The battle for first place this weekend ended up being a toss-up, with Tyler Perry regaining his form for the first place finish. Boo! A Madea Halloween opened in the top spot, earning an impressive 27.6 million dollars. That is actually the third highest opening for a Madea film ever, which is quite surprising considering its the seven entry in the successful series.
Many have speculated that Perry may be losing his popularity after the poor performance of The Single Mom’s Club a few years back. This debut however proves thats far from the case, as his dedicated fanbase showed up in droves. Even if the film drops off quickly, it is already a big success for Perry’s brand considering its modest 20 million dollar budget.
Not to far behind though is Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, which earned 23 million dollars. That is actually a sizable improvement over the original (15.2 million), but considering that opened on a Holiday weekend the comparison isn’t all that fair. This debut was in line with The Accountant’s debut (24.7 million) last week.
The fact that this movie out-performed expectations is a surprise, especially considering The Accountant’s presence. It seems that star power of Tom Cruise is still very much present, drawing in audiences despite mixed word of mouth (40% on Rotten Tomatoes). Whether or not the film will reach its 60 million dollar price tag in the states depends on how well it holds, but it should be a hit accounting for solid foreign grosses (already grossed 31 million).
In third place is Ouija: Origin of Evil, which earned 14.06 million dollars. That is noticeably off from the last Ouija (19.8 million), which is a bit troubling. Origin of Evil has both great word of mouth and no completion in the horror market for Halloween, so a great hold next weekend should be expected.
Still, this is an example that the start of a franchise can be critical. It’s clear that people avoided this movie because the original film was so bad (a 9% rating on Rotten Tomatoes). Sometimes it takes years to remove a bad stench on a brand. Still, with a mere 9 million dollar budget, this is already a modest success.
Holding strong in fourth place is The Accountant, which earned 14 million dollars. A 43% drop-off is quite good, and the film has already profited 47.9 million on a 40 million dollar budget. Rounding out the top five is The Girl on the Train, which earned a solid 7.2 million dollars.
The big turkey of the weekend was Keeping Up with the Jonses, earning an abysmal 5.6 million in seventh place. Considering all the marketing and star power this film had, one would expect much better. Horrendous reviews however likely killed the movie (18% on Rotten Tomatoes), as well as opening in such a crowded marketplace.
Here is the rest of the Top 10:
8. Kevin Hart: What Now? – 4.1 million
9. The Storks – 4 million
10. Deepwater Horizon – 3.6 million