‘Ford v Ferrari’ Takes Checkered Flag With $31 Million Box Office Opening

After months of disappointing box office numbers, Fox got their first bit of good box office news since the Disney merger with the opening of “Ford v Ferrari,” which is taking an estimated $31 million from 3,528 screens and a $52 million global opening.

While this $97 million production has a ways to go to profitability, all the seeds are there for this racing biopic to show endurance. It has awards buzz, strong overseas appeal, and an A+ on CinemaScore. “Ford v Ferrari” is now the first film with a wide release of over 3,000 screens since “Avengers: Endgame” to earn that top grade from CinemaScore.

Unfortunately, Fox’s box office success this weekend did not extend to Sony and their “Charlie’s Angels” revival. The film was expected to debut at No. 2 on the charts with an opening in the mid-teens. Instead, it is now estimated for an $8.5 million opening against a $48 million budget.

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Audience reception was relatively positive with a B+ on CinemaScore, but tepid reviews likely weighed “Charlie’s Angels” down with a 59% Rotten Tomatoes score. Sony’s financial blow will be lessened thanks to co-financing by Perfect World and 2.0 Entertainment, but that’s no comfort to a box office market that has seen three flops in as many weeks, with “Angels” joining “Terminator: Dark Fate” and “Doctor Sleep.”

The rest of the box office numbers aren’t very impressive either. “Charlie’s Angels” is vying for the No. 2 spot with the second weekends of Lionsgate’s “Midway” and Paramount/Walden’s “Playing With Fire,” both of which are projected for totals around $8.5 million. “Playing With Fire” has a 10-day total of $25.6 million while “Midway” has a 10-day total of $35 million.

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Universal’s “Last Christmas” is in fifth with $6.7 million in its second weekend and a $22.5 million total. Last week’s flop, Warner Bros. “Doctor Sleep,” fell 57% to a $6.1 million second weekend and a $25 million domestic total against a $50 million budget.

The good news for Warner Bros. amidst autumn busts like “Doctor Sleep” and “Motherless Brooklyn” is that it made history this weekend with “Joker,” which earned $5.5 million in its seventh weekend and is now the first R-rated film to gross $1 billion worldwide. The studio also had a decent single-digit opening with “The Good Liar,” which opened this weekend to $5.5 million from 2,439 screens. It has a B on CinemaScore and a 62% Rotten Tomatoes score.

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