Box office: Kong is king, while The Shack has a healthy second-week drop

Box office: Kong is king, while The Shack has a healthy second-week drop March 12, 2017

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Kong was king again at the box office this weekend.

Kong: Skull Island — the third major reboot of the 1930s franchise about a giant ape living on an island with similarly large creatures in the middle of the Indian Ocean — grossed an estimated $61 million between Thursday and Sunday nights.

That was the best opening ever for a film about Kong, beating the $50.1 million that Peter Jackson’s King Kong opened to in 2005, but it fell well behind the $93.2 million that Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla opened to in 2014. (Kong: Skull Island and Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla take place in the same cinematic universe.)

Meanwhile, The Shack landed in fourth place with $10.1 million, which represented a drop of only 37.9% since the film’s opening last week.

That is comparable to the second-week drops for other popular “faith-based” films such as Risen (42.3%), The Passion of the Christ (36.5%), Heaven Is for Real (36.3%) and Miracles from Heaven (34.6%), and it is considerably better than the second-week drops for other successful films like, say, Son of God (59.5%).

The Shack had the fourth-best opening of any “faith-based” film last week, and this week it had the fourth-best second weekend as well:

  • 2004 — The Passion of the Christ — $53.2 million
  • 2014 — Heaven Is for Real — $14.4 million
  • 2014 — Son of God — $10.4 million
  • 2017 — The Shack — $10.1 million
  • 2016 — Miracles from Heaven — $9.7 million
  • 2015 — War Room — $9.5 million
  • 2014 — God’s Not Dead — $8.8 million
  • 2011 — Soul Surfer — $7.3 million
  • 2016 — Risen — $6.8 million
  • 2014 — When the Game Stands Tall — $6 million

The Shack has earned $32.3 million in total after just ten days, and it thus now ranks 12th 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
  • 2006 — The Nativity Story — $37.6 million
  • 2016 — Risen — $36.9 million
  • 2011 — Courageous — $34.5 million
  • 2008 — Fireproof — $33.5 million
  • 2017 — The Shack — $32.3 million
  • 2014 — When the Game Stands Tall — $30.1 million
  • 2016 — Ben-Hur — $26.4 million

…and ninth among Bible-themed films (broadly defined — in this case because one of the film’s characters, Jesus, is from the Bible) 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
  • 2006 — The Nativity Story — $37.6 million
  • 2016 — Risen — $36.9 million
  • 2017 — The Shack — $32.3 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…

Logan earned $37.9 million and ranked second in its second week, thereby raising its domestic cume to $152.7 million. The film has earned another $285.6 million overseas, for a global total of $438.3 million.

Get Out earned $21.1 million and ranked third in its third week, thereby raising its domestic cume to $111.1 million. The film does not appear to have been released overseas yet.

The Lego Batman Movie earned $7.8 million and ranked fifth in its fifth week, thereby raising its domestic cume to $159 million. The film has earned another $116.5 million overseas, for a global total of $275.5 million.

Before I Fall earned $3.1 million and ranked sixth in its second week, thereby raising its domestic cume to $9 million. The film does not appear to have had a significant release overseas yet.

Hidden Figures earned $2.8 million and ranked seventh in its twelfth week, thereby raising its domestic cume to $162.9 million. The film has earned another $43.2 million overseas, for a global total of $206.1 million.

John Wick: Chapter 2 earned $2.7 million and ranked eighth in its fifth week, thereby raising its domestic cume to $87.4 million. The film has earned another $65.6 million overseas, for a global total of $153 million.

La La Land earned $1.8 million and ranked ninth in its fourteenth week, thereby raising its domestic cume to $148.4 million. The film has earned another $268.4 million overseas, for a global total of $416.8 million.

And Fifty Shades Darker earned $1.6 million and ranked tenth in its fifth week, thereby raising its domestic cume to $112.9 million. The film has earned another $255.9 million overseas, for a global total of $368.8 million.

Next week brings us Beauty and the Beast and The Belko Experiment.


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