Author: Tom Brueggemann / Source: IndieWire
With a $24 million opening, “The Predator” easily took the top spot this weekend after “The Nun” proved to be no contest with a 66 percent fall. An unusual total of four new wide releases made the Top 10, with the female-oriented “A Simple Favor” doing a decent $16 million, while “White Boy Rick” (Sony) managed only a little more than half that.
Faith-based sequel “Unbroken: Path to Redemption” managed about $2.3 million.Last year saw a 10 percent higher overall box office, led by the $60 million second weekend of “It.” However, the other films that weekend were much weaker, making this weekend one case where lower results look more positive overall.
All that said, “The Predator” — which cost $88 million before marketing and received a very weak C+ Cinemascore — isn’t impressive. The sixth in the overall series isn’t a sequel, but a remake of the Arnold Schwarzenegger 1987 original (which lacked “The” in its title. Among the series in adjusted grosses it ranks fourth best, about $5.5 million less than the most recent, “Predators,” in 2010.
The lack of distinctiveness in these titles might contribute to a sense of staleness in the project, which director Shane Black meant to be a bit more humorous than its predecessors. It also saw an unusual marketing ploy with its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, in the Midnight Madness section. September studio releases premiering there aren’t uncommon, but they are usually higher-profile Gala presentations like “Magnificent Seven” or “The Town.”
“The Nun” was also the sixth entry in a series, but cost one quarter of “The Predator” and opened to double the initial result.
This suggests how important it is to draw a nearly equal female audience these days (“Predator” skewed 64-36 percent male).Better news for “The Predator” is its $30 million initial foreign take. However, most territories have opened (France and Italy still ahead; China not currently set). This is the sort of film that needs to draw strongly overseas, with a $200 million+ worldwide gross to have a chance at breakeven. Initial results suggest it could be a close call.
“A Simple Favor” opening to $16 million looks good when the initial cost was $20 million, and better still when Saturday increased six percent from its Thursday/Friday combined opening (“The Predator” fell 19 percent). The draw for this was two-thirds female, skewing over 25. A mystery with a suburban…
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