M. Night Shyamalan’s multiple-personalities thriller “Split” has a one-track mind at the box office, topping the charts for a third consecutive weekend with $14.6 million at 3,373 locations.
The Universal/Blumhouse film stars James McAvoy as a man with 23 different personalities who kidnaps three teenage girls. It scared up an estimated $40 million during its opening weekend, doubling estimates and quadrupling its estimated $10 million budget. “Split,” which analysts projected would make about $14 million this weekend, has grossed $98.7 million since its Jan. 20 release. It also became the first Universal film since 2015’s “Straight Outta Compton” to hold the top spot for three consecutive weekends, and Shyamalan’s second film to do so since 1999’s “The Sixth Sense.”
“Split” edged out Paramount’s “Rings” for the top spot during Super Bowl Weekend, as the long-awaited sequel to “The Ring” franchise zeroed in on $13 million at the box office at 2,931 locations. The studio had estimated an opening weekend in the $10 million to $12 million range, while analysts projected a less conservative $14 million.
“Rings,” directed by Javier Gutierrez, follows a young woman who tries to save her boyfriend who watched a mysterious video tape that promises to kill the watcher seven days after they view it. The film stars Matilda Lutz, Alex Roe, Johnny Galecki, Aimee Teegarden, Bonnie Morgan and Vincent D’Onofrio, and was produced for an estimated $25 million.
Amblin Entertainment and Walden Media’s “A Dog’s Purpose,” released by Universal Pictures, finished third this weekend, earning $10.8 million across 3,178 locations. The movie stars Josh Gad, Dennis Quaid and Britt Robertson, and was directed by Lasse Hallstrom.
Best Picture nominee “Hidden Figures” placed fourth, as the Space Race drama zoomed to $10.4 million this weekend at 3,401 locations. Taraji P. Henson, Janelle Monáe and Best Supporting Actress nominee Octavia Spencer star in the film from Fox and Chernin Entertainment as NASA mathematicians who were instrumental in sending some of the first astronauts to outer space. The film picked up a SAG award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture last weekend.
Lionsgate’s “La La Land,” which tied a record with 14 Oscar nominations and whose director, Damien Chazelle, won Best Feature Film Director by the Directors Guild of America awards last night, finished fifth this weekend with $7.5 million at 3,236 locations.
The weekend’s only other newcomer in wide release, STX’s “The Space Between Us,” opened to $3.8 million at 2,812 locations, good enough for eighth place. Analysts had projected an $11 million weekend, while the studio estimated a more conservative $8 million to $9 million.
The romantic sci-fi film follows a boy living on Mars who befriends an Earth-bound girl online and visits her when he turns 16 — only to realize his body can’t survive Earth’s atmosphere for long. Asa Butterfield, Britt Robertson and Gary Oldman star in the film, which was directed by Peter Chelsom. The story is based on a treatment by Stewart Schill with revisions by Richard Barton Lewis and Allan Loeb. Loeb wrote the screenplay.
The movie received an A- Cinema Score, and 69 percent of the opening weekend audience was female, with 33 percent under 18. “The Space Between Us” was produced for about $30 million.
All 9 M Night Shyamalan Movie Twists Ranked, From 'Sixth Sense' to 'Split' (Photos)
Ever since “The Sixth Sense,” M. Night Shyamalan has been known for spooky, dramatic movies with giant, mind-blowing twists in their plots. Here’s the definitive list, from worst to best, of the twists that do their stories justice and which ones merely unravel them.
9. The Happening (2008)
Shyamalan starts off strong, building a movie in which supernatural-seeming events are driving people to commit suicide. Then the twist: Trees did it, using a toxin carried by wind. This is one step removed from the Lorax being revealed as a serial killer.
8. Signs (2002)
Everything in Mel Gibson's character's life, including the tragic and really horrific death of his wife, has been part of God's extremely intricate and unnecessarily mean plan. That plan: restore Mel's faith and save his family by placing glasses of water around the house so Joaquin Phoenix could hit them with a bat. Because the aliens are allergic to water.
7. Lady in the Water (2006)
Paul Giamatti discovers a strange fairy-tale-like nymph-woman (a "narf," actually) in his apartment building's pool. He concludes everyone in the building has a role in the fairy tale. Then the twist: All the roles are wrong! Everyone unlocks their potential by realizing the stupid roles they're actually destined to play, and saves the day.
6. The Village (2004)
A group of 19th-century townsfolk bury anything that's red and hide from mysterious monsters that plague their town. Except the village elders have been pretending to be the monsters to keep everyone in the town, since they all actually live in a modern theme park. Oh, and the monster that's been terrorizing everyone is just a lovestruck developmentally disabled guy.
5. Devil (2010)
Five people get trapped in an elevator and reveal how awful they are as they are attacked, one by one, when the lights go out. The twist: One of them is literally the Devil, in the biblical sense. And it's the middle-aged woman everyone thought was dead. Shyamalan didn't direct this one, but he wrote the story.
4. Split (2017)
A man (James McAvoy) suffers from a split personality: Some of the personalities are evil, and some can actually manifest physical differences, like strength. Then, the twist: The movie is set in the same universe as a previous Shyamalan film, "Unbreakable," making it a supervillain origin story and setting up a clash with Bruce Willis' character from that movie (at some later time in another film)!
3. The Visit (2015)
Two kids go on an extended visit with their grandparents, but there's definitely something not right about the grandmother, who seems like a different, much more dangerous person at night. Turns out these aren't the grandparents at all, but two murderous escaped mental patients. While predictable, the twist plays well because "The Visit" is more tongue-in-cheek than the typical Shyamalan joint.
2. The Sixth Sense (1999)
The Shyamalan classic follows a psychiatrist (Bruce Willis) who treats a boy (Haley Joel Osment) who says he can see dead people who need his help to let go of their lives. But the psychiatrist is dead! Shyamalan gives just enough hints to make audiences scream "Of course!" once they realize Bruce Willis has been a ghost the whole time.
1. Unbreakable (2000)
Bruce Willis' character survives a train crash because he's actually an "unbreakable" mutant. In the end, a man with very brittle bones (Samuel L. Jackson) caused the derailment and lots of other deadly accidents in an attempt to find Willis and give his own life meaning -- as a supervillain convinced his comic-like opposite had to exist. The twist perfectly redefines the story at the last second, forcing you to rethink everything you just watched.
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How does the twist in Shyamalan’s latest film stack up to the rest of his twisty oeuvre? (WARNING: Major spoilers ahead)
Ever since “The Sixth Sense,” M. Night Shyamalan has been known for spooky, dramatic movies with giant, mind-blowing twists in their plots. Here’s the definitive list, from worst to best, of the twists that do their stories justice and which ones merely unravel them.
