It’s certainly an odd weekend at the box office and is part of what makes January somewhat unpredictable. Split won the weekend for the second time with a $26 million take, bringing it to $78 million since its debut as word of mouth and the twist ending that ties into another Shyamalan film gets some attention. It held off a few new films trying to gain traction as well.
A Dogs Life was mired in controversy but it looks like it didn’t do much in the way of damage for the opening weekend with a $18 million take, but expectations are it won’t have any legs. The wide release of The Founder in 1,100 screens kept it at the bottom of the list with a $2 million take. And Gold didn’t fare much better in 2,100 screens as the Matthew McConnaughey film did just $3.4 million in its wide release.
Sony has their final installment in the Resident Evil franchise out and it’s definitely going out on a down note with a $14 million opening, the weakest of the franchise. That said, the films have done $1 worldwide as a franchise now, something no other video game based franchise can. And it’s probably ripe for a reboot at this stage as well with some fresh blood. I have to admit a real guilty pleasure for these films and I was there on preview night to soak up all the action and silliness.
Next weekend has two films going wide as February gets underway with Rings from Paramount landing in 2,800 screens while the mildly delayed Space Between Us from STX Entertainment also hits in 2,800 screens.
