The Equalizer 2 Edges Out Mamma Mia Sequel at Box Office

In a battle of the sequels at the box office, Columbia Pictures’ The Equalizer 2 became the surprise #1 movie in America this weekend, with an estimated domestic total of $35.82 million for the three-day weekend. The R-rated sequel has surpassed the original, exceeded studio and industry expectations, and became the highest grossing opening in Antoine Fuqua’s career. Denzel Washington stars in the title role once again in the first sequel of his career. Pedro Pascal, Ashton Sanders, Bill Pullman, and Melissa Leo co-star.

The ten-years-later sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again landed in second place, just behind The Equalizer 2, with a weekend total of $34.38 million, putting it ahead of the original film’s opening weekend total ($27.7 million) even when factoring in inflation rates. The sequel also totaled another $42.4 million for a global total of $76.78 million. The original film ended its domestic run with $144 million and was a huge international hit bringing in $465 million around the world. Academy Award winner Meryl Streep returns alongside, Julie Walters, Christine Baranski. Amanda Seyfried, Dominic Cooper, with Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgård and Oscar winner Colin Firth. Here We Go Again also incorporates flashbacks including Lily James as a Young Donna plus Alexa Davies, Jessica Keenan Wynn, Jeremy Irvine, Josh Dylan and Hugh Skinner.

Sony Pictures Animation’s Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation fell to third place with a weekend total of $23.15 million for a domestic total of $91.08 million. Internationally the film has also brought in $115.6 million giving it a global total of $206 million. The film is on the cusp of catching up to the previous entries in the series, the first of which ended with $148 million domestically and the second one which closed out with $169.7 million in the US. Featuring the voices of Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kevin James, David Spade, Steve Buscemi, Keegan-Michael Key, Molly Shannon, Fran Drescher, Kathryn Hahn, Jim Gaffigan, and Mel Brooks, the sequel is directed by Genndy Tartakovsky.

Walt Disney Pictures and Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man and The Wasp brought in as estimated $16.1 million domestically with another $21.9 million internatioanlly for global haul of $38 million in its third weekend. Domestically the film now sits at $165 million. Combined with its $189 international grosses, the sequel sits at $354 million worldwide. The sequel is within spitting distance of the first movie, which ended its domestic theatrical run with $180.2 million. Globally it will likely fall short, as the first movie brought in $519.3 million worldwide. Ant-Man and The Wasp stars Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Peña, Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer, Abby Ryder Fortson, Tip “T.I.” Harris, David Dastmalchian, Hannah John-Kamen, Walton Goggins, Randall Park, with Michelle Pfeiffer, with Laurence Fishburne, and Academy Award winner Michael Douglas. The sequel was directed once again by Peyton Reed.

Disney•Pixar‘s Incredibles 2 remains on course to be one of the breakout hits of the summer, falling just 29.2% in its sixth weekend of release and adding another  $11.5 million to its domestic haul. The sequel has brought in $557.3 million in the US alone and coupled with its international total of  $383.1 million, the film now sits just shy of the $1 billion mark at a global total of $940.4 million. Written and directed by Brad Bird, the film features the voices of Holly Hunter, Craig T. Nelson, Sarah Vowell, Huck Milner, Samuel L. Jackson, Brad Bird, Bob Odenkirk, Catherine Keener, Jonathan Banks, Sophia Bush, and Isabella Rossellini.

Universal Pictures’ Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom brought in an additional $11.01 million domestically bringing its US total to $383.91 million. The sequel has posted a total of $813 million internationally for a worldwide total of $1.197 billion. A remarkable feat for sure, but the sequel still sits far behind 2015’s Jurassic World, which ended its theatrical run with a $1.67 billion worldwide haul. Directed by J.A. Bayona, the film stars Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, James Cromwell, Ted Levine, Justice Smith, Geraldine Chaplin, Daniella Pineda, Toby Jones, Rafe Spall and Isabella Sermon, with BD Wong and Jeff Goldblum.

Dwayne Johnson’s latest action-adventure film Skyscraper added another $10.96 million to its domestic total, which now sits at $46.75 million, making it one of the lowest grossing movies of Johnson’s career at the domestic box office. The film is performing slightly better internationally where it opened to #1 in mainland China with $47.7 million. Internationally the film’s total now sits at $129.2 million for a global total of $179.55 million In the film, Johnson co-stars with Neve Campbell, Chin Han, Noah Taylor, Roland Møller, Byron Mann, Pablo Schreiber, and Hannah Quinlivan. Rawson Marshall Thurber (Central Intelligence, We’re the Millers) wrote and directed.

Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions The First Purge came in just under the $5 million mark for the weekend with $4.98 million. Domestically the film now sits at $60.19 million (very close to the final domestic haul of the original The Purge), with an International total of $36.3 million, for a global total of $96.49 million. The fourth movie in the Purge franchise is now the third highest grossing in the series (sitting ahead of the Ethan Hawke-starring first film) and is very close to a $100 million global total, a great marker for a film that cost $13 million to produce. The First Purge stars stars Y’Lan Noel, Lex Scott Davis, Joivan Wade, Luna Lauren Velez and Marisa Tomei. It is directed by Gerard McMurray (Burning Sands), working from a screenplay once again written by franchise creator James DeMonaco.