The Big Picture
- The Equalizer 3 debuted with a strong $34 million opening weekend, matching the performance of the previous two films in the franchise.
- The third film received positive reviews and a high audience score, suggesting long-term success despite a competitive fall season.
- Barbie remained in second place, surpassing $600 million domestically and becoming the year’s highest-grossing film, while Blue Beetle and Gran Turismo competed for the third spot.
The Equalizer franchise is once again proving that Denzel Washington is quietly one of the last remaining movie stars. Across the span of a decade, the franchise has consistently delivered strong results at the box office, mostly due to Washington’s sustained appeal. The series’ third (and supposedly final) installment — The Equalizer 3 — is exceeding expectations with a strong $34 million debut across its opening weekend. The figure will balloon to around $43 million across the four-day extended Labor Day weekend — the second-biggest in history, behind Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
The three-day opening is roughly identical to those posted by The Equalizer and The Equalizer 2, which were released in 2014 and 2018, respectively. Each movie in the series has been directed by Antoine Fuqua, who previously worked with Washington on Training Day, which won him his second acting Oscar. The first Equalizer movie concluded its domestic run with just over $100 million, and made $192 million worldwide. The Equalizer 2 made $102 million domestically, and $190 million worldwide.
The third film received arguably the best reviews of the bunch, and is currently sitting at a “fresh” 76% score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. It also earned a healthy A CinemaScore from opening day audiences, which should work in its favor in the long run, especially as we enter a relatively lean fall season. Collider’s Nate Richard called the film a “gleefully violent final installment.”
A Host of Holdovers Dominated the Top 5
Staying in second position for the third weekend in a row, Barbie added around $10 million across the traditional three-day weekend, and is projected to make around $13 million across the extended frame. On Friday, the movie passed the $600 million mark domestically, and also overtook The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s $1.35 billion lifetime haul to become the year’s biggest film. There’s no telling when it’ll slow down, especially with a planned IMAX release to counter its debut on PVOD this month.
The superhero film Blue Beetle and the video game adaptation Gran Turismo appear to be caught in a tight race for the third spot, with Blue Beetle currently pulling ahead. Now in its third weekend, the movie is looking to add another $6.6 million to its tally, taking its running haul to over $55 million. Gran Turismo, on the other hand, is eying $6.5 million across its sophomore frame, and around $8.4 million over the extended weekend. The movie will just about hit $30 million domestically by Monday, which isn’t great despite its relatively lean $60 million reported budget.
The top five was rounded out by Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which became the second-biggest R-rated movie in history just yesterday. The three-hour biographical thriller is looking to add around $5.3 million this weekend, and roughly $7 million across the extended frame, which will take its running domestic total to just under $310 million. Globally, the film has passed Inception to become Nolan’s third-biggest release of all time behind The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
