The family audience has been starved for content for a while, and they flocked to theaters this weekend to see the Hotel Transylvania sequel, which pulled in 47 million for a new record for September. The original made 42 million in 2012, and that also sets it up as Sony's biggest hit this year. Expect it to stick around for a while with most of that market to itself, unless Pan happens to break out in a couple of weeks.
In second place was Nancy Meyers' The Intern, which did a better than expected 18 million over the weekend- also targeting an older, female heavy demo that hasn't had any films aimed at them in months. The movie snagged an A- Cinemascore, so we'll see if that one can stick around with the onslaught of adult oriented films in the coming weeks. Everest meanwhile, did less than expected after its strong IMAX start last weekend- it only brought in 13 million for a 23 million total so far, a slow start, one of Universal's only ones this year, although it has done well overseas, with a worldwide total of just about 100 million already. Black Mass and The Scorch Trials rounded out the top five, with Black Mass falling a steep 49 percent since last week, not boding so well for the film's awards prospects, of which Depp remains its strongest bet.
Top 5:
- Hotel Transylvania 2- 47.5 million
- The Intern- 18.2 million
- Maze Runner 2: The Scorch Trials- 14 million
- Everest- 13.3 million
- Black Mass- 11.5 million
In limited release, Sicario continues to do well, earning a high 30k per screen average in 59 theaters ahead of its nationwide expansion next week, although it will be facing direct competition from The Martian. And Stonewall bombed hard, pulling in just 842 dollars per theater on 129 screens, one of the lowest PTA's I've ever seen. Yikes. Next week it's The Martian and the IMAX only release of The Walk- it should be a big weekend, as The Martian has gotten spectacular reviews and is said to be a big crowdpleaser, so we'll see. Stay tuned.
