In terms of solid variety at the cineplex, this weekend accounted for the best in new releases for 2016. But before talking about those that were ushered into theaters, let’s look at how Suicide Squad performed. As the continuation of Warner Bros’ DCEU (DC Comics Extended Universe), the critically panned (if looking specifically at its Rotten Tomatoes aggregate score) and audience enjoyed superhero flick, filled with anti-heroes where the climax is something straight out of Ghostbusters (the original, not the one that probably won’t get a sequel), Squad finished with $43.7 million for its second weekend in release. Not a bad number, with one noticeable exception. Its audience nosedived 67%, which is two percentage points off the second weekend of Batman v Superman back in March. Hmmm…
A large portion of that audience ditched the squad in favor of the supermarket as Sausage Party took silver with $33.6 million. The hard-R animated comedy recalled Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s Team America: World Police in terms of language and graphic sexual references. Definitely not one for kiddos. What was good for kids and families was Disney’s Pete’s Dragon, No. 3 with $21.5 million. This winning family feature from writer-director David Lowery was reminiscent of E.T. and The Iron Giant when it comes to pulling heartstrings and involving characters that beloved by their child counterparts.
Both Jason Bourne (No. 4) and Star Trek Beyond (No. 7) continue to their respective franchises, but both are having a hard time making a mint domestically. The $120 million Bourne has only made $126 million in three weeks and the $185 million Star Trek is at $139.6 million after a month in theaters.
Meryl Streep’s shot at a 20th Oscar nomination (she’s like Michael Phelps when it comes to nabbing Oscar kudos), Florence Foster Jenkins, debuted in a little more than 1500 theaters to the tune of $6.58 million. Not bad for a period comedy where the protagonist, though good of heart, is more than a little tone deaf.
In limited release, Bleecker Street’s WWII drama Anthropoid collected $1.2 million from 452 locations. But the big winner was Lionsgate’s Hell or High Water. Playing in just 32 theaters, the West Texas crime-thriller had a per-screen average of $18,500 (the best of any film in the marketplace) to finish with $592k.
Check out the complete Top 10 below.
01. Suicide Squad – $43.7 Million ($222.8m)
02. Sausage Party – $33.6 Million
03. Pete’s Dragon – $21.5 Million
04. Jason Bourne – $13.6 Million ($126.7m)
05. Bad Moms – $11.4 Million ($71.4m)
06. The Secret Life of Pets – $8.8 Million ($335.9m)
07. Star Trek Beyond – $6.8 Million ($139.6m)
08. Florence Foster Jenkins – $6.58 Million
09. Nine Lives – $3.5 Million ($13.5m)
10. Lights Out – $3.2 Million ($61.1m)
