Weekend box office: 'Crazy Rich Asians' scores mad money, 'Meg' still worldwide champ

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) - The weekend played out as most of us hoped, as “Crazy Rich Asians” takes first place with $25 million for the weekend, which brings its five-day total to $34 million. That’s on the higher end of expectations. The film did cost $30 million to make and had a decent-sized marketing campaign, but there’s a very good chance that by this time next week, the film will have turned a profit, particularly if it plays well overseas. Hopefully we won’t have to wait another 25 years to see a Hollywood film with a predominantly Asian cast.

“The Meg” fell 53 percent with a weekend total of $21 million. Its domestic total now rests at $83 million after 10 days. It's international weekend numbers were three times as impressive, as the giant shark movie added $67 million. Worldwide the film has earned $314 million -- $117 million from China alone.

The Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg action thriller “Mile 22” opened below estimates with $13.62 million. Reviews for the film were generally poor and CinemaScore has audiences giving the film a B-. That suggests that this planned franchise (the second film is already in development) will need to have a strong international presence if the whole intended narrative is going to be told.

“Alpha” outpaced expectations and will finish the weekend with $10.5 million. The film, which tells the story of a young man who is separated from his tribe during the final Ice Age and befriends a wild dog on his journey back to them, was expected to finish closer to $6 million. Unfortunately, the film is rumored to have cost more than $50 million to make. There’s little chance that “Alpha” will ever make a profit.

“Mission: Impossible – Fallout” also earned $10.5 million this weekend. The domestic total rests at $180 million. Worldwide, the film has now earned $493 million.