'Magnificent Seven' tops the final box office in a weak September
The Magnificent Seven is No. 1 at the domestic box office this weekend, with an estimated $35 million in ticket sales.
It's in a tight race for the biggest opening of September 2016 with Sully, which opened in the U.S. with just over $35 million. Though that's a debatable accomplishment in what's been a record-low month for Hollywood at the movies.
Current weekend projections bring September's total domestic box office earnings up to $266.6 million (based on numbers from BoxOfficeMojo). That's the weakest performance for the month since 1996 -- when The First Wives Club ruled the box office, along with little else.
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Estimates could slide September 2016 up by one spot in the all-time rankings -- the total gross for September 2001 was $268.5 million -- but it was still a poor performance by any measure.
What's the reason for this steep drop-off from 2015, when September's $700.9 million gross became the month's biggest ever?
There's been a dearth of high-profile releases, for one. Sully and The Magnificent Seven are isolated exceptions in a month that did not heavily feature star-driven releases.
The month was also home to a number of notable sequels that simply failed to land.
Blair Witch wasn't able to recapture the magic of the 1999 found footage horror film that launched an entire sub-genre. Bridget Jones's Baby fell similarly short of bringing back fans of the Renée Zellweger romantic comedy series.
Snowden had a shot, boasting both a big-name star in Joseph Gordon-Levitt, a major director in Oliver Stone and the topical weightiness of an awards season player. But crowds didn't turn out for Snowden, and likely won't until it starts to generate some awards buzz.
Coming in behind Seven this weekend is Storks, a Warner Bros. animated family feature about baby delivery, with an estimated $21.8 million. Neither weekend winner is really a "hit," but Storks gave kid-toting moviegoers an alternative to the ensemble Western from Training Day director Antoine Fuqua. It was bound to fill some theaters.
Sully, the Tom Hanks-led, Clint Eastwood-directed "based on a true story" Oscar bait, continues to hang on in the weekend's No. 3 spot. The estimated $13.8 million earned since Friday brings Sully's domestic total up to $92.4 million, the highest of the month.
The charts drop off steeply after that with Bridget Jones's Baby and Snowden coming next -- $4.5 million and $4.1 million, respectively -- while Blair Witch and Don't Breathe are locked in their own dead heat, with $4 million and $3.8 million, respectively.
The only other surprise of the weekend was more of the big picture variety.
Topics Film
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
