‘The Equaliser 2’ narrowly lands at No. 1 as Denzel nails it

LOS ANGELES — In a twist ending straight out of a movie, “The Equaliser 2” shot past “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” to steal the box office crown.

Going into the weekend, it looked like “Mamma Mia! 2” would easily debut at No. 1. Weekend estimates show Sony’s “The Equaliser” sequel opened above estimates with $35.8 million when it launched in 3,388 locations, while Universal’s highly anticipated follow-up to “Mamma Mia!” debuted with $34.4 million from 3,317 screens.

“Equaliser 2”, the first sequel of Denzel Washington’s nearly four-decade long career, launched ahead of its predecessor. 2014’s “The Equalizer” opened with $35 million and went on to generate $192 million worldwide, including $101 million domestically.

Antoine Fuqua returned to direct “The Equalizer 2,” which also stars Pedro Pascal, Ashton Sanders, Melissa Leo, and Bill Pullman. Though it got a head start on the original film, reception has been less enthusiastic for the sequel, which currently holds a tepid 50 per cent average on Rotten Tomatoes.

Though “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” could not dance its way to the top of the domestic box office, its $34 million opening is still a win. The original “Mamma Mia!” hit theatres a decade ago with $27 million. It became a box office hit, amassing $615 million worldwide on a $52 million budget. Much like the first film, the sequel will likely be a smash overseas, where Swedish pop group ABBA has a huge following.

Much of the star-studded cast — including Amanda Seyfried, Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgard, Colin Firth, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters and Dominic Cooper — returned for the second film. Lily James made her debut as a the younger version of Meryl Streep’s charming and carefree Donna, while living legend Cher also joined the cast. Ol Parker, the screenwriter behind “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”, took over directing duties and penned the script.

The final wide release of the weekend, BH Tilt’s “Unfriended: Dark Web”, got off to a scary start. The low-budget horror film debuted way below projections with $3.5 million from 1,546 locations. That might not matter, considering the Blumhouse title carries a $1 million price tag. “Dark Web” is a standalone sequel to 2015’s “Unfriended”. That film became a cash cow, opening with $15 million and going on to earn $64 million from a $41 million budget.

“The Grudge” and “Texas Chainsaw 3D” writer Stephen Susco made his directorial debut with “Dark Web”, which features Colin Woodell, Rebecca Rittenhouse, Betty Gabriel, and Andrew Lees.

Among holdovers, “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation” nabbed third place during its second outing. Sony’s animated sequel picked up another $23 million from 4,267 locations, bringing its domestic tally to $91 million.

In fourth, Marvel’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp” pocketed $16 million from 3,778 screens in its third frame. In total, the Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lily-led superhero blockbuster has made $165 million.

Disney-Pixar’s “Incredibles 2” rounded out the top five with $11.3 million. In six weeks, the animated sequel has earned a massive $557 million in North America.

Meanwhile, Dwayne Johnson’s “Skyscraper” continues to struggle in North America. Universal’s action adventure dropped 56 per cent in its sophomore weekend, collecting $11 million in 3,822 locations. The studio is hoping for massive returns internationally, where it opens this weekend in China.

At the specialty box office, Lionsgate’s “Blindspotting” bowed with $332,500 when it opened in 14 theatres. That’s a solid per-screen-average of $23,750. Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal co-wrote and star in “Blindspotting”, which debuted to raves at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Bleecker Street’s “McQueen”, a documentary chronicling the life of iconic fashion designer Alexander McQueen, landed the top theatre average of the weekend with $24,232. It scored $96,928 when it opened in four theatres.

Amazon Studios’ “Generation Wealth”, bowed on four screens with $33,602 for a per-theatre-average of $8,401.