{"id":172443,"date":"2018-07-22T21:45:06","date_gmt":"2018-07-23T01:45:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=172443"},"modified":"2018-07-22T21:45:06","modified_gmt":"2018-07-23T01:45:06","slug":"equalizer-2-squeaks-past-mamma-mia-2-and-takes-top-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2018\/07\/22\/equalizer-2-squeaks-past-mamma-mia-2-and-takes-top-spot\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Equalizer 2’ squeaks past ‘Mamma Mia 2’ and takes top spot"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Beverly Hills, CA, July 13, 2018 – Ashton Sanders, Denzel Washington, Melissa Leo and Producer\/Director Antoine Fuqua seen at Sony Pictures ‘The Equalizer 2’ Photo Call at the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills (Photo<\/a>: The Equalizer\/Facebook<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the battle of two very different sequels at the box office this weekend, Denzel Washington’s action pic \u201cThe Equalizer 2\u201d has narrowly won out over the ABBA jukebox musical \u201cMamma Mia! Here We Go Again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Studios on Sunday estimate that the R-rated Denzel Washington joint grossed $35.8 million from North American theatres over the weekend. It’s Washington’s first ever sequel and the biggest opening of director Antoine Fuqua’s career. The first \u201cEqualizer,\u201d from 2014, opened similarly and went on to earn over $190 million worldwide.<\/p>\n

Second place went to Universal Pictures’ \u201cMamma Mia 2,\u201d which took in $34.4 million, a sum that was driven by an audience that was 83 per cent female and 64 per cent over the age of 25. The film brought back much of the original cast, like Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried and Pierce Brosnan, and added Cher, Andy Garcia and Lily James to the mix. Critics overall gave the sequel better marks than the first, which still went on to gross over $600 million worldwide 10 years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe consider this a terrific opening,\u201d said Jim Orr, Universal’s president of domestic distribution. \u201cAnd knowing the audience for these types of films, we are going to have a very healthy run at the domestic and worldwide box office. This is a very fun, very uplifting movie that people need right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

It’s also a rare showdown of two star-driven films that succeeded in targeting two very different audiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s amazing how well-matched these contenders are,\u201d said comScore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian. \u201cBoth studios really did a great job of marketing each of these movies to their target audience. It’s classic counter-programming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sequels powered the top six spots at the domestic box office this weekend and eight out of the top 10 overall. \u201cHotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation\u201d came in third with $23.2 million in its second weekend, \u201cAnt-Man and the Wasp\u201d took fourth place with $16.1 million in its third weekend, \u201cIncredibles 2\u201d landed in fifth with $11.5 million, and \u201cJurassic World: Fallen Kingdom\u201d came in sixth with $11 million.<\/p>\n

The weekend’s other big new opener, \u201cUnfriended: Dark Web,\u201d also a sequel, scared up $3.5 million for a ninth-place start. The only two originals in the top 10 were \u201cSkyscraper\u201d and \u201cSorry to Bother You.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are enjoying these films,\u201d said Dergarabedian. \u201cIt doesn’t matter if there’s a number after the title.\u201d<\/p>\n

And yet there are still original films and documentaries making their own modest impact on the charts, including \u201cBlindspotting,\u201d a buddy comedy with some serious themes about race and class starring Tony-winner Daveed Diggs that opened in 14 theatres and made an estimated $332,500.<\/p>\n

\u201cMovies like ‘Sorry to Bother You’ and ‘Blindspotting’ are showing that in the summer people don’t live by blockbusters alone,\u201d Dergarabedian said.<\/p>\n

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \u201cThe Equalizer 2,\u201d $35.8 million ($3.3 million international).<\/li>\n
  2. \u201cMamma Mia! Here We Go Again,\u201d $34.4 million ($42.4 million international).<\/li>\n
  3. \u201cHotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation,\u201d $23.2 million ($37.7 million international).<\/li>\n
  4. \u201cAnt-Man and the Wasp,\u201d $16.1 million ($21.6 million international).<\/li>\n
  5. \u201cIncredibles 2,\u201d $11.5 million ($36.5 million international).<\/li>\n
  6. \u201cJurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,\u201d $11 million ($17.3 million international).<\/li>\n
  7. \u201cSkyscraper,\u201d $11 million ($27.3 million international).<\/li>\n
  8. \u201cThe First Purge,\u201d $5 million ($8.9 million international).<\/li>\n
  9. \u201cUnfriended: Dark Web,\u201d $3.5 million.<\/li>\n
  10. \u201cSorry to Bother You,\u201d $2.8 million.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    ——<\/p>\n

    Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theatres (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to comScore:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. \u201cMamma Mia! Here We Go Again,\u201d $42.4 million.<\/li>\n
    2. \u201cHotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation,\u201d $37.7 million.<\/li>\n
    3. \u201cIncredibles 2,\u201d $36.5 million.<\/li>\n
    4. \u201cSkyscraper,\u201d $27.3 million.<\/li>\n
    5. \u201cDying to Survive,\u201d $25.3 million.<\/li>\n
    6. \u201cAnt-Man and the Wasp,\u201d $21.6 million.<\/li>\n
    7. \u201cJurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,\u201d $17.3 million.<\/li>\n
    8. \u201cHidden Man,\u201d $10.4 million.<\/li>\n
    9. \u201cThe First Purge,\u201d $8.9 million.<\/li>\n
    10. \u201cAnimal Crackers,\u201d $3.7 million.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      In the battle of two very different sequels at the box office this weekend, Denzel Washington’s action pic \u201cThe Equalizer …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":172459,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,106],"tags":[52618,53818,53817],"class_list":["post-172443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","category-hollywood","tag-ant-man-and-the-wasp","tag-mama-mia-2","tag-the-equalizer-2","mauthors-lindsey-bahr","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172443"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172443\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}