The Nun II’ scares off ‘The Equalizer 3’
The ninth entry in the ‘Conjuring’ universe won the weekend.
Hello! Welcome to The Box Office Report for the weekend of Sept. 8-10, 2023.
1. The Nun II
Weekend gross: $32.6M
Total domestic gross: $32.6M
Last weekend: New release
Percent drop: NA
I hadn’t realized how expansive this universe of horror films had become. Conjurings! Nuns! Annabelles! La Llornas! The Nun II is the ninth film in the Conjuring universe, and its opening weekend of $32.6 million is the sixth best debut in that franchise.
The first Nun movie hit theaters on almost this exact weekend in 2018, opening with $53.8 million then, a high point for the entire franchise. The Nun II’s box office win this past weekend brings the Conjuring universe’s entire domestic haul past $770 million.
2. The Equalizer 3
Weekend gross: $12.1M
Total domestic gross: $61.8M
Last weekend: 1st
Percent drop: 65
The Equalizer 3 slipped ever so slightly behind the pace of the first two movies in this Denzel Washington franchise. The original Equalizer and its sequel had second weekends of $18.8 million and $14 million, with both of those films standing at just over $64 million through this period.
3. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3
Weekend gross: $10M
Total domestic gross: $10M
Last weekend: New release
Percent drop: NA
It’s been seven years since My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 brought the series back to theaters. The first sequel failed to live up to the original’s surprise success (a $92.1 million worldwide haul for My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 compared to a $374.9 million worldwide haul for My Big Fat Greek Wedding) — and it looks like the third film will continue that downward trend. While the second film debuted with $17.9 million in 2016, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 could only muster up $10 million for its first weekend.
4. Jawan
Weekend gross: $6.2M
Total domestic gross: $7.6M
Last weekend: New release
Percent drop: NA
I had to look up Jawan, as it’s a movie I hadn’t heard about until I sat down to write this edition of The Box Office Report. I might not have been familiar with it, but it’s already a massive box office and critical hit in India.
5. Barbie
Weekend gross: $6.2M
Total domestic gross: $620.5M
Last weekend: 2nd
Percent drop: 42
Is this Barbie’s last weekend in the top five? Since releasing less than two months ago, Barbie has raked in $620.5 million in North America and $1.4 billion worldwide. It’s collected honors like being No. 12 on the all-time domestic box office chart and being the highest grossing movie in 2023.
How much does Barbie have left in the tank? With the film being released on digital this Tuesday, there’ll still be enough desire to see it in theaters to push Barbie past The Avengers ($623.4 million) to No. 11 on the domestic chart, but anything beyond that (Jurassic World and its $652.3 million haul is next) is likely out of reach.
Box office numbers via The Numbers based on Sunday estimates.
