There had been different predictions for how Stath-vs-shark movie The Meg would perform at the US box office, with some foreseeing it sinking. But the OTT action film triumphed over naysayers, opening to a decent $44.5 million, according to studio estimates.
Yes, it appears there was indeed an appetite for a film where Jason Statham takes on a huge, prehistoric creature, and that extended oversees, where the movie took $97 million for a $141.5 million global total, with a healthy start in China (a co-financier of the movie and a direct target for its audience).
Mission: Impossible – Fallout slipped to second place after three weeks on release, adding $20 million for a $161.9 million Stateside total thus far. Disney's new Winnie The Pooh tale Christopher Robin made $12.4 million in third. The second of the week's new releases, horror movie Slender Man, made do with fourth, earning a slim $11.3 million. But that was still ahead of Spike Lee's latest joint, BlacKkKlansman, which launched fifth on $10.7 million. Keep in mind, however, that the chiller opened on 2,358 screens while Lee's based-on-truth pic kicked off its run on just 1,512.
The Spy Who Dumped Me fell three places to sixth on $6.6 million (666: the box office result of the Beast!) while Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again was down to seventh with $5.8 million. The Equalizer 2 sank to eighth, making $5.5 million, while Hotel Transylvania 3 was ninth on $5.1 million. Ant-Man And The Wasp, meanwhile, fell to 10th in its sixth week of US release, taking home $4 million. Opening just outside the top 10, we find romcom Dog Days, which could only managed $2.6 million at 12th place despite arriving on 2,442 screens. Was the movie neutered? Did audiences spay away? We'll stop.
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