Warner Bros.’ Crazy Rich Asians is closing out the summer 2018 box office in style.
The Jon M. Chu-directed rom-com is once again coming in ahead of expectations in its third weekend with a projected $30 million or more from 3,865 theaters, on par with Labor Day record-holder Halloween, which debuted to $30.6 million over the four-day holiday in 2007.
Crazy Rich Asians will have no trouble staying atop the chart as it jumps the $100 million mark domestically and passes up Girls Trip ($117 million) to become the most successful comedy in two years and the top rom-com in recent times, at least in North America. Chu’s film — which is enjoying another stellar hold, falling a scant 4 percent or less from last weekend — should finish Monday with a domestic total of $119 million or more.
Warner Bros. will also take the No. 2 spot with The Meg. The hit shark pic is projected to gross another $12 million-plus from 3,761 locations for the four days, putting its domestic tally at $122 million-$123 million.
Among new Labor Day offerings, MGM’s Nazi war-criminal drama Operation Finale looks to post a four day gross of $8 million from 1,818 theaters for a solid six-day debut of $10 million after opening Wednesday.
Operation Finale stars Oscar Isaac as the Mossad agent who tracks down Adolf Eichmann (Ben Kingsley), one of the infamous architects of the Holocaust. Chris Weitz (About a Boy) directed.
The new thriller Searching, about a Korean-American family living in the San Francisco Bay Area, is expanding nationwide into 1,207 theaters over Labor Day after opening in select cinemas last weekend to strong numbers.
Buoyed by support from Chu and other Crazy Rich Asian stars, including Henry Golding — as well as Asian-American groups — Searching is coming in ahead of expectations with a projected four day gross of $7 million from 1,207 theaters.
Searching, written and helmed by Asian-American filmmaker Aneesh Chaganty in his feature directorial debut, tells the story of a 16-year-old girl who goes missing and her father’s effort to find her. John Cho, Michelle La, Debra Messing, Sara Sohn, Joseph Lee and Ric Sarabia star.
Lionsgate’s sci-fi action pic Kin, whose ensemble cast includes James Franco, isn’t looking so lucky and may have trouble hitting $4 million from 2,141 theaters for the four day weekend. Franco stars opposite Jack Reynor, Miles Truitt, Zoe Kravitz, Dennis Quaid and Carrie Coon and Dennis Quaid.
Directed by Jonathan and Josh Baker, Kin is about a young boy and his newly paroled adopted brother who find a strange weapon and are pursued by a vengeful gang of otherworldly soldier.
Opening in far fewer theater this weekend is Lionsgate/Pantelion Films’ Spanish-language film Ya Veremos, which is the year’s top-grossing film in Mexico to date. The film is expected to post a strong U.S. debut of $2.3 million for the four days from 369 theaters.
(Excerpt) Read more in: The Hollywood Reporter