Though the August doldrums do beat, one film is simply too fabulous to sink to the level of its so-so competition:Crazy Rich Asiansheld firm in its second weekend, raking in another $25 million.Jon M. Chu’s romantic comedy only saw a 5.7% drop-off from its $34 million debut, a remarkable bit of consistency in a time when romcoms aren’t exactly a hot commodity at the box office. (Maybe things like inclusion and rich storytelling are? What a concept!)
Meanwhile, over in the land of felt and strings,The Happytime Murdershad its stuffing blown apart in its premiere weekend. The hard-R comedy—starring Melissa McCarthy alongside some raunchy puppet creations from directorBrian Henson—opened to a terrible $10 million, the worst in McCarthy’s career when the actress road the top of the bill. The film—which I must point out features numerous instances of a puppet ejaculating, so you probably know whether or not you’d like to see it—was branded a below average C- CinemaScore. (“Its A+ puppetry is held back by a D-level script,” writes our own Dave Trumbore inhis review.)
Perhaps due in part to the lack of worthy newcomers besidesCrazy Rich Asians—Global Road’s robot dog movieA.X.L.opened at #9 with $2.9 million—steady mainstays likeMission: Impossible - Fallout($8 million),Disney’s Cristopher Robin($6.4 million),andThe Meg($13 million) remained contenders weeks after their respective debuts.The Meg, in particular, enjoyed a healthy third weekend, blasting past the $100 million mark domestically. (Jon Turteltaub’s massive shark movie already crossed the $300 million line worldwidelast week.)
Check out the full weekend estimates below, and check back here next week to see ifOscar IsaacandBen Kingsleycan successfully bring August to a close withOperation FInale.
Crazy Rich Asians
$76,817,947
$13,030,000
$105,300,646
The Happytime Murders
$10,020,000
Mission: Impossible - Fallout
$8,000,000
$193,900,660
Disney’s Cristopher Robin
$6,340,000
$77,628,783
$6,030,000
$25,170,954
$5,600,000
$20,160,574
BlacKkKlansman
$5,345,000
$32,037,540
$2,939,356
Slender Man
$2,785,000
$25,403,116
