Not exactly a K.O. or fatality, butDemon Slayerdid manage an upset at the box office this weekend, as it nudged Warner Bros.‘Mortal Kombatreboot out of the top spot. But not by much. It was a worthy fight, withDemon Slayermanaging to pull in an estimated $6.4 million over the course of the past three days, compared to the $6.2 million take generated by the video game adaptationMortal Kombat.
Both movies debuted at the box office last weekend, and dominated the charts side by side, pulling in two very similar audiences. Last weekend,Mortal Kombathad the edge despite simultaneously premiering on HBO Max streaming on the exact date. Though these two movies are dominating thebox officecharts for a second weekend in a role, they both dropped considerably from their debuts.Mortal Kombat’s audience was down a somewhat shocking -73% whileDemon Slayerlost -70% of its potential ticket buyers.
Funimation/Aniplex have a surprise hit on their hands with the animeDemon Slayer. Thus far, it has eared $32.2 million from ticket sales in the U.S.Mortal Kombat’s overall haul is slightly higher at $34 million. At this time, the U.S. has roughly 70% of its 40,700 screens open to the public. It’s possible that by next weekend that could be up to 75%, but asDeadlinenotes in their report, that percent tally is a bit complicated.
Mortal KombatandDemon Slayerare targeting niche markets, which caused both movies to unexpectedly overperform inmovie theaterslast weekend. The movies allegedly have limited wide audience appeal, which is said to account for both dropping so drastically.Mortal Kombathas had the steepest second weekend drop for any Warner Bros. movie that simultaneously premiered on HBO Max.Wonder Woman 1984dropped -68% in its second weekend heading into the new year. Some other factors to include in the current box office numbers is that Canadian theaters are only 18% open. And Regal, the second largest movie theater chain in America, is only open at 15%. Soon in California, moviegoers may need to show their vaccination card. That isn’t in effect yet.
Godzilla vs Kong, which is no longer available onHBO Max streamingafter its 31 day run on the service, is once again taking the number 3 spot on the box office charts. It earned another $2.74M, bringing its U.S. total to $90.3M. It’s estimated that its HBO Max debut has kept it from hitting $100 million in America.Separation, which is new to the box office this weekend, opened at number 4 with $1.8 million.
The rest of the box office will look very familiar to anyone who has been paying attention lately. Disney’sRaya and the Last Dragoncame in at #5 with $1.33M. It debuted simultaneously on Disney+. Despite that, it has generated $41.5 million in the states so far. You can check out the rest of the box office below. Of note,The Croods 2has finally been knocked off the top ten chart completely after dominating in the number 1 spot for quite a few months, afterwhich it stuck around in the top ten for what almost feels like a year now.
