Uncharted remained at #1 for a second week with little competition. In fact, the Top Five for this weekend is exactly the same as it was last, just with lower numbers.
Uncharted was only expected to make around $30 million on its opening weekend, but it raked in $51 million over four days (in the U.S., Presidents Day fell on Monday). This pretty much ensured that Sony would order a sequel, something that was clearly set up in the film’s two post-credit scenes.
In an effusive letter to his colleagues, Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group Chairman and CEO Tom Rothman wrote:
“With over $100M in box office worldwide in just one weekend, and a 90% positive audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, Uncharted is a new hit movie franchise for the company.
“This marks a great victory for every single division of the company, as the film was our first major production entirely shut down by the advent of Covid, yet we persevered to complete a picture the audience loves and marketed and distributed it with strategic verve worldwide, despite the pandemic.
“The ensuing impact is proof once again of the unmatched cultural power of real movies. On the heels of Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and Spider-Man: No Way Home, Uncharted is yet another blow to the theatrical naysayers and further proof of the efficacy of our model.
“I want to thank all of the filmmakers, the wonderful cast and crew, and especially our friends at PlayStation Studios and Sony Interactive Entertainment for their support. And of course, I want to thank each and every one of you for your creativity, dedication and belief.”
This is a divisive movie. Indeed, its certified audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is 90%, but its critical score is a lowly 40%. That’s a pretty hefty divide.
As I said, the Top Five is exactly the same as it was last week, with the heartwarming Channing Tatum flick Dog at #2, Spider-Man: No Way Home at #3, Death on the Nile at #4, and Jackass Forever at #5.
TOP FIVE:
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- Uncharted (Sony) – 3-day $23.2M/Total $83.3M/Wk 2
- Dog (United Artists Releasing) – 3-day $10.1M/Total $30.8M/Wk 2
- Spider-Man: No Way Home (Sony) – 3-day $5.75M/Total $779.88M/Wk 11
- Death on the Nile (20th Century Studios/Disney) – 3-day $4.5M/Total $32.7M/Wk 3
- Jackass Forever (Paramount) – 3-day $3.175M/Total: $52.07/Wk 4
The highest-charting new movie was the horror flick Studio 666 starring the Foo Fighters. No, you read that correctly. The band the Foo Fighters have a new horror movie and it did… okay. It wound up in the #6 spot with $1.8M. Critics hated it to the tune of a 56% RT score, but audiences were kinder with an 83% RT audience score and a 70% PostTrak score.
Obviously, this weekend was a placeholder. Next week, The Batman opens and is expected to take in well over $100M domestically. The review embargo hasn’t lifted, but the reactions on social media, from those that have seen it, are glowing.
Expect this latest take on DC Comics’ Dark Knight to take in Spider-Man: No Way Home levels of cash. It’s possible that The Batman could top No Way Home, which is currently the #3 domestic movie of all time. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Keep in mind, Warner Bros. is holding early IMAX screenings of The Batman on Tuesday, March 1. Those screenings will NOT be factored into the movie’s opening weekend haul but will be added into its overall gross. It is possible that some of those that go to the early screenings won’t be back for opening weekend. But once again, we’ll have to wait and see.
Place your bets! How big of a debut do you predict The Batman will have? (I’m going with a conservative $150M for the record.)
