As predicted, Hugh Jackman’s final adventure as Marvel Comics mutant Wolverine in Logan shredded its competition over the weekend, winning with a massive $85.3 million debut — one of the biggest premieres for any “R”-rated movie, and the biggest opening weekend for any of this year’s films so far.
Director James Mangold’s gritty, violent swan song for Jackman’s Wolverine enjoyed a surge of positive reviews leading up to its debut, and it turned all of that buzz into the fifth best opening weekend of all time for an “R”-rated movie. All four films in front of it on that list (Deadpool, The Matrix Reloaded, American Sniper, and The Hangover Part II) hit theaters on a long holiday weekend, so the numbers for Logan are that much more impressive.
As for the rest of the weekend’s films, Jordan Peele’s critically acclaimed horror movie Get Out dropped a mere 21 percent from last week’s big premiere and doesn’t appear to be losing any momentum. Of course, the fact that it has some of the most positive reviews of any major film released this year certainly doesn’t hurt, and it will be interesting to see how well it can hang on as the release calendar gets more crowded.
| # | Title | Weekend | U.S. Total | Worldwide Total |
| 1. | Logan | $85.3M | $85.3M | $237.8M |
| 2. | Get Out | $26.1M | $75.9M | $75.9M |
| 3. | The Shack | $16.1M | $16.1M | $16.1M |
| 4. | The Lego Batman Movie | $11.6M | $148.6M | $256.8M |
| 5. | Before I Fall | $4.9M | $4.9M | $4.9M |
| 6. | John Wick: Chapter Two | $4.7M | $82.8M | $144.3M |
| 7. | Hidden Figures | $3.8M | $158.7M | $194.9M |
| 8. | The Great Wall | $3.5M | $41.2M | $320.1M |
| 9. | Fifty Shades Darker | $3.4M | $109.9M | $356.1M |
| 10. | La La Land | $2.9M | $145.6M | $396.3M |
Coming in third over the weekend was The Shack, a film that proves yet again that faith-based dramas shouldn’t be underestimated at the box office. Made for next to nothing (relatively speaking), The Shack raked in more than $16.1 million with its Christian-themed narrative about a man who finds a way to overcome a terrible tragedy with the help of three enigmatic strangers.
The only other new release to crack the top ten was the young-adult thriller Before I Fall, which earned just $4.9 million but is actually in decent shape, given that it was made for less than $5 million.
Although the Academy Awards are in the rearview mirror now, “Best Picture” nominees Hidden Figures and La La Land continued their strong runs in theaters. Both films remained in the top ten, with Hidden Figures still the highest-grossing nominee in U.S. theaters and La La Land the big box-office winner worldwide.
This upcoming weekend features one massive new release — and it’s big in more than just its budget. Kong: Skull Island finally arrives in theaters, bringing the famous giant ape back to the big screen on a weekend that offers little competition from any other new releases. Only Logan and Get Out are likely to chip away at Skull Island as far as ticket sales, but it’s almost assured that King Kong will reign supreme this week.
