Box Office: Jason Statham’s The Beekeeper Buzzes Into First Place… or Does It?

Probably one of the things I enjoy the most about reporting box office is when the box office estimates on Sunday morning are so close between movies that things could change at the drop of a dime… or rather, when actual box office is reported on Monday afternoon. I’m being sarcastic. It’s actually the WORST part of reporting box office, especially when studio estimates are announced, and they don’t make any sense, but the studios insist that their movies won, when in fact, they didn’t.

That was the case this past Sunday when MGM reported that Jason Statham‘s The Beekeeper had pulled ahead of Paramount Pictures‘ movie musical, Mean Girls, to win the weekend with $7.4 million to $7.3 million, the $120,000 difference being small enough that things could change once actual box office is reported on Monday afternoon. (It was even odder, only because Paramount had already reported that Mean Girls won its third weekend at #1 before MGM reported their numbers.)

According to the estimates, The Beekeeper had a negligible 14% drop in its third weekend to take the top spot at the box office, while bringing its domestic total to $42.3 million. By comparison, Mean Girls dropped 37% according to Sunday estimates. Based on actual, it actually dropped more like 41% to take $6.9 million for a domestic total of $60.4 million. As of now, The Beekeeper is still ahead, but we’ll have to see if those numbers are modified once Sunday actuals are reported. UPDATE: Sure enough, my instincts were correct and The Beekeeper was way overestimated, as it actually dropped 22% to take second place with $6.7 million.

Warner Bros‘ Wonka, starring Timothée Chalamet, was less questionable in its third place showing with $5.7 million (down 12%), bringing its domestic total to $194.9 million and making it evident that it will be the first and only holiday release to hit the $200 million mark domestically. Wonka added another $7.8 million overseas for an international total of $356.9 million and $552 million global. Considering how much better this prequel has done than Warners’ Aquaman sequel (see below), it’s surprising that it hasn’t announced a second movie yet. (Hollywood does love its announcements.)

Universal‘s animated Migration remained in fourth place with $4.9 million (down 10%), as it became the third holiday release to cross the $100 million mark with $101 million. It’s doing just slightly better overseas, adding an additional $5.7 million for an international total of $105.4 million and $206.4 million globally.

Sony’s hit rom-com Anyone But You, starring Sydney Sweeney and Glenn Powell, held onto fifth place with $4.8 million (-11%), bringing its total to $71.2 million. It added another $14.2 million overseas this weekend for a global total of $126.6 million, a bonafide hit for Sony.

The Bollywood Air Force action thriller Fighter opened on Thursday in 662 theaters and did well enough over the weekend to open in sixth place with $3.7 million over the three-day weekend and $4.3 million including its opening Thursday.

With the Oscar nominations announced on Tuesday, half a dozen studios used that opportunity (and the lack of new movies) to either expand or re-release their Oscar-nominated films into more theaters nationwide. Searchlight Studios expanded Yorgos Lanthimos‘ Poor Things, which received 11 nominations, including fourth acting nods for Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo, into 2,300 theaters, giving it the second-biggest bump for the weekend, taking seventh place with $3 million (up 43%). It has now grossed $24.8 million domestically, while it added another $10 million overseas this weekend for a global total of $51.1 million.

One movie that’s slowly been expanding into more theaters since opening in December is MGM Amazon‘s American Fiction, starring first-time nominee Jeffrey Wright, which added 852 theaters to 1,702 theaters, allowing it to take eighth place with $2.9 million, bringing its domestic total to $11.8 million.

Warners’ superhero sequel, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, dropped 23% to ninth place with $2.7 million in 2,118 theaters and $118 million domestically. The movie crossed $400 million globally thanks to the $7 million grossed overseas this weekend for $294.6 international and $412.7 million global.

Returning to the top 10 after being expanded into 2,051 theaters was Toho International‘s Godzilla Minus One, which included a special black-and-white “Minus Color” edition, enough to help the movie to move back into 10th place with $2.7 million. Having been nominated for a single Oscar for its visual effects, the monster movie has grossed $55.1 million domestically, a terrific showing for a Japanese film.

Ava DuVernay‘s Origin, starring Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, didn’t earn the Oscar nominations that NEON hoped for, but the distributor still expanded it into 664 theaters this weekend, where it made $1.3 million, bringing its domestic total to $2.3 million.

A24 expanded Jonathan Glazer‘s Oscar-nominated drama, The Zone of Interest, into 317 theaters, where it made just over a million to bring its domestic total to $3 million.

There were a bunch of smaller indies released into one or two theaters with Oscilloscope‘s Sometimes I Think About Dying, starring Daisy Ridley, which opened in two theaters almost a year after its Sundance debut. It took in an estimated $40.5k this weekend, averaging $20.2k per theater.

Sony Classics released The Peasants into a single New York theater, as did Janus Films with the Mexican Oscar selection, Tótem; the former made $15,180 compared to the latter’s $11,402. Finally, IFC Films opened the Ian McShane thriller American Star in 47 theaters, but that only made $9,000 or $191 per theater.