FINAL UPDATE, Monday, 2:12 PM: The Perfect Guy won the weekend by only $460K over M. Night Shyamalan’s and Blumhouse’s horror film The Visit — and it did so on 838 fewer screens. So it’s worth noting that Screen Gems’ thriller had a per-screen average of $11,656 compared with The Visit‘s $8,258K. Because both films dropped about the same percentage on Sunday (down around 45%), they ended up only a sneeze apart in the neck-and-neck fight for the No. 1 spot. The final tally put The Perfect Guy at $25.8M and The Visit at $25.4M. The latter also garnered another $3.9M from 14 international markets to bring its worldwide cume to $29.4M for Universal Pictures.

It’s now five weekends in a row that America has seen core audience African-American demo films in the No. 1 spot at the box office, after Straight Outta Compton (three times), War Room and now possibly The Perfect Guy.

Related Story M. Night Shyamalan On Rediscovering His Groove With Micro-Budget Blockbusters -- Deadline Disruptors

Also, noteworthy is Un Gallo Con Muchos Huevos which, in its second weekend, landed in the Top 10 with a great hold (-41%) after adding more than 200 screens. The Pantelion comedy has a total cume of $6.79M. It was released in Spanish and will switch over to English dub in the coming weeks.

The overperformance of both films helped to keep the weekend up by 11.8% from the lackluster Labor Day. Calendar year-to-date is still up by 6% overall with some nice performers on their way.

NEXT WEEKEND: Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials will debut and is on track to open higher than the first in the franchise’s $32.5M last year. This installment had its debut in 21 international markets this past weekend and grossed $26.7M — good for 40% higher than its predecessor. Also opening wide is is Warner Bros.’ gritty and very violent mobster film Black Mass starring an unrecognizable Johnny Depp as a Boston crime boss. Also opening is Paramount’s faith-based film Captive adapted from the book Unlikely Angel: The Untold Story of the Atlanta Hostage Hero written by Ashley Smith who, if you remember, was held hostage years ago in her apartment by a gun-wielding man and then changed his heart by reading from the book, The Purpose Driven Life.

On a platform release is Bleecker Street’s Pawn Sacrifice which opens Wednesday in New York and Los Angeles before landing in 11 other cities by Friday. The film, about the intense 1972 World chess championship between Bobby Fischer (Tobey Maguire) and Boris Spassky (Liev Schreiber), will then go wide on Sept. 25th.

Here’s the Top 20. A shout out to Amanda N’Duka for helping with the charts this weekend:

1). The Perfect Guy (SONY), 2,221 theaters / 3-day cume: $25.88M / Per screen average: $11,656 / Wk 1

2). The Visit (UNI), 3,069 theaters / 3-day cume: $25.4M (includes $1M from Thursday previews) / Per screen: $8,285 / Wk 1

3). War Room (SONY), 1,647 theaters (+121) / 3-day cume: $7.77M / Total cume: $39.5M / Per screen: $4,719 / Wk 3

4). A Walk in the Woods (BGP), 2,139 theaters (+179) / 3-day cume: $4.7M (-42%) / Per screen: $2,218 / Total cume: $20M / Wk 2

5). Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation (PAR), 2,649 theaters (-200) / 3-day cume: $4.1M / Per screen: $1,548 / Total cume: $188.1M / Wk 7

6). Straight Outta Compton (UNI), 2,812 theaters (-282) / 3-day cume: $3.9M / Per screen: $1,395 / Total cume: $155.5M / Wk 5

7). No Escape (TWC), 3,022 theaters (-393) / 3-day cume: $2.88M / Per screen: $954 / Total cume: $24.1M / Wk3

8). The Transporter Refueled (EURC), 3,434 theaters (0) / 3-day cume: $2.8M (-62%) / Per screen: $822 / Total cume: $13.4M / Wk 2

9). 90 Minutes In Heaven (IDP/SGF), 878 theaters / 3-day cume: $2M / Per screen: $2,321 / Wk 1

10). Un Gallo Con Muchos Huevos (LGF), 616 theaters (+221) / 3-day cume: $2M (-41%) / Per screen: $3,286 / Total cume: $6.79M. / Wk 2

11). Man From U.N.C.L.E (WB), 1,656 theaters (-446) / 3-day cume: $1.8M / Per screen: $1,1130 / Total cume: $43.1M / Wk 5

12). Ant-Man (DIS), 1,354 theaters (-173) / 3-day cume: $1.6M / Per screen: $1,224 / Total cume: $176.1M / Wk 9

13). Inside Out, (DIS), 2,002 theaters (-965) / 3-day cume: $1.5M / Per screen: $764 / Total cume: $351.5M / Wk 13

14). Minions (UNI), 1,585 theaters (-342) / 3-day cume: $1.5M / Per screen: $955 / Total cume: $331.5M / Wk 10

15). The Gift (STX), 1,389 theaters (-202) / 3-day cume: $1.3M / Per screen: $979 / Total cume: $42.3M / Wk 6

16). Sinister 2 (FOX ), 2,048 theaters (-603) / 3-day cume: $1.2M / Per screen: $612 / Total cume: $26.4M / Wk 4

17). Jurassic World (UNI),1,169 theaters (-402) / 3-day cume: $1.18M / Per screen: $1,010 / Total cume: $648.9M / Wk 14

18). Pixels (SONY), 1,040 theaters (-380) / 3-day cume: $1.12M / Per screen: $1,077 / Total cume: $75.3M / Wk 8

19). Trainwreck (UNI), 738 theaters (-70) / 3-day cume: $911K / Per screen: $1,235 / Total cume: $108.7M / Wk 9

20). Hitman: Agent 27 (FOX), 1,051 theaters (-1,140) / 3-day cume: $737K / Per screen: $702 / Total cume: $21.6M / Wk 4

UPDATED Monday, 7:30 AM: The Perfect Guy, as we predicted, looks like it just edged out Universal’s The Visit by only a few hundred thousand over the weekend, with both pictures falling 45% or more Sunday. That gave the Screen Gems thriller what appears to be only a $400K lead above M. Night Shyamalan’s horror flick. Finals will be in later this morning, but it’s ending within a shave away. The Perfect Guy was in 848 fewer locales, too.



UPDATED Sunday, 7:09 AM: After faultering on Saturday, Screen Gems’ The Perfect Guy may end up edging out M. Night Shyamalan’s horror film The Visit today (as we reported last night). It all depends on how the thriller from Sony plays with its core audience today. Don’t know what the heck happened to it yesterday as it started softening up in matinees and continued the slide through the evening. The Visit from Universal and Blumhouse trumped Perfect Guy yesterday by a hair but may come in under after the dust clears in the A.M. Both are in the mid-$20M range, with The Perfect Guy estimated to come in around $26M+ and The Visit around $25.7M or so … but, if The Visit drops 40% on Sunday, it’ll be closer. It’s been a neck-and-neck race since Friday and the spread between them may be a few hundred thousand.

Based on the strong performances, the box office is up around 14% over last year at this time when No Good Deed ($24.2M) and Dolphin Tale 2 ($15.8M) opened, and Guardians of the Galaxy ($8.1M) was still playing out. The box office year-to-date is up 5.9%.

Sony’s President of Worldwide Marketing and Distribution Josh Greenstein credited the Screen Gems’ team, led by Clint Culpepper, saying it “is consistently the best genre division in the business. It’s a huge win for Sony. The Sony marketing team on this picture, lead by Danielle Misher, did a great job — a fantastic job — on this film.”

The studio opted not to have previews for the film on Thursday. The audience was 69% female with 59% over 25. The Visit nabbed $1M in its Thursday previews; this marks Blumhouse’s eighth micro-budget film to open to more than $20 million.

The Perfect Guy was sold as a sexy thriller and had a big push on social media as well as a promotional media tie-in with BET, including its popular awards show. Sony claimed a $12M budget (who knows as the studios rarely tell the truth) and received an A- CinemaScore. Last year, at this same time, Screen Gems launched No Good Deed into the marketplace — same topic, same audience with similarly popular actors — and it grossed $24.2M for the three-day with a B+ CinemaScore. That one had a little over a 2 multiple.

Interestingly, all of the Big Three — Screen Engine, Marketcast and NRG — had predicted mid-teens for The Perfect Guy over the weekend, specifically around $15M to $17M. They also had The Visit at anywhere between $15M and $20M with two of them having The Visit winning the weekend. The demo make-up for the horror film showed 48% were under the age 21 and 60% of the audience were female.

Regardless, this weekend could mark the fifth time in a row that America has seen core audience African American demo films in the No. 1 spot, with Straight Outta Compton, War Room and now possibly The Perfect Guy.

Meanwhile, the second weekend of A Walk in the Woods held quite well for Broad Green Pictures after they added about 180 theaters — it dropped only 42% — as the older crowd finally had something to see in the nation’s theaters. It has taken in around $20M in two weeks. Hey, the Baby Boomers are getting older and like to go out to the movies, too. Hint, hint. Transporter: Refueled dropped hard in its sophomore weekend domestically, down 64% for a two-week of only around $13M. International numbers for this actioner from EuropaCorp. will be in later today.

Two faith-based films — War Room from Sony and Samuel Goldwyn’s 90 Minutes in Heaven both were good performers. Not a surprise. War Room is almost at the $40M mark with a weekend take of around $7.5M on 1,647 screens while the latter is expected to collect a little over $2M on only 838 screens.

Here’s the chart. Thank you to our intrepid intern Amanda N’Duka for help on the percentages.

1/2). The Perfect Guy (SONY), 2,221 theaters / $9.9M Fri. / $10.4M Sat. (+6%) / $5.7M Sun. -45% / 3-day cume: $26.1M to $26.7M / Wk 1

The Visit (UNI), 3,069 theaters / $9.2M Fri. (includes $1M from Thursday previews) / $10.65M Sat. (+15%) / $5.8M Sun. (-45%) / 3-day cume: $25.7M / Wk 1

3). War Room (SONY), 1,647 theaters (+121) / $2.1M Fri. / $3.1M Sat. (+45%) / $2.3M (-25%) Sun. / 3-day cume: $7.6M / Total cume: $39.4M / Wk 3

4). A Walk in the Woods (BGP), 2,139 theaters (+179) / $1.45M Fri. / $1.9M Sat. (+42%) / $1.2M Sun. (-40%) / 3-day cume: $4.7M (-42%) / Total cume: $20M / Wk 2

5). Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation (PAR), 2,649 theaters (-200) / $1M Fri. / $1.9M Sat. (+82%) / $1.1M Sun. (-40%) / 3-day cume: $4.15M / Total cume: $188.1M / Wk 7

6). Straight Outta Compton (UNI), 2,812 theaters (-282) / $1.19M Fri. / $1.76M Sat. (+48%) / $971K Sun. (-45%) / 3-day cume: $3.9M / Total cume: $155.5M / Wk 5

7). No Escape (TWC), 3,022 theaters (-393) / $810K Fri. / $1.3M Sat. (+62%) / $779K Sun. (-40%) / 3-day cume: $2.87M / Total cume: $24.1M / Wk3

8). The Transporter Refueled (EURC), 3,434 theaters (0) / $775K Fri. / $1.2M Sat. (+55%) / $717K Sun. (-40%) / 3-day cume: $2.6M (-64%) / Total cume: $13.3M / Wk 2

9). 90 Minutes In Heaven (IDP/SGF), 878 theaters / $760K Fri. / $765K Sat. (+2%) / $625K Sun. (-18%) / 3-day cume: $2.16M / Wk 1

10). Man From U.N.C.L.E (WB), 1,656 theaters (-446) / $520K Fri. / $873K Sat (+69%) / $517K Sun. (-40%) / 3-day cume: $1.9M / Total cume: $43M+ / Wk 5

NOTEWORTHY:

Un Gallo Con Muchos Huevos (LGF), 616 theaters (+221) / $372K Fri. / $786K Sat. (+111%) / $742K Sun. / 3-day cume: $1.9M / Total cume: $6.45M to $6.6M. / Wk 2

UPDATED, Saturday, 11:09 PM: We watched Screen Gems’ thriller The Perfect Guy losing steam all day today while Universal’s The Visit gained momentum — so much so that the horror film took over the lead on Saturday and now sits in the No. 1 spot. However, the box office champ this weekend could come down to Sunday moviegoing because traditionally horror films will decline tomorrow while films geared towards a core African American audience have a stronger hold. It’s likely to be close.

The real surprise today was the strength of Tom Cruise’s Mission Imposssible: Rogue Nation tonight after seven weeks in release on fight night (boxing match up Mayweather vs. Berto). MIRN rose roughly 97% from yesterday. Everything else is pretty much in line with this morning’s estimates. Here are the Top Five. Thanks to Amanda N’Duka for helping figuring out percentages tonight.

1/2). The Perfect Guy (SONY), 2,221 theaters / $9.9M Fri. / $10.6M Sat. (+6%) / 3-day cume: $26.55M / Wk 1

The Visit (UNI), 3,069 theaters / $9.2M Fri. (includes $1M from Thursday previews) / $11.1M Sat. (+21%) / 3-day cume: $26.4M to $26.9M/ Wk 1

3). War Room (SONY), 1,647 theaters (+121) / $2.1M Fri. / $3M Sat. (+47%) / 3-day cume: $7.4M / Total cume: $39.2M / Wk 3

4). A Walk in the Woods (BGP), 2,139 theaters (+179) / $1.4M Fri. / $2.15M Sat. (+51%) / 3-day cume: $4.8M (-40%) / Total cume: $20M / Wk 2

5). Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation (PAR), 2,649 theaters (-200) / $1M Fri. / $2.15M Sat. (+97%) / 3-day cume: $4.4M to $4.6M / Total cume: $188M / Wk 7

UPDATED, Saturday, 7:30 AM: The Perfect Guy should bring in a mid-$20M three-day gross for Sony and Screen Gems after a $9.9M Friday, everyone agrees after estimates and grosses have been revised this AM. The thriller, whose cast of Sanaa Lathan, Morris Chestnut and Michael Ealy has a solid presence on social media, was marketed heavily during the BET Awards. It just will not give up its leading man status this three-day weekend and should have strong word-of-mouth, given its A- CinemaScore last night. In second will be M. Night Shyamalan’s and Blumhouse’s horror film The Visit which also has played strong to its young, genre-loving audience. Both are PG-13 which broke the long wave of R-rated films that were pushed into the end of the summer this year by the majors.

Two faith-based films are also in the Top Ten — War Room which has held up nicely week after week (down only 7% from last Friday) but undoubtedly lost some audience this weekend to both The Perfect Guy and newcomer 90 Minutes in Heaven, the latter of which will take in anywhere from $2.3M to $2.8M, depending on its holds.

There was some jockeying for position, too, this AM but other than that, it’s been a ho-hum weekend with sophomore players A Walk in the Woods holding steady (-40%) and The Transporter: Refueled tanking (-66%).

Here’s what it looks like this AM:

1). The Perfect Guy (SONY), 2,221 theaters / $9.9M Fri. / 3-day cume: $25.4M to $26.1M / Wk 1

2). The Visit (UNI), 3,069 theaters / $9.2M Fri. (includes $1M from Thursday preview) / 3-day cume: $21.6M to $22.5M / Wk 1

3). War Room (SONY), 1,647 theaters (+121) / $2.1M Fri. / 3-day cume: $7.4M to $8M / Total cume: $39.2M to $39.8M / Wk 3

4). A Walk in the Woods (BGP), 2,139 theaters (+179) / $1.4M Fri. / 3-day cume: $4.9M (-40%) / Total cume: $20.18M / Wk 2

5/6). Straight Outta Compton (UNI), 2,812 theaters (-282) / $1.19M Fri. / 3-day cume: $3.86 to $3.97M / Total cume: $155.48M / Wk 5

Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation (PAR), 2,649 theaters (-200) / $1M Fri. / 3-day cume: $3.78M to $3.87M / Total cume: $187.8M / Wk 7

7). No Escape (TWC), 3,022 theaters (-393) / $810K Fri. / 3-day cume: $2.79M / Total cume: $24.1M / Wk3

8). The Transporter Refueled (EURC), 3,434 theaters (0) / $775K Fri. / 3-day cume: $2.55M (-66%) / Total cume: $13.17M / Wk 2

9). 90 Minutes In Heaven (IDP/SGF), 878 theaters / $740K Fri. / 3-day cume: $2.3M to $2.8M / Wk 1

10). Man From U.N.C.L.E (WB), 1,656 theaters (-446) / $520K Fri. / 3-day cume: $1.739M to $1.78M / Total cume: $42.98M / Wk 5

PREVIOUSLY, Friday, 11:12 PM: The Perfect Guy is the leading man tonight this weekend following the four-day Labor Day holiday. Sony’s thriller via its Screen Gems label may end Friday with a haul of about $10.4M to $10.7M compared to the No. 2 film from Universal — M. Night Shyamalan’s horror film The Visit — which checked in tonight with about $9.5M. We expect The Perfect Guy to continue its lead throughout the weekend as many of these horror films are often front-loaded on Fridays. Besides, word-of-mouth should be fairly decent, given that its core audience graced it with a A- Cinemascore. The Visit did not fare as well, scoring a B-, not bad for a horror film though. Most get in the Cs.

The Perfect Guy is reminiscent of yet another Screen Gems thriller No Good Deed which used the same formulaic plot cast with similar popular actors. They even released Perfect Guy on the same weekend as No Good Deed bowed last year. NGD opened to $24.2M and Perfect Guy is on track at the moment to debut with a strong $26M to $28M+. Wonder what next Sept. 11th will bring from Screen Gems.

This marks the fifth weekend in a row that we’ve had core audience African American demo films in the No. 1 spot, with Straight Outta Compton, War Room and now The Perfect Guy.

Faith-based 90 Minutes in Heaven, a true story about the near-death experience of pastor Don Piper, has definitely cannibalized the audience of War Room, the other faith-based picture in the marketplace. The Samuel Goldwyn release grabbed $675K today for an estimated three-day total of $1.9M to $2.1M on only 838 screens, which means it will make about $2,500 per screen.

War Room also lost some of its audience to The Perfect Guy. Still, Sony’s War Room is solidly in the No. 3 spot after three weekends in release with a per screen of around $4,500 and down only 20% from last weekend.

In its second trek, A Walk in the Woods has held on pretty well, expected down only 39% after distributor Broad Green added over 100 theaters. Starring Robert Redford and Nick Nolte, it is the only film out there appealing to a much older audience. Yes, we like movies, too.

Meanwhile, The Transporter: Refueled from EuroCorp. sunk about 64% in its sophomore frame as it continues to look overseas for a box office boost. Here are the numbers as we see them tonight:

Amanda N’Duka contributed to this report.

1). The Perfect Guy (SONY), 2,221 theaters / $10.4M to $10.7M Fri. / 3-day cume: $26M to $28.1M / Wk 1

2). The Visit (UNI), 3,069 theaters / $9.5M Fri. (includes $1M from Thursday previews) / 3-day cume: $22.4M to $23.1M / Wk 1

3). War Room (SONY), 1,647 theaters (+121) / $1.98M to $2.1M Fri. / 3-day cume: $7.2M to $7.5M / Total cume: $39M+ / Wk 3

4). A Walk in the Woods (BGP), 2,139 theaters (+179) / $1.4M Fri. / 3-day cume: $5M (-39%) / Total cume: $20.2M / Wk 2

5). Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation (PAR), 2,649 theaters (-200) / $1.15M Fri. / 3-day cume: $4M / Total cume: $188M / Wk 7

6). Straight Outta Compton (UNI), 2,812 theaters (-282) / $1.15M Fri. / 3-day cume: $3.9M to $4.1M / Total cume: $155M+ / Wk 5

7). The Transporter Refueled (EURC), 3,434 theaters (0) / $805K Fri. / 3-day cume: $2.67M (-64%) / Total cume: $13.3M / Wk 2

8). No Escape (TWC), 3,022 theaters (-393) / $761K Fri. / 3-day cume: $2.65M / Total cume: $23.9M / Wk3

9). 90 Minutes In Heaven (IDP/SGF), 878 theaters / $650K to $675K Fri. / 3-day cume: $1.9M $2.1M / Wk 1

10). Man From U.N.C.L.E (WB), 1,656 theaters (-446) / $499K Fri. / 3-day cume: $1.7M / Total cume: $42.9M / Wk 5