Sony’s horror film Don’t Breathe has topped the box office charts for the second week in a row, pulling in an estimated $19.4 million over the long holiday weekend, according to Variety. The film, essentially a horror version of Wait Until Dark from the perspective of the thieves—three unfortunate teenagers attempt to rob a blind man who turns out to be much less helpless than he appears—has taken in almost $55 million domestically. Directed by Fede Alvarez from a screenplay by Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues, Don’t Breathe cost less than $10 million to make and is already profitable.
Meanwhile, the news was much worse for Fox’s Morgan, the sci-fi thriller written by Seth W. Owen and directed by Ridley Scott’s son Luke Scott. Variety estimates its take for the weekend will be $2.4 million, despite opening on more than 2,000 screens. That puts it in the top 20 worst openings on more than 2,000 screens in history, in the same territory as The Adventures of Pluto Nash. (Though Oogieloves in the BIG Balloon Adventure is in no danger of losing first place any time soon.) Morgan, which looks a lot like Ex Machina, is about a corporate risk management consultant played by Kate Mara investigating a research program that has created Anna Taylor Joy’s murderous superhuman Morgan. Ex Machina only grossed $237,264 in its first weekend—but that was at four theaters. Still, with a reported budget of only $6 million, it’s a pretty low-stakes release.
Second place for the weekend was Suicide Squad, which has now grossed more than $300 million domestically. According to Worthington’s Law, this means David Ayers’ DC Extended Universe epic is solidly in the greatest 100 films of all time and fast on its way to the top 200 adjusted for inflation. Look out below, Vertigo! Citizen Kane? More like Citizen Kan’t! Modern Times—for you to make a movie that makes some goddamned money, Chaplin! In other news, sources report that scolding people for liking superhero movies continues to be a surefire way to bring about a new golden age in studio filmmaking.
