Christopher Aanerud August 19th, 2018 - 3:36 PM
Warner Bros. has a hit on their hands with Crazy Rich Asians. The critically acclaimed comedy brought in a respectable $34 million over five days, opening in 3,384 locations. Its three-day weekend total stands at $25.3 million, overpowering fellow Warner Bros. film The Meg, which tallied another $21.2 million. The long-delayed thriller about a Carcharodon Megalodon (the largest marine predator that ever existed) trying to earn its PhD from Oxford has accumulated $84 million in North America and $300 million worldwide.
Based on Kevin Kwan’s best-selling book, Jon M. Chu’s Crazy Rich Asians is the first studio film since 1993’s Joy Luck Club to star nearly all Asian-Americans. As noted by Variety, the film’s relatively low $30 million budget will lead to many smiles around Warner Bros. headquarters as it piles on the cash in the coming weeks. The film is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes at a healthy 93% positive, and it earned an A CinemaScore from audiences. Crazy Rich Asians is also the first romantic comedy since 2015’s Trainwreck to open with more than $20 million.
“Word of mouth is everything,” said Jeff Goldstein, head of domestic distribution at Warner Bros. “This movie is so culturally significant and so unique in that there hasn’t been a cast that’s predominately Asian [in years]. This is one of those few projects that a whole studio comes together with lots of passion.”
Elsewhere in box office news, Mark Wahlberg’s critically maligned Mile 22 opened below expectations, nabbing $13.6 million in 3,482 theaters. Critical darling Alpha, the story of a lost young man who returns home following a buffalo hunt and finds a lost wolf, bowed with $10.5 million in 2,719 locations.
Here are your box office totals, courtesy of Box Office Mojo.
| TW | LW | Title (click to view) | Studio | Weekend Gross | % Change | Theater Count / Change | Average | Total Gross | Budget* | Week # | |
| 1 | N | Crazy Rich Asians | WB | $25,235,000 | – | 3,384 | – | $7,457 | $34,001,769 | $30 | 1 |
| 2 | 1 | The Meg | WB | $21,150,000 | -53.4% | 4,118 | – | $5,136 | $83,759,062 | $130 | 2 |
| 3 | N | Mile 22 | STX | $13,620,000 | – | 3,520 | – | $3,869 | $13,620,000 | – | 1 |
| 5 | 2 | Mission: Impossible – Fallout | Par. | $10,500,000 | -45.7% | 3,482 | -406 | $3,016 | $180,738,721 | $178 | 4 |
| 4 | N | Alpha | Studio 8 | $10,500,000 | – | 2,719 | – | $3,862 | $10,500,000 | $51 | 1 |
| 6 | 3 | Disney’s Christopher Robin | BV | $8,862,000 | -31.6% | 3,602 | – | $2,460 | $66,879,410 | – | 3 |
| 7 | 5 | BlacKkKlansman | Focus | $7,000,000 | -35.5% | 1,788 | +276 | $3,915 | $23,009,490 | $15 | 2 |
| 8 | 4 | Slender Man | SGem | $4,965,000 | -56.3% | 2,358 | – | $2,106 | $20,741,579 | $10 | 2 |
| 9 | 9 | Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation | Sony | $3,675,000 | -29.5% | 2,187 | -402 | $1,680 | $153,868,700 | $80 | 6 |
| 10 | 7 | Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again | Uni. | $3,385,000 | -42.3% | 2,270 | -542 | $1,491 | $111,204,490 | $75 | 5 |
| 11 | 8 | The Equalizer 2 | Sony | $2,810,000 | -48.0% | 1,888 | -485 | $1,488 | $94,728,884 | $62 | 5 |
| 12 | 6 | The Spy Who Dumped Me | LGF | $2,650,000 | -59.0% | 2,409 | -702 | $1,100 | $30,031,015 | $40 | 3 |
| 13 | 10 | Ant-Man and the Wasp | BV | $2,613,000 | -36.3% | 1,520 | -343 | $1,719 | $208,358,650 | – | 7 |
| 14 | 11 | Incredibles 2 | BV | $2,321,000 | -32.3% | 1,238 | -307 | $1,875 | $594,119,848 | – | 10 |
| 15 | 14 | Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom | Uni. | $1,155,000 | -41.9% | 814 | -423 | $1,419 | $411,752,365 | $170 | 9 |
| 16 | 12 | Dog Days (2018) | LD | $830,000 | -67.5% | 2,387 | -55 | $348 | $5,890,823 | – | 2 |
| 17 | 16 | Eighth Grade | A24 | $740,000 | -53.4% | 542 | -542 | $1,365 | $11,643,543 | – | 6 |
| 18 | 15 | Teen Titans Go! To The Movies | WB | $710,000 | -61.1% | 590 | -847 | $1,203 | $27,261,352 | $10 | 4 |
| 19 | 18 | Three Identical Strangers | Neon | $498,400 | -32.1% | 276 | -50 | $1,806 | $10,563,804 | – | 8 |
| 20 | 19 | Skyscraper | Uni. | $305,000 | -54.8% | 370 | -300 | $824 | $66,761,845 | $125 | 6 |
