By LINDSEY BAHR
Death is not looming for the “Final Destination” franchise at the box office.
Its sixth installment, “Final Destination: Bloodlines,” drew big crowds to movie theaters this weekend and easily topped the domestic charts with $51 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. The movie earned the same internationally, adding up to a $102 million global debut.
The same enthusiasm did not meet Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye’s experimental thriller “Hurry Up Tomorrow,” which opened outside of the top five with an estimated $3.3 million.
“It was always going to have a tough time coming up against ‘Final Destination: Bloodlines,’” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “There was a lot of buzz.”
“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.
