When it comes to M. Night Shyamalan’s latest movie, there are no doubts left that audiences definitely aren’t… split over it!… Guys?… Guys, come back! I’m sorry. I won’t make any more bad puns! With some of the best reviews the filmmaker has received in years, the horror/thriller bucked its genre trend of debuting big and dropping even bigger. Instead, Split had a very solid $26 million second week holdover – taking its global tally over the $100 million mark – as the new releases barely ignited the public’s attention.
Well, actually one of those new releases got all of the attention, but for completely the wrong reasons. A Dog’s Purpose made headlines around the world recently when on-set video surfaced of some horrific treatment of the film’s dogs. This brought PETA out in full force as they went on to protest several premieres of the new family film. However, that didn’t serve as big a deterrent as some would have hoped as the film opened with just over $18 million. That’s definitely not a big opening by any stretch of the imagination, especially since the film cost $22 million, but its better than many expected.
The other newcomer was the latest – and apparently last – Resident Evil movie. And it could maybe had done with a little bit of controversy of its own. At least then we would know that somebody cared. Resident Evil : The Final Chapter opened with just over $13 million, the smallest debut in the entire franchise’s history. Its been 15 years since this video game adaptation series first started, and it definitely appears that its just the hardcore fans that are still keeping it going.
Rounding out the new releases was Gold, which sees Matthew McConaughey as a crazy and desperate businessman who turns into an overnight mega-millionaire when he strikes gold. Unfortunately, just the opposite happened with the movie’s box office release. Despite the popularity of McConaughey and the prestige of writer/director Stephen Gaghan, Gold just barely made it onto the top 10 with a very small $3.47 million opening. The film’s only saving grace is that it cost just $3.5 million to make.
Speaking of things many people don’t care about, many people would say that most movie awards ceremonies are just bouts of Hollywood patting themselves on the back. However, you can’t deny the influence of awards on the box office either. Despite being around on the charts for ages now, recent awards nominees/winners La La Land (which leads the Oscar nominations with a tied record best 14 nominations) and recent Screen Actors Guild Awards winner Hidden Figures are doing better than ever. La La Land actually saw its profits surge 43% since getting its nominations, while Hidden Figures held onto third place as it only experienced a meager 11% drop.
Let’s see what the rest of the US box office chart looks like:
| No. | Movie Name | Weekend gross | Percentage change | Domestic gross | Worldwide gross | Last Week's Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Split | $26.26 million | -34% | $77.998 million | $101.69 million | 1st |
| 2 | A Dog's Purpose | $18.38 million | NA | $18.38 million | $23.38 million | NE |
| 3 | Hidden Figures | $14 million | -11% | $104.02 million | $844 205 | 3rd |
| 4 | Resident Evil: The Final Chapter | $13.85 million | NA | $78.35 million | NE | |
| 5 | La La Land | $12.05 million | +43% | $106.509 million | $223.5 million | 5th |
| 6 | xXx: The Return of Xander Cage | $8.25 million | -59% | $33.48 million | $89.05 million | 2nd |
| 7 | Sing | $6.21 million | -31% | $257.4 million | $463.7 million | 4th |
| 8 | Rogue One: A Star Wars Story | $5.12 million | -28.9% | $520.04 million | $1.03 billion | 6th |
| 9 | Monster Trucks | $4.1 million | -42% | $28.13 million | $47.58 million | 7th |
| 10 | Gold | $3.47 million | NA | $3.47 million | NA | NA |
Last Updated: February 6, 2017
Ottokie
January 30, 2017 at 12:08
So all I have been seeing on twitter is La La Land this and La La Land that. Is it really that good? Seems kinda Footloose to me.
Admiral Chief
January 30, 2017 at 12:20
Perfect movie for date night, you know, if you had a date
Ottokie
January 30, 2017 at 12:27
So that’s a “I will never watch it then” movie
miaau
January 30, 2017 at 12:30
I have a wife. We need a date night. been almost two years.
we had Valentines day, afternoon, two years ago and that same year October, at night, in a game lodge, ate out alone while family stayed in chalets.
That is it, since first child (3.4 years old) was born.
HOWEVER, I am concerned if we get a night off from both kids right now, we would fall into each others arms and sleep. Sleep long. Sleep.
Admiral Chief
January 30, 2017 at 12:40
Hence why we stopped after 1 kid.
I need MY time as well
miaau
January 30, 2017 at 12:45
We had that discussion.
I need my time too.
miaau
January 30, 2017 at 12:37
If kinda Footloose (and nicely inserted, by the way), then I probably will not enjoy this type of musical interlude
miaau
January 30, 2017 at 12:33
As for the Resident Evil movie, $13 million seems damn solid to me, for just core fans.
Kervyn Cloete
January 30, 2017 at 13:51
The movie had a $40 million budget. Movies make the bulk of their income on the first week or two. Not even cracking 50% domestic in the first weekend is generally not considered a great start. Especially when you considered that the previous entries in the franchise all opened higher.
And before somebody points it out, yes, it’s already made $78 million overall, but when you had to factor advertising costs into the production budget then it’s probably just about broke even.
HvR
January 30, 2017 at 14:02
But Resident Evil is not your typical movie, read article last year somewhere it the final chapter was greenlit because the series is such big money maker internationally (5 more sales than US domestic vs the normal 2 or 3) especially in Asia.
So pretty sure Sony will make their chunk of change on it.
Kervyn Cloete
January 30, 2017 at 14:06
Oh I’m not denying the franchise makes a ton of cash overseas, that’s an indisputable fact. What I’m saying is that there’s a downward trend in earnings, and this latest film is just about breaking even
HvR
January 30, 2017 at 14:11
Jip, if there any doubt this is the last one.
Think Sony did miscalculated a bit and should have cut another 5 to 10 million from their attempt to suck the very last bit from the now dry zombie entertainment teat.