LOS ANGELES, Sept 2 — The summer 2018 box office is officially ending on a high note.
An August surge is thanks partially to Crazy Rich Asians, the Warner Bros. romantic comedy that is still doing crazy good business in North America. Jon M. Chu’s film will top the domestic box office for the third week in a row with estimates showing it could make another US$27 million to US$30 million (RM111 million to RM124 million) over Labour Day Weekend. It generated a three-day tally of US$22 million in 3,865 locations, dropping just 10 per cent in its third outing and bringing its domestic total to US$110 million.
Following Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Black Panther, and Avengers: Infinity War, Crazy Rich Asians is the fourth film this year to top the domestic box office three weekends in a row.
Warner Bros also nabbed second place as The Meg picked up another US$10 million on 3,761 screens. That takes its North American cume to US$120.5 million.
Newcomer Operation Finale launched at No 4 with US$6 million in 1,818 locations. MGM’s political thriller debuted on Wednesday and is expecting to earn between US$8 million to US$10 million over the six-day period. Chris Weitz, the filmmaker behind American Pie, About a Boy, and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, directed the movie, which cost US$20 million. It stars Oscar Isaac, Ben Kingsley, and Nick Kroll.
The weekend’s final wide release, Kin, opened with a dismal US$3 million in 2,141 locations. Lionsgate’s sci-fi action film — starring Jack Reynor, Zoe Kravitz, Carrie Coon, Dennis Quaid, and James Franco — is on track to make US$3.6 million over the four-day period.
Meanwhile, Sony’s Searching found US$5.6 million when it expanded to 1,207 locations. The thriller featuring John Cho, Debra Messing, and Michelle La, has earned US$6.5 million to date. Cho and fellow Crazy Rich Asians stars, including Henry Golding, helped rally support by buying out screenings of the film.
Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible — Fallout continues to stay in the top five. This weekend, it looks to clock in at No 3 with US$6.9 million in 2,639 locations and a four-day total of US$9 million. The sixth installment in the Ethan Hunt spy series has generated US$206 million in North America.
Disney’s Christopher Robin will be facing off against Searching for fifth place. — Reuters
