After the highly-anticipated Stephen King adaptationIThad arecord-breaking box office debutlast weekend, practically all box office prognosticators believed the movie would take the top spot in its second weekend as well, and they were right. The movie dropped a respectable 51.4% in its second frame, earning an estimated $60 million, which was more than enough to take down the weekend’s two new releases,American Assassinandmother!, both of which underperformed. This weekend’s tally also putITover $200 million at the domestic box office this weekend and broke yet another record making it the highest grossing September movie of all time.
Box Office Mojoreports that theIT remakeactually gained 45 theaters this weekend, bringing its total theater count to 4,148, which was thousands of theaters more than both of this weekend’s newcomers. Lionsgate’s action-packed adaptationAmerican Assassindebuted in second place with $14.8 million, which came in about $5 million less than our projection, opening in 3,154 theaters for a somewhat decent $4,692 per-screen average.mother!was right behind it in third place with $7.5 million, opening in 2,368 theaters for a middling $3,167 per-screen average. While the debuts weren’t massive, the good news for both movies is that they didn’t cost much to produce, withAmerican Assassinmade on a $33 million budget andmother!produced on a $30 million budget.
DespiteAmerican Assassin, starring Dylan O’Brien and Michael Keaton, making nearly twice as much asmother!, the action-packed adaptation of the Vince Flynn novel was by no means a hit critically, althoughmother!certainly was.American Assassinearned a horrid 35% on Rotten Tomatoes, withmother!earning a “fresh” 68% rating. We also reported that, while critics may have loved the movie,audiences hated mother!, earning a rare F Cinemascore rating, making it just the 12th movie to earn the lowest grade since 2004, and the first to do so sinceThe Devil Insidein 2012. It’s worth noting thatAmerican Assassinwas given a B+ grade on CinemaScore this weekend.
The top 10 is rounded out byHome Again($5.3 million),The Hitman’s Bodyguard($3.5 million),Annabelle: Creation($2.6 million),Wind River($2.5 million),Leap!($2.1 million),Spider-Man: Homecoming($1.8 million) andDunkirk($1.3 million). It’s worth noting that, while the box office prediction story from Tuesday was being written, a movie calledAll I See Is Youwas on the release schedule for this weekend, but now it has been moved to August 08, 2025. Also opening in limited release is Annapurna Pictures’Brad’s Status, which earned $100,179 from four theaters for an impressive $25,045 per-screen average. and FilmRise’sVengeance: A Love Story, which took in $5,000 from nine theaters for a dismal $556 per-screen average. No box office data was given for ArtAffects’Because of Gracia, Film Movement’sTime to Die, Abramorama’sWetlands, the independent westernJustice!and Vertical Entertainment’sThe Wilde Wedding. It isn’t clear if any of these films will expand nationwide in the weeks ahead.
Looking ahead to next weekend, three new movies will arrive in wide release, 20th Century Fox’sKingsman: The Golden Circle, Warner Bros.‘The LEGO Ninjago Movieand Entertainment Studios’Friend Request. Also opening in limited release is the Fox Searchlight sports dramaBattle of the Sexes, Oscilloscope Pictures’ documentaryBobbi Jene, Vertical Entertainment’s horror movieHappy Hunting, Samuel Goldwyn Films' dramaThe King’s Choice, Indican’s action movieRibbons, Roadside Attractions' dramaStronger, Shout! Factory’s dramatic comedyThe Tiger Hunter, the independent documentaryUnrest, Focus Features' dramaVictoria and Abduland A24’s dramatic thrillerWoodshock. Take a look at the box office estimates for the weekend of September 15, and check back on Tuesday for next week’s predictions.
