The “Final Destination” franchise shows no signs of fading at the box office.
Its sixth installment, “Final Destination: Bloodlines,” drew massive audiences this weekend, easily claiming the top spot domestically with an estimated $51 million in ticket sales, studio figures revealed Sunday. Matched by another $51 million internationally, the film posted a robust $102 million global debut.
In contrast, Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye’s experimental thriller “Hurry Up Tomorrow” struggled to find an audience, opening outside the top five with just $3.3 million.
“It was always going to be a tough battle against ‘Final Destination: Bloodlines,’” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. “There was a lot of buzz around it.”
“Final Destination: Bloodlines” launched in 3,523 theaters, propelled by strong critical acclaim (93% on Rotten Tomatoes) and clever viral marketing – including mysterious photos of logs on the backs of trucks, a nod to one of the franchise’s most notorious death traps.
“Final Destination’s” win effectively revives a 25-year-old franchise that hasn’t had a new film since 2011. It also continues a hot streak for Warner Bros., which had near back-to-back hits with Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” and “A Minecraft Movie.” All three were in the top five this weekend.
Disney’s “Thunderbolts” landed in second with $16.5 million, pushing its global total to over $325 million. “Sinners” placed third with $15.4 million, bringing its global total to $316.8 million. “A Minecraft Movie,” which has made $928.6 million globally, added $5.9 million. Amazon MGM Studios’ “The Accountant 2” rounded out the top five.
“Hurry Up Tomorrow” opened in sixth place. The film, which Tesfaye co-wrote and Trey Edward Shults directed, is a kind of companion piece to his album and tour. He plays a fictionalized version of himself as an insomniac musician. Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan also star.
Neither critics nor audiences greeted it kindly: It carries a 13% on Rotten Tomatoes and received a C- CinemaScore. AP music writer Maria Sherman called it “an exciting vanity project with surrealist imagination but stiff writing, no stakes, limited emotional weight and an unclear narrative.”
Lionsgate handled the release of the R-rated film, which opened on more than 2,000 screens. Its $3.3 million was enough to make it a profitable deal for the studio.
Next weekend could be a big one for movie theaters as “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” and the live-action “Lilo & Stitch” both open nationwide. The overall domestic box office remains up nearly 15% from last year.
“This weekend is the perfect opening act for what could be one of the biggest Memorial Day weekends at the box office ever,” Dergarabedian said.
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in estimated ticket sales from Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:
