Yeah, John Wick is STILL thinkin' he's back, baby. Labor Day weekend isn't known for being big for movies -- which is a shame, since it feels ripe for a February Is Now A Superhero Month makeover. That's not happening this year. But it is a weekend where studios add a few screens to existing movies to give them one last push for the end of summer.
Several movies benefitted from that boost, including some slightly "older" summer films like Toy Story 4, John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, and especially Midsommar, thanks to its new director's cut.
You already know Spider-Man: Far From Home just got a boost of 2,154 theaters for a re-release that didn't really add too much. It's possible that boost to Far From Home is why Avengers: Endgame -- which is still out there banking coin, even after topping Avatar's all-time record -- didn't get another boost and instead lost five screens. It's down to 110 theaters.
Their Disney cousins Toy Story 4 and Aladdin got bigger boosts. Toy Story 4 recently passed $1 billion and just added 1,895 screens for a domestic weekend box office take of $2.3 million; that's a boost of 87.2% over last week. Aladdin, which already surpassed expectations, jumped 45 screens for $411,000, a boost of 100.9%.
Toy Story 4's fellow June release The Secret Life of Pets 2 also got in the game, adding 42 screens this weekend to add $275,000 to the cash register, a boost of 36.5%.
The indie horror Midsommar jumped higher than anyone, thanks to promotion for its new director's cut with extended scenes. Labor Day weekend gave Midsommar 632 more theaters, and $650,170 -- a boost of 1,217.4% over last week. Over a thousand! Huge percentage gain! By comparison, Spider-Man: Far From Home made a lot more money this weekend, but its 2,000+ new screens "only" boosted it 153.2% over last week.
Meanwhile, our boy Keanu Reeves gained 10 screens for a John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum box office boost of 23.3%, per Box Office Mojo. It only made $85,000, which may not seem like much, but it's a mid-priced action movie that's been out since mid-May. It looked like it was ready to retire from the field, but not yet! Instead, John Wick 3 made more money this weekend than Avengers: Endgame.
John Wick 3 and Endgame will both be leaving the box office lists soon, though, maybe even as soon as next week when IT: Chapter 2 comes to dominate screens, box office receipts, and nightmares. This was the last big hurrah for many films that opened across the competitive summer 2019 -- with "summer" being a loose definition in Hollywood.
Stay tuned for CinemaBlend's full rundown on how the top 10 did at the domestic box office this weekend. Keep up with everything heading to the big screen this year with our 2019 movie release date schedule.
