Death is not looming for the “Final Destination” franchise at the box office.
The sixth part of the series, “Final Destination: Bloodlines,” captivated large audiences at cinemas this weekend, effortlessly leading the domestic box office with $51 million in revenue from ticket sales, as per studio estimates on Sunday. Internationally, the film achieved the same figure, culminating in a total global opening of $102 million.
However, Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye’s avant-garde thriller “Hurry Up Tomorrow” did not garner similar excitement, as it debuted outside the top five with an estimated $3.3 million in sales.
“Competing against ‘Final Destination: Bloodlines’ was always going to be challenging,” stated Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst at Comscore. “There was a significant amount of buzz around it.”
“Final Destination: Bloodlines” opened in 3,523 locations riding in on a wave of strong reviews (93% on Rotten Tomatoes) and viral marketing tactics, including a picture of logs on the back of trucks — a callback to one of the more infamous “Final Destination” death traps.
“Final Destination’s” win effectively revives a 25-year-old franchise that hasn’t had a new film since 2011. It also continues a hot streak for Warner Bros., which has had near back-to-back hits in Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” and “A Minecraft Movie.” All three were in the top five this weekend.
Disney’s “Thunderbolts” landed in second with $16.5 million, pushing its global total to over $325 million. “Sinners” placed third with $15.4 million, bringing its global total to $316.8 million. “A Minecraft Movie,” which has made $928.6 million globally, added $5.9 million. Amazon MGM Studios’ “The Accountant 2” rounded out the top five.
“Hurry Up Tomorrow” opened in sixth place. The film, which Tesfaye co-wrote and Trey Edward Shults directed, is a kind of companion piece to his album and tour. He plays a fictionalized version of himself as an insomniac musician. Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan also star.
Neither critics nor audiences greeted it kindly: It carries a 13% on Rotten Tomatoes and was slapped with a C- CinemaScore. AP music writer Maria Sherman wrote that it’s “an exciting vanity project with surrealist imagination but stiff writing, no stakes, limited emotional weight and an unclear narrative.”
Lionsgate only handled the release of the R-rated film, which opened on over 2,000 screens and its $3.3 million was enough to make it a profitable deal for the studio.
Next weekend could be a big one for movie theaters as “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” and the live-action “Lilo & Stitch” both open nationwide. The overall domestic box office remains up nearly 15% from last year.
“This weekend is the perfect opening act for what could be one of the biggest Memorial weekends at the box office ever,” Dergarabedian said.
Top 10 movies by domestic box office
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:
1. “Final Destination: Bloodlines,” $51 million.
2. “Thunderbolts,” $16.5 million.
3. “Sinners,” $15.4 million.
4. “A Minecraft Movie,” $5.9 million.
5. “The Accountant 2,” $5 million.
6. “Hurry Up Tomorrow,” $3.3 million.
7. “Friendship,” $1.4 million.
8. “Clown in a Cornfield,” $1.3 million.
9. “Kiki’s Delivery Service,” $1.1 million.
10. “Until Dawn,” $800,000.
