By Jake Coyle, Film Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --"Ocean's 8," the female-fronted overhaul of the starry heist franchise, opened with an estimated $41.5 million at the box office, taking the weekend's top spot from the fast-falling "Solo: A Star Wars Story."
At a lower price point and in less fanboy-guarded franchise, "Ocean's 8" — despite ho-hum reviews — found nothing like the stormy reception than the female-led "Ghostbusters" reboot did on the same weekend two years ago.
Made for approximately $70 million, "Ocean's 8" and its cast featuring Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett and Anne Hathaway, set an opening-weekend best for the franchise, not accounting for inflation. The three previous "Ocean's" films — starring Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Matt Damon, and based on the 1960 original "Ocean's 11," with Frank Sinatra — all debuted with between $36-39 million in the last decade.
"Ocean's 8," also starring Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Awkwafina, Rihanna and Helena Bonham Carter, drew a largely female audience — 69 percent — for a result that slightly surpassed expectations.
"We thought we'd come in in the $35-40 (million) range," said Warner Bros. distribution chief Jeff Goldstein. "Number one, it's fun. Number two, it hits an underserved audience. Unfortunately, there is just a lack of stories that are aimed right at women."
Yet the weekend's three new wide releases were all female fronted.
The horror thriller "Hereditary," starring Toni Collette, debuted with $13 million, setting a new company record for A24, the indie distributor behind releases like "The Witch" and "Moonlight." The feature-film directing debut of Ari Aster, "Hereditary" has received rave reviews and been hailed as the year's scariest movie since its debut at the Sundance Film Festival. Either from disappointment or simply because they were stunned from fear, audiences gave "Hereditary" — about a family cursed after the death of its matriarch — a D-plus CinemaScore.
Less successful was "Hotel Artemis," starring Jodie Foster. The Global Road release, also starring Sterling K. Brown, Dave Bautista and Charlie Day, flopped with $3.2 million in 2,407 theaters. Set in a near-future Los Angeles, "Hotel Artemis" is about a members-only hospital for criminals.
Coming between more massive blockbusters like the recent "Solo" and the upcoming "Incredibles 2" and "Jurassic World," the weekend was down about 20 percent from last year, according to comScore, when "Wonder Woman" was setting box-office records. But some of the story was still the same.
"There's a lot of women-powered revenue at the box office in the heat of the summer season," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore. "Films featuring female leads are killing it at the box office, but that's been going on for quite a while."
One of the early summer's more breakout hits has been the Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg documentary "RBG," which has made $9.1 million in six weeks of release through Sunday.
Opening this weekend was another documentary that may prove a similar sensation: the Fred Rogers documentary "Won't You Be My Neighbor." The Focus Features release grossed $470,000 in 29 theaters for a per-theater average of about $16,000. The film, 99 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, has been acclaimed for its portrait of the man behind "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood." Focus said two thirds of the documentary's audience was under the age of 45.
Meanwhile, the troubled "Solo" slid to second place with $15.2 million on its third weekend. It has now grossed $176.1 million, well off its expected pace.
"Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" began its international rollout in 48 overseas markets with an estimated $151.1 million, said Universal Pictures. That's a predictably strong start for a film expected to be one of the biggest of the summer. It opens Friday in China, and on June 22 in North America.
Initial reviews, which came out this week, were mixed for J.A. Bayona's sequel. But critics were also less thrilled with 2015's "Jurassic World," which grossed more than $1.6 billion worldwide.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "Ocean's 8," $41.5 million ($12.2 million international).
2. "Solo: A Star Wars Story," $15.2 million.
3. "Deadpool 2," $13.7 million ($18.5 million international).
4. "Hereditary," $13 million ($3.5 million international).
5. "Avengers: Infinity War," $6.8 million ($10.9 million international).
6. "Adrift," $5.1 million.
7. "Book Club," $4.2 million.
8. "Hotel Artemis," $3.2 million.
9. "Upgrade," $2.2 million.
10. "Life of the Party," $2.1 million.
1. "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom," $151.1 million.
2. "Deadpool 2," $18.5 million.
3. "Ocean's 8," $12.2 million.
4. "Solo: A Star Wars Story," $11.3 million.
5. "Avengers: Infinity War," $10.9 million.
6. "Toilet: Ek Prem Katha," $9 million.
7. "How Long Will I Love U," $8.4 million.
8. "Happiness Is Coming," $6.9 million.
9. "Black Water," $6.2 million.
10. "Believer," $3.9 million.
James Earl Jones, Lauded Actor and Voice of Darth Vader, Dies At 93
James Earl Jones, who overcame racial prejudice and a severe stutter to become a celebrated icon of stage and screen — eventually lending his deep, commanding voice to CNN, "The Lion King" and Darth Vader — has died. He was 93.
His agent, Barry McPherson, confirmed Jones died Monday morning at home in New York's Hudson Valley region. The cause was not immediately clear.
The pioneering Jones, who was one of the first African American actors in a continuing role on a daytime drama and worked deep into his 80s, won two Emmys, a Golden Globe, two Tony Awards, a Grammy, the National Medal of Arts, the Kennedy Center Honors and was given an honorary Oscar and a special Tony for lifetime achievement. In 2022, a Broadway theater was renamed in his honor.
He cut an elegant figure late in life, with a wry sense of humor and a ferocious work habit. In 2015, he arrived at rehearsals for a Broadway run of "The Gin Game" having already memorized the play and with notebooks filled with comments from the creative team. He said he was always in service of the work.
"The need to storytell has always been with us," he told The Associated Press then. "I think it first happened around campfires when the man came home and told his family he got the bear, the bear didn't get him."
Jones created such memorable film roles as the reclusive writer coaxed back into the spotlight in "Field of Dreams," the boxer Jack Johnson in the stage and screen hit "The Great White Hope," the writer Alex Haley in "Roots: The Next Generation" and a South African minister in "Cry, the Beloved Country."
He was also a sought-after voice actor, expressing the villainy of Darth Vader ("No, I am your father," commonly misremembered as "Luke, I am your father"), as... Read More