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Box office report: Ocean's 8 and Hereditary set records

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Box office report: Ocean’s 8 and Hereditary set records

Ocean’s 8 managed to secure the highest opening weekend for any movie in the franchise, while Hereditary scared up a record of its own.

This weekend saw the release of three buzzed about films: two of which did extremely well and broke records (Ocean’s 8 and Hereditary) and one which unfortunately completely failed to connect with audiences (Hotel Artemis). How exactly did these films perform, and what happened to the hold-overs from weeks past including the deeply troubled Solo: A Star Wars Story? Let’s jump into it!

An Ocean of box office dollars

Box office report: Ocean's 8 and Hereditary set records

The Gary Ross-directed sequel/spin-off Ocean’s 8 pulled of a box office heist this weekend, taking the #1 spot and raking in an estimated $41.5 million. That number may sound low to you, but when put in line with the openings for other films in the Ocean’s franchise it is actually extremely impressive – in fact, Ocean’s 8 scored the biggest opening weekend for any film in the franchise to date, taking the crown from previous record holder Ocean’s Twelve which opened to (an unadjusted) 39 million.

Certainly not wanting for star-power, the Warner Bros. release features a slew of very talented women (Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathway and Rihanna – to name a few) and was reportedly budgeted at around $70 million. With $53.7 million in the bank thus far (including $12.2 million internationally), it seems pretty likely that Ocean’s 8 will turn a profit when all is said and done and an Ocean’s 9 could very well be announced in the coming weeks.

Breaking news: people will see movies starring women! Who knew?

Making bank is Hereditary

Box office report: Ocean's 8 and Hereditary set records

The swell of curiosity that A24 managed to drum up for Hereditary worked brilliantly in their favor, delivering the frightening film to a #4 opening with $13 million. While the film was unable to top hold-overs Solo: A Star Wars Story and Deadpool 2, it’s debut was enough to place as the top opening for an A24 film to date, besting previous record holder The Witch and it’s $8.8 million.

A24 has shown time and time again that they are able to draw out an impressive crowd for their unconventional horror films, though some audiences have expressed upset over what they perceive to be a disconnect in the way Hereditary was marketed and what the film actually delivers. This reaction may have contributed to the depressing D+ Cinemascore the film received from polled audience members. A film’s Cinemascore is often used by Hollywood and the media to predict a film’s long-term box office prospects, as films with high scores tend to enjoy positive word-of-mouth and film’s with lower scores usually do not.

Even if Hereditary didn’t make another dollar at the box office it would likely break-even, as it was budgeted at around $10 million and had a very cost-effective marketing strategy. With that said, I believe the film will run for a couple more weeks as many are still very interested in whether or not the film is worth the hype, and those who loved it (including myself) will definitely be checking it out another time.

Plenty of room at the Hotel Artemis

Box office report: Ocean's 8 and Hereditary set records

The third new release of the weekend was unfortunately unable to drum up much interest, as the Drew Pearce written and directed film Hotel Artemis opened it’s doors to a resounding shrug. The ensemble action-thriller opened in eighth place with $3.2 million, a number that has got to sting for distributor Global Road even without the film’s budget being reported.

If you ask me, the film likely would have performed a lot better in a month like February, following a similar trajectory as the first John Wick did a few years ago. Opening during a peak summer month ensured that Artemis had a slew of intense competition and didn’t provide it with much room to breakout. Interestingly, Hotel Artemis was compared by many to Wick, which is further evidence that a similar release strategy would have likely been beneficial for the film.

Overall Top Ten Domestically

  1. Ocean’s 8 – $41.5M (1st weekend)
  2. Solo: A Star Wars Story – $15.7M (3rd weekend) / $176M total
  3. Deadpool 2 – $14.1M (4th weekend) / $279M total
  4. Hereditary – $13M (1st weekend)
  5. Avengers: Infinity War – $7.2M (7th weekend) / $655M total
  6. Adrift – $5.3M (2nd weekend) / $22M total
  7. Book Club – $4.3M (4th weekend) / $57M total
  8. Hotel Artemis – $3.2M (1st weekend)
  9. Upgrade – $2.3M (2nd weekend) / $9.2M total
  10. Life of the Party – $2.2M (5th weekend) / $50.3M total

What do you make of these box office numbers? Did you see one of the three new releases this weekend? Let us know down below, and check back later in the week to see our predictions for next week’s box office including new releases Incredibles 2 and Tag.

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