(AP) – The sixth installment of “Final Destination: Bloodlines” drew large crowds to theaters this weekend and easily topped national charts with $51 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates on Sunday. The film earned the same overseas, bringing a global debut of $102 million.
The same enthusiasm wasn’t reflected in Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye’s experimental thriller, “Hurry Up Tomorrow,” which opened outside the top five with an estimated $3.3 million.
“It was always going to have a tough time facing ‘Final Destination: Bloodlines’—there was a lot of buzz,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.
“Final Destination: Bloodlines” opened in 3,523 locations, buoyed by a wave of positive reviews (93% on Rotten Tomatoes) and viral marketing tactics, including an image of logs on the back of trucks, a nod to one of the most infamous traps from “Final Destination: Bloodlines.”
The success of “Final Destination: Bloodlines” effectively revives a 25-year-old franchise that hadn’t had a new film since 2011. It also continues a string of wins for Warner Bros., which has had near‑continuous successes with Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” and “A Minecraft Movie.” All three were among the top five this weekend.
Disney’s “Thunderbolts” placed second with $16.5 million, pushing its worldwide total to over $325 million. “Sinners” finished third with $15.4 million, bringing its global total to $316.8 million. “A Minecraft Movie,” which has grossed $928.6 million worldwide, added $5.9 million. “The Accountant 2” from Amazon MGM Studios completed the top five.
“Hurry Up Tomorrow” opened in sixth place. The film, co-written by Tesfaye and directed by Trey Edward Shults, is a kind of companion piece to his album and tour. It portrays a fictional version of himself as a sleepless musician. Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan also star.
Critics and audiences weren’t kind to it: it holds a 13% on Rotten Tomatoes and earned a C- CinemaScore. AP music writer Maria Sherman described it as “an exciting vanity project with surreal imagination but with rigid writing, no risk-taking, limited emotional weight, and a murky narrative.”
Lionsgate handled only the release of the R-rated film, which opened on more than 2,000 screens, and its $3.3 million was enough to make it a profitable deal for the studio.
Next weekend could be big for theaters as “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” and the live-action version of “Lilo & Stitch” premiere nationwide. Domestic box office overall is up nearly 15% from a year ago.
“This weekend is the perfect opening act for what could be one of Memorial Day’s largest weekends in box office history,” said Dergarabedian.
Estimates of the ten top-grossing films from Friday through Sunday in the United States and Canada, according to Comscore. Final figures will be released on Monday.
1. “Final Destination: Bloodlines” – $51 million
2. “Thunderbolts” – $16.5 million
3. “Sinners” – $15.4 million
4. “A Minecraft Movie” – $5.9 million.
5. “The Accountant 2” – $5 million.
6. “Hurry Up Tomorrow” – $3.3 million.
7. “Friendship” – $1.4 million.
8. “Clown in a Cornfield” – $1.3 million.
9. “Kiki’s Delivery Service” – $1.1 million.
10. “Until Dawn” – $800,000.
