In a surprise win for Disney/20th Century Studio, the Ryan Reynolds comedy Free Guy leaped over expectations to deliver a $28.4 million opening weekend, per Deadline. The long-delayed Shawn Levy-directed film also took in roughly $22.6 million abroad to bring its worldwide total to an impressive $51 million. Keep in mind, Free Guy is operating under a 45-day theatrical window after which it will then transfer to Disney+.
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Elsewhere, last week’s champ, The Suicide Squad, plummeted 70% in its second weekend with $7.75 million, dropping to No. 5 on the Top 10 chart. While that’s obviously not a good thing, keep in mind that most viewers watched the flick on HBO Max, a release strategy that has impacted films such as Space Jam 2 and Godzilla vs. Kong — though, there were obviously other factors contributing to the poor box office to James Gunn’s film. To date, the comic book sequel has amassed $42.9 million domestically.
Other new releases this week include Don’t Breathe 2, the sequel to the 2016 thriller, which surpassed expectations to earn $10.6 million from 3,005 theaters — a far cry from the original’s $26 million opening five years ago — and MGM’s Respect, which collected $8.8 million from 3,207 theaters.
1.) Free Guy (20th/Dis) 4,164 theaters Fri $10.5M (includes $2.2M previews)/Sat $10.3M/Sun $7.6M/ 3-day $28.4M/Wk 1
2.) Don’t Breathe 2 3,005 theaters (Sony/SG) Fri $4.3M (includes $965K previews)/Sat $3.65M/Sun $2.56M/3-day $10.6M/Wk 1
3.) Jungle Cruise (Dis) 3,900 theaters (-410), Fri $2.55M (-43%)/Sat $3.9M/$2.55M/ 3-day $9M (-43%)/Total $82.1M/Wk 3
4.) Respect (MGM/UAR) 3,207 theaters Fri $3.6M (includes $650K previews)/Sat $3M/Sun $2.2M/3-day $8.8M/Wk 1
5.) The Suicide Squad (WB) 4,019 (+17) Fri $2.2M (-81%)/3-day $7.75M (-70%)/Total $42.9M/Wk 2
