They gave it a shot. But a trio of newcomers couldn’t take down Civil War.
The provocative war drama managed to hold its ground for the second-straight weekend, earning an estimated $11.1 million in North America to take the box-office crown. Civil War has now earned $44.9 million, and some are saying that it could become the highest-grossing film in distributor’s A24 history.
Still, newcomer Abigail took a bite or two out of Civil War’s would-be profits. The bloody horror comedy danced to a $10.2 million second-place finish—less than $1 million behind Civil War. That’s not a bad beginning for a low-budget vampire flick, and Abigail will surely drink in more cash in the coming weeks.
But it’s unlikely that Abigail will ever reach the towering heights—physically or financially—of Godzilla and Kong. That titanic tandem’s film, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, rumbled to another $9.5 million this weekend, which pushed its overall domestic bank to $171.6 million. That makes Godzilla x Kong the second highest-grossing film in Warner Bros.’ MonsterVerse franchise (behind Godzilla, which launched the franchise in 2014 and earned $200.7 million).
But you think you’re going to keep these two kaiju in the States? Hardly. Godzilla x Kong has done even better overseas—collecting $313.6 million from international markets. That pushes the film’s overall earnings to $485.2 million. Once its budget and marketing costs are paid, I’m assuming that Godzilla and Kong will use the excess to buy a few warehouses worth of chamomile tea, which they can sip between rampages.
Another newbie, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, slid ignobly into fourth place, earning $9 million. Admittedly, that’s just $2.1 million away from the top slot, but I’d imagine that Henry Cavill and company had hoped for better.
The anime flick Spy x Family Code: White—a big-screen add-on to the smile-worthy series Spy x Family—closed out the top five with nearly $4.9 million—edging out Kung Fu Panda 4 ($4.6 million). Oh, and it’s made nearly 10 times that outside the U.S. and Canada. Perhaps they should’ve called the film Spy x Family Code: Green.
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“Civil War has now earned $44.9 million, and some are saying that it could become the highest-grossing film in distributor’s A24 history.”
I’m kind of curious who’s saying that, since I doubt it will surpass Moonlight or Lady Bird (just watched that movie and thought it was mostly stellar but with notable content issues and a somewhat tidy ending), let alone Hereditary or Everything Everywhere All At Once. It should modestly recoup its budget, but I don’t think it’s going to be a grand success.