Things are not looking good at the box office at the current moment. As estimates begin to come in for this weekend, it’s clear thatJigsawis the victor, beating out far more worthwhile new releases likeThank You for Your Serviceand the overtly cynicalSuburbicon. The latestSawinstallment is currently looking at about $16.2 million in the till, making it one of the smallest weekend takes for a number one movie at the domestic box office in 2017. It’s also the worst box office take of the year for a premiering film, falling well belowThe Dark Tower. Cumulatively, this was the third worst domestic box office weekend of the year. If all of this doesn’t stop Lionsgate from continuing on with this joyless trash franchise, I honestly don’t know what will.
Below that, there weren’t many surprises to be found here.Tyler Perry’sBoo 2! A Madea Halloweensecured its second place ranking with $10 million, easily beating outGeostormin third place with $5.6 million. As is often the case with Perry films,Boo 2!didn’t cost much to make at all ($25 million) and its $35 million domestic take thus far likely has covered the production budget and most marketing costs. Meanwhile, the Halloween comedy is making no money abroad which puts it in stark contrast withGeostorm, which has reached some $112 million globally, bringing it’s overall gross north of $135 million. It has also likely made back its $120 million price tag as well as marketing costs, just in a very different way.
There’s a similar dichotomy going on betweenHappy Death Day, which came in at fourth with approximately $5.1 million, andBlade Runner 2049, which just barely squeaked pastThank You for Your Serviceto land in fifth with $3.9 million.Blade Runner 2049has enjoyed the same word-of-mouth success asDenis Villeneuve’s last movie,Arrival, but it’s popularity overseas is what has saved this franchise from fiscal ruin off of its enormous $150 million budget. In contrast,Happy Death Day, a charming, clever slasher, cost less than $5 million to make and has now internationally made over $68 million.
It’s unlikely thatJigsawwill enjoy either of these forms of success in the coming weeks, especially withThor: Ragnarokset to hit theaters this coming Thursday.Jigsawcost double whatHappy Death Daycost and couldn’t even muster half of its opening weekend gross. The audiences have spoken andSawis no longer worth even the meager effort put into its production. Whether or not the studios will take notice of this is another subject altogether.
Here’s your top five for the weekend:
Weekend Domestic BO
Total Domestic BO
1. ‘Jigsaw’
$16,250,000
2. ‘Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween’
$10,000,000
$35,521,643
3. ‘Geostorm’
$5,675,000
$23,553,368
4. ‘Happy Death Day’
$5,099,000
$48,393,525
5. ‘Blade Runner 2049’
$3,965,000
$81,385,785
