'It 2' Repeats at #1, 'Hustlers' Exceeds Expectations & 'The Goldfinch' Flies into a Wall
It was a mixed bag of a weekend for Warner Bros. which saw It: Chapter Two deliver a strong hold and retain the weekend's #1 spot at the box office, but their new release, The Goldfinch, bombed, delivering one of the worst openings ever for a wide release. Alternatively, STXfilms's Hustlers exploded out of the gates with the studio's largest opening in its five year history as well as star Jennifer Lopez's largest live-action opening of all-time.

With an estimated $40.7 million, WB and New Line's It: Chapter Two topped the weekend for the second week in a row, dipping just -55% compared to its opening weekend and pushing the film's domestic cume over $153 million after ten days in release. In addition to that, the horror sequel added another $47 million internationally this weekend for a global tally that now stands at $323.3 million. That total includes a $4.7 million #1 opening in France while the UK remains the film's top international market with $16.5 million so far. Japan is the last key market yet to release where it will open on November 1.

Collectively, the two films in the It franchise have now grossed over $1.02 billion worldwide.

In second place with an excellent, $33.2 million debut is STXfilms's Hustlers. The opening is the largest in STX's short history, topping the $23.8 million opening for Bad Moms back in 2016. It's also the largest live-action debut for star Jennifer Lopez, topping the $23.1 million opening for Monster-in-Law back in 2005. The film's opening tops both Girls Trip and Bad Moms, which went on to gross over $115 million and $113 million respectively.

Hustlers made a splash at the Toronto Film Festival prior to its opening and entered this weekend with a strong, 88% critic rating on RottenTomatoes. The film's audience was 67% female while 69% of the opening weekend crowd was aged 25 or older. Among that crowd 36% were Caucasian, 26% African American, 27% was Hispanic and 9% Asian. Opening day audiences gave the film a "B-" CinemaScore.

Internationally, Hustlers opened in 15 markets with $4.46 million. Openings included the UK where the film opened to #3 with an estimated $1.7 million followed by a $1.2 million debut in Russia.

Lionsgate's Angel Has Fallen continued its run with an estimated $4.4 million this weekend, dipping just -26.5% as its domestic cume now tops $60 million and continues to pace ahead of its predecessor.

Universal's Good Boys landed in fourth with an estimated $4.26 million as the $20 million production has now seen its domestic cume climb over $73 million. In addition to that, the film added another $1.8 million internationally this weekend for a worldwide cume that now tops $91 million with several overseas openings yet to come.

Placing in the top five for the ninth straight weekend is Disney's The Lion King, which added another $3.5 million domestically for a cume that now totals $533.9 million. This makes The Lion King the 12th largest domestic release of all-time, topping Rogue One and it will soon creep ahead of The Dark Knight ($535.2m) for a spot just outside the top ten. Internationally the picture added another $6.9 million for a global cume that now stands at $1.617 billion.

It isn't until eighth position that we come to WB's The Goldfinch, which debuted with a disastrous $2.6 million from 2,542 locations. The performance is the sixth worst ever for a film debuting in over 2,500 locations and one more disappointment in a string of them for the studio this year including Shaft, The Kitchen, Blinded by the Light and The Sun is Also a Star.

The Goldfinch also premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, though it was met with a largely negative critical reaction, resulting in a 25% RottenTomatoes score. Opening weekend audiences were 57% female with a whopping 90% of the opening weekend crowd coming in aged 25 or older, which is a bad sign with the likes of Downton Abbey debuting next weekend. Opening day audiences gave the film a "B" CinemaScore.

Internationally, The Goldfinch opened in 12 markets with $985,000. Russia led the way with $581,000. The film will open in France this coming Wednesday.

Elsewhere, rounding out the top ten is Roadside's The Peanut Butter Falcon, which is now playing in 1,490 locations (+180) and dipped just -10% this weekend for an estimated $1.9 million. The film's domestic cume now stands at $15 million after six weeks in release.

In limited release, Neon's Monos opened in five locations with an estimated $43,285 ($8,657 PTA); Abramorama's Moonlight Sonata opened in one theater with $7,120; Variance launched One Cut of the Dead in two theaters with an estimated $6,200; IFC's The Sound of Silence also opened in two locations, debuting with an estimated $6,148; Abramorama's Cracked Up brought in $5,580 from one theater; and Matson's Desolation Center opened in three theaters with $5,356 ($1,785 PTA).

Next weekend sees a trio of new wide releases including Fox's Ad Astra in 3,400 locations; Lionsgate's Rambo: Last Blood in 3,300 theaters and Focus's Downton Abbey launching in 3,050 domestic locations after kickstarting its theatrical release internationally this weekend, pulling in $11.7 million from 17 locations, including a #1 debut in the UK with an estimated $6.3 million.

You can check out all of this weekend's estimated results right here and we'll be updating our charts with weekend actuals on Monday afternoon.

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