From its opening weekend forward, Avengers: Endgame set basically every box office record there was to set. It made more money faster than any movie ever, on its way to becoming simply the highest grossing movie ever made. Endgame set so many of those records by such a wide margin it seems unlikely many of them will be broken anytime soon, and yet Hobbs & Shaw just took one of those records away.
In this case, that record was "2019 movie that spent the most weeks at number one at the global box office." Avengers: Endgame actually shared that record with Captain Marvel and Spider-Man: Far From Home, all three of which spent three weeks at the top of the box office. Following the Labor Day weekend, Dwayne Johnson's Hobbs & Shaw, marked its fourth weekend at the top worldwide.
The Rock took to Instagram to thank his fans for his film's success, saying...
Thank you guys so so much for the incredible love and the incredible support that you’ve shown Hobbs & Shaw. This past weekend, you made Hobbs & Shaw the number one movie in the world for four weekends in a row. That, ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, children of all ages, is a brand new 2019 record. The previous record held by our favorite super heroes: Avengers, Spider-Man, Captain Marvel. They held it for three weekends in a row and we have now set a new record. Four weekends in a row.
Obviously, there are a lot of factors that go into box office success and the associated records. There can also be a wide discrepancy between the box office as a whole, and the domestic box office. Hobbs & Shaw might have succeeded in being the top movie globally for the last four weeks, but it was only at the top of the domestic box office for two weeks. Angel Has Fallen as been at the top at home for the last three weeks.
It also should be pointed out that Hobbs & Shaw's early August release was very beneficial for setting such a record, because August is a traditionally slow month at the movies. There simply hasn't been the sort of competition for Hobbs & Shaw that Avengers: Endgame saw back in May, making it easier to set such a record.
To get an idea of just how important timing can be for a record like this. The movie that holds the 2019 record for weeks spent at number one on the domestic chart, is Glass. It spent four weeks at the top back in January. No other movie has spent more than two weeks at the top domestically except Avengers: Endgame and the previously mentioned Angel Has Fallen.
Check out Dwayne Johnson's full comments in the post below.
It seems likely Hobbs & Shaw will not make it to five weeks at the top. IT Chapter Two is opening domestically and in nearly all international territories this weekend, and the first movie had global appeal, making half its record setting box office overseas, so it will likely take the top spot both domestically and worldwide.
