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Because of the way movie scheduling works nowadays, it's generally surprising when a film wins the box office for three weeks in a row. Sure, two weeks happens regularly, but Hollywood doesn't really take super long breaks between launching big titles designed to steal the top spot. We've only seen four titles do it so far in 2018 - Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, and Solo: A Star Wars Story - but now a fifth title, Jon M. Chu's Crazy Rich Asians, has joined the club. Check out the full Top 10 below, and join me after for analysis.
1. Crazy Rich Asians $22,235,000 Total: $110,961,388
LW: 1
THTRS: 3,865
2. The Meg $10,530,000 Total: $120,516,416
LW: 2
THTRS: 3,761
3. Mission: Impossible - Fallout $7,000,000 Total: $204,346,529
LW: 4
THTRS: 2,639
4. Operation Finale* $6,000,000 Total: $7,727,095
LW: N
THTRS: 1,818
5. Searching $5,700,000 Total: $6,208,480
LW: 22
THTRS: 1,207
6. Christopher Robin $5,032,000 Total: $85,440,868
LW: 6
THTRS: 2,925
7. Alpha $4,450,000 Total: $27,372,220
LW: 7
THTRS: 2,881
8. The Happytime Murders $4,410,000 Total: $17,025,694
LW: 3
THTRS: 3,256
9. BlacKkKlansman $4,140,000 Total: $38,330,825
LW: 8
THTRS: 1,766
10. Mile 22 $3,580,000 Total: $31,776,334
LW: 5
THTRS: 2,950
Crazy Rich Asians hasn't really had any huge blockbuster weekends, making a solid $26.5 million in its first three days, but what has been so amazing about it is its staying power. When final calculations came in it was confirmed that it only dropped 6.4% from its first week, and now it's looking like the second to third week drop will only be about 10.4%. That's really spectacular, and as a result the romantic comedy - budgeted at $30 million - has made over $110 million so far in its domestic run. It is actually now the 19th film to cross the $100 million line here in the United States, with 12 of those titles hitting theaters between May 1st and August 31st. It was because of hits like this film that made this summer one of the most successful in Hollywood history.
As for the future, Crazy Rich Asians may not keep the top spot for long, thanks to big upcoming features like Corin Hardy's The Nun and Shane Black's The Predator, but it could have some nice legs as we get further into the fall season. It also still hasn't been released in some key markets just yet including Japan (September 28th) and the UK (November 2nd). By the time it's done on the big screen it's possible that it will have a worldwide haul of around $200 million, which would be pretty damn impressive.
One of the reasons why Crazy Rich Asians was able to win the box office again is because it's competition this weekend wasn't strong, with only two new wide releases opening. The first was Josh and Jonathan Baker's sci-fi action movie Kin, which earned 12th place with a little over $3 million, and the other was Chris Weitz's Operation Finale. The historical drama made enough money to nab the fourth spot on the Top 10, but making $6 million in the first three days isn't great when the budget is $24 million. Professional reviewers neither loved it nor hated it, and it wound up with an "A-" CinemaScore. It could stick around for a few more weeks in this feature, but I'm not sure it will.
Also deserving recognition is the performance by Aneesh Chaganty's Searching, which expanded from limited release into theaters nationwide. As a result, the low-budget thriller lept from 22nd place to fifth - and it might stick around for a while. Reviewers have given it a major stamp of approval, as it currently maintains a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, and good word of mouth could lead it to make a nice big profit domestically.
This week we audiences will have the chance to step back into the Conjuring Universe with the release of The Nun, but those looking for more action than scares will be able to check out Jennifer Garner in the new movie Peppermint. We'll be curious to see how they shake up the Top 10, so join us next Sunday for the next edition of out box office report.