The box-office story of “Crazy Rich Asians” keeps getting crazier, and richer.
The romantic comedy not only topped $100 million in domestic ticket sales as it’s expected to win the box office for a third weekend in a row, but it’s poised to have best Labor Day weekend ever.
AT&T’s T, -0.06% Warner Bros. estimated the film made $22.2 million this weekend through Sunday, and expects between $27 million and $30 million through Monday. The four-day Labor Day weekend record is currently held by 2007’s “Halloween,” which pulled in $30.6 million.
“Crazy Rich Asians” — the first Hollywood studio movie in more than 25 years to feature an almost entire cast of Asian descent — became just the fourth movie this year to finish No. 1 at the box office for three weeks in a row, behind the blockbusters “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” “Black Panther” and “Avengers: Infinity War.” It’s the most successful comedy in at least two years, and it’s not showing signs of slowing down anytime soon, with just a 10% dropoff between its second and third weeks, following a tiny 6% dropoff between its first and second weeks in theaters.
“‘Crazy Rich Asians’ is the summer box office gift that keeps on giving,” comScore senior analyst Paul Dergarabedian told Variety.
Warner Bros. finished 1-2 at the box office for the third week in a row, with the shark thriller “The Meg” finishing No. 2, with $10.5 million through Sunday, raising its overall global total to $462.8 million.
“Mission: Impossible — Fallout,” from Viacom’s VIA, -2.18% Paramount Pictures, was in third, with $7 million, as it passed the $200 million mark domestically. Overseas, it reaped a $77.3 million opening weekend in China. It’s earned almost $650 million globally, and is expected to top $700 million before it ends its run.
Among new films, MGM’s historical thriller “Operation Finale” took in $6 million for fourth place, while Sony’s SNE, +0.26% thriller “Searching,” starring John Cho, earned $5.7 million for fifth place.
Meanwhile, Disney’s “Incredibles 2” became the first animated movie to gross more than $600 million domestically — and the third Disney move to hit that mark this year, after “Black Panther” and “Avengers: Infinity War.”
This is the last weekend of the summer movie season, and comScore said it’s been a very successful one, up 14% from last year — at about $4.39 billion in ticket sales — and boosted by a 30% year-over-year gain in August. Overall, the box office is up almost 10% year to date, comScore said.
