The World War II epic Dunkirk, a potential Oscar contender from director Christopher Nolan, led the domestic box office in its debut, while the costly science-fiction film Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets flopped with movie fans.
Dunkirk, from Warner Bros., opened with weekend sales of $50.5 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters, researcher ComScore Inc. said Sunday. The R-rated comedy Girls Trip made its debut with $31.2 million, topping estimates. Valerian took in $17 million, missing already low expectations.
Nolan, who directed Warner Bros.' successful Dark Knight films, returns with a movie that some critics say should contend for the best-picture Oscar. The studio is enjoying a solid year at the box office. Sales are up 7.2 percent, according to Box Office Mojo, on the strength of Wonder Woman from its DC Comics franchise. Warner Bros. also is releasing Blade Runner 2049 and Justice League later this year.
Dunkirk features Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh, Oscar winner Mark Rylance and One Direction singer Harry Styles in a story about the historic rescue of hundreds of thousands of Allied soldiers trapped on the beaches of Dunkirk, France.
The movie had a budget of $150 million, according to Box Office Mojo. Critics gave Dunkirk 92 percent positive reviews, according to aggregator Rottentomatoes.com.
At a time when many films are shot on digital cameras, Nolan has been a proponent for preserving film. He made Dunkirk largely with Imax Corp.'s 70-millimeter cameras. The movie is being shown digitally in conventional theaters, along with a few that are charging premium prices for film projectors and larger screens.
The opening numbers feel reminiscent of Nolan's previous blockbuster, 2014's Interstellar, which cost $165 million to produce and which debuted to $47.5 million before climbing to nearly $200 million.
Many analysts expected a tepid start based on the film's appeal among older men. But the picture, which received an A-minus CinemaScore from audiences, saw a 60 percent male turnout, and 75 percent were 25 or older.
Jeff Goldstein, president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros., said he was elated with the film's performance.
Goldstein expects the audience demographic to broaden in the coming weeks, citing word of mouth as the film's primary marketing scheme. This is evidenced by box-office figures, which reflect a 23 percent jump in ticket sales between Friday and Saturday.
With its fifth-place opening, Valerian is one of the summer's biggest failures and a poor showing for director Luc Besson, whose previous credits include The Fifth Element.
The film is one of the most expensive independent movies ever, based on data from Box Office Mojo and the distributor STX Entertainment, which pegged the projected cost at $150 million even after government subsidies.
Produced by Besson's EuropaCorp and Orange Studio, the picture opened at just $17 million, according to Hollywood Stock Exchange. Critics were split on the film, which garnered 56 percent positive reviews.
Girls Trip, from Universal, opened in second place with $31.2 million. Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Tiffany Haddish and Jada Pinkett Smith star as lifelong friends who travel to New Orleans for the annual Essence Festival. They rekindle their friendship and rediscover their wild sides.
Although some analysts foresaw the success of Girls Trip, the movie acts as a stark counterpoint to Hollywood's historical underestimation of films led by black women.
In third place was Columbia's Spider-Man: Homecoming, and in fourth, Fox's War for the Planet of the Apes.
Opening in theaters today will be Focus Features' sultry action flick Atomic Blonde, starring Charlize Theron, as well as Columbia's The Emoji Movie.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by comScore:
Dunkirk, Warner Bros., $50,513,488, 3,720 locations, $13,579 average, $50,513,488, one week.
Girls Trip, Universal, $31,201,920, 2,591 locations, $12,042 average, $31,201,920, one week.
Spider-Man: Homecoming, Columbia, $22,150,085, 4,130 locations, $5,363 average, $251,851,666, three weeks.
War for the Planet of the Apes, 20th Century Fox, $20,884,223, 4,100 locations, $5,094 average, $98,235,137, two weeks.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, STX Entertainment, $17,007,624, 3,553 locations, $4,787 average, $17,007,624, one week.
Despicable Me 3, Universal, $13,012,050, 3,525 locations, $3,691 average, $213,620,275, four weeks.
Baby Driver, Columbia, $6,070,912, 2,503 locations, $2,425 average, $84,304,851, four weeks.
The Big Sick, Lionsgate, $5,008,143, 2,597 locations, $1,928 average, $24,547,521, five weeks.
Wonder Woman, Warner Bros., $4,608,028, 1,971 locations, $2,338 average, $389,011,307, eight weeks.
Wish Upon, Broad Green Pictures, $2,475,013, 2,154 locations, $1,149 average, $10,519,278, two weeks.
Cars 3, Disney, $1,918,697, 1,294 locations, $1,483 average, $144,013,262, six weeks.
Transformers: The Last Knight, Paramount, $1,169,678, 1,025 locations, $1,141 average, $127,606,483, five weeks.
Fidaa, BlueSky Cinemas, $955,455, 130 locations, $7,350 average, $955,455, one week.
De Pere en Flic 2, Entertainment One Films, $570,740, 92 locations, $6,204 average, $2,429,031, two weeks.
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie, 20th Century Fox, $461,114, 291 locations, $1,585 average, $71,865,351, eight weeks.
47 Meters Down, Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures, $447,820, 449 locations, $997 average, $42,272,276, six weeks.
The House, Warner Bros., $430,021, 453 locations, $949 average, $24,456,269, four weeks.
Maudie, Sony Pictures Classics, $391,064, 233 locations, $1,678 average, $4,065,731, six weeks.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Disney, $364,450, 268 locations, $1,360 average, $387,259,952, 12 weeks.
The Beguiled, Focus Features, $257,555, 331 locations, $778 average, $10,160,989, five weeks.
MovieStyle on 07/28/2017