Sully' Holds On to No. 1 at the Box Office
September 18 2016 - 10:20PM
Dow Jones News
The September doldrums struck Hollywood this weekend, as a trio
of unlikely bedfellows—the Blair Witch, Bridget Jones and Edward
Snowden—all failed to excite audiences.
Instead, "Sully," the Clint Eastwood drama about Capt. Chesley
"Sully" Sullenberger's "Miracle on the Hudson" landing, collected
an estimated $22 million, keeping it in first place and bringing
its two-week take in the U.S. and Canada to $70.5 million.
"Sully" has been a welcome arrival for theater owners resigned
to a quiet September. The adult-oriented drama, released by Time
Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. studio, also expanded its audience this
past week: 39% were younger than 35, compared with 20% the previous
weekend.
That showing came despite fresh competition from "Blair Witch"
and "Bridget Jones's Baby," new installments in franchises that got
their start more than 15 years ago.
"Blair Witch," a new sequel to the 1999 independent smash hit,
collected a weak $9.7 million. "Bridget Jones's Baby," the third
movie in a series about an unmarried British woman looking for
love, raked in a measly $8.2 million.
The weekend's other new release, Oliver Stone's "Snowden,"
didn't get much traction either: it grossed a paltry $8 million in
fourth place.
The director's take on National Security Agency contractor
Edward Snowden, who leaked troves of sensitive U.S. documents, did,
however, get an "A" grade from opening-weekend audiences, according
to market- research firm CinemaScore, which could bode well for
word-of-mouth recommendations in the coming weeks.
The weekend provided fresh evidence of the difficulty Hollywood
has had in reviving moribund characters and franchises this
year.
"The Blair Witch Project" became the stuff of Hollywood legend
when it collected $140 million on a minuscule budget in 1999. A
poorly received sequel grossed $26 million in 2000.
But there has been a surplus of horror movies this year that may
have eaten into moviegoers' appetite for "Blair Witch," which was
released by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. The genre's hits in
recent months have included "Don't Breathe," "The Purge: Election
Year" and "The Conjuring." The "Blair Witch" showing should spook
other studios: Several more horror movies are scheduled for release
around Halloween.
Like the Blair Witch, Bridget Jones has had a topsy-turvy time
at the box office over her three installments. The original movie
about a lovelorn Londoner (Renee Zellweger) grossed $71 million in
2001, but its sequel "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason" took in
just $40 million in 2004.
"Bridget Jones's Baby," which finds the title character pregnant
but unsure which man is the father, is performing better overseas
than domestically. The movie set a record in the U.K. for a
romantic comedy, opening with a gross of £ 8.5 million, or about
$11 million, and has an international total of $29.9 million in 39
territories. "Bridget Jones's Baby," released by Comcast Corp.'s
Universal Pictures, had a budget of $35 million.
The stronger performance overseas follows a trend established by
the first two installments, both of which grossed more than $200
million in international markets. A solid showing in the U.K. was
expected given the character's popularity in that market, said
Duncan Clark, Universal's president of international
distribution.
"Bridget Jones's Baby" received a "B+" from moviegoers,
according to CinemaScore, while "Blair Witch" got a chilling
"D+."
Box-office receipts so far this year are up 5.4%, according to
comScore
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 18, 2016 22:05 ET (02:05 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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