“Dear Evan Hansen” may have been a hit on
First place again went to
With little in the way of high-profile competition this weekend, “Dear Evan Hansen’s”
“We are tremendously proud of ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ and everything about it,” said Universal’s head of distribution
Despite its prestigious pedigree and star-studded cast including
“Musicals have always had mixed results at the box office,” said
Earlier this year, the adaptation of
The single-digit opening weekend of “Dear Evan Hansen” remindedsome of “Cats” which opened to
“'Cats' is a completely different movie released in a completely different marketplace. I don’t think comparisons are necessarily fair,” Dergarabedian said. “It’s more about the audience making a choice.”
There is also “The Greatest Showman” exception. The Hugh Jackman musical defied all box office logic in 2017 and 2018 when it opened to a deathly
Aside from “Shang-Chi,” September has been slow for most movies. The No. 3 movie this weekend was “Free Guy,” which has been in theaters for seven weeks and the sixth place spot went to “Jungle Cruise,” in its ninth week. But bigger blockbusters are coming to North American theaters starting in October, with the “Venom” sequel out this upcoming Friday, the James Bond film “No Time to Die” following on
“This is the proverbial calm before the storm. October looks to be perhaps one of the biggest months of the year at the box office,” Dergarabedian said. “It’s going to be like summer in October in movie theaters.”
And “Dune" is already up and running in 32 markets overseas. The adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi novel has grossed
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at
1. “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,”
2. “Dear Evan Hansen,”
3. “Free Guy,”
4. “Candyman,”
5. “Cry Macho,”
6. “Jungle Cruise,”
7. “Malignant,”
8. “Copshop,”
9. “Paw Patrol,”
10. “Love Story,”
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