Warner Bros.' horror sequelIt: Chapter Twowon the box office for the second weekend in a row with $40.7 million, but it’s STXfilms' crime thrillerHustlersthat’s making headlines. TheJennifer Lopez-fronted true-story drama pulled in a whopping $33.2 million, bolstered by strong reviews and buzz out of the film’s Toronto International Film Festival debut an talk of Oscar recognition for Lopez’s best performance sinceOut of Sight.The movie—which tells the story of how a group of strippers altered their practices in the wake of the 2008 financial crash to continue making money—is moreGoodfellasthanMagic Mike XXL(which could account for the surprising B- CinemaScore), but it’s a terrifically well-acted and impressively directed piece of mass entertainment courtesy ofLorene Scafaria.
Hustlersscored the biggest opening weekend in STX Entertainment history, which is fortuitous considering the film began as an Annapurna Pictures project before being dropped over budget concerns. It’s a triumphant success any way you slice it, and it’s one of those box office victories you take delight in because the movie really is that good.
It: Chapter Two, meanwhile, fell 55% from its $91 million opening weekend, which itself was a bit below expectations. No matter, theItfranchise as a whole has now grossed over $1 billion worldwide, and the worldwide total ofChapter Twostands at over $320 million. While the sequel puts a period on the end of theStephen Kingadaptation, don’t be surprised if Warner Bros. finds a way to extend this franchise further.
The other big box office story this weekend isThe Goldfinch,which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival last week andwas roundly panned. The adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book starsAnsel Elgort,Nicole Kidman, andFinn Wolfhard, but the movie absolutely bombed with a shocking $2.6 million for the weekend. That’s an out and out disaster for Warner Bros., which is no doubt happyIt: Chapter Twois doing so well and that they’ve gotJokeron the horizon.
Check out the full weekend estimates below.
IT: Chapter Two
$40,735,000
$153,803,524
$33,230,000
Angel Has Fallen
$4,400,000
$60,380,418
$4,260,000
$73,316,735
The Lion King (2019)
$3,555,000
$533,992,775
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw
$2,770,000
$168,317,320
$2,735,000
$28,987,768
The Goldfinch
$2,640,000
The Peanut Butter Falcon
$1,921,127
$15,043,769
Dora and the Lost City of Gold
$1,850,000
$56,743,567
