M. Night Shyamalan’s surprise hitSplitcontinued to dominate the box office last weekend thanks to just a 35.9% second-weekend drop which resulted in an impressive $25.6 million take, easily beating newcomersA Dog’s Purpose,Resident Evil: The Final ChapterandGold. This weekend, it will go up against the long-awaited and oft-delayed horror sequelRingsand STX Entertainment’s dramaThe Space Between Us, in this weekend’s race forbox office supremacy. WhileSplitvery well may suffer another minimal drop in its third weekend, we’re predicting thatRingswill take the top spot with $21.6 million.
DirectorM. Night Shyamalan’sSplithas far exceeded every expectation at the box office, currently standing at $77.3 million domestic and just over $101 million worldwide, from a $9 million budget. After just two weeks, those numbers have already surpassed the totals for his last low-budget thriller,The Visit, which earned $65.2 million domestically and $98.4 million worldwide from just a $5 million budget in the fall of 2015. Still, while it continues to impress this weekend, we’re predicting that it will drop to second place with $16.9 million, falling between the projected winnerRingsand the other newcomer, STX Entertainment’sThe Space Between Us, which we’re projecting will open in third place with $12.6 million.
Box Office Mojoestimates thatRingswill open in roughly 3,000 theaters this weekend, whileThe Space Between Uswill open in roughly 2,800 theaters. If this theater count projection rings true, then thishorror sequelwill debut in far less theaters than its predecessor,The Ring Two, which debuted in 3,332 theaters way back in 2005. As of now, neitherRingsnorThe Space Between Ushas enough reviews posted on Rotten Tomatoes for a “TomatoMeter” score, but that will surely change between now and Friday.
Ringsmarks a new chapter in the belovedRing horror franchise. A young woman becomes worried about her boyfriend when he explores a dark subculture surrounding a mysterious videotape said to kill the watcher seven days after he has viewed it. She sacrifices herself to save her boyfriend and in doing so makes a horrifying discovery: there is a “movie within the movie” that no one has ever seen before.RingsstarsAimee Teegarden,Johnny Galecki,Lizzie Brochere,Laura Wiggins,Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz,Zach Roerig,Alex RoeandBonnie Morganas Samara.Ringswas originally slated to hit theaters on June 06, 2025, just months after principal photography began that spring, but it was later pushed into the spring of 2016. Then last February, it was pushed to a Halloween 2016 release date, before being pushed into its current date.
In the interplanetary adventureThe Space Between Us, a space shuttle embarks on the first mission to colonize Mars, only to discover after takeoff that one of the astronauts is pregnant. Shortly after landing, she dies from complications while giving birth to the first human born on the red planet, never revealing who the father is. Thus begins the extraordinary life of Gardner Elliot (Asa Butterfield) an inquisitive, highly intelligent boy who reaches the age of 16 having only met 14 people in his very unconventional upbringing. While searching for clues about his father, and the home planet he’s never known, Gardner begins an online friendship with a street smart girl in Colorado named Tulsa (Britt Robertson). When he finally gets a chance to go to Earth, he’s eager to experience all of the wonders he could only read about on Mars, from the most simple to the extraordinary. But once his explorations begin, scientists discover that Gardner’s organs can’t withstand Earth’s atmosphere.
We’re predicting that the top 5 will be rounded out by the controversialA Dog’s Purposein fourth place with $10.4 million and the awards season hitHidden Figuresin fifth place with $9.6 million. The top 10 will likely be rounded out byResident Evil: The Final Chapter($8.7 million),La La Land($8.2 million),XXX: The Return of Xander Cage($5.7 million),Sing($4.1 million) andRogue One: A Star Wars Story($3.2 million). Also opening in limited release is Sony Pictures Classics’The Comedian, CJ Pictures’Confidential Assignment, Vertical Entertainment’sEloise, Indican’sThe Grace of Jake, Magnolia’s documentaryI am Not Your Negro, Sony’sJourney to the West: The Demons Strike Backand another Indican release,The Trouble with Terkel. It remains unclear if any of these films will expand in the weeks and months to come.
Looking ahead to next weekend, this could be the first blockbuster weekend of the new year, with three highly-anticipated new films arriving in theaters. Universal Pictures will open its sexually-charged sequelFifty Shades Darkeragainst Warner Bros.' animatedLEGO Moviespin-offThe LEGO Batman Movieand Lionsgate’s R-rated action-packed sequelJohn Wick: Chapter Two. Since all of their predecessors fared well at the box office in their previous outings, it could make for an unprecedented February weekend at the box office. Take a look at our projections for the weekend of February 3, and check back on Sunday for the box office estimates.
