Skip to main content

‘Kingsman’ sequel wins the weekend as ‘It’ breaks more box-office records

(L-R) Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, and Pedro Pascal in "Kingsman: The Golden Circle."
20th Century Fox / 20th Century Fox
The weekend box office was won by secret-agent sequel Kingsman: The Golden Circle, but it was second-place film It that keeps generating buzz and breaking records.

Director and co-writer Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman: The Golden Circle — the sequel to 2015’s surprise hit Kingsman: The Secret Service — lived up to expectations with a big opening weekend, earning approximately $39 million in U.S. theaters and more than $100 million worldwide. The “R”-rated spy adventure managed to beat the $36.2 million debut of the original film, and although it wasn’t received as warmly by professional critics, general audiences gave it their stamp of approval with a “B+” grade on audience polling site CinemaScore — the same grade given to The Secret Service.

Recommended Videos

That wasn’t the film generating most of the discussion this week, though.

Please enable Javascript to view this content
# Title  Weekend    U.S.  Total   Worldwide Total 
1.  Kingsman: The Golden Circle  $39M  $39M  $100.2M
2. It $30M $266.3M $478M
3. The Lego Ninjago Movie $21.2M $21.2M $31.7M
4. American Assassin $6.2M $26.1M $32.2M
5. Home Again $3.3M $22.3M $22.3M
6. Mother! $3.2M $13.4M $25.9M
7. Friend Request $2.4M $2.4M $2.4M
8. The Hitman’s Bodyguard $1.8M $73.5M $145M
9. Stronger $1.7M $1.7M $1.7M
10. Wind River $1.2M $31.6M $31.6M

Director Andy Muschietti’s adaptation of Stephen King’s horror novel It — the first film in a two-part saga — became the highest-grossing “R”-rated horror movie of all time in U.S. theaters after adding $30 million to its domestic ticket sales. Its $266.3 million in U.S. theaters passed former record-holder The Exorcist ($232.9 million), and the film has only been in theaters for three weeks at this point.

Three other new releases made it into the weekend’s top ten films, but they mostly underperformed pundits’ and studios’ predictions.

The animated feature The Lego Ninjago Movie debuted with just $21.2 million over its opening weekend, giving it the weakest premiere so far among the three Lego-centric animated features. With its “B+” grade on CinemaScore, Lego Ninjago was also the only one of the three films to receive anything worse than an “A-” grade, and its 53-percent approval rating on review aggregator RottenTomatoes is the lowest of all three films by far. (Both The Lego Movie and The Lego Batman Movie had better than 90-percent approval ratings.)

Also debuting this week was the social-media horror film Friend Request and the Boston bombing drama Stronger. The supernatural social-media thriller bombed critically, and didn’t perform much better at the box office with just $2.4 million in U.S. theaters. Meanwhile, the limited release for Stronger brought the film $1.7 million from 574 theaters, and it’s expected to expand in the coming weeks.

This upcoming week features a pair of intriguing new releases. Tom Cruise reunites with Edge of Tomorrow director Doug Liman for American Made, in which he plays real-world pilot Barry Seal, who was recruited by the CIA to assist in covert international operations during the 1980s. Also arriving in theaters is the remake of Flatliners, which features a new cast of young actors portraying a group of medical students on a mission to discover what lies after death.

Rick Marshall
A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…
Is Nosferatu streaming? Find out when the gothic horror heads to Peacock
Lily-Rose Depp bleeds from the mouth and eyes in a still from the movie "Nosferatu."

The gothic horror hit of 2024 finally heads to streaming later this month. Focus Features' Nosferatu will begin streaming exclusively on Peacock on February 21, 2025.

Peacock will also offer a never-before-seen-in-theaters extended cut of Nosferatu. Additionally, Nosferatu: An Inside Look is a behind-the-scenes look into the making of the film, with interviews of the creatives behind the movie.

Read more
3 underrated shows on Netflix you need to watch in February 2025
Vince McMahon in promo art for Mr. McMahon.

February is a great month to be a Netflix subscriber, especially if you love TV. The final season of Cobra Kai drops on February 13, as the students of Miyagi-Do close out the Sekai Taikai tournament. Kaitlyn Dever headlines a new limited series, Apple Cider Vinegar, about a girl who lied about a cancer diagnosis to build a following as an influencer.

Two of Netflix's underappreciated sections are reality and documentary. Netflix continues to release high-quality reality shows and docuseries, from Love Is Blind and Selling Sunset to Tiger King and American Manhunt. Below are three under-the-radar shows to watch this month. Our picks include a rap competition, a WWE docuseries, and a golf showcase.

Read more
How to watch Manchester City vs. Newcastle: Results and highlights
how to watch manchester city vs newcastle results highlights erling haaland man

Last weekend, the Premier League took the weekend off for the FA Cup. This weekend, the Premier League returns with a stacked lineup of games. One match to watch is the contest between Manchester City and Newcastle at Etihad Stadium. For the first time in what feels like forever, Manchester City is not at the top of the standings. In fact, City enters the weekend in fifth place. Which team is right behind City in the standings? That would be Newcastle with the same amount of points.
It's been an eventful week for Manchester City. On February 11, City faced Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League playoff. Despite having leads of 1-0 and 2-1, City blew the game and lost 3-2. City will also be without Manuel Akanji for the foreseeable future. Could this be the opening Newcastle needs to snap their 20-league-game losing streak at Manchester City? Newcastle's last win at Manchester City came in 2000.
Find out how to watch a live stream of Manchester City vs. Newcastle below. For coverage of February's must-see matches, visit Digital Trends' Premier League guide.
Results and highlights: Manchester City 4, Newcastle 0
Manchester City v. Newcastle United | PREMIER LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS | 2/15/2025 | NBC Sports
How to watch Manchester City vs. Newcastle
https://twitter.com/NUFC/status/1890337236509458734

The match between Manchester City and Newcastle is scheduled for 10 a.m. ET on Saturday, February 15, 2025. The game will air on . If you can't catch the game live, watch the replay on Peacock, which will be available soon after the game ends.
Peacock offers two paid plans: Premium and Premium Plus. Premium costs $8 per month and Premium Plus costs $14 per month. New customers can save 63% on Peacock by purchasing an annual plan for Premium at $30. With Peacock, soccer fans can watch their favorite Premier League teams all season. Plus, Peacock streams other sporting events in WWE, PGA Tour, college basketball, and more.

Read more