Ford v Ferrari Finishes First, Charlie’s Angels’ Wings Clipped

This weekend 20th Century Fox’s 1960’s racing drama Ford v Ferrari finished first, way ahead of the pack, with a terrific $31 million opening weekend. The James Mangold film starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale proved that an old fashioned fall drama with big movie stars can still perform if its got the goods. With terrific reviews and an A+ Cinemascore, the movie looks set to be a big winner for the studio, earning an additional $21.4 million internationally for a worldwide total of $52.4 million.

Falling from first to second is Lionsgate’s WWII epic Midway, which took in $8.75 million for a domestic total of $35 million and a worldwide cume of $53.7 million. The Roland Emmerich film is still a ways away from recouping its $100 million budget.

Opening in third place with a thud was Sony’s reboot of Charlie’s Angels, which despite Kristen Stewart in the lead, Elizabeth Banks behind the camera and a known IP from film and TV took in a crushing $8.6 million. The studio reportedly cut their ad budget in half in anticipation of a non-starter, which has earned poor reviews critical of a lack of action compared to the two previous McG-helmed films. With a budget in the $50 million range it shouldn’t be a huge loser for the studio, and Pitch Perfect‘s Banks will more than likely recover on her next directing project. The film earned $19.3 million internationally for a $27.9 million worldwide total.

Paramount’s family comedy Playing With Fire fell from third to fourth with $8.55 million for a domestic total of $25.4 million for the John Cena starrer.

At #5 was Universal’s holiday comedy Last Christmas with $6.7 million, with the Paul Feig film having taken in $22.5 million domestically and $35.5 million worldwide.

In an unfortunate slip from #2 to #6 was Warner Bros.’ The Shining sequel Doctor Sleep, which took in $6.1 million for a domestic total of $25 million and a worldwide total of $53.8 million. Not only does the film seem unlikely to recoup its costs, it also will likely not surpass the grosses of Stanley Kubrick’s original, which took in $44.7 million domestically unadjusted… nearly four decades ago.

Warner Bros. also debuted director Bill Condon’s thriller The Good Liar, and despite the iconic pairing of Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen the movie fell flat with $5.6 million domestically for a worldwide tally of $9.5 million.