Shyamalan's 'Split' is still #1 at the box office
M. Night Shyamalan is back. For the second weekend in a row, the director's Split is the box office winner.
Not since 1999's The Sixth Sense has a Shyamalan movie opened with two consecutive #1 weekends. But Split pulled it off, seemingly cementing the filmmaker's re-emergence after more than a decade of critical duds.
Split picked up an estimated $26.3 million domestically over the weekend, based on Sunday estimates. That's down 34 percent after a $40 million opening weekend (domestic); a relatively small drop by Hollywood standards, and one that suggests both growing interest and repeat viewings for the new film.
Shyamalan's second weekend success was aided by a number of factors. Namely: A Dog's Purpose, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, and Gold.
The former two are pacing to finish the weekend at #2 and #4 -- with an estimated $18.4 million and $13.9 million domestic take -- respectively. And Gold, The Weinstein Company's new adventure starring Matthew McConaughey, opened at #10, with an estimated $3.5 million.
A Dog's Purpose might have had a shot at challenging Split, if not for the leaked on-set video of one of the film's dog performers being forced into choppy waters. The leak led to a pile-on of bad press, as well as a boycott call from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
Resident Evil, meanwhile, lacks the theatrical draw that it used to have. Even releasing in the same week as a brand-new -- and extremely well-reviewed -- video game, director Paul W.S. Anderson's latest clocked the lowest-ever opening for a Resident Evil movie by a wide margin; the first, and previously lowest-performing, entry in the series opened at $17.7 million.
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.
