The end of the summer’s domestic box office has now gone past $4 billion following the release of The Equalizer 3. The Hollywood Reporter estimated a $42 million opening weekend (4-day weekend due to Labor Day), which makes this the second-biggest Labor Day launch after Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings in 2021. The source goes on to note that the final number of the box office for the summer could be nearly $4.1 billion at the end of the weekend. This would be a 19% increase from last year, though still 5.7% behind 2019. 

Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian:

For the industry after a three-year hiatus, to generate enough box office heat to again reach the $4B benchmark for the season is a remarkable achievement… From ‘Barbenheimer’ to Sound of Freedom and a host of other high-profile hits… the unpredictable nature of this all-important 18-week corridor was on full display. Equalizer 3 is taking us out on a high note!

Equalizer 3 is almost guaranteed to finish out its trilogy highest in earnings compared to its predecessors. The first of the series earned $34.1 million, and the second earned $36 million (not adjusted for inflation). However, it should be noted that the previous two releases were on a standard 3-day weekend compared to this Labor Day weekend release. 

The box office for the week includes Barbie sitting at number 2 in its seventh weekend. The projected gross for this weekend is around $13 million. Comicbook notes that Barbie is the “14th-biggest domestic film release, and the 15th-biggest global film release in box office history”. They go on to say that it is inevitable that the film’s earnings will grow with its IMAX theater release later this month. The film has surpassed Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 as Warner Bros. Pictures’ highest-grossing film at the worldwide box office.

The rest of the top 5 includes DC’s Blue Beetle at number 3, with this weekend’s expected $10 million domestic total, to bring the film to $60 million by the end of the weekend in its third week. At number 4, Sony’s Gran Turismo, sits at around just over $8 million this weekend, for a total domestic gross of around $30 million in its second week. Number 5 has Oppenheimer in its seventh week, according to The Hollywood Reporter, has “cleared the $850 million mark at the global box office to become  Nolan’s third-biggest film ever.” The total for this weekend seemed to be around $7.2 million, with a domestic total of $310.3 million.