Box office: Beauty and the Beast has the sixth-best opening of all time, while The Shack cracks the “faith-based” Top 10

Box office: Beauty and the Beast has the sixth-best opening of all time, while The Shack cracks the “faith-based” Top 10 March 21, 2017

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A tale as old as time set a bunch of new records at the box office last weekend.

Beauty and the Beast, the live-action remake of the classic Disney cartoon, grossed $174.8 million in North America between Thursday and Sunday nights.

That was the sixth-best opening of all time, behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Jurassic World and all three movies that feature both Iron Man and Captain America (i.e. The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War).

After one weekend, Beauty and the Beast has already become the top-grossing movie that co-stars Kevin Kline or Dan Stevens (previous champs: Wild Wild West, 1999, $113.8 million and Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, 2014, $113.7 million).

The film’s first-weekend gross also marks a new best opening for director Bill Condon (previous champ: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, 2012, $141.1 million) and the following actors (listed here with their previous best first weekends):

  • Emma Watson (Belle), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011, $169.2 million);
  • Luke Evans (Gaston), Furious 7 (2015, $147.2 million);
  • Josh Gad (LeFou), Frozen (2013, $67.4 million);
  • Ewan McGregor (Lumière), Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005, $108.4 million);
  • Ian McKellen (Cogsworth), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006, $102.8 million);
  • Emma Thompson (Mrs Potts), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011, $169.2 million); and
  • Stanley Tucci (Maestro Cadenza), The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013, $158.1 million).

The only other new wide release was The Belko Experiment, a thriller about office workers forced to kill each other. It landed in seventh place with only $4.1 million.

Meanwhile, The Shack landed in fifth place with $6 million in its third week.

The Shack had the fourth-best first and second weeks of any “faith-based” film in its first two weeks, and this week it had the sixth-best third weekend:

  • 2004 — The Passion of the Christ — $32.1 million
  • 2014 — Heaven Is for Real — $8.6 million
  • 2015 — War Room — $7.77 million
  • 2014 — God’s Not Dead — $7.76 million
  • 2016 — Miracles from Heaven — $7.3 million
  • 2017 — The Shack — $6.0 million
  • 2014 — Son of God — $5.5 million
  • 2011 — Soul Surfer — $5.4 million
  • 2006 — The Nativity Story — $4.7 million
  • 2016 — Risen — $3.9 million

The Shack has earned $42.5 million after seventeen days, and it thus now ranks eighth among “faith-based” films in terms of total North American gross…

  • 2004 — The Passion of the Christ — $370.8 million
  • 2014 — Heaven Is for Real — $91.4 million
  • 2015 — War Room — $67.8 million
  • 2016 — Miracles from Heaven — $61.7 million
  • 2014 — God’s Not Dead — $60.8 million
  • 2014 — Son of God — $59.7 million
  • 2011 — Soul Surfer — $43.9 million
  • 2017 — The Shack — $42.5 million
  • 2006 — The Nativity Story — $37.6 million
  • 2016 — Risen — $36.9 million

…and seventh among Bible and/or Jesus films released in the past 40 years:

  • 2004 — The Passion of the Christ — $370.8 million
  • 1998 — The Prince of Egypt — $101.4 million
  • 2014 — Noah — $101.2 million
  • 2014 — Exodus: Gods and Kings — $65 million
  • 2014 — Son of God — $59.7 million
  • 2009 — Year One — $43.3 million
  • 2017 — The Shack — $42.5 million
  • 2006 — The Nativity Story — $37.6 million
  • 2016 — Risen — $36.9 million
  • 1981 — History of the World, Part I — $31.7 million
  • 2016 — Hail, Caesar! — $30.5 million
  • 2016 — Ben-Hur — $26.4 million
  • 2002 — Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie — $25.6 million
  • 1979 — Monty Python’s Life of Brian — $20 million
  • 1980 — Wholly Moses! — $14.2 million
  • 2006 — One Night with the King — $13.4 million
  • 1988 — The Last Temptation of Christ — $8.4 million
  • 2016 — The Young Messiah — $6.5 million
  • 1985 — King David — $5.1 million
  • 2003 — The Gospel of John — $4.1 million

Meanwhile, in other box-office news…

Kong: Skull Island earned $27.8 million and ranked second in its second week, thereby raising its domestic cume to $109.1 million. The film has earned another $151.6 million overseas, for a global total of $260.7 million.

Logan earned $17.8 million and ranked third in its third week, thereby raising its domestic cume to $184.3 million. The film has earned another $339.4 million overseas, for a global total of $523.7 million.

Get Out earned $13.4 million and ranked fourth in its fourth week, thereby raising its domestic cume to $133.3 million. The film has earned another $3 million overseas, for a global total of $136.3 million.

The Lego Batman Movie earned $4.6 million and ranked sixth in its sixth week, thereby raising its domestic cume to $167.3 million. The film has earned another $120.1 million overseas, for a global total of $287.4 million.

Hidden Figures earned $1.5 million and ranked eighth in its thirteenth week, thereby raising its domestic cume to $165.5 million. The film has earned another $48.8 million overseas, for a global total of $214.3 million.

John Wick: Chapter 2 earned $1.2 million and ranked ninth in its sixth week, thereby raising its domestic cume to $89.8 million. The film has earned another $68.3 million overseas, for a global total of $158.1 million.

And Before I Fall earned $985,631 and ranked tenth in its third week, thereby raising its domestic cume to $11.2 million. The film does not appear to have had a significant release overseas yet.

Next week brings us Life, CHiPs and the Power Rangers movie.


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