'It' Wins Another Weekend at the Box Office (Probably)
by EG
It wasn't supposed to happen this way. In its fourth weekend of release, Stephen King's It looks to have narrowly edged past both Kingsman: The Golden Circle and new release American Made. All three movies took in almost the same amount of money over the weekend, but early numbers give the slimmest of leads to It.
There's definitely a need for a recount at the North American box office.
According to Sunday estimates, horror blockbuster It narrowly beat Kingsman: The Golden Circle and Doug Liman's new film American Made — starring Tom Cruise — with $17.3 million, compared to an estimated $17 million for the other two films.
The official order won't be determined until Monday morning when final weekend grosses are tallied. Some rival studios show New Line Cinema and Warner Bros.' It and Fox's Kingsman tying with $17 million each, and Universal's American Made coming in slightly behind.
Either way, It remains a phenomenon in its fourth weekend, ending Sunday with a domestic haul of $291 million. Overseas, it took in $35.6 million from 64 markets for $262 million abroad and $533.2 million globally. The film is responsible for fueling record September revenue after a brutal August.
British filmmaker Matthew Vaughn's Kingsman sequel beat It overseas with $50 million from 77 markets for a 12-day worldwide total of $192.7 million, including $66.7 million in North America.
American Made marks a modest opening for Cruise, who has had a mixed record at the domestic box office. In the film, the actor portrays Barry Seal, the real-life TWA pilot who smuggled cocaine for the Medellin Cartel in the 1980s before turning CIA informant. Universal, which is handling American Made, is counting on the movie having a long run, thanks to strong reviews (audiences were less impressed, giving it a B+ CinemaScore). Overseas, where Cruise's star power is brighter, American Made has already earned $64.7 million for a global cume of $81.7 million.
"We will have a great run, and American Made overperformed tracking. Tom is something to discover in this movie," says Universal domestic distribution president Nick Carpou. "And I think it's interesting that you have three films that are within shouting distance of each other. Once the dust settles on Monday, we'll see how it turns out."
American Made cost a reported $50 million to make after tax rebates and incentives. Cross Creek Pictures financed and produced both American Made and the new Flatliners remake, which cost $19 million to make.
Released by Sony, Flatliners faltered with an estimated $6.7 million bow, compared to an expected $10 million-plus opening. The pic sports an abysmal 0 rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes, but earned a B- CinemaScore from audiences.
Get the rest of this story at The Hollywood Reporter.
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