‘Angel Has Fallen’ Lands Firmly Atop Weekend Box Office

(Bloomberg) -- “Angel Has Fallen,” a new action movie featuring the familiar faces of Gerard Butler and Morgan Freeman, opened as the top film in North American theaters, taking in a better-than-expected $21.4 million over the weekend before Labor Day.

• From Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., the film is the third movie in the “Fallen” series. It was expected to generate about $15 million in weekend sales. Two other new movies opened in wide release: The sports drama “Overcomer,” from Sony Pictures’ Affirm Films, landed in third place, while the horror picture “Ready or Not,” from Walt Disney Co.’s Fox Searchlight, landed in sixth position.

Key Insights

• In “Angel Has Fallen,” Butler reprises the role of Secret Service agent Mike Banning and is rejoined by Freeman, this time as President Allan Trumbull. The previous two movies in the series brought in $376 million in worldwide ticket sales.

• “Good Boys,” an R-rated comedy from Universal Pictures, landed in second place and brought in $11.6 million in its second weekend.
• Sales for the top 10 films rose 4.3% from a year year ago, defying Box Office Pro’s forecast for a decline. Of the three new movies, only “Ready or Not” got a favorable rating from Rotten Tomatoes, with 87% of critics recommending the picture.
• The summer movie season is drawing to an end with sales in decline from a year ago. Through Sunday, revenue was down 1.3% for the season from a year earlier, according to Box Office Mojo. Sales for the year to date are also lower.

Get More

• See the weekend release schedule here.
• See Box Office Pro’s long-range forecast

To contact the reporter on this story: Hailey Waller in New York at hwaller@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Ludden at jludden@bloomberg.net, Rob Golum, Kevin Miller

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