Mistress of Evil Wins Battle with Joker
There was a fight for the top spot at the box office last weekend (Oct. 25-27) between Maleficent: Mistress of Evil and Joker. While Warner Bros. Pictures Joker led in Sunday’s studio weekend estimates, Walt Disney Studios’ Maleficent: Mistress of Evil was on top with $19.37 million when the actual numbers were released late Monday afternoon.
Following its relatively disappointing $36.95 million debut the previous weekend, Mistress of Evil fell 47.6% in its second weekend, bringing the domestic total for the sequel to $66.25 million after 10 days. That puts the follow-up 48.3% behind the the original Maleficent, which had $128.1 million at the same point in its run. Luckily for the studio, the Angelina Jolie fantasy is making up quite a bit of ground overseas to compensate for its comparatively light stateside run.
Joker posted another strong hold, slipping just 34.2% from the previous weekend to $19.25 million, bringing the domestic total for the comic book thriller to a stellar $277.93 million through the end of its fourth weekend. The controversial film is currently the eighth highest-grossing DC Comics adaptation of all time, just behind 2013’s Man of Steel with $291.05 million, and the seventh highest-grossing R-rated movie ever, having just surpassed director Todd Phillips’ 2009 comedy The Hangover with $277.32 million.
Coming in third was United Artists Releasing’s The Addams Family, which took advantage of the final weekend before Halloween with $12.01 million down just 26.4% after adding roughly 100 screens, giving the animated reboot of the spooky franchise a North American total of $73.10 million through the end of its third weekend.
Zombieland: Double Tap took fourth place with $11.82 million in its second weekend, bringing the domestic total for the horror-comedy to $47.22 million. That is roughly the same amount the first Zombieland brought in by the same point in its run over a decade ago, although ticket prices were considerably lower in 2009.
Also attempting to take advantage of the pre-Halloween weekend was STX Entertainment’s high-concept horror film Countdown, which took fifth place with $8.87 million. That is a better-than-expected debut for the $6.5 million-budgeted film, even as poor reviews and so-so audience scores indicate this one is likely to fade quickly once the holiday is in the rearview mirror. It may have benefitted from the popular tie-in app, which hit No. 1 on the Free Apps chart on Apple’s app store prior to the film’s release.
Debuting in sixth place was Sony-Screen Gem’s crime thriller Black and Blue, which took in $8.38 million. That is a decent opening for the $12 million production, which got mixed reviews from critics. The debut came in slightly below that of the similar The Intruder, which opened to $10.86 million in May.
In seventh place, the Will Smith sci-fi Gemini Man earned $4.07 million, down 51.0%, bringing the domestic total for the Paramount Pictures release to a disappointing $43.41 million through the end of its third weekend.
Following in eighth place with $3.03 million was A24’s The Lighthouse, which expanded to 586 locations after scoring a solid debut on just eight screens the previous weekend. Directed by Robert Eggers (The Witch) and starring Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson, the well-reviewed black and white horror film had positive reviews and an effective marketing campaign.
The final new wide release of the weekend, 101 Stuidos’ historical drama The Current War: Director’s Cut, finished in ninth place with $2.63 million – a weak start for the $26 million-budget film. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Shannon as Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse, respectively, it is the debut title from 101 Studios, which nabbed the Weinstein Company-shelved film — originally slated for release in November 2017 — in the wake of Harvey Weinstein’s multiple rape allegations. The Martin Scorsese executive-produced film wasn’t helped by mixed reviews and a relatively light marketing push.
Rounding out the Top 10 in 10th place was Universal Pictures’ Abominable with $2.09 million in its sixth weekend for a domestic total of $56.90 million to date.
This coming weekend sees the debut of Paramount Pictures’ Terminator: Dark Fate, Entertainment Studio Motion Pictures’ Arctic Dogs, Focus Features’ Harriet Tubman biopic Harriet and Warner Bros. Motherless Brooklyn.
The top 10 films grossed $91.53 million. That is 29.5% behind the previous weekend’s $129.82 million total. It is also 0.6% behind last year’s $90.99 million, when the Halloween remake led for the second weekend with $31.42 million. Total box office year-to-date stands at $9.07 billion. That is 6.0% behind last year.
Oct. 25-27, 2019
This Week | Last Week | Movie | Weekend Gross | Cumulative Gross | Weeks |
1 | 1 | Maleficent: Mistress of Evil | $19.37M | $66.25M | 2 |
2 | 2 | Joker | $19.25M | $277.93M | 4 |
3 | 4 | The Addams Family | $12.01M | $73.10M | 3 |
4 | 3 | Zombieland: Double Tap | $11.82M | $47.22M | 2 |
5 | New | Countdown | $8.87M | $8.87M | 1 |
6 | New | Black and Blue | $8.38M | $8.38M | 1 |
7 | 5 | Gemini Man | $4.07M | $43.41M | 3 |
8 | 15 | The Lighthouse | $3.03M | $3.61M | 2 |
9 | New | The Current War: Director’s Cut | $2.63M | $2.63M | 1 |
10 | 6 | Abominable | $2.09M | $56.90M | 5 |
Editor-in-Chief Mark Heckathorn is a journalist, movie buff and foodie. He oversees DC on Heels editorial operations as well as strategic planning and staff development. Reach him with story ideas or suggestions at dcoheditor (at) gmail (dot) com.