Setting itself up for a third straight US weekend box office victory, “The Fate Of The Furious” took first place Friday.
The sequel added $5.1 million to its haul Friday. On pace for upwards of $18 million this weekend, “Fate” should have no trouble retaining the weekend crown.
This will be the last time it wears that crown, however. “Guardians Of The Galaxy, Volume 2” is a lock to dominate next weekend’s box office.
To the surprise of many pundits, Friday’s #2 film was “Baahubali 2: The Conclusion.” The Bollywood sequel garnered an impressive $4.8 million from fewer than 450 screens (an unusually large $2.5 million came from Thursday previews).
Because the Friday figure was so markedly buoyed by the Thursday previews, “Baahubali 2” is obviously not going to maintain a $5 million/day pace on Saturday and Sunday. Pundits do, however, believe it can post a weekend gross in the $8-10 million range.
Should it land in the middle or high-end of that range, it will achieve a record US debut for a Bollywood film. “Dhoom 3,” which earned $8 million, currently holds that distinction.
“How To Be A Latin Lover,” which earned an impressive $3.9 million from just under 1120 screens, was Friday’s #3 film. It should improve to #2 by Sunday with a bow in the $11-12.5 million range.
“The Circle” is the widest of this week’s three major new releases, but it had the weakest Friday performance. The film, which earned $3.2 million from 3163 screens, was #4 on the Friday chart. While it may end up ahead of “Baahubali 2” by Sunday, its performance is still disappointing.
Credited with $2.0 million, “The Boss Baby” was #5 Friday.
