Weekend Box Office Report: September 7-9, 2018

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

The Nun is terrifying at the top!

Audiences wanted some supernatural chills this weekend, putting THE NUN in first place at the box office with $53.5 million!

The new R-rated spinoff of THE CONJURING scared up the best opening in that series, far ahead of the $41.8 million start of the original THE CONJURING in 2013.

The period prequel, which cost a reported $22 million, also frightened another $77.5 million out of international audiences for a worldwide opening weekend of $131 million.

With a current cumuluative global total of $1.33 billion, THE CONJURING franchise is now the highest-grossing R-rated horror series, topping the $1.32 billion worldwide total of the R-rated ALIEN movies (excluding the PG-13 ALIEN VS PREDATOR) and the $1.23 billion of the RESIDENT EVIL franchise.

The post-Labor Day weekend is starting to become a prime time for R-rated horror releases — last year, the adaptation of Stephen King's IT opened to $123 million at the domestic box office and scored a $179 million worldwide opening weekend.

However, critics sneered more than shuddered at this latest spooky tale, giving THE NUN a 28% average on Rotten Tomatoes. You can creep over to the JoBlo review HERE.

The romantic comedy CRAZY RICH ASIANS was dethroned after three weeks ruling the chart, taking in $13.6 million over its fourth weekend in theaters.

Director Jon Chu's PG-13 adaptation of Kevin Kwan's popular book now has a domestic total of $136.2 million and a worldwide total of $164.7 million (on a reported cost of $30 million).

Opening in third place was the R-rated revenge thriller PEPPERMINT with $13.2 million.

The action-thriller from director Pierre Morel (TAKEN), featuring Jennifer Garner as a woman seeking violent vengeance on the people that killed her family, cost a reported $25 million.

Garner's vigilante justice left critics unimpressed with an average of just 13% on Rotten Tomatoes. You can shoot over to the JoBlo review right HERE.

In fourth place, THE MEG was still chomping dollars with $6 million. Jason Statham's hunt for a gargantuan prehistoric shark has paddled to a domestic total of $131.5 million and $491.9 million worldwide.

The PG-13 thriller SEARCHING was in fifth place with  $4.5 million, a drop of only 25% from last weekend's wide opening. John Cho's online pursuit of his missing daughter now has a domestic total of $14.3 million and a worldwide total of $32 million.

Although MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT fell out of the Top 5, Tom Cruise's kinetic secret agent keeps going and going. With another $3.8 million for the weekend and $212.1 million total, the sixth entry in the series is now in close proximity of the $215.4 million finish of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE II, which currently holds the highest domestic gross in the franchise.

But with a new worldwide total of $726 million, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT has eclipsed the global totals of ROGUE NATION ($682 million) and GHOST PROTOCOL ($694 million) to easily become the biggest impossible mission so far, as well as Cruise's most successful movie ever (the actor's efforts have now collectively grossed over $10 billion worldwide).

In seventh place was Disney's CHRISTOPHER ROBIN with $3.1 million, which brings the PG-rated fantasy to $91.7 million domestic. The $75 million Ewan McGregor/Winnie the Pooh adventure is up to a worldwide total of $142.9 million.

Fact-based thriller OPERATION FINALE was in eighth place with $3 million, down by almost 50% from its first wide weekend. The $24 million Oscar Isaac/Ben Kingsley post-WWII story has a 12-day domestic total of $14.1 million.

Prehistoric adventure ALPHA was in ninth with $2.5 million on its fourth weekend. The $51 million Ice Age thriller from director Albert Hughes (THE BOOK OF ELI) has a domestic total of $32.4 million, and $59.9 million worldwide.

In tenth was filmmaker Spike Lee's BLACKKKLANSMAN with $1.5 million, which takes the R-rated comedy-drama to $43.4 million domestic and $65.5 million worldwide (on a reported $15 million cost).

Outside the chart, the Melissa McCarthy bad-puppet comedy THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS disappeared along with Mark Wahlberg's R-rated action-thriller MILE 22.

Next weekend brings back the intergalactic game hunter in Shane Black's THE PREDATOR, Anna Kendrick searches for Blake Lively in the thriller A SIMPLE FAVOR, and Matthew McConaughey has a criminal kid in WHITE BOY RICK.

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