Last weekend, Warner Bros.Suicide Squadstill managed to breakbox officerecords, despiteDavid Ayer’s controversial remarks and a spate of negative reviews. This DC Comics adaptation took in $133.6 million in its opening weekend, the biggest August debut in history, shattering the previous record set by Marvel’sGuardians of the Galaxy($94.3 million) two years ago. Still, many wondered how much the movie would drop in its second weekend, going up against a diverse trio of new releases, Disney’s family adventurePete’s Dragon, Sony’s R-rated animated comedySausage Partyand Paramount’s inspiring dramaFlorence Foster Jenkins. While it came in far below expectations,Suicide Squadstill managed to win with $43.7 million.
Suicide Squad’s $133.6 million made it the fourth-highest opening of the year. The debut falls below Marvel’sCaptain America: Civil War($179.1 million), Warner Bros./DC’sBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice($166 million) and Disney Pixar’sFinding Dory($135 million). Disney Pixar’sFinding Doryis still the highest-grossing domestic release this year so far, with $473.8 million, and the R-ratedDeadpoollands in the fifth highest debut spot with $132.4 million.Box Office Mojoreports thatSuicide Squaddropped a monstrous 67.3% in its second weekend with $43.7 million, bringing its domestic total to $222.8 million, from a $175 million budget.
Unlike last weekend, all of the new releases are heading into their debuts with rave reviews.Florence Foster Jenkinsis sporting an impressive 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, followed bySausage Partywith 82% on RT andPete’s Dragonwith 86%. Last weekend’s newcomers,Suicide Squad(26%) andNine Lives(4%) were demolished by the critics before their debut in theaters, but these positive reviews couldn’t push any of these new released past the critically-pannedSuicide Squad.Sausage Partydebuted in second place with an impressive $33.6 million, followed byPete’s Dragonin third place with $21.5 million whileFlorence Foster Jekninsdebuted in eighth place with $6.5 million.
The 67.3% drop for thisTask Force Xadventure is just slightly lower than the second-weekend drop for this spring’sBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. After opening with a whopping $166.1 million in March, it dropped a massive 69.1% in its second weekend, although it still managed to take the top spot with $51.3 million.Suicide Squadstill had the highest theater count with 4,255, withPete’s Dragonopening in 3.702 theaters,Sausage Partydebuting in 3,103 theaters andFlorence Foster Jekninsarriving in 1,528 theaters. The top 5 is rounded out byJason Bourne($13.6 million) andBad Moms($11.4 million), both of which posted impressively minimal decreases of 39.2% and 18.2%, respectively.
Pete’s Dragonis a remake of Disney’s beloved 1977 classic that featured a hybrid of live action and animated elements. For years, old wood carver Mr. Meacham (Robert Redford) has delighted local children with his tales of the fierce dragon that resides deep in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. To his daughter, Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard), who works as a forest ranger, these stories are little more than tall tales…until she meets Pete (Oakes Fegley). Pete is a mysterious 10-year-old with no family and no home who claims to live in the woods with a giant, green dragon named Elliott. And from Pete’s descriptions, Elliott seems remarkably similar to the dragon from Mr. Meacham’s stories. With the help of Natalie (Oona Laurence), an 11-year-old girl whose father Jack (Wes Bentley) owns the local lumber mill, Grace sets out to determine where Pete came from, where he belongs, and the truth about this dragon.
Sausage Partyis a raunchy animated movie about one sausage’s quest to discover the truth about his existence. After falling out of a shopping cart, our hero sausage and his new friends embark on a perilous journey through the supermarket to get back to their aisles before the 4th of July sale. The stellar voice cast is lead bySeth Rogen,Jonah HillandJames Franco, also featuringEdward Norton,Michael Cera,Nick Kroll,David Krumholtz,Kristen WiigandSalma Hayek.
Set in 1940s New York,Florence Foster Jenkinsis the true story of the legendary New York heiress and socialite (Meryl Streep) who obsessively pursued her dream of becoming a great singer. The voice she heard in her head was beautiful, but to everyone else it was hilariously awful. Her “husband” and manager, St. Clair Bayfield (Hugh Grant), an aristocratic English actor, was determined to protect his beloved Florence from the truth. But when Florence decided to give a public concert at Carnegie Hall, St. Clair knew he faced his greatest challenge.
The top 10 is rounded out byThe Secret Life of Pets($8.8 million),Star Trek Beyond($6.8 million),Florence Foster Jenkins($6.5 million),Nine Lives($3.5 million) andLights Out($3.2 million). Also opening in limited release this weekend Bleecker Street’sAnthropoid, which earned $1.2 million from 452 theaters for a meager $2,684 per-screen average. Lionsgate’sHell or High Waterearned $592,000 from 32 theaters for an impressive $18,500 per-screen average, while The Orchard’sGhost Teamtook in $9,205 from 10 theaters for a dismal $921 per-screen average. No box office data was released for Independent’sBeyond Valkyrie: Dawn of the Fourth ReichandEdge of Winter, GVN Releasing’sThe Fight Within, Brainstorm Media’sThe Model, CJ Entertainment’sOperation Chromite, Film Movement’sMy Kingand Abramorama’sThe Girl of the Golden West.
Looking ahead to next weekend, three more wildly different movies hit theaters as the summer movie season winds down. Warner Bros. will releaseWar Dogs, starringJonah HillandMiles Teller, while Focus Features will unveil their animated adventureKubo and the Two Stringsalongside Paramount’s epic remake ofBen-Hur. Also debuting in limited release is Independent’sKingsglaive: Final Fantasy: XV, Distrib Films’Down By LoveandThe Student and Mr. Henri, Magnolia’sLo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World, Music Box Films’Mia Madre, A24’sMorris From America, Cohen Media Group’sThe People Vs. Fritz Bauerand Strand’sSpa Night. Be sure to check back on Sunday for the box office estimates, and again on Tuesday for next week’s predictions. Until then, take a look at the top 10 estimates the weekend of August 12.
