Sony/Escape Artists’ The Equalizer 3 will hit $42M over four-days, easily the second-best opening of Labor Day weekend ever following 2021’s Shang-Chi, which did $94.6M. 3-day is $34.5M (or 2.6M patrons, per EntTelligence), which is the third-best domestic opening for filmmaker Antoine Fuqua after Equalizer 2 ($36M) and The Magnificent Seven ($35M), and the second-best start for the franchise. Friday was $13.1M, including Thursday previews, which is jacking up forecasts for the weekend. Equalizer 3 is cofinanced by TSG and Eagle Pictures.
As Comscore predicted, the summer box office has clicked past $4 billion — a normal threshold in any summer, but the first post-pandemic. Thank you, Barbenheimer. Read our summer wrap here.
The other thing to applaud with this threequel is that, quite often, these guy-with-a-gun-movies become diluted at the box office. Sony and Escape Artists have finely developed this Denzel Washington series with great care, and kept the powder dry, and the ticket sales are showing that. The series is Washington’s only film franchise on his resume. It’s not about shoot ’em ups in an Equalizer movie — rather, the intensity of the character Robert McCall, who the 2x Oscar-winner adores playing.
In regards to getting the pic’s opening B.O. to this level sans actors’ promotions during the SAG-AFTRA strike, that’s a glass half-full situation. On one hand, it’s an excellent start, with the threequel opening right in the wheelhouse of other Equalizer films on a 3-day basis. We always knew sequels and genre titles would be able to open at the box office during a SAG-AFTRA strike. But on the other hand, one wonders how much bigger the box office would be here for Equalizer 3 if there wasn’t a strike.
The threequel gets its second “A” after Equalizer 2 (first movie got an A-) with Comscore/Screen Engine PostTrak exits seeing a 90% positive and a 72% recommend. Mostly guys showed up at 55%, which is no surprise, while the 18-34 year olds repped 31%. However, older moviegoers are definitely out of the house, watching this movie with 49% over 45, and the largest demo being 55+ at 26%. Diversity demos were 33% Caucasian, 31% Black, 20% Latino and Hispanic, and 15% Asian/other. PLF and Imax are pulling in 38% of the weekend ticket sales so far, shelling out an average of $16.37 to see the Fuqua pic vs. $13.28, which was the average ticket price for all formats on the title. 54% of the audience came to see the movie after 5 PM, per EntTelligence.
As of EOD Saturday, the AMC Southlake Pavillion in Atlanta is Equalizer 3‘s top-grossing venue, with north of $76K.
Imaxes were apparently split between Equalizer 3 and Oppenheimer. The Washington movie did a 4-day opening of $3.4M at 360 Imax auditoriums, while Oppeneheimer made $900K, for a running total of $85.5M for that film.
MGM’s expansion of Bottoms from ten locations to 715 theaters should not be ignored. The teen LGBTQ+ high school comedy posted a $3M 3-day and $3.58M 4-day. Great numbers in NYC, LA, San Francisco, DC, Chicago, Austin, and Dallas. Look out for this one.
Audience exits for the pic outside NYC and LA continue to be above norms, at 91% positive and 86% recommend, with a big young audience here; 80% are between 18-34. 55% are female, 42% male, and 3% non-binary. Diversity demos are 67% White, 29% Latino and Hispanic, 2% Black, and 2% Asian/other.
Social buzz is big at 106K convos, the most volume for a theatrical comedy since 2020, trailing only the social phenomenon that is Barbie. Female (58%) moviegoers lead buzz, LGBTQ+, GEN Z, African American, AAPI, Hispanic. College audiences comprise this younger-skewing and diverse coalition of moviegoers.
Newcomer Kushi (in Telugu) is showing strong numbers in Austin, Dallas, DC, Seattle, NYC, San Francisco, and Atlanta, for an estimated $1.28M 4-day weekend at 336 locations in 109 markets. Friday was $363K and yesterday was $352K. 3-day is bound for $1.04M.
The 4-day box office for all movies looks to land around $115.9M, which is up 63% over last year’s Labor Day weekend of $71.1M per Box Office Mojo, when there wasn’t any product. However, this year’s holiday B.O. is off -17% from 2021, when Shang-Chi began bringing moviegoers back, all pics then grossing $139M.
1.) Equalizer 3 (Sony) Fri $13.1M Sat $11.1M Sun $10.2M Mon $7.5M 3-day $34.5M, 4-day $42M/Wk 1
2.) Barbie (WB) 3,586 (-150) theaters, Fri $2.5M (-38 %) Sat $3.85M Sun $4.2M Mon $2.4M $3-day $10.6M (-30%) 4-day $13M/Total $611.8M/Wk 7
At $1.38 billion, the pic is the biggest movie worldwide YTD and as you know, the biggest for Warner Bros. ever. Beamed Warner Bros. Motion Picture Co-Chairs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy this AM, “The box office records broken on Barbie have blown us all away. Greta, Margot, and the entire team now reaching the biggest movie of the year is a huge achievement, and a reminder to us all of the power of great storytelling to bring audiences of every age together. Barbie has been an absolute joy to be a part of and we congratulate everyone who helped to see it become the most watched film of 2023.”
3.) Blue Beetle 3,316 (-555) theaters, Fri $1.55M (-42%), Sat $2.7M Sun $3M Mon $1.7M 3-day $7.27M (-40%), 4-day $9M/Total $58.3M/Wk 3
4.) Gran Turismo (Sony) 3,856 theaters, Fri $1.56M (-82%) Sat $2.4M Sun $2.5M Mon $1.97M 3-day $6.55M 4-day $8.5M, total $30.6M/Total Wk 2
5.) Oppenheimer (Uni) 2,543 (-329) theaters Fri $1.3M (-42%) Sat $2M Sun $2.1M Mon $1.7M 3-day $5.5M (-33%) 4-day $7.2M/Total $310.2M/Wk 7
6.) Teenage Mutanta Ninja Turtles…(Par) 2,955 (-190) theaters Fri $1.04M (-32%) Sat $1.8M Sun $1.9M Mon $1.5M 3-day $4.77M (-34%), 4-day $6.3M, Total $107.99M/Wk 5
7.) The Meg 2: The Trench (WB) 2,371 (-561) theaters Fri $600K (-44%) Sat $1.1M Sun $1.2M Mon $1M 3-day $2.94M (-39%) 4-day $4M/Total $79.4M/ Wk 5
8.) Bottoms (MGM) 715 (+705) theaters, Fri $1.27M (+452%) Sat $875K Sun $832K Mon $582K, 3-day $3M (+552%) 4-day $3.58M, Total $4.3M/Wk 2
9.) Strays (Uni) 2,486 (-746) theaters, Fri $620K (-47%) Sat $950K Sun $950K Mon $660K 3-day $2.52M (-49%), 4-day $3.18M Total $21.3M/ Wk 3
10.) Talk to Me (A24) 1,075 (-246) theaters Fri $449K (-26%) Sat $674K Sun $640K Mon $473K 3-day $1.76M (-26%) 4-day $2.2M Total $44.5M/Wk 6
The Australian horror pic becomes the highest grossing genre pic stateside for A24, besting Hereditary‘s $44M. Overall, it’s A24’s fourth highest grossing movie at the domestic B.O. after Everything Everywhere All at Once ($77M), Uncut Gems ($50M) and Lady Bird ($49M).