Despite great word-of-mouth and excellent reviews, a long-awaited sci-fi sequel fared worse at the box office than anticipated.
In first this weekend is Blade Runner 2049 (read our review), which brought in $31.5 million in its first three days. This figure is well below original expectations heading into Friday, as some estimates thought it could legitimately challenge the October opening weekend record. Sadly, the acclaimed film from director Denis Villeneuve did not have as much commercial appeal as Warner Bros./Sony had hoped - a potential problem considering the massive $150+ million production budget. Though the film's reviews hailed Blade Runner 2049 as one of 2017's finest offerings, it obviously did not click with general audiences. This can probably be attributed to the movie's long runtime (limiting the amount of daily showings) and the fact that Blade Runner (despite its status as a classic) isn't the most accessible genre property out there. Some felt the film's story was too drawn out and boring, which might have scared some casual viewers off.
With a relatively slow start out of the gate, it will be interesting to see how 2049 holds up as its run continues. One thing working in its favor is that it won't face much high-profile competition until Jigsaw opens at the end of the month, so it has a couple of weeks mostly to itself. Also, with cinephiles raving about the film, there's a chance Blade Runner could have strong legs and continuously post healthy numbers over the course of October. Unlike other sci-fi tentpoles, which are PG-13 and aim to have monster opening weekends, Blade Runner's target audience is a bit different. It's more adult-orientated with an R-rating, and that demographic doesn't always rush out on opening night to see a film.
Coming in second is the new romance/survival film The Mountain Between Us (read our review). The film grossed $10.1 million in its first three days, which was in line with projections before the weekend. Negative reactions prevented the movie from breaking out beyond its main demographic, but Mountain Between Us did emerge as an appealing counter-programming option for those looking for a nice date night. It will need to have a strong showing overseas to turn a profit off its $35 million budget, but Fox can't be too disappointed with the way things turned out.
Coming in third is IT with $9.6 million. The Stephen King adaptation raised its domestic total to a whopping $304.9 million, finally surpassing the all-time horror mark posted by The Sixth Sense in 1999.
The #4 film is My Little Pony: The Movie, which opened with $8.8 million in its first three days. Typically, family films post higher numbers at the box office, but this one proved to be an exception to the rule. Though the My Little Pony brand is quite popular, the film entered theaters with limited fan fare, and the mixed reviews didn't do it any favors. This proved to be more niche than something from Pixar or DreamWorks, and likely won't stick around for long.
Rounding out the top five is Kingsman: The Golden Circle. The spy sequel earned $8.1 million in its third weekend, raising its Stateside total to $79.9 million. Worldwide, it's fared much better, with a global haul of $220.5 million.
In sixth is American Made with $8 million. The Tom Cruise vehicle now stands at $30.4 million in the U.S.
The LEGO Ninjago Movie comes in seventh with $6.7 million, raising the animated movie's domestic total to $43.8 million.
Expanding to 732 theaters this weekend, drama Victoria and Abdul made $4.1 million to finish in eighth, increasing its Stateside total to $5.9 million.
Notorious bomb Flatliners took a massive hit in its second weekend, sliding to ninth. The film made $3.8 million, raising its domestic haul to $12.3 million.
Capping off the top 10 is Battle of the Sexes with $2.4 million. Fox Searchlight's Oscar hopeful now stands at $7.6 million.
[NOTE: These are only weekend box office estimates -- based on Friday and Saturday ticket sales coupled with adjusted expectations for Sunday. Official weekend box office results will be released on Monday, October 9 -- at which time we'll update this post with any changes.]
Source: Box Office Mojo