Box office: ‘The Nun II,’ ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3’ continue the sequel love in September

It’s only the second weekend of what’s already been dubbed “Sequel September,” but one of this week’s sequel offerings did better than the other. Read on for the weekend box office report.

It’s been five years since Warner Bros. had a blockbuster horror hit with the “Conjuring” franchise spin-off “The Nun,” so the sequel “The Nun II” was inevitable. Sure enough, it led the way this weekend with an estimated $32.6 million in 3,728 theaters after making $3.1 million from Thursday previews and $13 million on Friday (including those previews).

Critics weren’t too kind, giving it 45% on Rotten Tomatoes. That was better than the reviews the original “Nun” movie got in 2018, although that opened with $53.8 million despite receiving 24% on Rotten Tomatoes. The sequel received a “C+” rating from audiences polled by CinemaScore, slightly better than the “C” for the previous movie, but it doesn’t bode well for any sort of legs.

Overseas, “The Nun II” made another $52.7 million with $8.9 million of that coming from Mexico for a global opening of $85.3 million. Two other regions where itdid decently were Brazil and Indonesia, both with $4.4 million.

Denzel Washington‘s action-thriller “The Equalizer 3” dropped to second place with $12.1 million, down a whopping 65% from its Labor Day weekend debut. It’s now grossed $62 million after two weekends. It grossed another $11.5 million internationally for a global total of $107.7 million.

Focus Features released Nia Vardalos‘ “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3” into 3,647 theaters on Friday. The follow-up to Vardalos’ 2016 sequel, this time with her directing, brought back much of the cast of the 2002 indie hit, including John Corbett, Andrea Martin, and Joey Fatone. The previous movie made less than $100 million worldwide after a domestic opening weekend of $17.9 million, compared to the $375 million global box office of the first movie.

After making $3.7 million on Friday (including $550,000 in previews), the threequel is estimated to make $10 million this weekend to take third place with roughly $2,700 per theater. It received even worse reviews than “The Nun II” with 28% on Rotten Tomatoes, although audiences liked it slightly better, going by its “B” on CinemaScore.

Yash-Raj Films released the Telugu-language action film “Jawan” starring Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan on Thursday where it made $1.4 million in 764 theaters. On Friday, it added more screens and another $1.7 million, leading up to a three-day opening weekend of $6.2 million in 827 theaters. In its first four days it grossed $7.6 million, basically on par with the $9.5 million five-day opening for Khan’s “Pathaan” earlier in the year.

After dominating the last few months in theaters, Greta Gerwig‘s “Barbie” dropped to fifth place with $5.9 million, down 42%, which was less of a drop than much of the top 10. It has grossed $620.5 million domestically, bringing it closer to overtaking “Marvel’s The Avengers,” which grossed $623.5 million in 2012. “Barbie” made another $5.5 million overseas for a global total of $1.4 billion worldwide.

Warner Bros’ “Blue Beetle” followed in sixth place with $3.8 million (down 47%) with $63.7 million grossed in North America overall.

In seventh place was Sony’s racing movie “Gran Turismo,” which really hasn’t done very well since opening a couple of weeks back, this weekend adding $3.4 million (down 49%) for a domestic total of $35.6 million. It’s really just hanging onto the top 10 by a thread at this point.

Christopher Nolan‘s biopic “Oppenheimer” is starting to lose ground as well, with a 48% drop to eighth place with $3 million and a total of $315 million grossed in North America.

Paramount’s animated “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” took ninth place with $2.6 million, for a domestic total of $111.3 million.

MGM expanded its R-rated comedy “Bottoms” into 1,265 theaters on Friday, and it took in roughly $2.1 million to just get into the top 10, averaging $1,265 per theater with $7.6 million grossed so far.

Most players had “The Nun II” winning the weekend with between $25 and $50 million in this week’s box office prediction game, with “The Equalizer 3” in second place. Far fewer (about 54 players) had “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” beating “Barbie” to take third place, and only two players had “Jawan” taking fourth place, with four picking “Barbie” to drop down to fifth place.

Only five players went six-for-six in the September 1 game, but “HazardousKirby” eked out a win with 11,827 points just over yours truly. On Friday Kenneth Branagh returns as Inspector Hercule Poirot in his adaptation of Agatha Christie‘s “A Haunting in Venice,” so check back on Wednesday for the weekend box office preview.

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