‘Uncharted,’ ‘Dog’ And ‘Spider-Man’ Repeat Atop The Friday Box Office

In holdover news, Sony’s Uncharted earned $5.9 million (-61%) on its second Friday, setting the stage for a likely $23 million (-47%) weekend. That would be a solid hold for the Tom Holland/Mark Wahlberg video game adaptation, just below Black Panther (-44% after a $202 million Fri-Sun/$242 million Fri-Mon debut) and above the likes of The Kingsman: The Secret Service (-49% after a $36 million/$42 million debut), Deadpool (-56%) and Alita: Battle Angel (-57%). Its $82 million ten-day total assures its place among the bigger-grossing video game movies. If it plays like Kingsman or Black Panther going forward, we’re looking at a $142 million-$155 million cume. We may see a big drop next weekend against The Batman but then a leveling as the marketplace becomes a two-film economy. 

Channing Tatum’s Dog once again prevented Tom Holland from owning the top two spots in the domestic box office charts. The well-liked and well-received MGM release earned another $2.476 million (-52%) on Friday for a likely $8.52 million (-43%) weekend. Honestly, in this grim environment for studio programmers both before and during Covid, I could have easily seen Dog *opening* with $8.52 million, so this is another feather in MGM’s cap. Anyway, the $15 million military melodrama will have $29.3 million domestic by tomorrow, with a possible domestic finish of around $50 million. This must have Paramount feeling a little more optimistic about Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum’s The Lost City (whose trailer plays well with general audiences) when the old-school star vehicle opens March 25. 

In other Tom Holland news, Sony announced a March 12 VOD release (and April 12 physical media release) for Spider-Man: No Way Home earlier this week, having given the film a conventional pre-Covid sized theatrical window. The MCU sequel earned another $1.3 million (-25%) on Friday for a likely $5.46 million (-27%) 11th weekend gross. That’ll give Spider-Man 3 version 2.0 a $779.6 million cume, putting it above the inflation-adjusted lifetime total of Fantasia ($778 million including copious reissues). Even noting the lack of competition, both from big “new” studio releases and the Oscar season offering up zero breakout releases, the legs on this film over the last month have been remarkable. It will earn the eighth-biggest 11th weekend ever (not counting platform releases).  

Death on the Nile earned just $1.2 million (-34%) on Friday for a likely $4.2 million (-36%) weekend and $32.45 million 17-day total. This is a tragedy for Kenneth Branagh’s $90 million Hercule Poirot flick. Its failure to attract older moviegoers could be why STX delayed Guy Ritchie’s Jason Statham/Aubrey Plaza action-comedy Operation Fortune. It’s one of the scarier whiffs of the pandemic era, as a superior sequel to a well-liked predecessor which earned $355 million worldwide would have surely earned around $275 million even with an expected sequel drop-off.  Jackass Forever earned $850,000 (-42%) for a likely $2.96 million (-43%) weekend and $52 million 24-day total. We’re a long way from Jackass 3-D opening with $50 million, but it’s still a solid result for a $10 million release.  

Likewise, I’m guessing Universal’s Marry Me has already accounted for its $23 million budget just from whatever it got from Peacock, and the Jennifer Lopez/Owen Wilson rom-com will earn $1.68 million (-55%) in weekend three for a still underwhelming $20 million 17-day total. In better Universal news, Sing 2 will earn $1.53 million (-46%) n weekend ten to cross $150 million domestic. Shifting priorities and Wall Street delusions aside, Disney is leaving money on the table by shifting Turning Red to Disney+. Scream will earn $1.2 million (-38%) in weekend seven for a $79 million cume. Its $135 million worldwide cume puts it above Halloween Kills ($131 million) among R-rated slasher sequels, so that’s a solid win for the $24 million Paramount flick.