Sony’s “Bad Boys for Life” and Universal’s “1917” continue to drive the box office, as both films will cross $100 million domestic this weekend.
“Bad Boys for Life” will take No. 1 again with an estimated $30 million second weekend, a 52% drop from the threequel’s $62.5 million 3-day opening that would give it a domestic total of $117 million. Sam Mendes’ Oscar-nominated “1917,” which is in its third weekend in wide release, is estimated to earn $14 million to bring its total to $102 million domestic.
“1917” will be the fourth Best Picture Oscar nominee in this year’s field to cross the $100 million mark, joining “Joker,” “Ford v Ferrari,” and ‘Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood.” Another nominee, Sony’s “Little Women,” is close to the mark with $4.2 million grossed in its fifth weekend and a $93 million total. If and when “Little Women” crosses the milestone, it will make 2020 the first year since 2013 in which five Best Picture nominees grossed over $100 million in North America.
In third is Universal’s “Dolittle” with a second weekend total of $11.1 million, which would give it a 10-day total of $43.2 million that’s well shy of its $175 million budget. Just behind it is new release “The Gentlemen” from STX, which is meeting tracker expectations of a $10 million opening from 2,165 screens. STX paid $7 million for distribution rights, so this will be a success for the studio.
However, “The Gentlemen” is performing below the $15.2 million opening for another STX action film, “Den of Thieves,” which opened in January 2018. Reception has been generally positive with a B+ on CinemaScore and 71% on Rotten Tomatoes, so it is likely that “Bad Boys for Life” is peeling away audiences looking for an action film.
Close together for the No. 5 spot are Sony’s “Jumanij: The Next Level” and Universal’s new horror release “The Turning,” with “Jumanji” having a narrow lead at $7 million compared to $6.8 million for “The Turning.”
While “The Turning” has a far smaller budget and marketing spend than recent Universal flops “Cats” and “Dolittle,” it has now become the second film this month to earn the dreaded F on CinemaScore, joining Sony’s “The Grudge.” Also like “The Grudge,” critics have panned the film with a 13% Rotten Tomatoes score. Overall, “The Turning” is the 21st film in the history of the CinemaScore audience poll to receive an F.