In an extremely close race for gold, The Nun II ($14.7 million) retained its spot barely over the newcomer A Haunting in Venice ($14.5 million) this weekend. But the projections will be verified by tomorrow so that the switch may be flipped. Based on the adaptation of Agatha Christie’s novels, Kenneth Branagh’s third film took in $22.7 million overseas for a global total of $37.2 million. It easily beat out its predecessor’s opening (due to COVID variables). Still, it couldn’t beat the original in its debut in 2017, so unfortunately, it won’t be blowing us away in the future. Legs like its predecessor will put it around $130-150 million, which will work pleasantly given the budgeting dipped to $60 million this time and in a more desirable environment. Decent reviews and a B from CinemaScore will continue that trend. There seems to be a distinct similarity when the Chronicles of Narnia took to mainstream, but it may have been more of an overstated speculative IP guess than a “folks want to see this series continue.”
Going back to the horror queen for the weekend, The Nun II has passed $150 million worldwide and should be dispatching $200 million worldwide before next weekend initiates. Reaching its predecessor in terms of legs could still be a reality (although $280 million worldwide seems more practical), and The Conjuring franchise and horror remain as popular as ever as we head into the spooky season. Denzel Washington’s The Equalizer 3 took in $7.2 million in its third weekend, bringing it to $73.68 million domestically and $132.4 million worldwide. It remains on pace to reach $180-200 million worldwide, similar to its predecessors, so consistency has been a strong suit of Mr. Washington’s (despite the lack of marketing for the threequel).
Barbie has passed The Avengers domestically ($626.7 million) and Age of Ultron worldwide to become the 14th-highest-earning film in history. Around $1.5 billion remains plausible for the Greta Gerwig comedy, which took over the mainstream popularity and culture for the entire summer. Its dark counterpart, Oppenheimer, has earned $913 million worldwide and has passed Bohemian Rhapsody to become the highest-earning biopic in history. Astonishing achievements for old-fashioned tentpoles that didn’t have to rely on an intergalactic sci-fi series, superheroes, or blue aliens to get this far.
In other news, My Big Fat Greek Wedding took in $4.7 million in its second weekend, Jawan earned $2.5 million in its second weekend, and Gran Turismo with $2.35 million in its fourth weekend. Blue Beetle has crumbled, making DC 0-3 this year; god help us for Aquaman 2, which reportedly had “folks leaving during the early screenings.” While the MCU has been showing signs of blood in the water, the DC Universe seems to have perished. All eyes are on Jason Momoa and James Wan once December rolls around.
Next weekend sees the release of Expend4bles and various titles onto Netflix and Hulu.
