It was a fairly close race for the top of the box office this weekend, but one movie that we know for sure won’t end up winning the weekend is Ryan Gosling’s First Man, which debuted this weekend with a lukewarm $16.2 million. That’s not terrible for a critically well received film with lots of potential Oscar buzz, but neither is the film about the first man to step on the moon performing as well as a movie that cost $60 million should perform.
I’m not exactly sure what’s gone wrong with First Man. It’s been very well received by critics (an 88 percent on Rotten Tomatoes), but it has received only a modest B+ from Cinemascore from audience goers, and having seen it, I understand why. At two hours and 20 minutes, it’s very long, and despite much of it taking place in space, it’s somewhat muted and understated. This is not a Michael Bay film with dramatic reenactments and lots of special effects. It’s a more grounded character study with handheld cameras and a low-key score. It’s a great film, but it’s not exactly the crowd-pleaser many may have been hoping for, and — to the film’s credit — Neil Armstrong doesn’t come off as a “Great American Hero” of the Hollywood variety — he comes off as a focused, dedicated, emotionally-reserved guy. Gosling turns in a remarkable performance that is exactly what critics love, but it’s not the kind of performance that sells $35 million in tickets on opening weekend.
I will say, however, that conservative backlash against the movie over the lack of an American flag seems misguided. Not only is there a flag on the moon, but thematically, First Man is a fairly conservative movie.
Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born, on the other hand, checks both the critics’ box and the audience box. It’s a huge weeper with a lot of star wattage, remarkable performances, and great songs. First Man probably should have given itself another week or two to get out of its wake before hitting theaters (it might have been better suited to the October 26th weekend). A Star is Born, meanwhile, is already approaching $100 million, falling only 34 percent in its second weekend and earning $28.2 million to bring its 10-day total to $94 million. That makes A Star is Born both a huge financial hit and an early Oscar frontrunner (at the very least, it’s got a lock on Best Song, plus likely nominations for Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper in both the acting and directing categories).
A Star is Born, however, fell short of the top film in at this weekend’s box office, Venom. It dropped 55 percent off its huge opening weekend, earning $35.5 million to bring its overall total to a hefty $142.6 million. It’s performing slightly better overseas, too, so after two weekends it’s already earned enough to basically guarantee the sequel with Woody Harrelson teased in the film’s stinger.
Meanwhile, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween did just fine, earning $16.2 million in its opening weekend, close enough that it may pull ahead of First Man for third place once Sunday numbers are finalized. That’s short of the $23 million earned by its predecessor on its opening weekend, but the sequel also costs considerably less ($35 million compared to the original’s $59 million) and it weathered worse reviews (43 percent compared to the 77 percent of the original) and a much worse Cinemascore (a B compared to the A of the original). It’s not exactly a win for Goosebumps 2, but it’s poised to stretch its legs until Halloween. However, it will have some competition in Smallfoot, now in its third weekend, which comes in with $8.8 million and $57 million overall.
Drew Goddard’s Bad Times at the El Royale debuted this week at number six with $7.1 million, which is a little better than I expected for the $30 million film. Granted, I thought it was a pretty great movie (the 71 percent on Rotten Tomatoes is about right), but it seemed like an impossible film to market. The advertising emphasized the cast (Dakota Johnson, Jon Hamm, Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo, Chris Hemsworth) because the film itself doesn’t have much of a marketing hook, and like First Man it’s also long, clocking in at two hours and 22 minutes, which probably didn’t help matters. The opening weekend is about half of what Goddard’s Cabin in the Woods scored on its opening weekend (on its way to a $42 million haul), but El Royale doesn’t have the cult-like admiration to give it strong legs throughout the month.
There was another new entry into the top ten this weekend, too. The Hate U Give scored a remarkable $1.5 million in only 248 theaters, as the film based on Angie Thomas’ excellent YA bestseller continues to roll out across the country.
Slots seven, eight, and ten went to holdovers this weekend. Night School added $7.5 million and has quietly amassed $59.3 million after three weeks, and may actually surpass Game Night’s $69 million to take the top spot for a comedy this year. With $4 million, The House with a Clock in Its Walls has now earned $62 million, and A Simple Favor enjoys one more week in the top 10 (its 5th), earning $1.3 million to bring its total to $52 million.
Next weekend, The Hate U Give expands to 2300 theaters, while Casey Affleck’s The Old Man and the Gun opens in 600 theaters. However, the film to beat will be the Halloween reborquel, which lands in 3700 theaters and should put up monster numbers.
Source: Deadline, Box Office Mojo
