Weekend box office: Audiences give 'Downton Abbey' a royal welcome

Weekend Box Office September 20-22, 2019

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Focus Features has reason to raid the top shelf as “Downton Abbey,” a feature length film that picks up where the ITV/PBS series left off, not only finished in first place it strolled past the $22 million predictions and looks to finish the weekend with $31 million. That’s the most any Focus film has ever opened to (2015’s “Insidious Chapter 3” opened with $22.7 million). Overseas “Downton Abbey” opened to $30.8 million. The worldwide total is an impressive $61.8 million.

It's going to be a tight race, but currently it appears that Brad Pitt's journey into space with "Ad Astra" will open in second place with $19.2 million. The film cost at least $80 million to make. There's still a distance to go before the film makes money, but it was always going to be a slow burn. Worldwide the film has earned $45 million.

Sylvester Stallone returns to the role of John Rambo for the fifth time with “Rambo: Last Blood.” The film wasn’t screened for local critics, those who did get to see the film dismissed it as an ultra-violent and xenophobic action tale that fails (yet again) to build on the wounded warrior motif that was established in “First Blood.” “Last Blood” brought home $19 million in its first weekend.

In its third weekend, “It: Chapter Two” fell 56%, with $17.2 million. The domestic total sits at $179 million. At this point it appears that matching the first chapter’s worldwide total of $700 million isn’t going to happen. Still, its current worldwide total of $385 million is only a disappointment when compared to its predecessor. For a horror film, $385 million is exceptional. 2018’s “Halloween” topped out at $255 million.

In its second weekend, “Hustlers” earned an additional $17 million, a safe 48% drop. It’s 10-day total is $62 million.