Most analysts were predicting that theLabor Day weekendwould be one of the worst holiday weekends at the box office in decades. And it seems those predictions were actually too generous. With no new movies opening in wide release,The Hitman’s Bodyguardtook full advantage, winning for a third weekend in a row with a four-day holiday weekend tally of $13.3 million. While the top 10 remained virtually unchanged, with the three-day tallies showing that six movies in the top 10 actually posted increases from the previous weekend, it still wasn’t enough for this weekend to be the worst Labor Day weekend in 17 years.
Box Office Mojoreports that the top 12 movies grossed just $51.5 million, which was the lowest tally since 2000, when the top 12 took in $47 million. We also reported yesterday that thebox office estimatesrepresented an 18-year low, with analysts predicting that the four-day weekend totals for every movie in theaters won’t even break $100 million, which hasn’t happened since 1999. The four-day estimates confirm that this weekend didn’t crack $100 million, with all 46 movies combining for a paltry total of $95.5 million. If the top 10 movies would have suffered more traditional decreases from weekend to weekend, it could have been a lot worse than it really was. Still,The Hitman’s Bodyguardhas been capitalizing on this box office down turn, bringing its domestic total to $58 million, from a $30 million budget.
The Labor Day numbers cap off a summer movie season that has now been confirmed as the worst on record since 2006. While there were a few hits within the summer movie mix, like the critical and commercial hitWonder Woman, which recently passed $400 million domestic and $800 million worldwide, Marvel’sGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2($389.6 million) andSpider-Man: Homecoming($325.1 million) and Universal’s animated sequelDespicable Me 3($258.8 million), there were many more flops based on existing properties than expected. 20th Century Fox’sAlien: Covenant, Paramount’sBaywatchandTransformers: The Last Knightand Disney’sPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Talesall came in vastly lower than expectations.
The top 5 includesAnnabelle: Creation, which this weekend passedGet Outto be thehighest-grossing horror movieof 2017, taking in $9.3 million, followed byWind Riverwith $7.9 million,Leap!with $6.5 million andLogan Luckywith $5.64 million. The top 10 is rounded out byDunkirk($5.62 million),Spider-Man: Homecoming($4.7 million),The Emoji Movie($3.35 million),Despicable Me 3($3.30 million} andThe Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature($2.9 million). It’s also worth noting that the weekend’s two new releases didn’t even crack the top 10. Sony’s 40th Anniversary restoration ofClose Encounters of the Third Kinddebuted in 14th place with $2.3 million, earning a dismal $2,553 per-screen average from 901 theaters. The Weinstein Company’sTulip Feverfared even worse, debuting in 23rd place with $1.4 million, earning just a $1,832 per-screen average from 765 theaters.
Also opening in limited release is Pantelion’s foreign filmHazlo Como Hombre (Do It Like An Hombre), which earned $1.4 million with a $3,887 per-screen average from 382 theaters. Hammond’s thrillerValley of Bonesearned $138,196 from 300 theaters for an abysmal $461 per-screen average and the dramaViceroy’s Houseearned $63,176 from four theaters for an impressive $15,794 per-screen average. No box office data was released for Freestyle Releasing’sA Boy Called Po, PBS' documentaryDolores, Shout! Factory’s horror-thrillerJackals, Vertical Entertainment’s comedyThe Layover, Screen Media’s horror movieTemple, and Lionsgate Premiere’s action-thrillerUnlocked.
Looking ahead to next weekend, New Line’s highly-anticipatedIT remakeis looking to break fans out of the summer box office doldrums with what could be quite the big opening weekend at the box office. It will be going up against Open Road Films' romantic comedyHome Again, with Atlas Distribution’s drama9/11, GKIDS’Napping Princess, Indican’sParadise Club, Sony’sPoster Boys, IFC’sRebel in the Rye, Magnolia’sSchool Life, The Orchard’sTrophyIFC’sThe Unknown Girland Real Women’sYear by the Seaalso debuting in limited release. Take a look at the four-day estimates for this Labor Day weekend at the box office below.
