Box Office: ‘The Predator’ Bites Off $24 Million Bow

“The Predator” was able to fend off “The Nun” at the domestic box office.

Shane Black’s “The Predator” launched with a tepid $24 million from 4,037 North American locations. That was easily enough to top the weekend box office, but not enough to land a franchise-best debut. That distinction still belongs to 2010’s “Predator” with $24.7 million (not including the two “Alien vs. Predator” crossover films).

Warner Bros. “The Nun” dropped to second place, generating $18 million in its second weekend for a domestic tally of $85 million. Meanwhile, Lionsgate’s “A Simple Favor” debuted at No. 3 with $16 million on 3,102 screens. Another new offering, Matthew McConaughey’s “White Boy Rick,” along with “Crazy Rich Asians” rounded out the top five.

Though “The Predator” opened at the lower end of estimates, it doesn’t seem surrounding controversy tainted the sci-fi film. Prior to its premiere, “The Predator” drew ire after 20th Century Fox announced it deleted a scene featuring registered sex offender Steven Wilder Striegel. The studio said it was “not aware” of Striegel’s background when he was hired. Black has since apologized for casting Striegel, who is a friend of his.

The fourth installment — starring Olivia Munn, Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes, Jacob Tremblay, Keegan Michael Key, and Sterling K. Brown — has generated mediocre reception. It holds a bleak 34% average on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, along with a C+ CinemaScore.

Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, and Henry Golding star in “A Simple Favor,” which fared well with females and adults. Women accounted for 67% of audiences, while 86% were 25 or older. Paul Feig,known for his work on “Freaks and Geeks” and “Bridesmaids,” directed the neo-noir mystery drama.

Sony and Studio 8’s “White Boy Rick” will battle it out with Warner Bros.’ “Crazy Rich Asians” for fourth and fifth place. Sunday estimates show “Crazy Rich Asians” pocketing $8.7 million in its fifth outing, while “White Boy Rick” generated $8.8 million. Those numbers could fluctuate before the final tally comes in on Monday.

More to come…

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