‘Midway’ Takes No. 1 From ‘Doctor Sleep’ in Box Office Surprise
Latest Stephen King adaptation is falling below expectations
Jeremy Fuster | November 9, 2019 @ 8:20 AM
Last Updated: November 9, 2019 @ 10:30 AM
Lionsgate
Warner Bros.’ “Doctor Sleep” was expected to take No. 1 this weekend; but surprisingly, the top spot now looks like it will go to Roland Emmerich’s WWII film “Midway,” as “Doctor Sleep” is falling well below opening weekend projections.
“Midway,” which is being distributed by Lionsgate in the U.S. and U.K., is opening to an estimated $17.5 million after grossing $6.3 million from 3,282 screens, slightly above pre-weekend projectons of a mid-teens start. While a No. 1 opening would be a feather in Emmerich’s cap and a solid result for Lionsgate, this result is still well below what a war film with a $100 million budget needs to make its costs back and will look for strong legs in conservative states.
In an effort to get this passion project made, Emmerich independently financed the film through foreign presales at Cannes and equity deals with Chinese investors, with Lionsgate acquiring domestic and U.K. distribution rights. “Midway” was not received well by critics with a 40% Rotten Tomatoes score but does have strong audience feedback with an A on CinemaScore and strong turnout from moviegoers over the age of 50.
But the severe underperformance of “Doctor Sleep” is the big shock of the weekend. Produced on a $50 million budget, trackers had expected a solid opening of $25-30 million given the film’s positive reviews — 73% on Rotten Tomatoes — and glowing praise from Stephen King. Instead, the film is flopping with an estimated $13.5 million opening from 3,855 screens. That’s well below the $24.7 million opening for another 2019 Stephen King adaptation, “Pet Sematary.”
Marketing for the film heavily sold its status as a sequel to “The Shining,” but like Kubrick’s classic film, “Doctor Sleep” is having a very sluggish start at the box office. But while “The Shining” was able to catch strong word of mouth and become a success back in 1980, the content-heavy, opening weekend reliant market of 2019 is likely to send “Doctor Sleep” to an early bedtime as it hasn’t received traction with the young female audiences that helped put the “It” films over the top and earned a B+ on CinemaScore.
This weekend’s other new releases, Universal’s “Last Christmas” and Paramount’s “Playing With Fire,” are vying for the No. 3 spot with openings in the $12 million range, which is slightly above tracking for “Playing With Fire” and on the mark for “Last Christmas.” “Playing With Fire,” a comedy starring John Cena, has a B+ on CinemaScore and a 25% RT score while “Last Christmas” has a 49% RT score and a B- on CinemaScore.
Completing the top 5 is Paramount’s “Terminator: Dark Fate,” which flopped in its opening last weekend and is now taking a 65% drop from its $29 million opening with a second weekend total of $10.2 million, which would give it a 10-day total of $47.8 million. WB/Village Roadshow’s “Joker,” meanwhile, has finally been pushed out of the top 5 in its sixth weekend, earning $9.2 million as it inches closer to becoming the first ever R-Rated film to gross $1 billion.
'Terminator: Dark Fate,' 'Dark Phoenix' and 11 More Box Office Busts in 2019 (Photos)
There have been plenty of box office hits in 2019 from "Avengers: Endgame" to "Joker" to "Us." But as always, there are films that end up taking a dive once they hit theaters. Some have been failed attempts to revive flailing franchises. Others are poorly reviewed films that moviegoers barely notice on the cinema marquee. Either way, they've made this list.
"Replicas" $9.2 million grossed ($30 million budget) -- Keanu Reeves has had a great 2019. "John Wick: Chapter 3" was a hit, a viral video of his E3 appearance became a meme, and sequels to "Bill & Ted" and "The Matrix" are in his future. But back in January, he starred in this critically panned sci-fi tale of a neuroscientist who defies the law and scientific ethics to create clones of his dead family.
Entertainment Studios
"The Kid Who Would Be King" $32 million ($60 million budget) -- Unlike other films on this list, critics were pleasantly surprised by this family film about a British schoolboy who discovers that he is the reincarnation of King Arthur. But it fell victim to early-year box office doldrums as audiences ignored the critics' praises, turning "The Kid Who Would Be King" into one of several busts for 20th Century Fox in the final months before the Disney merger.
20th Century Fox
"Serenity" $14.3 million ($25 million budget) -- Both critics and audiences panned this thriller starring Anne Hathaway as a woman and her boat captain ex-husband (Matthew McConaughey), whom she offers to pay $10 million to murder her abusive new husband. "Serenity" didn't even gross that amount in North America with just $8.5 million to go with a D+ from CinemaScore polls.
Aviron
"Miss Bala" $15 million ($15 million budget) -- In 2011, "Miss Bala" became a hit at Cannes and was Mexico's selection for the Foreign Language Oscar. But this remake starring Gina Rodriguez was far less fortunate, barely making back its production budget.
Sony
"Captive State" $8.7 million ($25 million budget) -- It's an interesting concept: a sci-fi allegory for U.S. imperialism, as an alien race conquers Earth and turns it into a vassal state. But between middling reviews and the pop culture dominance of "Captain Marvel," "Captive State" never went anywhere.
Focus Features
"The Beach Bum" $4.4 million ($5 million budget) -- Another swing and a miss for Matthew McConaughey, though he did get praise from critics for this Harmony Korine stoner comedy that also stars Snoop Dogg, Zac Efron, Jonah Hill, of all people, and Jimmy Buffett.
NEON
"Hellboy" $44.6 million ($50 million budget) -- And now we get to the summer blockbuster bombs, starting with Lionsgate's failed attempt to revive "Hellboy" with David Harbour instead of Ron Perlman and loads of gore instead of Guillermo del Toro's guiding hand. The result was one of the most panned films of the year that quickly met its box office demise once "Avengers: Endgame" hit theaters two weeks after its release.
Lionsgate
"Men in Black: International" $253 million ($110 million budget) -- Sony may have taken a bit of a loss on this "MIB" spinoff, but any write-downs were quickly erased by the success of "Spider-Man: Far From Home" later in the summer. But this was a bust because it was a failed attempt to turn "MIB" into another "Jurassic World," replacing original cast members with hot new talent. While Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson were lauded for a good attempt, critics and audiences agreed that there's no replacing Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones.
Sony
"Dark Phoenix" $252 million ($200 million budget) -- 19 years of "X-Men" films at Fox ended with the biggest thud possible, as Simon Kinberg's panned take on Jean Grey's villainous turn became the most high-profile bomb of the summer. Simon Kinberg blamed himself for the bomb, which was identified as the main reason why Fox reported a $170 million operational loss in its first financial quarter under Disney ownership.
Disney/Fox
"The Kitchen" $15 million ($38 million budget) -- Warner Bros. is enjoying a great autumn thanks to "Joker" and "It: Chapter Two," but the end of summer was a rough period for them with two big bombs. The studio took a risk on Andrea Berloff's adaptation of "The Kitchen," a Vertigo graphic novel about mob wives who take over their dead husbands' business. But despite starring Melissa McCarthy, Elisabeth Moss and Tiffany Haddish, critics panned the film's script and audiences swiftly ignored it.
Warner Bros.
"The Goldfinch" $9.6 million ($45 million budget) -- Then, a month later, WB had another bust with an adaptation of Donna Tartt's Pulitzer-winning novel "The Goldfinch." But critics at the film's Toronto premiere weren't impressed and, like "The Kitchen," audiences took one look at reviews and moved on.
Warner Bros.
"Zeroville" $68,000 (Budget unknown) -- Over the past several years, James Franco has spent much of his time working on very obscure films that barely see any theatrical release. His latest, an adaptation of Steve Erickson's "Zeroville," became the biggest bomb of his career with just $8,900 grossed on its opening weekend. You read that right.
myCinema
"Terminator: Dark Fate" $102 million and counting ($185 million budget) -- After three maligned sequels, the "Terminator" franchise was expected to get a boost from the return of original star Linda Hamilton and creator James Cameron as producer. But despite better reviews, "Dark Fate" barely did better than its predecessor, "Terminator: Genisys," as casual audiences have lost interest in the series while hardcore fans were put off by the shocking fate of the once destined savior of humanity, John Connor.
Paramount
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You might not even have been aware that some of these films existed
There have been plenty of box office hits in 2019 from "Avengers: Endgame" to "Joker" to "Us." But as always, there are films that end up taking a dive once they hit theaters. Some have been failed attempts to revive flailing franchises. Others are poorly reviewed films that moviegoers barely notice on the cinema marquee. Either way, they've made this list.
Entertainment Studios
