Candyman opens solidly in #1, while former champ Free Guy holds up well in #2.
1992's Candyman, based on a Clive Barker story and starring Virginia Madison as an urban folklorist investigating a supposed legend about a hook-handed killer who emerges from mirrors when you say his name, got mixed reviews and so-so box office. However, post-theatrical, it became a big enough cult hit to inspire a theatrical sequel and a straight-to-video sequel, and now, nearly 30 years later, has a reboot/remake that did much better than expected, opening easily at #1 with $22 million. As a horror film, it will likely fade fast, but should still finish with at least $45 million in the bank, a quite successful performance for the thriller.
Holding up very well at #2 is late summer hit Free Guy, which fell only 29% in weekend #3 to $13.2 million. That's actually the best third weekend gross of any movie since Sonic the Hedgehog, toward the end of the Before Times. The Ryan Reynolds action comedy now has a gross of $78.9 million and should be over $100 million in the next couple of weeks.
Paw Patrol: The Movie didn't hold together so well in its second weekend, falling nearly 50% with a total of $6.7 million. Still, the animated rescue dog film has a ten-day total of $24.1 million, and looks to be heading to around $40 million, a nice gross for this type of movie.
Jungle Cruse became the year's 5th $100 million grosser by hitting that total almost exactly on the dot by the end of business on Sunday, thanks to a gross of $5 million. It will be interesting to see if Jungle or Free Guy will ultimately outgrows the other.
Horror hit Don't Breathe 2 continues to do solid business, even if its totals aren't anywhere near the original's in 2016. The film took in another $2.9 million for a gross of $24.6 million. It will likely finish between $30 and $35 million.
Respect, in 6th, hasn't really earned much, as the biopic sings up another $2.2 million for a disappointing $19.7 million gross. The Suicide Squad added another $2 million to its underwhelming grosses, and is now up to $52.7 million. Last week's flops The Protégé and The Night House brought in $1.6 and $1.2 million, respectively, for ten-day grosses of $5.7 million and $5.2 million. At least they're doing better than Reminiscence, which is already under $1 million and already out of the Top 10. It is one slot under Old, which could only manage $0.8 million for a gross of $46.5 million.
Labor Day is traditionally the quietest of the year's three-day weekends, but with Covid still playing havoc on the release scheudle, this is the second year in a row that the weekend has seen a major blockbuster. Last year, the arrival of Tenet failed to jumpstart the box office, but hopes are higher for the latest Marvel entry, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. This is the first Marvel movie with the title character making their MCU debut since Captain Marvel, the first to focus on a character of color since Black Panther, and the first ever with an Asian lead and indeed a mostly Asian cast. Obviously the grosses of Captain Marvel and Black Panther suggest that Shang-Chi will do quite well, though both Brie Larson and Chadwick Boseman were much better known than Shang-Chi star Simu Liu, who is best known for co-starring in the cult Canadian sitcom Kim's Convenience. Luckily, Awkwafina and Michelle Yeoh, both of whom co-starred in the last major Hollywood movie with a mostly Asian cast, Crazy Rich Asians, will be on hand to provide star power. Shang-Chi will almost certainly debut at #1, but how high could it go? It almost certainly won't reach Black Widow's opening, but anything north of $50 million should be considered a win. We'll see how Shang-Chi handles Labor Day next week.
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