After weeks of immense success, Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle fell to fourth place this weekend - but the competition it fell to didn't exactly overperform. This past Friday saw the arrival of three new releases that took over all of the top spots, but the results aren't exactly mindblowing. Check out the full Top 10 below, and read on for our analysis!
Fifty Shades of Grey stirred up a mini-phenomenon the weekend it was released in 2015 - but I specify "weekend" because that opening was really the highest high the franchise ever reached. Box office numbers memorably dropped off significantly in the film's second week (73.9 percent despite no significant competition),and the infatuation with the series died off quickly - despite the fact that Universal Pictures still had plans to release two more films. Fifty Shades Darker opened domestically with about half the total of its predecessor, and now Fifty Shades Freed has ducked under that particular bar with a $38.8 million start.
As expected, critics totally tore the James Foley-directed feature apart (it currently has an 11 percent on Rotten Tomatoes), and audiences have given it a medicore "B+" CinemaScore grade (which is actually tied for best in the series with Fifty Shades Darker). Regardless, the film isn't going anywhere because of what lies ahead. Ryan Coogler's Black Panther is expected to shatter records with the number of tickets it sells between next Friday and Sunday, and there probably won't even be too many people who choose to see Fifty Shades Freed when their Marvel screening is sold out.
As noted, the other two major releases this weekend earned silver and bronze, but it really shouldn't be seen as an impressive feat pushing down a film that is in its eighth week of release. In terms of facing off with Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle, Sony was technically competing with itself with Peter Rabbit, which made back half of its budget in its domestic release. Critics didn't exactly fall in love with the Beatrix Potter adaptation, but it still managed to make audiences happy - though we'll have to wait and see how steep in drops next week.
Bringing up the rear as far as new releases are concerned is Clint Eastwood's The 15:17 To Paris - a film starring the men who were involved in the real incident the story is based on. The numbers of Eastwood movies tend to be all over the place - American Sniper grossed $350 million domestically, but Jersey Boys made $47 million - and this one doesn't exactly look like it is poised to take off. It's the director's weakest opening since 2011's J. Edgar, and the buzz (21 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, "B-" on CinemaScore) doesn't really suggest it will have legs into spring.
As mentioned earlier, this upcoming weekend is poised to be the biggest of 2018 yet, with Black Panther set to introduce audiences to the world of Wakanda - and estimates suggest it will make somewhere in the vicinity of $150 million. Also opening will be Aardman Studios' Early Man and Bruce Macdonald's Samson, and we'll have the full numbers for you next Sunday!
