Weekend Box Office Report: July 20-22, 2018

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

The Equalizer 2 shoots into first!

Denzel Washington's vigilante returned to theaters this weekend and put THE EQUALIZER 2 on top at the box office with an estimated opening of $35.8 million!

Washington's second time around as ex-CIA agent Robert McCall started out a notch above the $34.1 million opening of the original THE EQUALIZER, which went on to $101.5 million domestic and $192 million worldwide in 2014.

The new action-thriller, now Washington's fourth collaboration with director Antoine Fuqua, also topped the $34.7 million opening of their Western remake THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN in 2016.

THE EQUALIZER 2 marks the actor's best opening since the $40.1 million first weekend of his 2012 Ryan Reynolds team-up SAFE HOUSE (still Washington's second-best opening weekend behind AMERICAN GANGSTER's $43.5 million debut).

The R-rated sequel cost a reported $62 million, compared to the $55 million price tag of the first EQUALIZER movie (adapted from the 1980s TV series of the same name).

Critics were divided on McCall's bone-breaking quest for justice, giving the movie a 51% average on Rotten Tomatoes. You can check out the JoBlo review HERE.

Opening in second place was the new musical MAMMA MIA: HERE WE GO AGAIN! with $34.3 million.

The PG-13 sequel had a better opening than the original MAMMA MIA!, which started with $27.7 million over this same weekend ten years ago. The first movie went on to $144.1 million domestic and a whopping $609 million worldwide.

The return of Meryl Streep and an expansive cast of familiar faces came with a reported cost of $75 million (a sizeable jump from the $52 million cost of the first MAMMA MIA!).

Most critics cheerfully sang along with the ABBA-filled romantic-comedy, giving the follow-up an average of 79% on Rotten Tomatoes. Disco on over to the JoBlo review HERE.

The Adam Sandler animated sequel HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3: SUMMER VACATION was in third place with $23.1 million, dipping by 47% from its first-place opening last weekend. The $80 million monster comedy has a ten-day domestic total of $91 million and a worldwide total of $206.6 million.

Marvel's ANT-MAN AND THE WASP was in fourth with $16.1 million, bringing the Paul Rudd/Evangeline Lilly quantum quandary to $164.6 million domestic on its third weekend. Director Peyton Reed's $160 million sequel currently has a worldwide total of $353 million (which, except for the $263 million global finish of THE INCREDIBLE HULK, is the lowest in the Marvel Cinematic Universe).

Pixar's INCREDIBLES 2 was in fifth place with $11.5 million as the animated super-sequel has soared to $557.3 million domestic after six weeks in theaters. Writer-director Brad Bird's costumed follow-up has a worldwide total of $940.4 million (on an estimated $200 million cost).

In sixth place was scaly sequel JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM with $11 million. The Chris Pratt/Bryce Dallas Howard dinosaur expedition has a domestic total of $383.9 million, and has chomped up a worldwide total of $1.19 billion.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's towering action-thriller SKYSCRAPER was in seventh place with $10.9 million, crumbling by 56% after opening in third place last week. Johnson's $125 million building predicament has a ten-day domestic total of $46.7 million and $131.8 million worldwide.

The R-rated prequel THE FIRST PURGE was in eighth place with $4.9 million, taking it to $60.1 million domestic since its Independence Day opening. The $13 million Blumhouse thriller has a worldwide total of $96.4 million.

In ninth place was the new horror movie UNFRIENDED: DARK WEB with an opening of $3.4 million.

The sequel didn't have the same bandwidth as the original 2015 internet terror UNFRIENDED, which logged on with $15.8 million for its first weekend and ultimately collected $32.1 million domestic and $64 million worldwide. Like the first movie, the latest R-rated Blumhouse production only cost a reported $1 million.

Critics weren't completely disconnected from the dangerous depths of the dark web, giving the movie a 57% average on Rotten Tomatoes. Click over to the JoBlo review HERE.

Acclaimed sci-fi comedy SORRY TO BOTHER YOU (now on 1000 screens) closed out the list with $2.8 million for a domestic total of $10.2 million.

Outside the chart, we bid adieu to UNCLE DREW, along with OCEAN'S 8 and SICARIO: DAY OF THE SOLDADO. In limited release, the new Daveed Diggs comedy-drama BLINDSPOTTING had a $23k per-screen average, while the school comedy EIGHTH GRADE continued to get good grades with a $24k per-screen average for the weekend, pushing it to $1.1 million domestic after ten days on a handful of screens.

Next weekend has Tom Cruise performing more ridiculous stunts in the espionage sequel MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT, while DC Comics' young heroes hit the big screen in the animated TEEN TITANS GO! TO THE MOVIES.

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