It was an incredibly tight race at the box office this weekend, with Sony’s The Equalizer 2 ($35.8 million) barely squeaking out a victory over Universal’s Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again ($34.4 million). Since the movies are just $1.4 million apart, it’s possible they could swap places when the box office actuals roll in on Monday. Until then, we’re breaking down the debuts for both these sequels and see how they stack up to the originals, 2014’s The Equalizer and 2008’s Mamma Mia.

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It’s actually quite uncanny how close The Equalizer and The Equalizer 2 were in their box office debuts. The Equalizer pulled in $34.1 million in its opening weekend in late September 2014, down a bit from the estimated total of $35 million, which is just $800,000 off of The Equalizer 2’s $35.8 million estimate. This action-packed adaptation of the 1980s TV series of the same name opened in 3,236 theaters, earning a solid $10,549 per-screen average, en route to a domestic total of $101.5 million domestic and $192.3 million worldwide, from a $55 million budget. While these certainly aren’t blockbuster numbers, it was profitable enough to warrant a sequel, which seems to be following a very similar path as its predecessor.The Equalizer 2’s $35.8 million estimate comes from 3,388 theaters, an increase of 152 theaters from its predecessor, earning a $10,574 per-screen average, an increase of just 25 dollars over the original. The sequel was produced with a $62 million budget, so it will need to do a bit more work to be just as profitable as the original, although it didn’t get too much help from overseas. It opened in eight additional worldwide markets this weekend, but it earned just $3.3 million in these territories, with most of its international rollout not happening until August, and there are no plans for a Chinese release yet, with the country’s annual “blackout” of non-local films currently in effect. While it may take a hit internationally, The Equalizer 2 is on pace to have a similar domestic turnout as the original.While the opening weekends of The Equalizer and The Equalizer 2 were almost identical, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again showed quite a bit of improvement over the original. 2008’s Mamma Mia opened to $27.7 million, en route to an impressive $144.1 million domestic and a wonderful overseas showing with $465.7 million for a worldwide total of $609.8 million from just a $52 million budget. The sequel’s $34.4 million debut proves that there is still a demand for this franchise, and the enduring music of ABBA. The original debuted in 2,976 theaters, pulling in a $9,325 per-screen average, but the sequel improved on both of those figures, opening in 3,317 theaters (a 341-theater increase) to a $10,365 per-screen average (a $1,040 increase).Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again is also on pace for another big showing overseas with an international opening weekend of $42.4 million. The musical sequel opened in 41 international markets over the weekend, out-grossing the opening of the original in 34 of those markets, while taking the top spot in 24 markets including the U.K. ($13.1 million), Australia ($5 million) and Germany ($4.44 million). It has still yet to open in a number of key territories like France (July 25), Poland (July 27), India (August 3), South Korea (August 8), Singapore (August 9), Russia (August 16), Japan (August 24) and Italy (September 6). Both South Korea and Japan were among the top 5 international markets for the original, so there still could be some big international numbers to be put up. The original musical didn’t have the benefit of a Chinese release, and barring some early fall scheduling, it doesn’t seem Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again will find its way to the Middle Kingdom this summer.Regardless, both Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again and The Equalizer 2 managed to put up solid numbers, proving that counter-programming movies of vastly different genres can turn out to be a win-win scenario for everyone involved. The only possible exception could be the third sequel to debut this weekend, Unfriended: The Dark Web, which debuted in ninth place with just $3.4 million. Then again, while that number may not be great, it still more than tripled its miniscule $1 million budget.