After spending four weeks in second place, Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle went on a tear through January, taking the top spot for four weekends in a row. Now, however, its reign is over, as the latest numbers from the past three days say that The Maze Runner: The Death Cure has stolen the crown. Check out the full Top 10 below!
The first two movies in the Maze Runner trilogy did modestly well when released in the falls of 2014 and 2015, respectively - but it seems that the move to winter hurt the finale. The Maze Runner and The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials both made more than $30 million in their opening frames, but The Maze Runner: The Death Cure didn't successfully match that bar. Instead, estimates say that the movie has only made $23.5 million, which is surprising since finales usually lead to a box office spike, with even casual fans wanting to know how the whole story ends.
As for the reasons why The Maze Runner: The Death Cure didn't put butts in seats, there are a few things at which we can point. For starters, January has never been a great box office month, given that people are generally bouncing back from the December holidays and not going to the movies a lot (which in turn has led studios to see the month as a dumping ground for titles without a ton of potential). The buzz on the feature hasn't exactly been overwhelmingly positive, either. The critical response has resulted in the film sporting the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score in the trilogy (44% vs. 65% and 46%), and the CinemaScore grade is a middling B+ (lower than the A- the first Maze Runner got and the same as the B+ for The Scorch Trials).
The Maze Runner: The Death Cure was the only new wide release this weekend, giving it an advantage as the film to topple Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle, but you'll notice that it isn't the only feature from this past Friday to crack the Top 10. Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmaavat was only put into 324 theaters this weekend, but it still managed to make enough to place as one of the biggest titles of the weekend. The epic romantic drama comes from India, and tells the true story of Queen Padmavati (Deepika Padukone), who was married to a good king, but found her kingdom attacked by a violent sultan who became obsessed with her. If you do the math, you'll notice that it made more than $13,000 per theater - suggesting an incredibly smart release strategy.
While the weekend may have only had one new wide release, it also saw two significant expansions - which explains some of the impressive ranking jumps. Scott Cooper's Hostiles, starring Christian Bale and Rosamund Pike, got a limited release on December 22, 2017, following a fall festival run, but now has made its way into theaters nationwide. The official budget has not yet been revealed, but the score it brought in over the last three days is solid. Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water also found its way on to a thousand more screens, and thanks to the award season buzz, it will probably be a presence on the charts for the next few weeks.
This week will see the arrival of February 2018, and while we all continue to impatiently wait for Ryan Coogler's Black Panther, Hollywood is giving us a fright-fest with Michael and Peter Spierig's Winchester this Friday. We'll be back next Sunday to see how things shake out in the Top 10, so stay tuned!
