The M. Night Shyamalan comeback tour had a big showing at the box office this weekend, giving the marketplace a shot in the arm.
In first is Split (read our review), Shyamalan's latest original thriller, which stars James McAvoy as a person with 23 identities. The film grossed an impressive $40.1 million over its first three days, far exceeding even the rosiest expectations the studio had going into Friday. These figures are a considerable increase from Shyamalan's 2015 movie The Visit ($25.4 million) and his largest debut since 2010's The Last Airbender. The production budget was reportedly just $10 million, so it is already well on its way to turning a sizable profit for Universal and should be a nice success for the studio and Shyamalan - who proved that he can still draw in sizable crowds with his name.
Split was the beneficiary of very good reviews, which certainly helped its commercial appeal. Many saw it as Shyamalan's best effort since 2002's Signs, and as has become customary for the director, the ending is a major point of discussion. These aspects helped sell Split as something that had to be seen in theaters (if only to not miss out on conversation), and chances are it will have a highly fruitful commercial run in the coming weeks. The only high-profile new release next week is Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, so Split doesn't have much to face in terms of competition.
In second is xXx: Return of Xander Cage (read our review). The third installment in this action franchise made $20 million in its opening weekend, which is more than State of the Union's $12.7 million, but nowhere near the $44.5 million posted by the 2002 original. It's more of the same for Vin Diesel, who has not found much success outside of the Fast and Furious series. Return of Xander Cage's debut is only slightly higher than the $19 million earned by Riddick in 2013. While action fans turned up for xXx, it's clear that the project didn't have much commercial appeal in the States and couldn't contend with the better-received Split. However, Xander Cage has gotten a boost from the international market, as its global total is $70.5 million.
The #3 film is Hidden Figures, which brought in $16.2 million in its third weekend. The space race drama is now up to $84.2 million domestically, parlaying its strong word-of-mouth into a nice box office total.
Coming in fourth is Sing. Illumination's animated hit brought in $9 million in its fifth weekend to raise its domestic total to $249.3 million.
Rounding out the top five is La La Land. Damien Chazelle's acclaimed musical grossed $8.3 million and is now up to $89.6 million in the U.S. With Oscar nominations being announced this week, the awards frontrunner should continue to have a lot of staying power commercially.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story comes in sixth with $7 million. Lucasfilm's spinoff has now made $512.2 million Stateside and became the latest member of the $1 billion club, illustrating the decision to make Star Wars anthologies was a wise one.
In seventh again is Monster Trucks, which made $7 million in its second weekend. Paramount's family film increased its domestic total to $22.6 million, and it hasn't received much help from the foreign markets. Globally, it's grossed just $41.9 million, far from what it has to make considering the $125 million price tag attached to it.
Patriots Day comes in eighth with $6 million. Peter Berg's docudrama is now up to $23.6 million.
The #9 movie is The Founder, which expanded nationwide and made $3.7 million. A biopic of McDonald's founder Ray Kroc (starring Michael Keaton in the lead role), the film was never able to get much traction on the awards circuit and entered theaters with little fan fare. It's evident that it did not have much appeal (despite McDonald's popularity), and unless it can score some key Oscar nominations during the week, then it will fade into obscurity quietly. Keaton found a good deal of success with Birdman and Spotlight, but couldn't replicate those results here.
Capping off the top ten is Sleepless. The Jamie Foxx vehicle made $3.7 million in its second weekend, raising its domestic total to $15.1 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, January 23 -- at which time we'll update this post with any changes.]
Source: Box Office Mojo