It was no surprise who would claw their way to the top this weekend, but new release Logan certainly did so in impressive fashion. Despite being the first rated R movie to star Wolverine, the film opened this weekend with a bang.
Logan grossed an impressive 88.4 million dollars this weekend, making it the highest debut ever for a Wolverine standalone film. Not only that, but its also the highest debut for a film so far this year, besting The LEGO Batman Movie’s debut.
Logan’s impressive gross is a substantial deal, as its further proof that R-rated super hero films can succeed in the market place. It also helps that this film rode into the weekend with fantastic word of mouth (93% on Rotten Tomatoes), as well as being the last time Hugh Jackman is set to play Wolverine. With a budget of only 120 million, Logan will be sure to claw out quite a bit of money in its box office run.
Building off its impressive debut last weekend is Get Out, which earned 26.2 million dollars. The film dropped a mere 15%, which is unheard of for a horror film. Glowing reviews (99% on Rotten Tomatoes) and a fantastic marketing effort have benefited the film a great deal. Get Out has earned 78 million dollars so far on a 4.5 million dollar budget.
Logan wasn’t the only new release that opened well, as The Shack surpassed expectations opening in third place with a 16.1 million dollar gross. That is the seventh highest debut ever for a Christian based film, proving that this is a market with plenty of box office potential. While the film hasn’t scored good reviews, its solid word of mouth with audiences (A on CinemaScore) should help it going forward. The Shack was made on a 20 million dollar budget.
Elsewhere, Before I Fall opened outside the top five, earning a mere 4.8 million dollars. However, the film is fairly inexpensive (6 million dollar budget), so it should be in ok shape going forward. The LEGO Batman Movie and John Wick 2 rounded out the top five with 11.7 and 4.8 million dollars respectively. Both films have become huge hits (Batman earning 148.6 million and Wick 82.9 million), riding their critical success to strong box office totals.