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Posted February 16, 2020 by Mike Tyrkus in News
 
 

Box-Office Weekend: Sonic the Hedgehog Outruns the Birds of Prey

Presidents’ Day weekend belonged soundly to Sonic the Hedgehog, which enjoyed a debut atop the box-office weekend. The film took in $57 million over the weekend, outpacing second-place finisher (last weekend’s top film) Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn by approximately $40 million.

Sonic the Hedgehog posterAlthough Birds of Prey lost the top spot this weekend, it still managed to bring in another $17.1 million to give the film a two-week total of $59.3 million. This was just ahead of the second debut of the weekend, Fantasy Island, which took the third spot with a tally of $12.4 million. Similarly, fourth place belonged to another debut as The Photograph brought in $12.3 million, to finish just behind Fantasy Island.

Meanwhile, Bad Boys for Life dropped from the second spot all the way to fifth adding only $11.3 million over the weekend. This gives the film a five-week total of $181.3 million. Similarly dropping over the weekend was 1917, which finished in sixth place over the weekend with $8.1 million after holding ground in third place las weekend. The film has now grossed $144.4 million during its eight-week run. Jumanji: The Next Level was downed one peg this weekend, dropping from sixth to seventh, with $5.7 million. The sequel has now grossed $305.7 million over its first ten weeks in release.

Enjoying a post-Oscar resurgence, was Best Picture winner Parasite as it reentered the top ten in the eighth spot, earning $5.5 million over the weekend. The film has now lifted its nineteen week total to $43.2 million. Plummeting from the fourth spot last weekend to ninth this weekend, was Dolittle which brought in $5.1 million, giving the film a very disappointing five-week total of $70.5 million.

Finally, the fourth debut of the weekend, Downhill, finished in the tenth spot with $4.7 million. The film has been met with less than favorable reviews and its chances of appearing in future installments of the top ten look to be slim at best.

Leaving the top ten this week were five films, including: The Gentlemen which managed to gross $31.7 million before leaving the top ten; Gretel & Hansel also departs the top ten after amassing a paltry $14.4 million; after enjoying a brief resurgence in the weekend top ten, Knives Out leaves again after lifting its total to $162.2 million; despite winning an Oscar and amassing $105.6 million to date, Little Women also takes leave of the weekend box-office; finally, the behemoth that is Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker leaves the top ten but can console itself knowing that it has amassed a domestic total of $513 million and a staggering global tally of just about $1.1 billion.

Next weekend will feature wide releases for the horror film Brahms: The Boy II, Emma, and The Call of the Wild.

Weekend Box Office (February 14th – February 16th)

  1. Sonic the Hedgehog…$57.0 Million
  2. Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn…$33.3 Million
  3. Fantasy Island…$12.4 Million
  4. The Photograph…$12.3 Million
  5. Bad Boys for Life…$11.3 Million
  6. 1917…$8.1 Million
  7. Jumanji: The Next Level…$5.7 Million
  8. Parasite…$5.5 Million
  9. Dolittle…$5.1 Million
  10. Downhill…$4.7 Million
Mike Tyrkus

Mike Tyrkus

Editor in Chief at CinemaNerdz.com
An independent filmmaker, co-writer and director of over a dozen short films, the Editor in Chief of CinemaNerdz.com has spent much of the last three decades as a writer and editor specializing in biographical and critical reference sources in literature and the cinema, beginning in February 1991 reviewing films for his college newspaper. He was a member of the Detroit Film Critics Society, as well as the group's webmaster and one-time President for over a decade until the group ceased to exist. His contributions to film criticism can be found in Magill's Cinema Annual, VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever (of which he was the editor for nearly a decade until it too ceased to exist), the International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, and the St. James Film Directors Encyclopedia (on which he collaborated with editor Andrew Sarris). He has also appeared on the television program Critic LEE Speaking alongside Lee Thomas of FOX2 and Adam Graham, of The Detroit News. He currently lives in the Detroit area with his wife and their dogs.