Certain releases are begging the question: Do we need actors to promote movies? The SAG-AFTRA strike is still ongoing so actors can’t promote struck work but if you’re Denzel Washington and the star of a pretty popular and consistent franchise, fans will still flock to the movies to check it out and that is the very case with The Equalizer 3.
The Equalizer 3 easily took the top spot over the Labor Day weekend with a 3-day gross of $34.6 million and a 4-day total of $42.2 million. The 4-day Labor Day weekend total makes it the second best ever for the holiday after Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings ($94.6 million). The 3-day total represents the third-best domestic opening for director Antoine Fuqua after Equalizer 2 ($36 million) and The Magnificent Seven ($35 million). What these all have in common is Denzel Washington so this duo is clearly a winning pair at the box office.
As far as legs are concerned, they could be good moving forward. The film scored an “A” CinemaScore which is up from the “A-” earned by Equalizer 2 and it doesn’t have much adult action competition until Expend4bles on September 22. The great thing about this franchise is that it is wonderfully consistent with each entry opening within the same wheelhouse. This is being promoted as the final entry and I’m sure it is intended to be but I do wonder if Sony will try to convince the pair to come back for another round of vigilante justice.
In second we find Barbie with a 3-day gross of $10.2 million and a 4-day holiday take of $13.1 million. The 3-day total is down only 32 percent which is a great hold, although you can tell our girl is finally slowing down. Warner Bros. announced the digital release for the film will be next week so the studio can tell there isn’t much more money to be made that hasn’t already been taken in but its performance is still remarkable. Keep in mind that Barbie has been in the number one or number two spot since opening on July 26. At the domestic box office, the film has earned $612.3 million and globally it has made a staggering $1.384 billion.
Holding decently in third place is Blue Beetle with a gross of $7.1 million over 3 days and $9.2 million over 4-days. The three-day decline is at 41.5 percent which isn’t bad but it’s not entirely great either. Blue Beetle needed a bigger start for these declines to be okay for its bottom line but there is some good needs here. The film will not be the lowest-grossing DC film release of the year as its domestic total to date of $58.5 million tops the $57.6 million earned by Shazam! Fury of the Gods earlier this year. Worldwide, Blue Beetle has grossed $104.6 million which pretty much matches its entire production budget.
Dropping to fourth place in a big way is last week’s number one film Gran Turismo with a 3-day gross of $6.6 million, down a staggering 62 percent from last week. I really thought positive word of mouth would give this one some legs but it looks like it hasn’t broken out beyond its target audience. The 4-day gross comes in at $8.56 million which brings the film’s domestic total to $30.6 million. The movie is making up some ground globally with a worldwide gross of $81.1 million which is promising for its $60 million budget.
Rounding out the top five is Oppenheimer with a 3-day gross of $5.7 million and a 4-day take of $7.5 million. The 3-day decline is just 30 percent as the film continues to perform like a tentpole blockbuster rather than a historical epic. To date, Oppenheimer has grossed $310.5 million domestically and $853.5 million worldwide.
What are your thoughts on this weekend’s box office? Check back next week when The Nun II does its best to scare up some big cast for the Conjuring Universe.
Hello! My name is Gaius Bolling: movie, TV, and pop culture junkie! The industry has been in my veins since I was a kid and I have carried that on through adulthood. I attended Los Angeles Film Academy and participated in their screenwriting and editing program. From there, I have learned to hone my skills in the world of entertainment journalism. Some of my favorite genres include horror, action, and drama and I hope to share my love of all of this with you.
