekend, beating “Hotel Transylvania 2,” which has $48.4 million but sitting behind fellow Warner Bros. horror film “It,” which opened to $123.4 million just last year. What that says is WB will be aiming its horror titles in the month of September from here on out. This is the fifth straight week that Warner Bros. Pictures have landed at Number One, with “The Meg” and “Crazy Rich Asians” also landing in the top spot throughout the last month.

“Crazy Rich Asians” could not hold on to the runner-up position, however, narrowly being beat out by the new STX film “Peppermint,” starring Jennifer Garner, which nabbed a debut of $13.4 million, while “Crazy Rich Asians” was a few hundred thousand less at $13.1 million. “The Meg” finished fourth with $6 million, giving Warner Bros. three out of the five spots in the Top Five. “Searching” dropped one spot to Number Five with $4.5 million. The last newcomer of the week to land in the Top25 was “God Bless The Broken Road,” which finished just outside the Top Ten with $1.3 million. Outside the Top 25, newcomer “Kusama: Infinity” took the PTA (Per Theater Average) win with an average of $15,499 in two theaters, while “The Nun” was the big winner within the Top25, with an average of $13,882 in 3,876 theaters. “The Wife” was the only film within the Top25 to have a percentage increase of any kind, with a bump of +22.6%. “Juliet, Naked” moved up a few spots on the list, but it’s Weekend Gross was not an uptick but instead a -21.8%. Falling off the list this week was “The Spy Who Dumped Me,” the remake of “Papillon,” and last week’s new release “The Little Stranger,” falling with the Top25’s biggest fall off of the weekend, dropping -84.5%. “Papillon” was right behind it with a drop of -81.6%.

Next weekend was supposed to belong to Shane Black’s “The Predator,” which was aiming for a weekend debut of $31 million, but with the impressive opening of “The Nun,” that would be jeopardy. If “The Nun” falls, say -50%, “The Predator” will take the crown and dominate the box office, but anywhere around -40%, and “The Nun” will retain the honors. Paul Feig’s “A Simple Favor” is targeting a Number Two spot with $13.5 million. “White Boy Rick” also opens and is looking for a weekend around $8.5 million, putting it in competition, directly competing against “Crazy Rich Asians” and “The Meg” in the Top Five. And the “Unbroken” sequel which carries none of the talent in front of or behind the Angelina Jolie version, titled “Unbroken: Path to Redemption,” could grab a generous $3 million, which would translate to a Top Ten finish. Taking a huge dip this week, with a home video release on the horizon, “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” faces the end of its reign on the Top25 while “A.X.L.” and “The Equalizer 2” fell fast this week as well. “The Happytime Murders” has been plummeting week and after, and although I have a feeling it will still be here next weekend, it is also facing the end of its small time on the Top25.

Box Office King: “The Nun”
Box Office Queen: “Peppermint”
Per Theater Average Winner: “Kusama: Infinity”
Per Theater Average Winner (in 25LIST): “The Nun”
Highest Percentage Increase: “Custody”
Highest Percentage Increase (in 25LIST): “The Wife”

#	Title	Weekend	Total	Budget	Week	LW	CH
1	The Nun (WB)	$53,807,379	($53,807,379)	$22m	1st	N
2	Peppermint (STX)	$13,423,255	($13,423,255)	$25m	1st	N
3	Crazy Rich Asians (WB)	$13,148,404	($135,770,569)	$30m	4th	#1
4	The Meg (WB)	$6,094,327	($131,637,101)	$130m	5th	#2
5	Searching (SGem)	$4,570,235	($14,366,365)	**	3rd	#4
6	Mission: Impossible – Fallout (Par)	$3,885,798	($212,202,565)	$178m	7th	#3
7	Christopher Robin (BV)	$3,404,931	($91,934,021)	$75m*	6th	#6
8	Operation Finale (MGM)	$2,871,184	($13,935,630)	$24m	2nd	#5
9	BlacKkKlansman (Focus)	$2,609,915	($43,498,445)	$15m	5th	#9
10	Alpha (Studio 8)	$2,517,768	($32,460,286)	$51m	4th	#7
11	God Bless The Broken Road (Free)	$1,386,254	($1,386,254)	**	1st	N
12	Incredibles 2 (BV)	$1,352,194	($604,465,699)	$200m*	13th	#11
13	Mile 22 (STX)	$1,206,503	($35,111,649)	$50m	4th	#10
14	Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (Sony)	$1,121,921	($164,233,534)	$80m	9th	#13
15	The Happytime Murders (STX)	$1,082,377	($20,027,804)	$40m	3rd	#8
16	Slender Man (SGem)	$838,526	($29,692,608)	$10m	5th	#14
17	Kin (LGF)	$804,401	($5,318,012)	$30m*	2nd	#12
18	Ya Veremos (PNT)	$767,346	($3,312,383)	**	2nd	#15
19	Juliet, Naked (RAtt)	$642,022	($2,429,485)	**	4th	#21
20	The Wife (SPC)	$639,857	($1,964,144)	**	4th	#22
21	Ant-Man and the Wasp (BV)	$619,010	($214,822,211)	$162m*	10th	#18
22	Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (Uni)	$594,885	($119,064,225)	$75m	8th	#20
23	The Equalizer 2 (Sony)	$500,678	($101,587,436)	$62m	8th	#17
24	Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (Uni)	$433,180	($415,873,035)	$170m	12th	#16
25	A.X.L. (GR)	$296,626	($6,235,221)	$10m*	3rd	#19

***ALL DOMESTIC NUMBERS FROM BOX OFFICE MOJO***

OFF THE CHARTS THIS WEEK

(OFFICIALLY CLOSED)