‘The Meg’ Eats Competition At Box Office, Makes $16M Splash On Friday
The Meg has technically been in production for approximately two decades and actor Jason Statham recently said there were times he feared the movie would never even see the light of day. But today, filmmakers are finally able to breathe a sigh of relief, as The Meg has officially surpassed expectations and may nearly double the original opening weekend forecasts.
According to Forbes The Meg was expected to bring into $20-25 million on opening weekend, but having already garnered approximately $16 million means it will easily swim past those projected goals on Saturday and Sunday. Forbes is predicting anywhere from $45 million to $50 million for it’s opening-weekend box office take.
This is a major win for The Meg and Warner Bros.
Paramount’s major blockbuster Mission: Impossible – Fallout made an estimated $5.3 million on Friday, putting the film at an estimated worldwide box office total of $372 million, making it officially profitable for having been made on a $178 million budget.
Also, according to Box Office Mojo, Slender Man took an estimated $4.8 million during opening weekend. Forecasters are saying it will have an $11.8 million opening weekend. While Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman is taking home approximately $9.4 million for opening weekend, though it was a much more limited release film.
Critical reception for BlacKkKlansman has been strong, with the movie currently holding a 97 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Conversely, Slender Man is sitting at an uncomfortable 15 percent, likely the main culprit for its weak opening.
The Meg has been hovering around 50 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics divided of the movie.
According to Box Office Mojo, Mission: Impossible – Fallout’s impressive box office take has only garnered it the title of the 9th highest grossing film at the domestic box office for 2018. If The Meg wishes to break the top 10, it would need to hit over $143 million at the domestic box office to compete.
Black Panther still remains No. 1.
In all, five out of the top 10 grossing movies for 2018 have been distributed by Buena Vista, the distribution company of the Walt Disney company. Two other films, Mission: Impossible – Fallout and A Quiet Place were made by Paramount, while Deadpool 2 was released by Twentieth Century Fox, which will soon be owned by Disney.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, the No. 4 highest grossing film of the year, was distributed by Universal Pictures, while Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation was released by Sony Pictures.
