We're sorry if that title gave you the mental image of Christian Grey spanking Keanu Reeves and LEGO Batman, but that's effectively what's happening. This weekend saw the opening of three wildly different movies with Fifty Shades Darker, John Wick: Chapter 2 and The LEGO Batman Movie, each one appealing to very specific groups of people. Fifty Shades Darker's audience came to win and as it stands now, the romantic drama sequel is in first place, having dominated the competition on Thursday night.
As reported by Variety, Fifty Shades Darker had a nice turnout for its Thursday opening night, scoring $5.7 million at the box office. Alternatively, the animated spin-off The LEGO Batman Movie drew in $2.2 million, while the action sequel John Wick: Chapter 2 also opened at $2.2 million. That's not a bad score for a first night premiere, but neither of the highly buzzed sequels were able to beat Fifty Shades. Early tracking suggested that LEGO Batman will win the weekend at $60 million, with Fifty Shades at $40 million, but nothing is written in stone.
This is still only the first night of the weekend, and it's likely that John Wick 2 and LEGO Batman will both see a good opening weekend. Will either of them beat Fifty Shades, though? That's tough to say right now, but the weekend isn't over yet. The LEGO Movie, for instance, was a grower, having earned $69 million its opening weekend before becoming a domestic powerhouse at $258 million. Fifty Shades of Grey, alternatively, earned $166 domestically. It's still anybody's ball game, and The LEGO Batman Movie still has a weekend of kid-filled theaters to look forward to.
While Fifty Shades Darker may be winning the box office at the moment, word of mouth is an entirely different story. The sequel currently stands at 8% on Rotten Tomatoes. LEGO Batman and John Wick 2 are sitting at 91% and 90%, respectively. So to keep our metaphor going, LEGO Batman and Keanu Reeves are doing a double spank right back on Christian Grey. Do these Rotten Tomato scores or box office numbers keep anyone from liking or hating a film? Of course not, but pointing out these differences might provide a hint as to which film has the better legs at the end of the day.
If you're up for seeing a movie this weekend, you certainly have your choices. There's the kid-friendly and very funny animated LEGO Batman Movie; the action-heavy, kickass antics of John Wick: Chapter 2; and the erotic, but perhaps not as good, Fifty Shades Darker. All of these films are currently in theaters, and for more updates on your favorite movie, make sure to keep it right here at CinemaBlend.
