The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard earned the top spot on the box-office charts, debuting with $11.6 million from 3,331 U.S. venues over the weekend.
The Lionsgate movie, a sequel to the 2017 action comedy “The Hitman’s Bodyguard,” opened on the big screen on Wednesday and has collected $17 million to date.
However, the film cost nearly $70 million to produce and even more to market so it will need to have a long, lucrative run in theaters in order to turn profit. That could prove difficult since Universal’s “F9,” an action adventure that’s targeting a similar audience, hits cinemas next weekend.
Starring Salma Hayek, Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson, “The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard” is one of the rare movies since the onset of COVID-19 to play exclusively in theaters. Opening weekend crowds were mostly older men, with 55% of ticket buyers identifying as male and 66% over the age of 25.
The poorly reviewed The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard didn’t have much competition.
Paramount’s A Quiet Place Part II slid to second place with $9.4 million from 3,401 locations, a mere 22% drop from the weekend prior. After four weeks in theaters, the film — directed by John Krasinski and featuring Emily Blunt — has generated a strong $125 million to date. Overseas, “A Quiet Place 2” added another $15.7 million this weekend for an international haul of $96.7 million, bringing its global tally to $221.9 million.
In the Heights, director Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit Broadway musical, failed to sustain crowds in its second weekend of release. The film fell to the No. 6 spot with $4.3 million in revenues from 3,509 theaters, a 62% decline from its inaugural outing.
In the Heights, which is currently playing on HBO Max, has grossed $19.8 million on the big screen to date. It hasn’t fared much better with international audiences. The movie has been released in 31 overseas markets and foreign ticket sales have barely surpassed $2.1 million.
Despite glowing reviews, the $55 million-budgeted movie will struggle to climb out of the red.
In third place, Sony’s family film “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway” collected $6.1 million from 3,346 screens in its sophomore frame, bringing its domestic tally to $20.3 million through Sunday. The film has done notably better business overseas, with ticket sales hovering at $70.5 million.
Warner Bros movie The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It and Disney’s “101 Dalmatians” prequel “Cruella” will duke it out for fourth and fifth place once final figures are tallied on Monday. According to Sunday estimates, both films brought in $5.1 million over the weekend. The former, which is being offered on HBO Max, has pulled in $53.5 million at the U.S. box office. The Emma Stone-led “Cruella,” which is available on Disney Plus for a premium $30 rental fee, has made $64.7 million in the U.S. and $95.2 million overseas.
Godzilla vs. Kong became the second COVID-era release to cross the $100 million mark at the domestic box office. It took the monster picture three months to surpass that milestone. Overseas, the movie has taken in $342 million for a global haul of $442 million.
Indie films without promotional efforts haven’t been attracting audiences.
Among limited releases, Edgar Wright’s music documentary The Sparks Brothers, from Focus Features, premiered in 534 locations and brought in $265,000 — translating to a tepid $489 per location.
The similarly well-reviewed Roadside Attractions docu, Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It pulled in $75,715 from 227 screens for a weak $334 per-screen average.
As the box office attempts to rebound from a tough 18-month period, Universal’s “Fast and Furious” sequel F9 should provide the a boost to theater operators when it debuts on June 25. Already, the high-octane tentpole is nearing the $300 million mark internationally with ticket sales currently at $292 million.
