If I had to judge The Secret Life of Pets by my own squad of creatures, I imagine it’s 90 minutes of farting, snoring, stealing space on the bed, dragging dust into the house, destroying the garden and drooling for food. And that’s the cat.
But there is probably more to it, given the movie’s huge success. Either that or Idiocracy has truly arrived.
- 01. SECRET LIFE OF PETS, THE (Incl 3D) (NE)
- 02. DEEPWATER HORIZON (Incl Imax & 4DX) (NE)
- 03. MAGNIFICENT 7 (Incl Imax) (LW: 1)
- 04. BRIDGET JONES’S BABY (LW: 2)
- 05. SY KLINK SOOS LENTE (NE)
- 06. BAD MOMS (LW: 5)
- 07. MECHANIC RESURRECTION (LW: 4)
- 08. SUICIDE SQUAD (Incl 3D, Imax & 4DX) (LW: 6)
- 09. BEN HUR (LW: 3)
- 10. NINE LIVES (LW: 7)
Who let the dogs out?
01. SECRET LIFE OF PETS, THE (Incl 3D)
Weekend gross: R 6.5 million
Percentage change: n/a
Total gross: R 6.5 million
It must be a good time to be a movie about cute animals. Following Zootopia’s massive success (not to mention become a firm staff favourite here at The Movies), even more CG critters have caught our eyes. The Secret Life of Pets debuts at the top spot, but more noteworthy is its R 6.5 million opening weekend – miles ahead of anything else on the chart, except Suicide Squad.
02. DEEPWATER HORIZON (Incl Imax & 4DX)
Weekend gross: R 1.9 million
Percentage change: n/a
Total gross: R million R1.9 million
The disaster movie retelling of how Mark Wahlberg survived the BP oil disaster from a few years ago may enter at the second spot, but its earnings reflect the miasma that has been dogging the charts for several weeks.
03. MAGNIFICENT 7 (Incl Imax)
Weekend gross: R 1.1 million
Percentage change: -35%
Total gross: R 3.9 million
Chances are at least fair that this could hold its ground or even regain the upper spot from Deepwater Horizon. But the new Magnificent Seven is not going to be remembered for setting anything on fire, least of all earnings.
04. BRIDGET JONES’S BABY
Weekend gross: R 1.1 million
Percentage change: -22%
Total gross: R 6.6 million
The third Bridget Jones, with its blatant abuse of punctuation, continues to attract eyeballs despite so-so reviews.Unless its audience suddenly dry up, this easily has two or three more weeks of chart time left.
05. SY KLINK SOOS LENTE
Weekend gross: R 550,000
Percentage change: n/a
Total gross: R 550,000
The name sounds sappy (She Sounds Like Spring), but this looks like a fun and quirky comedy. Though it is still firmly in the safe territory of romantic comedies, since those are currently the only local movies making money. A 5th spot debut is very decent.
06. BAD MOMS
Weekend gross: R 500,000
Percentage change: -5.3 %
Total gross: R 10 million
Ghostbusters was meant to help usher women into better and more visible roles, but Bad Moms totally claimed that crown. It’s been a huge success for a small comedy and the underdog darling of 2016.
07. MECHANIC RESURRECTION
Weekend gross: R 484,000
Percentage change: -13.3%
Total gross: R 8.9 million
This has not been a massive hit for Jason Statham in the States, but it’s doing better internationally and is even set to surpass the total earnings of the first movie.
08. SUICIDE SQUAD (Incl 3D, Imax & 4DX)
Weekend gross: R 343,000
Percentage change: -23.2%
Total gross: R 35 million
Suicide Squad had an epic run (though just enough to justify a sequel), ignoring the anger thrown at it. Then again, that’s what happens when you consume too much hype and marketing: the final product will either be awesome or awful.
09. BEN HUR
Weekend gross: R 306,000
Percentage change: -65.6%
Total gross: R 3.9 million
There is a mismatch of data between the two charts used to compile this report, one showing Ben Hur has already left the charts. But let’s use the other chart’s interpretation, giving it a little breathing room to take in its catastrophic collapse. Last week it still sat in third, this week it’s leaving like it owes someone money.
10. NINE LIVES
Weekend gross: R 293,000
Percentage change: -33%
Total gross: R 4,2 million
Okay, since it is bound to leave the charts, here we go: Nine Lives has certainly had nine lives. After a lazy start, it rebounded and then took a confident saunter to the exit. Pretty much like a real cat.
Off to the pound
Absolutely Fabulous stoked a lot of fan nostalgia, but that wasn’t enough to keep the hilarious, drunken fashion shrews from finding the after-party. Sully crashes out of orbit after a truly awful run that started great, then plunged dramatically. At least Pete’s Dragon did better, though it won’t be remembered as one of the lucrative Disney live-action remakes.
Last Updated: October 6, 2016
