The Predator comes out on top

Olivia Munn (left) is among the stars of 20th Century Fox’s The Predator. It came in first at last weekend’s box office and made about $24.6 million.
Olivia Munn (left) is among the stars of 20th Century Fox’s The Predator. It came in first at last weekend’s box office and made about $24.6 million.

LOS ANGELES -- For the first time in weeks, the weekend box office was dominated by three new releases, signaling an unofficial start to the fall movie season.

In first place, 20th Century Fox's The Predator opened with about $24.6 million, according to figures from measurement firm ComScore.

The latest entry from the three-decade-old series came in below analysts' predictions of $30 million to $35 million and the studio's expectation of $25 million to $30 million. It now holds the record for lowest debut weekend for a movie opening on more than 4,000 screens.

The fourth picture in the long-running franchise about technologically advanced aliens that kill humans for sport was directed by Shane Black, who had a role in the original Predator. The new film earned negative reviews from audiences and critics, with a C plus on CinemaScore and a 34 percent rotten rating on movie review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.

The picture became embroiled in controversy recently after actress Olivia Munn alerted Fox that an actor with a minor role was a registered sex offender. The studio removed a scene featuring the actor, who was a friend of Black's, after Munn came forward, though there was some division among the cast last week during the Toronto International Film Festival.

In second place, Warner Bros.' The Nun added $18.2 million in its second weekend (a 66 percent drop), for a cumulative $85 million.

At No. 3, Lionsgate's A Simple Favor debuted with about $16 million, above analysts' expectations of $10 million to $15 million.

Directed by Paul Feig, the dark thriller stars Anna Kendrick, who seeks answers in the disappearance of her best friend (Blake Lively). The film earned positive reviews with audiences and critics, with a B plus on CinemaScore and an 82 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Columbia's White Boy Rick opened at No. 4 with about $8.9 million.

Starring newcomer Richie Merritt and Matthew McConaughey, respectively, as a young FBI informant and his father in drug-torn 1980s Detroit, the $27 million film came within range of analysts' expectations of $8 million to $10 million. It earned so-so ratings, with a B score on CinemaScore and a 64 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Rounding out the top five, Warner Bros.' Crazy Rich Asians, now in its fifth weekend, added about $8.7 million, for a cumulative $149.5 million.

Also new over the weekend, Pure Flix's Unbroken: Path to Redemption premiered with about $2.2 million, below analysts' predictions of $4 million.

A follow-up to the 2014 drama Unbroken (directed by Angelina Jolie) about Olympian and World War II veteran Louis Zamperini, the sequel, directed by Harold Cronk, tells the rest of the story. It earned mixed reviews from audiences and critics, with an A on CinemaScore and a 25 percent rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Also worth noting, Paramount's Mission: Impossible -- Fallout, now in its eighth week, boasts $216.1 million in cumulative ticket sales, making it the highest-grossing film domestically in the franchise.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by comScore:

  1. The Predator, 20th Century Fox, $24,632,284, 4,037 locations, $6,102 average, $24,632,284, 1 week

  2. The Nun, Warner Bros., $18,238,263, 3,876 locations, $4,705 average, $85,114,588, 2 weeks

  3. A Simple Favor, Lionsgate, $16,011,689, 3,102 locations, $5,162 average, $16,011,689, 1 week

  4. White Boy Rick, Columbia, $8,860,431, 2,504 locations, $3,539 average, $8,860,431, 1 week

  5. Crazy Rich Asians, Warner Bros., $8,688,369, 3,385 locations, $2,567 average, $149,540,273, 5 weeks

  6. Peppermint, STX Entertainment, $6,004,227, 2,980 locations, $2,015 average, $24,180,031, 2 weeks

  7. The Meg, Warner Bros., $3,862,851, 2,851 locations, $1,355 average, $137,145,041, 6 weeks

  8. Searching, Columbia, $3,179,538, 2,009 locations, $1,583 average, $19,600,641, 4 weeks

  9. Mission: Impossible -- Fallout, Paramount, $2,285,225, 1,761 locations, $1,298 average, $216,105,562, 8 weeks

  10. Unbroken: Path to Redemption, Pure Flix, $2,238,723, 1,620 locations, $1,382 average, $2,238,723, 1 week

  11. Christopher Robin, Disney, $2,150,149, 1,902 locations, $1,130 average, $95,143,636, 7 weeks

  12. BlacKkKlansman, Focus Features, $1,260,890, 942 locations, $1,339 average, $45,911,840, 6 weeks

  13. Operation Finale, MGM, $1,159,258, 1,472 locations, $788 average, $16,305,563, 3 weeks

  14. The Wife, Sony Pictures Classics, $1,122,185, 541 locations, $2,074 average, $3,430,924, 5 weeks

  15. Alpha, Columbia, $1,074,896, 1,534 locations, $701 average, $34,415,913, 5 weeks

  16. Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation, Columbia, $776,843, 673 locations, $1,154 average, $165,282,942, 10 weeks

  17. Incredibles 2, Disney, $746,709, 710 locations, $1,052 average, $605,615,734, 14 weeks

  18. God Bless the Broken Road, Freestyle Releasing, $432,385, 1,201 locations, $360 average, $2,402,619, 2 weeks

  19. Ant-Man and the Wasp, Disney, $389,627, 356 locations, $1,094 average, $215,407,418, 11 weeks

  20. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, Universal, $351,630, 455 locations, $773 average, $119,727,565, 9 weeks.

MovieStyle on 09/21/2018

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