Denzel Washington’s “The Equalizer 3” is showing some box office virtuosity, taking flight in its domestic debut after grossing $13.1 million on opening day from 3,241 venues. That includes $3.8 million in Thursday previews, boosted by showtimes in premium large format auditoriums.
The third and ostensibly final entry in Sony’s action series is gunning for the second-highest Labor Day weekend opening in history. The holiday isn’t typically a boon for box office, though Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” set a record two years ago with a $94.6 million four-day opening. “Equalizer 3” won’t reach those heights, but it’s contending against the runner-up for the record — Rob Zombie’s “Halloween” remake, which stabbed into $30 million in 2007. So far, the film is now projecting a four-day opening north of $42 million.
Those numbers show that Washington is one of the few names in entertainment that can still open a film in theaters without the boost of intellectual property. The projected debut represents some box office deja vu, landing in the same ballpark as the two previous “Equalizer” entries. The 2015 original landed $34 million in a traditional three-day frame, while the 2018 sequel had a light uptick with $36 million. Both films eventually crossed $100 million in North America and neared $200 million worldwide.
With a production budget of $70 million, “Equalizer 3” will look to put together a similar performance over the coming weeks. Reviews have been mostly warm, with a series-high 79% approval rating from top critics on review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes. And the film has got game with audiences, as indicated by its glowing “A” grade on Cinema Score.
Antoine Fuqua returns to direct the entry after helming the first two installments. “Equalizer 3” sees Washington return as ex-Marine Robert McCall, this time working to free friends from the Italian mafia. Washington reunites with his “Man on Fire” co-star Dakota Fanning, while David Denman, Sonia Ammar and Remo Girone round out the cast.
After preview grosses helped boost “Gran Turismo” to the strange achievement of a No. 1 opening without it ever actually being the top grosser on last Friday, Saturday or Sunday, the Sony release is now projecting $6.55 million over the three-day frame, which would mark a 62% fall from its debut. That’d be good for fourth place on domestic charts, falling behind “Barbie” and “Blue Beetle,” two Warner Bros. releases. That’s not exactly a dazzling hold for a film with a strong Cinema Score, a $60 million production budget and homegrown Sony PlayStation IP. The domestic total should reach around $30 million through the end of Labor Day.
“Barbie” looks to take silver in its seventh weekend in theaters. The comedy earned $2.4 million on Friday, down only 39% from its previous outing. This morning, the Warner Bros. release officially surpassed “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” to become the highest-grossing global release of the year with $1.36 billion and counting.
More to come…
