Despite dominating the box office last week, The Magnificent Seven took a not-insignificant tumble this weekend, slipping to third place and allowing Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children and Deepwater Horizon to claim the top two spots. However, both newcomers opened below expectations, making this an odd capper to a September that was otherwise full of surprise hits.

FilmWeekendPer Screen
1Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children$28,500,000$8,092$28,500,000
2Deepwater Horizon$20,600,000$6,321$20,600,000
3The Magnificent Seven$15,700,000 (-54.8)$4,273$61,605,000
4Storks$13,800,000 (-35.2)$3,519$38,811,000
5Sully$8,400,000 (-37.9)$2,260$105,387,000
6Masterminds$6,600,000$2,170$6,600,000
7Queen of Katwe$2,608,000 (+755.3)$2,100$3,011,000
8Don’t Breathe$2,375,000 (-37.1)$1,437$84,734,000
9Bridget Jones’s Baby$2,330,000 (-50.0)$1,134$20,981,000
10Snowden$2,029,000 (-50.0)$1,114$18,729,000

 

Depending on how you look at, the $28 million debut for Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children is either a bounce back for director Tim Burton or further stagnation. After all, it’s a significant leap up from Big Eyes, which opened to only $3 million in 2014, and Frankenweenie, which opened to $11 million in 2012. However, these numbers put Burton’s latest in the same ballpark as Dark Shadows, which opened to $29 million in 2012 and went on to become a box office disappointment. That $110 million opening for Alice in Wonderland now looks like ancient history. Miss Peregrine could easily bounce back if audiences embrace it over the coming weeks, but this is a weak start for a film that reportedly cost $110 million to make.

In second place, Deepwater Horizon also offered up a mixed bag. On one hand, $20 million isn't bad for a movie with unsexy subject matter like this (“oil rig disaster movie” isn’t the kind of thing to pack houses). But on the another hand, this film cost over $100 million to make and unless positive word-of-mouth offers a boost, this is not a strong start. It should be noted that director Peter Berg’s Lone Survivor was a giant hit that built slowly from limited release and that the same could happen here…although the fact that it was released in over 3,000 theaters makes that unlikely.

Meanwhile, The Magnificent Seven took a large 54 percent tumble from its opening weekend, earning $15 million for a total of $61 million. At this rate, the action-western could still reach $100 million and could still be considered a hit (especially when international numbers start coming in), but it certainly won’t be the long-legged domestic smash that those opening numbers suggested.

The jury is still out on Storks, which fell to fourth place with $13 million for a $38 million haul. However, the animated film only dropped 35 percent, evidence that there may be life in this one yet. The movie will have to weather the weeks ahead if it wants to stay afloat, but that percentage drop is promising.

Speaking of birds struggling to stay afloat, Sully fell to fifth place but it did so while still looking great. Clint Eastwood’s film fell only 37 percent, grossing $8 million for a $105 million total. At this rate, $150 million feels like a definite possibility. These aren’t American Sniper numbers, but they’ll do.

The third new release of the week, the oft-delayed and critically maligned comedy Masterminds, limped into release in sixth place, making only $6 million. Its chances of lingering in the top 10 next week feel minimal and it should vanish from multiplexes soon after its second weekend.

In the final stretch, Queen of Katwe failed to find its audience after emerging from limited release, Don’t Breathe continued to showcase surprising endurance for a horror movie (although $100 million is starting to feel less likely by the day), and both Bridget Jones’s Baby and Snowden both failed to find their audiences, with each of them looking to tap out with only $20 million or so in the bank.

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