Weekend box office: In battle of sequels, Denzel's 'Equalizer' sneaks past 'Mamma Mia'

Weekend box office - July 20-22, 2018

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) – In something of a surprise, Denzel Washington’s “The Equalizer 2” has been this week’s box office champion with $35.8 million. That’s a shocking, but impressive total, particularly when you consider that it was expected to finish around $25 million. The original film opened to $34 million and finished with a worldwide total of $192 million.

“Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!” was expected to win the weekend, but its $34.3 million puts the ABBA jukebox musical sequel in second. That’s a little short of the $36 million that experts were predicting, but nothing that Universal should worry about. Overseas the film added another $20 million for a worldwide total of $55 million. That’s a healthy start for a film that is expected to hold rather well over the next couple of weeks. The original film opened to $27 million a decade ago.

In third place is “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation” with $23 million. That’s a drop of 47 percent, which is slightly bigger than expected, but still qualifies as a strong hold. The domestic total is now at $91 million. I’ve yet to see international numbers, but the worldwide total should be approaching $160 million.

Marvel scored a fourth-place finish with “Ant-Man and the Wasp” snaring $16 million for a domestic total of $163 million. “Ant-Man” (2015) finished its North American run with $180 million. Worldwide, the sequel’s total now sits at $353 million. The original film wrapped up its run at $519 million.

In fifth is Pixar’s “Incredibles 2” with $11.5 million. That elevates the super sequel to a domestic total of $557 million. The worldwide total is $940 million. Could “Incredibles 2” join “Finding Dory” and “Toy Story 3” as Pixar’s third film to surpass $1 billion at the box office? Even if it comes up short, the film is a resounding success.

The week's other wide opening, “Unfriended: Dark Web” is expected to finish the weekend with $3.5 million. That falls short of the projected $5 million, but considering the film only cost $1 million to make, the film’s profitability will depend entirely on how much Blumhouse spent on advertising. The original film opened to $15 million on its way to $64 million worldwide. Nearly half of that final total came from international markets, so there is still a chance that the film will have a stronger showing abroad.