Sony/Columbia’s “Uncharted” is continuing to beat box office expectations after earning $16.2 million on Saturday from 4,275 theaters, with estimates now projecting a 3-day opening of $44 million and a 4-day Presidents Day weekend opening of $51 million; trackers projected a start in the $35-40 million range.
With that result, this $120 million blockbuster adaptation of the PlayStation video game series has passed $100 million in global theatrical grosses having added an estimated $55.4 million internationally this weekend to bring its global total to $139 million through Monday. While critics dismissed the film with a 40% Rotten Tomatoes score, a largely young and male audience has embraced it with an 89% audience score and a B+ on Rotten Tomatoes.
“This result is yet another extraordinary testament to the appetite for the theatrical experience that Sony Pictures bet on. Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg are brilliant together,” Sony Motion Picture Group President Josh Greenstein said in a statement. “Thank you to our sister company, PlayStation, for their incredible partnership, and all the many people who worked so hard to bring this film to life in a big, theatrical way.”
As we noted on WrapPRO, the success of “Uncharted” would likely be determined not by fans of the games it is based on but on whether Tom Holland, still riding high off of “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” could draw younger audiences to theaters. With a solid start now under its belt, we will find out next weekend whether word-of-mouth will earn “Uncharted” a decent hold before “The Batman” arrives on the first weekend of March and draws away considerable moviegoer attention as well as premium format support.
Also opening this weekend is MGM/FilmNation’s “Dog,” which has opened to a $15 million 3-day/$18 million 4-day, slightly above projections for a $11-15 million start. Starring Channing Tatum, who also co-directed with “Magic Mike” partner Reid Carolin, “Dog” drew strong reception numbers with Rotten Tomatoes scores of 78% critics and 91% audience to go with an A- on CinemaScore.
At a time when films appealing to older audiences have struggled, “Dog” has been able to find success at a low budget point with a production spend of just $15 million. Opening weekend demographics show that the film particularly performed well in the central and midwest U.S. with 54% of moviegoers being female and 53% over the age of 35.
Holdovers complete the Top 5, starting with “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which is seeing no drop in its 10th weekend in theaters as it adds a $7.2 million 3-day/$8.8 million 4-day total for the holiday weekend. After passing the domestic total of “Avatar” last week, the film now has a North American total of $771.7 million.
In fourth is 20th Century’s “Death on the Nile,” which still has not reached $100 million worldwide after two weekends in theaters having grossed $6.3 million 3-day/$7.2 million 4-day for a total of $25 million domestic and $74.9 million worldwide. Paramount’s low-budget “Jackass Forever” completes the Top 5, adding a total of $5.2 million 3-day and $6.2 million 4-day to bring its domestic total to $47.7 million.