Fate of the Furious spins its wheels in first!
Explosive automotive excitement stayed in the top spot for a third weekend, keeping THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS at number one with an estimated $19.3 million!
As we head toward the official kickoff of the summer movie season, the eighth adventure of Vin Diesel's car crew nears $200 million domestic as it also zoomed past $1 billion worldwide — two-thirds of the way to the $1.5 billion global total of previous entry FURIOUS 7.
Opening in second place was the new comedy HOW TO BE A LATIN LOVER with $12 million.
The low-budget PG-13 romcom starring Eugenio Derbez (INSTRUCTIONS NOT INCLUDED) and Salma Hayek was directed by actor Ken Marino (known from "The State", "Party Down", WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER and plenty more).
LATIN LOVER opened on 1100 screens, just a quarter of what THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS still occupies. Critics weren't exactly enamored by Derbez's lothario, giving the movie 50% on Rotten Tomatoes.
In third place was the new Hindi sequel BAAHUBALI 2: THE CONCLUSION with an opening of $10.1 million.
The epic fantasy cost around $40 million US and follows the hit BAAHUBALI: THE BEGINNING, which made over $100 million worldwide in 2015.
The second half of the story opened on a mere 425 screens in North America, giving it a per-screen average of $23k — about the same as limited releases that only start in a couple of locations, and several times that of anything else in the Top 10.
Opening in third place was the new Tom Hanks thriller THE CIRCLE with $9.3 million.
The cautionary tech tale also features Emma Watson and John Boyega, but even actors from the year's biggest moneymaker and the highest-grossing release in domestic box office history couldn't boost the adaptation of Dave Eggers' novel.
The PG-13 movie (also one of Bill Paxton's final roles) cost a relatively modest $18 million. Critics clicked off the power with an 18% average on Rotten Tomatoes (the JoBlo review is HERE).
THE BOSS BABY was still crawling along in fifth place with $9 million on its fifth weekend in theaters, and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST was in sixth with another $6.4 million as it keeps dancing toward the half-billion domestic mark (it's at $1.14 billion worldwide).
Further down the list were the comedy remake GOING IN STYLE with $3.5 million, the animated SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE with $3.3 million, the Chris Evans drama GIFTED with $3.3 million and the Rosario Dawson/Katherine Heigl thriller UNFORGETTABLE with $2.3 million (a 51% drop from last week's opening).
Outside the chart, THE LOST CITY OF Z vanished into the jungle, THE PROMISE was broken and BORN IN CHINA climbed down the bamboo tree. The street magician thriller SLEIGHT opened on 565 screens for a $1.6 million opening weekend.
Next week launches audiences back into space with Marvel's sequel GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 (which has already accumulated $101 million from its early overseas release).
Which May release are you most interested in seeing? VOTE HERE!
| # | MOVIE TITLE | WKND $ | TOTAL $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Fate of the Furious | $19.3 M | $192.7 M |
| 2 | How to Be a Latin Lover | $12 M | NEW |
| 3 | Baahubali 2: The Conclusion | $10.1 M | NEW |
| 4 | The Circle | $9.3 M | NEW |
| 5 | The Boss Baby | $9 M | $148.4 M |
| 6 | Going in Style | $3.5 M | $37.3 M |
| 7 | Beauty and the Beast | $6.4 M | $480.1 M |
| 8 | Smurfs: The Lost Village | $3.3 M | $37.7 M |
| 9 | Gifted | $3.3 M | $15.8 M |
| 10 | Unforgettable | $2.3 M | $8.8 M |