After ruling for five consecutive weekend, “Black Panther” is poised to cede the US box office thrown.
“Pacific Rim Uprising” is poised to move into first place this week.
The newcomer convincingly won Friday with $10.4 million in receipts. Analysts expect the film to close the weekend with $24-28 million.
The three-day figure will trail that of the 2013 original ($37.3 million), but it should be enough to give “Uprising” a victory in this weekend’s race.
“Black Panther,” which took second place Friday ($4.4 million), will also claim the runner-up position for the weekend. Pundits anticipate a $15-18 million haul.
“I Can Only Imagine” took third place on Friday with $3.8 million. It should close the weekend with $11-15 million.
“Tomb Raider,” which earned $2.9 million, was Friday’s #4 film. Its three-day weekend tally will likely land in the $9-11 million range.
New release “Sherlock Gnomes” failed to gain much traction Friday. The film took fifth place with only $2.8 million in opening day receipts.
The film should close the weekend with $9-12 million, which will be a far cry from the $25.4 million earned by 2011’s “Gnomeo & Juliet.” This film, moreover, is not expected to match that release’s longevity (it ended up grossing just under $100 million at the domestic box office).
Other new releases also included “Paul, Apostle Of Christ” (Friday’s #8 film with $1.7 million), “Midnight Sun” (#9, $1.5 million), and “Unsane” (#10, $1.4 million). None of the films is a lock to break $5 million this weekend.
That news is particularly disappointing for “Midnight Sun” and “Unsane,” which had visible promotional campaigns and launched in over 2000 theaters.
