Audiences Flock to Ready Player One Over the Holiday Weekend
Ready Player One, as Steven Spielberg’s answer to today’s modern nostalgia craze, was poised to be a hit in its debut weekend, but Sunday’s projected returns put Ernest Cline’s pop culture odyssey significantly over predicted box office numbers. Ready Player One has made $53 million over its four-day holiday weekend, putting it at the top spot ahead of Tyler Perry’s Acrimony and the unbeatable Black Panther.
Ready Player One has already made more than studios and analysts predicted, even as recently as this weekend. After its $17 million gross on its opening Friday (after a Thursday night head start), it was already ahead of early forecasts, which had projected a $38 million to $42 million take for the Thursday through Sunday period. Variety reports an international gross of $128 million, bringing its grand total up to $181.2 million. Bolstered by tentatively positive reviews and the novel’s rabid fanbase, the movie has an A- CinemaScore and a solid 76% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Elsewhere, the Taraji P. Henson-starring Acrimony took second place with $17 million from 2,006 locations, and this weekend’s third new release and third installment in its faith-based franchise, God’s Not Dead: A Light in Darkness, took home $2.6 million in 1,693 locations. Black Panther remains in third place with $11 million from 2,988 locations, and has recently passed the $650 million mark at the North American box office, making it the fifth-biggest domestic release of all time — and it’s soon to become the fourth as it’s on track to overtake Jurassic World within the next week. Pacific Rim Uprising takes the fifth spot, with $9.2 million in 3,708 locations, after topping the box office at its debut last weekend and earning a total of $96.6 million worldwide.
