UPDATED, Monday, 1:42 PM: The final tallies are in for the four new debuts this weekend — Fox’s Fantastic Four, STX’s The Gift, Sony’s Ricki and the Flash and Aardman Animation and Lionsgate’s Shaun the Sheep Movie as well as for Paramount’s Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation — the 1 box office champ two weekends in a row. F4 fell on its face and, on Saturday, MIRN ran it off the road to grab the No. 1 spot for a three-day of $28.5M vs. F4‘s measly $25.6M. The Gift over-performed while Ricki and Shaun the Sheep were soft openers. The entire weekend, in fact, was down 28.7% from last year.

Straight Outta Compton and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. will be welcome titles for next weekend. Universal looks likely have another hit on their hands. TWC was supposed to release Underdogs wide but that was pulled on Friday (as had been expected by other distributors for some time) and remains unset.



NOTEWORTHY: Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F, the event released film that was marketed and released by FUNImation, grossed a total of $5.97M (includes the small run in Canada) since being released on only a smattering of screens at a time all week. A grand accomplishment, considering it was only playing once a day. It anime picture, which played only in matinees on 183 theaters on Sunday, stepped into the Top Ten of highest-grossing anime titles domestically on Saturday — the first time an indie-distributed title got into those ranks. It ended up No. 14.

Here’s how they all ended up. Final gross follow:

1). Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (PAR), 3,988 theaters (+32) / Per screen: $7,147K / 3-day cume: $28.5M / Total cume: $107.7M (-49%) / Wk 2

2). Fantastic Four (Fox), 3,995 theaters / 3-day gross: $25.6M / Per screen average: $6,429K / Wk 1

3). The Gift (STX), 2,503 theaters / 3-day gross: $11.8M / Per screen: $4,736K / Wk 1

4). Vacation (WB), 3,430 theaters (+19) / 3-day cume: $8.9M (-39%) / Per screen: $2,611K / Total cume: $36.9M / Wk 2

5). Ant-Man (DIS), 2,910 theaters (-412) / 3-day gross: $7.9M / Per screen: $2,719K / Total cume: $147.2M / Wk 4

6). Minions (UNI), 3,123 theaters (-452) / 3-day cume: $7.4M / Per screen: $2,385K / Total cume: $302.8M / Wk 5

7). Ricki and the Flash (SONY), 1,603 theaters / 3-day gross: $6.6M / Per screen: $4,124K / Wk 1

8). Trainwreck (UNI), 2,525 theaters (-435) / 3-day gross: $6.1M / Per screen: $2,435K / Total cume: $90.9M / Wk 4

9). Pixels (SONY), 2,864 theaters (-859) / 3-day cume: $5.4M / Per screen: $1,898K / Total cume: $57.6M/ Wk 3

10). Southpaw (TWC), 2,274 theaters (-498) / 3-day cume: $4.7M / Per screen: $2,067K / Total cume: $40.6M / Wk 3

11). Shaun the Sheep (LGF), 2,320 theaters / 3-day cume: $4M / Per screen: $K / 5-day cume: $5.5M / Wk 1

14). Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F (FUNimation), 200 theaters (average) / 3-day cume: $1.8M / Per screen: $2,268 / Total cume: $5.97M / Wk 1

UPDATED, Sunday, 7:40 AM: Fantastic Four dropped 25% last night from Friday to lose the No. 1 spot in its debut weekend to Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, which will cross $100M today. In its second weekend at bat, Paramount and Skydance’s MIRN dropped only about 48% for an estimated gross of $29M+ compared to the not-so-fantastic Fox franchise which is only likely to garner $26M and some pocket change.

Overall, box office was down from last year by about 30% from when Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the second weekend of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy was in the marketplace, so Universal’s Straight Outta Compton and Warner Bros.’ The Man from U.N.C.L.E will be a welcome twosome for the industry next weekend. Rentrak just reported that YTD is still up $7.4M based on the strong summer. Um, the industry can thank Universal in large part for that.

Fantastic Four did play in some areas as Fox noted that it was over-indexed in the markets such as New York, Dallas, Washington, D.C., Houston, Detroit, Atlanta, Miami, Orlando and Detroit.

Thriller The Gift (STX) from writer/director/actor Joel Edgerton over-performed just as we expected it would with a weekend gross in the $12M range. The majority of moviegoers for this Blumhouse, Rebecca Yeldham suspense flick was 25 and older and 53% female. The film appealed to a diverse audience with 44% of moviegoers comprised of non-Caucasians.

“We think we are going to have a really good Sunday and a strong hold, especially because of the diverse audience that we’re getting. It’s playing strong with adult audiences, the Blumhouse fans and it’s over-indexing with non-Caucasians, especially African Americans. Because of that combination, we think it’s going to do well today and also have a good opportunity to play for a while,” said Kevin Grayson, president of domestic distribution for STX. “This is not playing like a typical Blumhouse film (as indicated by that Saturday increase). The collaboration between Blumhouse and our company was a good one. His micro-budget model mixed with strong reviews and a strong marketing campaign worked well and we exceeded expectations. We are very pleased.” Kudos to not only Grayson but also STX’s president of marketing Jack Pan and his staff (including communications head Terry Curtin).

It’s interesting to note that MIRN pulled in $4.3M on 369 IMAX screens, for a drop of only 39% (less the Thursday night preview number), which is stellar considering it’s front-loaded summer fare. The domestic cume on IMAX sits at $15.5M. The actioner, which is the fifth installment in the franchise, has continued to beat expectations in IMAX. And if you look at the lineup coming for this adult audience segment in the next few months with Universal and Walden Media’s Everest (Sept. 18), The Walk (a limited to wide run starting Oct. 2) and the new Bond film Spectre (Nov. 8), audiences will likely to continue heading into large-format theaters well past this summer’s blockbuster fare.

In its second frame, Warner Bros.’ Vacation dropped an estimated 37% (a good hold) for a total three-day cume of $9M+ to bring its total cume to $37M+. Rounding out the Top Five is Disney-Marvel’s Ant-Man which has a total cume of $147.4M after four weeks in release. Incidentally, all five of the Top Five runs include IMAX engagements. Both Ant-Man and Disney’s animated Inside Out are now both over $300M internationally. Universal’s Minions also reached a new milestone internationally. For all the news on international box office, see Nancy Tartaglione’s report.

The other two new films that bowed this weekend are Sony’s Ricki and the Flash which stars Meryl Streep (the reason the majority of moviegoers went to see this film) and Aardman Entertainment’s Shaun the Sheep Movie from Lionsgate. Ricki and the Flash, on 1,603 screens, garnered a B CinemaScore and a total of around $6.6M to $6.75M for the three-day. Sony plans to expand this dramedy to about 2,000 theaters next weekend and they need it given that their production budget alone was $25.6M. Don’t know how they are going to add those screens but best of luck to them.

“We’ll be able to add 400-plus,” said Sony president of worldwide distribution Rory Bruer. “It will start to roll out internationally in a few weeks and will play through the fall. Meryl is a worldwide star. There’s no reason that this can’t have a five multiple as we expect it to have strong word-of-mouth and play well into the fall domestically, too.”

Shaun the Sheep will end the weekend sitting right at $4M for the three-day and $5.5M for the five-day. Here’s the chart and thanks to Amanda N’Duka:

1). Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (PAR), 3,988 theaters (+32) / $8.15M Fri. / $11.9M to $12.1M Sat. (+46%) / $9M Sun. / 3-day cume: $29M to $29.5M / Total cume: $108.3M to $108.7M (-48%) / Wk 2

2). Fantastic Four (Fox), 3,995 theaters / $11.2M Fri. (includes $2.7M preview) / $8.5M. Sat. (-25%) / $6.37M Sun. / 3-day gross: $26.2M / Wk 1

3). The Gift (STX), 2,503 theaters / $4.1M Fri. (includes $585K preview) / $4.5M Sat. (+10%) / $3.38M Sun. / 3-day gross: $12M / Wk 1

4). Vacation (WB), 3,430 theaters (+19) / $2.6M Fri. / $3.65M Sat. (+39%) / $2.7M Sun. / 3-day cume: $9M (-38%) / Total cume: $37.2M / Wk 2

5). Ant-Man (DIS), 2,910 theaters (-412) / $2.2M Fri. / $3.2M Sat. (+45%) / $2.4M Sun. / 3-day gross: $7.8M to $8M / Total cume: $147.5M / Wk 4

6). Minions (UNI), 3,123 theaters (-452) / $2.2M Fri. / $2.9M Sat. (+35%) / $2.2M Sun. / 3-day cume: $7.4M / Total cume: $302.7M / Wk 5

7). Ricki and the Flash (SONY), 1,603 theaters / $2.2M Fri. (includes $200K preview) / $2.5M Sat (+13%) / $1.8M Sun. / 3-day gross: $6.6M to $6.75M / Wk 1

8). Trainwreck (UNI), 2,525 theaters (-435) / $1.8M Fri. / $2.5M Sat. (+36%) / $1.8M Sun. / 3-day gross: $6.2M / Total cume: $91M / Wk 4

9). Pixels (SONY), 2,864 theaters (-859) / $1.55M Fri. / $2.1M Sat. (+37%) / $1.65M Sun. / 3-day cume: $5.4M / Total cume: $57.6M/ Wk 3

10). Southpaw (TWC), 2,274 theaters (-498) / $1.3M Fri. / $1.8M Sat. (+38%) / $1.5M Sun. / 3-day cume: $4.7M / Total cume: $40.7M / Wk 3

11). Shaun the Sheep (LGF), 2,320 theaters / $1.2M Fri. (includes $715K Wed. preview) / $1.6M Sat. (+31%) / $1.2M Sun. / 3-day cume: $4M / 5-day cume: $5.5M / Wk 1

UPDATED, Saturday, 11:56 PM: Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation trumped the debut of Fox’s Fantastic Four — and in its second weekend, no less. Saturday moviegoers clearly put their money behind the Tom Cruise actioner rather than sit through a C- CinemaScore-rated film that even its director wouldn’t stand behind. Paramount’s franchise shot past F4 by about $3M to bring its estimated three-day cume to around $29M (or down just 48%) and good for the No. 1 spot. F4, by comparison is in the $26.5M to $27M range. Yep, MIRN had those all-important IMAX screens to help boost its box office gross.

In the third spot — and solidly so — is STX’s first film in the marketplace since the mini-studio was founded a year ago. The Gift had a much stronger than expected Saturday (up about 12%) to bring its new estimated cume to $12M. The second weekend of the Vacation reboot followed in the No. 4 spot and dropped only about 40% today for a three-day cume in the $8.7M to $9M range (depending on Sunday).

Sony’s Ricki and the Flash, in only 1,603 theaters, rose about 16% from Friday and is still on track with anywhere from $6.6M to $6.9M for its weekend debut. Which bring us to the Shaun the Sheep Movie from Aardman Animation and Lionsgate. It was up about 25% today from yesterday, which means it took in an estimated $1.5M for a $3.9M three-day guesstimate. It may not crack $4M and is still in the No. 11 spot.

Meanwhile, Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F, which was released last Tuesday to staggering box office grosses, is on track to become the first indie to break into the Top Ten for highest-grossing Anime films. The event-release film had sailed past an estimated $1M in box office earlier this AM in about 922 theaters so it should gross over $5M and it won’t stop playing until next week. It drops theaters tomorrow and goes back down to 154 locations before going dark on Monday and then rising against in about 800 theaters on Tuesday. Gotta hand it to FUNimation, the distributor of this picture in North America.

That’s how it looks tonight. More to come in the AM.

UPDATED, Saturday, 8:08 AM: It’s still too early to call the No. 1 spot for this lackluster three-day weekend. It could be the debut of Fox’s Fantastic Four (or Fantastic Snore based on its C- CinemaScore) or the second weekend of Paramount Pictures’ Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation. Tonight we hope to see one or the other get a leg up. Friday was down a big 33% vs same Friday last year when Paramount opened Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ($25.6M Fri). Moviegoing is down 8% from last Friday to this one. Fear after two theater shootings so close together or just bad movies, you decide.

Solidly in the third spot is STX Entertainment’s first offering from a company that was founded a little over a year ago. The Gift from Blumhouse and Rebecca Yeldham ended up with a $4.1M Friday and will likely grab around $10.9M as it looks right now which is where we initially had it in its tracking going into the weekend. This was said to be around a $5M budget and STX is on the hook for about $2.5M plus distribution and marketing costs. There’s been a lot of TV spots on this one and it’s a very good campaign. Kudos to whomever cut the audio/visual, but that can get costly.

Joel Edgerton’s thriller ended up playing pretty well among its demos (split fairly evenly) with female attendance being slightly higher at 53% which is good for tonight. 73% of the audience was over 25 years old.

Sony is hoping that its Meryl Streep, Rick Springfield comedy/drama from writer Diablo Cody will have legs with its mainly female audience. Ricki and the Flash will expand to 2,000 theaters next week and is currently showing a strong per screen of around $4K on 1,6o3 screens. Look for this Jonathan Demme-directed chick flick to end the three-day weekend between $6.6M and $7M based solely on the moviegoing habits of females (older at that) which means that Saturday should be a good day for this pic. The demo breakdown is 72% females with 90% age 25 and older. 69% are over 50 years old and most came because of Streep.



Despite its strong reviews, the Shaun the Sheep Movie from Lionsgate didn’t even step into the Top Ten. The Aardman Animation movie, which started out soft in previews on Wednesday, sits at No. 11 with an estimated total cume of $4M and a five-day of $5.5M. The last Aardman movie, The Pirates! Band of Misfits, bowed in 2012 with an opening of $11.1M (albeit it was in 1,038 more theaters). It had the best CinemaScore of the bunch of newbies, though, with a B+. What else can I say? There are no words … but seriously, there are no words. This movie relies completely on bleats.

NOTEWORTHY: Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F grossed $57,730 on 50 screens with a per screen avg of $1,155 on Friday to bring its overall cume to $4.1M. Today, this anime powerhouse from FUNimation charges back into 922 U.S. theaters and 42 locations in Canada (most plays are in the afternoon) with an eye on the prize: To be the first indie to break into the Anime box office Top Ten. It has to beat Hayao Miyazaki’s Howl’s Moving Castle, which had a lifetime domestic gross of $4.7M (after weeks in play via Disney) to do so. Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F has only been in theaters for four days. As of 10:15 AM, it’s already at $661K. In other words, it could in the day in the Top Ten Highest Grossing Anime films of all time … in only five days of release.

Here’s the chart this AM (Amanda N’Duka contributed to this report):

1/2). Fantastic Four (Fox), 3,995 theaters / $11.25M Fri. (includes $2.7M preview) / 3-day gross: $28M / Wk 1

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (PAR), 3,988 theaters (+32) / $8.2M to $8.4M Fri. / 3-day cume: $27.5M to $29M / Total cume: $106M to $108M (-50%) / Wk 2

3). The Gift (STX), 2,503 theaters / $4.1M Fri. (includes $585K preview) / 3-day gross: $10.9M / Wk 1

4). Vacation (WB), 3,430 theaters (+19) / $2.6M Fri. / 3-day cume: $8.6M to $8.8M (-40%) / Total cume: $36.9M / Wk 2

5). Ant-Man (DIS), 2,910 theaters (-412) / $2.2M Fri. / 3-day gross: $7.6M to $7.8M / Total cume: $147.3M / Wk 4

6). Minions (UNI), 3,123 theaters (-452) / $2.1M Fri. / 3-day cume: $7.3M / Total cume: $302.7M / Wk 5

7). Ricki and the Flash (SONY), 1,603 theaters / $2.2M Fri. (includes $200K preview) / 3-day gross: $6.6M to $7M+ / Wk 1

8). Trainwreck (UNI), 2,525 theaters (-435) / $1.8M Fri. / 3-day gross: $6.2M / Total cume: $91M / Wk 4

9). Pixels (SONY), 2,864 theaters (-859) / $1.5M Fri. / 3-day cume: $5.1M / Total cume: $57.4M/ Wk 3

10). Southpaw (TWC), 2,274 theaters (-498) / $1.3M Fri. / 3-day cume: $4.4M / Total cume: $40.3M / Wk 3

11). Shaun the Sheep (LGF), 2,320 theaters / $1.2M Fri. (includes $715K Wed. preview) / 3-day cume: $4M / 5-day cume: $5.5M / Wk 1

UPDATED, Friday 11:53 PM: It is a two-way race for the No. 1 spot this weekend as Fantastic Four from Fox is falling flat on its face … and in more ways than one. It only garnered a C- CinemaScore tonight, too, as it’s core audience is turning up its nose. Tracking had it anywhere between $40M and $50M and the reality is that it’s now estimated in the high $20M range and, sadly, may lose to the second weekend of Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. How embarrassing. No wonder FF‘s director Josh Trank wanted to distance himself. Critics hated it … perhaps it’s because the Thing reminds moviegoers of the Toxic Avenger.

Meanwhile, MIRN is expected to cross $100M in its second weekend for Paramount. The fifth in the franchise dropped only 51% in its second frame; it added only a handful of theaters but held onto those all-important IMAX screens which helped boost its gross. Speaking of milestones, Universal’s yellow fellows are expected to step over the $300M mark this weekend domestically as Minions continues the studio’s incredible 2015 box office run.

But back to the newcomers. STX Entertainment’s first release, the Joel Edgerton thriller The Gift is headed for a three-day gross pretty much as we expected — $10M to $11M. It got a B CinemaScore from moviegoers, despite raves from the critics. This one had a solid marketing campaign behind it and is set in stone for the weekend at No. 3.

Ricki and the Flash right now is debuting in the No. 7 spot for Sony with about a $4,400 per screen. Not bad for this Meryl Streep, Rick Springfield pic. It garnered a B CinemaScore as well with its audience of older females.

But it wasn’t a memorable night for the Shaun the Sheep Movie which didn’t even crack the Top Ten tonight. It is staring at the No. 11 spot, unblinking at around $4M for the three-day and around $5M+ for the five-day. This Aardman Animation movie, we figured, would be a bit front loaded, but it really wasn’t even that. It’s just kinda sitting there like a lump on a log. It got a B+ CinemaScore — the best score of the bunch — and the critics loved this one. But with these kind of numbers, who give a flock?

Also adding a smattering of theaters in its sophomore frame is Warner Bros.’ Vacation reboot and it has actually held pretty well, down only 46% to bring in a total cume of around $36M.

Business seems to be down across the board. In fact, as it looks now, it is likely to be down in the 23% range. As one of our readers commented, someone sat behind him in the theater with what he thought was a backpack and he panicked. The lingering effect of two theater shootings in a row or maybe it’s just a string of lackluster movies. Either way, it’s kind of a bummer at the end of summer.

Thanks to Amanda N’Duka for crunching numbers, especially today. Here’s the chart. The numbers and positions may change in the AM a bit:

1/2). Fantastic Four (Fox), 3,995 theaters / $11M to $11.5M Fri. (includes $2.7M preview) / 3-day gross: $27M to $29M / Wk 1

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (PAR), 3,988 theaters (+32) / $8.3M to $8.6M Fri. / 3-day cume: $28.4M to $29.4M / Total cume: $107M to $108M (-51%) / Wk 2

3). The Gift (STX), 2,503 theaters / $4M to $4.3M Fri. (includes $585K preview) / 3-day gross: $10.6M to $11.4M / Wk 1

4). Minions (UNI), 3,123 theaters (-452) / $2.3M to $2.5M Fri. / 3-day cume: $8M+ /Total cume: $303M / Wk 5

5/6). Ant-Man (DIS), 2,910 theaters (-412) / $2.25M Fri. / 3-day gross: $8M / Total cume: $147.6M / Wk 4

Vacation (WB), 3,430 theaters (+19) / $2.5M Fri. / 3-day cume: $8M (-46%) / Total cume: $36.1M / Wk 2

7). Ricki and the Flash (SONY), 1,603 theaters / $2.3M Fri. (includes $200K preview) / 3-day gross: $7M+ / Wk 1

8). Trainwreck (UNI), 2,525 theaters (-435) / $1.8M Fri. / 3-day gross: $5.9M to $6.1M / Total cume: $91M / Wk 4

9). Pixels (SONY), 2,864 theaters (-859) / $1.6M Fri. / 3-day cume: $5.4M / Total cume: $57.5M/ Wk 3

10). Southpaw (TWC), 2,274 theaters (-498) / $1.2M Fri. / 3-day cume: $4.3M to $4.6M / Total cume: $40M+ / Wk 3

11). Shaun the Sheep Movie (LGF), 2,320 theaters / $1.2M Fri. (715K Wed. preview) / 3-day cume: $3.6M to $4M / 5-day cume: $5.2M to $5.5M / Wk 1

PREVIOUSLY, 2:30 PM: Fantastic Four looked like it was off to a strong start, despite everyone and their brother (including the film’s own director) going after this film (it has a Rotten Tomatoes score of … wait for it … 10%). Fox’s next (last?) in a franchise could take in around $10M to $12M on Friday which means it would come in soft around $30M. Ugh. But, it’s still early yet and we expect its core audience to come out tonight so will take a wait and see approach.

On the flipside, critics love The Gift, which marks the first film from STX Entertainment. Although the Blumhouse thriller was kinda soft last night, matinees are pretty decent. It could gross around $3.5M to $4.5M today for a three-day cume of maybe $10M to $12M. At the moment. It had a 91% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and this has a heck of a good marketing campaign behind it. We expect a solid CinemaScore tonight and this little film should have some legs.

Going on down the line is Sony’s Ricki And The Flash, which has gotten mixed reviews. The film stars Meryl Streep and Rick Springfield who may belt out about $2.5M to $3M for Friday in 1,600 theaters. The Jonathan Demme-directed flick is clearly an adult demo and strongly skewed to a female audience so it might have a good multiple as Sony is expected to add more theaters in the coming weeks. A weekend gross of around $7.5M is possible.

Rounding out the flock is Aardman Animation’s Shaun The Sheep Movie from Lionsgate. It opened on a Wednesday so there is the three-day gross and five-day gross to consider. The critics are singing its praises with a 99% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, but this one has been out already on DVD and also played on in-flight. Still, it could bring in about $3M to $4M for the three-day and about anywhere from $4.5M to $6M for the weekend. Saturday is family moviegoing day, when most of its audiences arrives into theaters. Until tonight …