Box Office: ‘Pacific Rim Uprising’ to Top ‘Black Panther’ With $25 Million
“Pacific Rim Uprising” is set to dethrone “Black Panther” this weekend with $25 million from 3,708 North American locations.
Disney-Marvel’s “Black Panther” has topped the box office for the past five consecutive weekends, a rare feat, but will take in $16 million this weekend from 3,370 sites — down 464 theaters from last weekend. “Black Panther’s” take will still mark one of the seven highest sixth weekends in history, however, and the film will finish out the weekend with $630 million, landing it the fifth place spot on the all-time domestic gross list ahead of “The Avengers.”
Universal-Legendary’s “Uprising” stars John Boyega, Scott Eastwood, Cailee Spaeny, and Jing Tian with Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, and Burn Gorman returning from the original 2013 film directed by Guillermo del Toro. Humanity must once again rally to fight the otherworldly Kaiju monsters.
The original “Pacific Rim” earned $37.2 million its opening weekend and wrapped with $411 million worldwide. “Pacific Rim Uprising” has scored mixed reviews from critics, with a current 47% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film is also opening this weekend in 61 international markets, which are set to reel in $120.5 million, including $65 million from China.
In third place is the second weekend of faith-based drama “I Can Only Imagine,” from Roadside Attractions, with $13 million from 2,253 sites. The film surprised its opening weekend with $17 million, and has added 626 theaters as a result. The film will have grossed over $40 million by the end of the weekend.
The opening weekend of Paramount and MGM’s animated “Sherlock Gnomes” will launch in the low end of forecasts with about $10 million from 3,662 locations to snag fourth place. The star-studded voice cast features Johnny Depp, Emily Blunt, Chiwetel Ejiofor, James McAvoy, Maggie Smith, Mary J. Blige, Michael Caine, and Stephen Merchant. “Gnomes” marks the sequel to 2011’s “Gnomeo & Juliet,” which opened to $25 million and earned $193 million worldwide throughout its run.
The second weekend of Warner Bros.-MGM’s “Tomb Raider” will take the fifth place spot with about $9 million from 3,854 theaters. Alicia Vikander stars in the reboot of the Lara Croft franchise and has been praised for her portrayal of the action heroine. The film has earned $166 million worldwide in its first eight days.
Sony-Affirm’s “Paul, Apostle of Christ” opens this weekend to $5 million from 1,473 locations, taking in almost $2 million from Friday previews. The story follows James Faulkner as Saint Paul in his last days awaiting execution by Emperor Nero in Rome. “Paul” has earned an A- CinemaScore and was produced on a budget of just $5 million. The pre-Easter corridor often sees the release of several faith-based films, with “I Can Only Imagine” kicking off the releases, and Pureflix’s “God’s Not Dead: A Light in Darkness” debuting March 30.
Bleeker Street and Fingerprint’s “Unsane,” starring Claire Foy, is headed for a modest $3 million from 2,023 locations. The psychological thriller stars Foy as a woman whose traumatic experience with a stalker results in her involuntary commitment to a psychiatric hospital, where she believes her stalker has found her. The iPhone-shot film was directed by Steven Soderbergh and is sitting at a 79% “certified fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Bella Thorne’s “Midnight Sun,” from new indie distributor Global Road Entertainment, should garner about $4 million from 2,173 theaters. Thorne stars as a teen who has been sheltered at home since childhood due to a life-threatening sensitivity to sunlight. Though the film is at a lowly 21% on Rotten Tomatoes, audiences have responded well to the film with a 64% audience score and A- CinemaScore.
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