‘Logan’ claws its way to the top of box-office charts
LOS ANGELES – Twentieth Century Fox’s “Logan” may be Hugh Jackman’s final portrayal of the iconic X-Men character Wolverine, but the man with the adamantium claws isn’t going out without a fight.
The film earned an estimated $85.3 million from Friday to Monday, obliterating its box-office competition and relegating Jordan Peele’s socially conscious horror film “Get Out” to second place despite earning $26.1 million, just a 22 percent drop from opening weekend.
Directed by James Mangold, “Logan” adapts the “Old Man Logan” comic, following an aged Wolverine and ailing Professor X (Patrick Stewart) as they cross paths with a young mutant who will change their lives.
The R-rated film’s take is the biggest opening weekend of 2017 and the fourth-best R-rated debut of all time.
According to the studio, the key to the movie’s success comes in the execution of its vision, blending the visceral with the personal.
“(Mangold) and (Jackman) came in long ago and pitched their version of the film, that it was definitely going to be R-rated, that it was going to be a very personal story, and that’s exactly the movie that we have,” said Chris Aronson, head of domestic distribution for Fox. “I think they did a beautiful job of telling that story, and both critics and audiences have responded.”
In addition to its domestic take, “Logan” earned an estimated $152.5 million internationally, according to the studio, bringing the film’s worldwide opening weekend estimate to $237.8 million.
The big weekend for “Logan” comes despite the picture’s relatively modest superhero budget, a mere $97 million, not including marketing costs. In comparison, 2016’s “X-Men: Apocalypse” was budgeted at $178 million and made just $79.8 million in its four-day Memorial Day weekend debut.
Lionsgate’s “The Shack” outpaced expectations to bring in an estimated $16.1 million in its opening weekend, good enough for third at the box office. An adaptation of the Christian novel of the same name, it stars Sam Worthington as a man who meets three iterations of God after the death of his daughter.
Warner Bros.’ “The Lego Batman Movie” landed in fourth place, with the animated comedy adding $11.6 million to its four-week haul, bringing its domestic take to $148.6 million.
The weekend’s other new release, Open Road’s teen drama “Before I Fall,” rounded out the top five, earning about $4.9 million for its eponymous adaptation of the novel about a girl (Zoey Deutch) repeatedly forced to relive the final day of her life.
Lionsgate’s “John Wick: Chapter 2” landed at No. 6 in its fourth week of release. Keanu Reeves’ quietly competent killer brought in $4.7 million for a total of $82.8 million.
The Oscars, meanwhile, continue to drive audiences to the theaters.
Fox’s “Hidden Figures,” a film centered on the black female mathematicians working at NASA in the 1960s, finished in seventh place with $3.8 for the weekend and $158.7 million domestically. Lionsgate’s hit Hollywood musical “La La Land” may have lost best picture, but took in $2.9 million for 10th place and $145.6 million overall.
“Moonlight,” the best picture winner, expanded its theatrical run to more than 1,500 screens for its highest-grossing weekend to date, earning $2.5 million. The film has earned more than $25 million at the box office, despite a production budget of only $1.5 million.