Antoine Fuqua’s The Magnificent Seven triumphed to a domestic debut of $35 million from 3,674 theaters, placing No. 1 in North America and corralling one of the top openings of all time for a Western, not accounting for inflation.
Magnificent Seven benefited from a star-studded cast led by Denzel Washington, solid reviews and an a A- CinemaScore from audiences.
Westerns at the Box-Office
Westerns are a tough sell. The current record-holder for a live-action Western is Cowboys & Aliens ($36.4 million), but including animated offerings, Rango is the champ with $38.1 million.
From Sony and MGM, Magnificent Seven is a remake of the classic 1960 movie, which in turn was a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai.
Village Roadshow and LStar Capital helped co-finance the $90 million film, which had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Fest as opening night.
Racial Diversity
The movie stars Washington opposite Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke and Vincent D’Onofrio. Byung-hun Lee, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensmeier, Haley Bennett and Peter Sarsgaard.
Magnficent Seven is a career best for Fuqua; his previous top opening was The Equalizer ($34.1 million), also starring Washington.
Washington’s Top Grossing Films
Denzel Washington’s biggest opening is 2007’s American Gangster ($43.6 million) followed by 2012’s Safe House ($40.2 million).
“It’s great to have a movie with Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt in it. They are proven stars and just so winning, especially together,” said Sony worldwide president of marketing and distribution Josh Greenstein. Magnificent Seven skewed male (56 percent) as well as older, with 67 percent of ticket buyers over the age of 25.
