Prior to this weekend, it was expected to be a competitive weekend, with three films trying to reach the #1 spot. But it was Now You See Me: Now You Don't who triumphed in the end, showing there's still interest in the franchise after 9 years. Paramount's The Running Man suffered a very poor weekend, while Predator: Badlands had a brutal second weekend drop. Neon's Keeper also didn't really light the box office on fire.

The Top 10 earned a combined $68.5 million this weekend. That's up 4.1% from last year, when Red One debuted at #1.

Debuting at #1, Now You See Me: Now You Don't debuted with $21 million in 3,403 theaters. That's the franchise's lowest debut; the original debuted with $29 million, and the sequel made $22 million.

Considering the film's $90 million budget (the most expensive in the franchise), this is not a particularly great start. But this is a franchise that has relied on the overseas markets (we'll get to that later on), so it seems like the domestic market isn't a priority. Lionsgate pretty much sold the film with everything people loved about the franchise: ridiculous magic heists. By this point, you already know what you're getting. And the mixed reviews (59% on RT) won't dissuade those skeptical.

According to Lionsgate, 54% of the audience was female, and 66% was in the 18-34 demographic. They gave it a "B+" on CinemaScore, which is the lowest in the franchise (the previous films attained an "A–"). That's not a great score, and suggests that the film could lose some steam, especially with some heavy hitters coming up. Barring some strong legs, it will probably cap off at $55 million domestically, which would make it the lowest-grossing title in the franchise.

In second place, we find the real loser. Paramount's The Running Man flopped with just $16.4 million in 3,534 theaters. It's not even Edgar Wright's highest debut (Baby Driver made $20 million on its first weekend), which is quite terrible considering its high $110 million budget. It also managed to open below the 1987 film in terms of attendance ($23.2 million adjusted).

Despite the emphasis on PLF screens and with a name like Glen Powell in the leading role, The Running Man had some challenges that it couldn't overcome. Even though this is not exactly a remake of the 1987 film, audiences don't have fond memories of that film (it wasn't a hit even when Arnold Schwarzenegger was in his prime), so the association doesn't fully help.

The debut marked Wright's second big-budget flop (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World also flopped in theaters back in 2010, even though it found an audience in DVD), and his second failure in a row (Last Night in Soho in 2021). Wright has his fans, but he's not at that level of recognition for general audiences. Glen Powell has also been in some successes, but it simply looks like Anyone but You was the right movie at the right time. Yes, Twisters was successful, but that's because of the spectacle and VFX, not the cast. Audiences still don't associate Powell as a leading action star.

There's also the question over whether audiences wanted to check a film following a dystopian version of America. With high tensions currently in the country and the world, perhaps audiences decided to pass on this one. And even though Wright has made some acclaimed films, The Running Man was his weakest film critically-wise (a middling 65% on RT). So it looks like something that didn't attract general audiences, and will leave Wright's fans underwhelmed.

According to Paramount, 64% of the audience was male, which means Powell's presence failed to attract women. It also skewed old; 46% of the audience was 35 and over. They gave it a middling "B+" on CinemaScore, the same grade that the 1987 film got. Without great word of mouth and Wicked coming up to take its PLF screens, The Running Man might not last long in theaters. Right now, the film should finish with around $45 million domestically, which means it will sell less tickets than the 1987 film ($108.9 million adjusted). No way Wright's Barbarella reboot with Sydney Sweeney happens now, right?

In third place, Predator: Badlands earned $12.7 million. That's a very steep 68% drop, the worst in the franchise. Even The Predator dropped "just" 62%, and that's with very poor word of mouth. Despite the positive reception, the loss of PLF screens hurt the film. But it truly looks like the film's fanbase wasn't as big as anticipated; hardcore fans led to an over-performing opening weekend, but general audiences weren't particularly interested.

Through 10 days, the film has earned $66 million, becoming the highest grossing mainline film unadjusted. But it's clear that the franchise has a ceilling. While the opening weekend suggested $100 million, it looks like Predator: Badlands will finish with around $85-$90 million domestically.

Regretting You dropped 44%, adding $3.7 million this weekend. That takes its domestic total to $44.6 million, and it should close with almost $55 million.

In fifth place, Universal's Black Phone 2 dipped 49% and added $2.6 million. The film has earned $74.6 million so far.

Debuting in sixth place, Neon's Keeper earned an underwhelming $2.5 million in 1,950 theaters. This debut is nowhere close to Osgood Perkins' previous films, Longlegs ($22.4 million) nor The Monkey ($14 million), which were the biggest debuts in Neon's history.

The budget was kept low at $6 million, so this is not a bad start. But it sure feels kinda underwhelming, considering Perkins was responsible for two hits for Neon. But the thing with Keeper is that it lacked a hook or an interesting premise: a couple spending a weekend at a cabin isn't as exciting as a serial killer thriller or a wind-up monkey that kills people around it. The film also lacked the hype; it's sitting at a mediocre 51% on RT, which is below the previously mentioned titles.

And the future is not looking bright for Keeper. Audiences gave the film a horrible "D+" on CinemaScore, indicating toxic word of mouth, even by horror standards. With numbers like these, Keeper will disappear quickly from theaters. It'd be a surprise if it made it past $6 million domestically.

Sony Pictures Classics' Nuremberg had the best drop in the Top 10. It eased just 37%, adding $2.4 million this weekend. Through 10 days, it has earned $8.4 million, and it should finish with almost $15 million domestically. Much higher than anticipated.

Sarah's Oil dipped 47% for a $2.2 million. The film's domestic total stands at $8.5 million, and it should finish with around $14 million.

In ninth place, Bugonia dropped 53%, earning $1.6 million this weekend. The film has earned $15.6 million, and it should finish with a little over $20 million.

Rounding out the Top 10 was Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc. It dropped 55%, earning $1.5 million. That takes its domestic total to $41.1 million.

Ahead of Wicked: For Good, Universal re-released Wicked in 2,195 theaters and it earned $1.2 million. That took its lifetime total to $474.4 million.

Unsurprisingly, MUBI's Die My Love crashed hard on its second weekend. It collapsed 66%, earning just $888,017. The film has earned a meager $4.8 million, and it will finish with just $6 million.

Neon expanded Sentimental Value to 28 theaters, and it earned a pretty great $380,244. A very solid $13,580 per-theater average. Neon will continue expanding the film over the next few weeks, hoping to capitalize on some Oscar buzz.

OVERSEAS

Even though Now You See Me: Now You Don't didn't have a great start domestically, it more than made up with its overseas debut. The film earned a strong $54.2 million overseas, for a $75.2 million worldwide debut. In a rare ocurrence, China posted a higher debut than America, with $21.7 million. It also had solid debuts in Russia ($6.4M), Latin America ($5.5M), South Korea ($3.9M), France ($3.5M) and the UK ($3.2M). There are still some markets left, so the film should recoup its $90 million investment.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle finally made its debut in China, and it posted an incredible $52.5 million. With this debut, it has now surpassed $700 million worldwide, with a running total of $730 million.

Predator: Badlands added $16.1 million overseas, taking its worldwide total to $136.2 million. The best markets are China ($12.7M), UK ($5.6M), Mexico ($4M), France ($3.7M) and Japan ($3.3M). By next week, it should pass The Predator to become the highest grossing mainline title in the franchise.

The Running Man also disappointed overseas, debuting with just $11.2 million, for a poor $27.6 million worldwide debut. It had very soft debuts in the the UK ($3.3M), Germany ($1.1M), Australia ($1M), Mexico ($659K) and the UAE ($391K). Even though it has so many markets left, this is a very bad way to start and suggests that reaching $100 million worldwide will be a big challenge. Without much hope, a high $110 million budget, and a very extensive marketing campaign, this is gonna rank as one of the year's biggest flops.

With $1.4 million overseas, One Battle After Another has officially crossed $200 million worldwide. It's Leonardo DiCaprio's 12th film to reach that milestone.

FILMS THAT ENDED THEIR RUN THIS WEEK

Movie Release Date Studio Domestic Opening Domestic Total Worldwide Total Budget The Bad Guys 2 Aug/1 Universal $21,995,715 $82,593,605 $237,247,060 $80M Good Boy Oct/3 IFC Films $2,343,694 $6,624,062 $8,774,059 $70K

Universal/DreamWorks' The Bad Guys 2 has closed with a pretty great $82 million domestically and $237 million worldwide. That's not far off from the original's $250 million total, so this should be enough to greenlight a third installment.

IFC Films' Good Boy has closed with $6 million domestically and $8 million worldwide. Pretty fantastic, considering its ultra low $70,000 budget. It may not be a lot of money, but given the small scale of the film, it's not bad at all.

THIS WEEKEND

Three wide releases, but only one is heading for a historic box office run.

That's Universal's Wicked: For Good, the conclusion to the two-parter that began last year. Not only continuing the storyline, but also taking place during the events of The Wizard of Oz. Universal has mounted a very aggressive marketing campaign, and it has paid off so far. Fandango is reporting that the film is posting one of the biggest pre-sales for a PG-rated title. It's not a matter of whether it will open higher than the first film (that's pretty much guaranteed). The question is if it will be strong enough to overtake A Minecraft Movie ($162M) for the biggest debut of the year.

Searchlight is releasing Rental Family, which stars Brendan Fraser as a lonely American actor living in Tokyo starts working for a Japanese rental family service to play stand-in roles in other people's lives. Fraser is currently on a good run, and the film is hoping to become a crowdpleaser with audiences. Reviews out of TIFF are very positive, so could this surprise?

Sony is also releasing Sisu: Road to Revenge, the sequel to Sisu. It offers exactly what you loved about the original: a WWII film with brutal action. Let's see how it fares.

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