Tom Holland may be without his Spider-Man suit in Uncharted, but his latest action-adventure is still doing well at the North American box office.
The video game adaptation, starring Holland and Mark Wahlberg, is on track to gross $51 million over the long Presidents Day weekend, according to the studio’s estimates today. Sony Pictures estimates its Friday-Sunday earnings at $44.2 million, making it number 1.
While it’s not a superhero payday, it’s enough for the industry to breathe a sigh of relief as it marks the biggest opening weekend since Spider-Man: No Way Home. The weekend’s other new opener, “Dog,” also found a modest audience, finishing in second place.
The unpredictability of audiences in the pandemic era made “Uncharted” a wild card, and the critics’ poor reviews saw the weekend begin with cautious optimism. Directed by Ruben Fleischer and based on a PlayStation game, the picture opened on 4,275 screens.
“This result is yet another extraordinary testament to the appetite for cinematic experience that Sony Pictures has been committed to,” said Josh Greenstein, president of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, in a statement.
At the end of last year, Sony also brought the megahit “Spider-Man: No Way Home” exclusively to cinemas. This Dutch-run company has now earned over $770.1 million in North America and is the #3 domestic release of all time.
“Tom Holland is a megastar whether he’s Peter Parker or Nathan Drake,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. “For a lot of the actors who’ve played superheroes, it’s a tough job to break out of that role and have big box office success outside of it.”
Uncharted still has a long way to go to catch up on its $120 million production budget, which is likely to be heavily offset by overseas earnings. The worldwide total has already surpassed $100 million, and unlike Spider-Man, Uncharted will also benefit from a China release, starting March 14.
Channing Tatum’s Dog, which he directed (along with longtime producing partner Reid Carolin) and starred in, also ran 3,677 screens this weekend. United Artists estimates it will make $15.1 million for the weekend and $18.1 million including Monday. Tatum plays an Army Ranger tasked with driving a traumatized military dog from Oregon to Arizona for her handler’s funeral in the film, which was well received by critics and audiences alike. Also, it only cost about $15 million to make.
PostTrak poll shows that the opening weekend audience for “Dog” was 53% over 35 and 54% female.
“When two films do really solid business, it feels like 2019 all over again,” Dergarabedian said.
In its second weekend, Kenneth Branagh’s “Death on the Nile” came in fourth at $6.3 million, behind “Spider-Man,” while “Jackass Forever” came in fifth at $5.2 million.
According to Dergarabedian, this weekend’s momentum should be the “perfect preparation” for Warner Bros.’ already highly anticipated March 4 release of The Batman.
“Think of all the people in the cinema who are being exposed to trailers this weekend,” Dergarabedian said. “This is great news for The Batman.”
Estimated ticket sales for Friday-to-date in US and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. The final domestic figures will be released on Monday.
1. “Uncharted”, $44.2 million.
2. “Dog,” $15.1 million.
3. “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” $7.2 million.
4. “Death on the Nile,” $6.3 million.
5. “Jackass Forever”, $5.2 million.
6. “Marry Me,” $3.7 million.
7. “Sing 2”, $2.8 million.
8. “Scream,” $2 million.
9. “Black Light,” $1.8 million.
10. “The Cursed”, $1.7 million.
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