Weekend box office: 'Ocean's 8,' Bullock's haute heist, nabs $41 million

Weekend box office - June 8-10, 2018

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) - In December 2001, “Ocean’s Eleven,” a remake of the Rat Pack’s 1960 film “Ocean’s 11,” opened to positive reviews and $38 million over its first weekend. The film would go on and earn $450 million worldwide. That film was followed by 2004’s “Ocean’s Twelve” and 2007’s “Ocean’s Thirteen.”

More than a decade later, the story picks up with “Ocean’s 8.” The familiar face of George Clooney’s Danny Ocean has been set aside, at least for the moment, to allow for his sister, Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock), to step into the spotlight.

Bullock leads a fantastic ensemble of actresses that ranges from Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter on through to popular actresses Mindy Kaling andSarah Paulson, and pop-culture crossovers Rihanna and Awkwafina.

“Ocean’s 8” sees a team of eight woman pulling off a nearly impossible heist at the world-famous Met Gala. The film earned $41.5 million domestically, an incredibly strong start that suggests that Warner Bros. might have a hit on its hands. Over the next two weeks, the movie will expand throughout the world.

There will be no last-minute deus ex machina for “Solo: A Star Wars Story.” The beloved but ignored film earned $15 million this weekend. Its domestic total is now $176 million. Worldwide, the film has earned $312 million. Costly reshoots and a tepid response from audiences is going to cut into Disney’s profits, but licensing deals and toy sales all but assure that the movie will make money. A setback, but not a fatal wound by any stretch of the imagination.

“Deadpool 2” continued to find success at the box office with $13.6 million. The foul-mouthed merc has schmoozed his way to a worldwide total of $628 million. Combine the world totals of both films and Deadpool has earned Fox $1.4 billion. Not bad for a film that the studio didn’t really want to make.

“Hereditary,” a fascinating horror film from filmmaker Ari Aster starring Toni Collette, earned $13 million over the weekend. That’s nearly as much as last year’s “It Comes at Night” earned in 14 weeks. Audiences haven’t warmed to the movie in the same way that critics have. CinemaScore has the masses giving the film a D+, which wouldn’t look good on anyone’s report card. However, the film has already developed a devoted fan base. It will be interesting to see if conflicting word of mouth helps or hurts this film.

“Adrift” fell 56 percent in its second weekend with $5 million. The $35-million film has now earned $21 million domestically.

“Hotel Artemis” will finish its opening weekend with $3.1 million.

Overseas, “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” saw its early release bring in an estimated $145 million. The film doesn’t open in North America until June 22.