John Krasinski’s nearly dialogue-free horror movie “A Quiet Place” quietly pushed Dwayne Johnson‘s “Rampage” out of the first place spot in a very tight race. When actual numbers hit on Monday, there could be a switch around, but word of mouth is keeping it strong.
The big surprise was Fox Searchlight’s “Super Troopers 2” which only received a 35 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, as it more than doubled expectations. Arriving 16 years after the original film, “Super Troopers 2” clearly has a supportive following as the sequel has almost already reached the $18.5 million overall domestic run for the original in just three days. Opening weekend demographics show the film played to an audience that was 64% male and of the overall audience, 75% were between the ages of 25-49.
It’s another weekend of buzz versus pure star power at the box office as the word of mouth sensation “A Quiet Place” finds itself neck-and-neck again with Dwayne Johnson’s “Rampage.” This time buzz had a slight advantage.
Studio estimates on Sunday have placed “A Quiet Place,” with $22 million, in first, and “Rampage” in second with $21 million, but it’s possible those numbers may shift when final results are tallied on Monday.
Still, John Krasinski’s “A Quiet Place” continues to be a mini-phenomenon. With a $17 million production budget, “A Quiet Place” has grossed $132.4 million from North American theaters in three weeks. “Rampage,” too, is down only 41 percent domestically in its second weekend and continues to rake in the dollars globally. The film boasts a worldwide tally of $283 million, and Johnson has continued using his social media accounts to hype the film and thank audiences.
“I never take success like this for granted. Global success like this means so much,” Johnson posted on his Instagram account Saturday night. “I’m not a Marvel movie. It’s not Star Wars. ‘Rampage’ may as well have been called ‘Dwayne Johnson and his albino gorilla friend’ because it’s such an obscure video game … Thank you guys so much.”
The staying power of both somewhat overshadowed the newcomers, like Amy Schumer’s “I Feel Pretty” and the sequel to the 2001 cult comedy “Super Troopers,” both of which nevertheless managed to find their own niche audiences despite largely negative reviews.
“I Feel Pretty,” released by STX Entertainment, grossed an estimated $16.2 million — a little less than half of what Schumer’s “Trainwreck” opened to in July 2015 but slightly above expectations. Unlike “Trainwreck,” Schumer did not write “I Feel Pretty,” which is about an insecure woman who gets a life-changing confidence boost after a head injury. The concept became somewhat divisive and the subject of a fair amount of scrutiny.
“She’s a force, and that’s not going to change,” notes comScore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “She’s always going to push the envelope. Sometimes that will bring big box office; sometimes it won’t.”
The partially crowd-funded “Super Troopers 2,” meanwhile, leaned into its April 20 opening and scored a fourth place, $14.7 million opening weekend for Broken Lizards and distributor 20th Century Fox. The film revisits the high jinks of a profane group of Vermont state troopers played by the Broken Lizard comedy group; the sequel to the 2002 stoner classic was willed into existence by a devoted fan base that raised $4.6 million through an Indiegogo campaign. The film’s opening, surely aided by a winking release date of April 20, nearly matches what the original made in total ($18.4 million).
On Saturday, the Broken Lizards wrote that the creation of a “Super Troopers 3” would be contingent on the second film’s box office success. “Our opening weekend will determine whether we get to keep making movies,” the group wrote on Indiegogo. “You’re the ones who are going to decide what happens next.”
Fifth place went to the Blumhouse horror “Truth or Dare” with $7.9 million in its second weekend, while Lionsgate’s thriller “Traffik,” with Paula Patton, launched in ninth with $3.9 million.
The box office for the year remains down about 2.4 percent from last year, but that will change next week.
“We’re going to see a huge turnaround later this week in the box office fortunes with ‘Avengers: Infinity War,’” Dergarabedian said.
The film is tracking to make over $200 million in its first weekend in theaters, leading some experts to wonder whether the superhero pic could have the highest opening of all time, beating out even “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
- “A Quiet Place,” $22 million ($15 million international).
2. “Rampage,” $21 million ($57 million international).
3. “I Feel Pretty,” $16.2 million ($2.4 million international).
4. “Super Troopers 2,” $14.7 million.
5. “Truth or Dare,” $7.9 million ($4.1 million international).
6. “Ready Player One,” $7.5 million ($23 million international).
7. “Blockers,” $7 million ($2.6 million international).
8. “Black Panther,” $4.6 million ($1.2 million international).
9. “Traffik,” $3.9 million.
10. “Isle of Dogs,” $3.4 million ($5.6 million international).
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to comScore:
- “Rampage,” $57 million.
- “Ready Player One,” $23 million.
- “A Quiet Place,” $15 million.
- “21 Karat,” $10.1 million.
- “Peter Rabbit,” $6.4 million.
- “Isle of Dogs,” $5.6 million.
- “The Coach,” $4.8 million.
- “Truth or Dare,” $4.1 million.
- “Taxi 5,” $3.8 million.
- “Dude’s Manual,” $3.7 million.