‘Deadpool’ and ‘Alien’ top charts again as ‘Blink Twice’ sees quiet opening

LOS ANGELES (AP) — In a sleepy summer weekend at the box office, holdovers reigned supreme as newcomers landed without a splash.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” reclaimed first place at the North American box office in its fifth weekend with $18.3 million. Its cumulative international earnings now sit at over $1.2 billion.

The Walt Disney Co., which owns 20th Century Studios, claimed the top two spots on the charts for the second weekend in a row with “Alien: Romulus” following close behind the foul-mouthed superhero movie. The latest installment in the 45-year-old franchise brought in $16.2 million in its second weekend after a promising opening. Disney’s “Inside Out 2” also remained on the charts, raking in $2.1 million domestically in its 11th weekend. Its global earnings are now over $1.6 billion.

“This is an incredible turnaround for Disney, who almost fell off the radar, shockingly enough, last year and over the course of the pandemic,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “They got a couple of billion-dollar films out so far and ‘Moana 2’ is still up on the way. This is a huge comeback year for Disney – no question about it.”

Romantic drama “It Ends With Us,” another repeat chart-topper, landed in third place for the second consecutive weekend with $11.9 million. The Sony movie starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, who also directed, has made $242.6 million to date globally. It cost only $25 million to produce.

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The new releases were victim to the crowded movie marketplace, resulting in what Dergarabedian called “box office déjà vu,” with the familiar films dominating and making it harder for the new releases to find their footing. Dergarabedian says the upcoming Labor Day holiday will likely benefit the newer titles as word-of-mouth spreads and more people head to theaters during the long weekend.

“Blink Twice,” directed by Zoë Kravitz and starring her life partner Channing Tatum, saw a modest opening, taking in $7.3 million and claiming fourth place on the charts. The Amazon MGM Studios psychological thriller follows Tatum as tech magnate Slater King, who whisks two women away to his private island. While it may seem like a picture-perfect vacation at first, much more sinister events unfold as the visitors learn the truth about the island and the billionaire. The film’s budget has been reported at $20 million.

Reviews have been mixed, with audiences giving the film a B- CinemaScore, but the film has been deemed Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a 79% score.

Rounding out the top five was “The Forge,” a faith-focused coming-of-age movie about a young man finding his way through Christianity. The film opened with $6.6 million and received an A+ CinemaScore from audiences. It was released by Affirm Films, Sony’s faith-based banner.

Another new release, “The Crow,” was beat out by “Twisters” and “Coraline” in the rankings. “Twisters” entered its sixth week with $6.2 million in domestic earnings and “Coraline,” which was re-released for its 15th anniversary last week, brought in an additional $5.1 million in its second weekend.

Lionsgate’s “The Crow,” an R-rated adaptation of the acclaimed graphic novel and a remake of the 1994 film of the same name, opened with $4.6 million. The studio also floundered in August with the release of “Borderlands,” an adaptation of the video game, which made $15.2 million over three weekends compared to its reported $120 million budget.

To complete the “tale of the holdovers,” as Dergarabedian put it, “Despicable Me 4” and “Inside Out 2” closed out the top 10 films of the weekend, bringing in $4.4 million and $2.1 million, respectively. “Inside Out 2” has been on the charts for 11 consecutive weekends and remains the No. 1 animated film of all time globally.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. “Deadpool & Wolverine,” $18.3 million.

2. “Alien: Romulus,” $16.2 million.

3. “It Ends With Us,” $11.9 million.

4. “Blink Twice,” $7.3 million.

5. “The Forge,” $6.6 million.

6. “Twisters,” $6.2 million.

7. “Coraline,” $5.1 million.

8. “The Crow,” $4.6 million.

9. “Despicable Me 4,” $4.4 million.

10. “Inside Out 2,” $2.1 million.