Movie

The Marvel movie is undefeated despite the arrivals of new releases 'First Man' and 'Goosebumps 2', while 'A Star Is Born' remains strong at No. 2.

• Oct 15, 2018

AceShowbiz - "First Man" proves to be no competitor to last week's champion "Venom (2018)". The space drama starring Ryan Gosling debuted at No. 3 at North American box office with approximately $16.5 million despite positive reviews from critics. It received an average rating of 8.1/10 on Rotten Tomatoes, while audience gave it B+ on CinemaScore.

Reuniting "La La Land" director Damien Chazelle with Gosling, the movie chronicles Neil Armstrong's journey as the first man who landed on the moon in 1969. The movie's opening gross fell short of analysts' predictions of $18 million-$20 million range.

With more than half of the audience over the age of 35 and ticket buyers consisting of 56 percent male, the adult-skewing movie hopes to stay steady in the following weeks throughout awards season. "As we've seen in this release corridor, quality films like 'First Man' - Certified Fresh at 88% on Rotten Tomatoes - have strong playability and will have tremendous legs at the box office," says Jim Orr, Universal's president of domestic distribution. "This weekend’s results are a just a starting point. Quality adult dramas released in this time period produce very healthy multiples. This is very much a marathon, not a sprint."

Dropping more than 50% in ticket sales, "Venom" holds on to the first place with an estimated $35.7 million for a total domestic gross of $142.8 million so far. Internationally, it has collected $235.3 million, bringing its current global total to $378 million.

Lady GaGa's "A Star Is Born" also remains strong at No. 2, adding approximately $28 million after opening in additional 22 theaters. It almost crosses the $100 million mark domestically, currently bagging a total of $94.2 million.

Another newcomer, "Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween", opened at No. 4 with approximately $16.2 million, slightly behind the estimated opening haul of "First Man". It's below the first weekend's domestic gross of the first movie, "Goosebumps", which brought in $23.5 million around the same time in 2015. While the first movie received majorly positive reviews, the sequel holds an average rating of 4.8/10, which means mixed reviews.

"Smallfoot" dropped two slots to No. 5 with additional $9.3 million for a domestic total of $57.6 million so far. Meanwhile, "Bad Times at the El Royale", which boasts a star-studded cast including Jeff Bridges, Chris Hemsworth, Dakota Johnson and Jon Hamm, opened at No. 7 with an estimated $7.2 million.

1. "Venom (2018)" - $35.7 million
2. "A Star Is Born" - $28 million
3. "First Man" - $16.5 million
4. "Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween" - $16.2 million
5. "Smallfoot" - $9.3 million
6. "Night School" - $8 million
7. "Bad Times at the El Royale" - $7.2 million
8. "The House with a Clock in Its Walls" - $3.9 million
9. "The Hate U Give" - $1.8 million
10. "A Simple Favor" - $1.4 million