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'Equalizer 2' narrowly edges past 'Mamma Mia 2' to land at No. 1

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Rebecca Rubin, Variety.com via Reuters

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/tvpatrol/07/22/20180722-denzel-washington.jpg"/><figcaption>Denzel Washington in &#x27;The Equalizer 2.&#x27; Handout</figcaption></figure></div>LOS ANGELES -- In a twist ending straight out of a movie, &quot;The Equalizer 2&quot; shot past &quot;Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again&#x27; to steal the box office crown.Going into the weekend, it looked like &quot;Mamma Mia! 2&quot; would easily debut at No. 1. Final numbers won&#x27;t come in until Monday, but weekend estimates show Sony&#x27;s &quot;The Equalizer&quot; sequel opened above estimates with $35.8 million when it launched in 3,388 locations, while Universal&#x27;s highly anticipated follow-up to &quot;Mamma Mia!&quot; debuted with $34.4 million from 3,317 screens.&quot;Equalizer 2,&quot; the first sequel of Denzel Washington&#x27;s nearly four-decade long career, launched ahead of its predecessor. 2014&#x27;s &quot;The Equalizer&quot; opened with $35 million and went on to generate $192 million worldwide, including $101 million domestically.Antoine Fuqua returned to direct &quot;The Equalizer 2,&quot; 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 percent average on Rotten Tomatoes.Though &quot;Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again&quot; couldn&#x27;t dance its way to the top of the domestic box office, its $34-million opening is still a win. The original &quot;Mamma Mia!&quot; hit theaters 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&#x27;s charming and carefree Donna, while living legend Cher also joined the cast. Ol Parker, the screenwriter behind &quot;The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,&quot; took over directing duties and penned the script.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/life/07/22/18/movie-review-mamma-mia-2-mines-lesser-known-abba-gems">Movie review: &#x27;Mamma Mia 2&#x27; mines lesser known ABBA gems</a></li></ul>The final wide release of the weekend, BH Tilt&#x27;s &quot;Unfriended: Dark Web,&quot; 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. &quot;Dark Web&quot; is a standalone sequel to 2015&#x27;s &quot;Unfriended.&quot; That film became a cash cow, opening with $15 million and going on to earn $64 million from a $41 million budget.&quot;The Grudge&quot; and &quot;Texas Chainsaw 3D&quot; writer Stephen Susco made his directorial debut with &quot;Dark Web,&quot; which features Colin Woodell, Rebecca Rittenhouse, Betty Gabriel, and Andrew Lees.Among holdovers, &quot;Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation&quot; nabbed third place during its second outing. Sony&#x27;s animated sequel picked up another $23 million from 4,267 locations, bringing its domestic tally to $91 million.In fourth, Marvel&#x27;s &quot;Ant-Man and the Wasp&quot; 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&#x27;s &quot;Incredibles 2&quot; 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&#x27;s &quot;Skyscraper&quot; continues to struggle in North America. Universal&#x27;s action adventure dropped 56% 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&#x27;s &quot;Blindspotting&quot; bowed with $332,500 when it opened in 14 theaters. That&#x27;s a solid per-screen-average of $23,750. Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal co-wrote and star in &quot;Blindspotting, which debuted to raves at this year&#x27;s Sundance Film Festival.Bleecker Street&#x27;s &quot;McQueen,&quot; a documentary chronicling the life of iconic fashion designer Alexander McQueen, landed the top theater average of the weekend with $24,232. It scored $96,928 when it opened in four theaters.Another new offering, Amazon Studios&#x27; &quot;Generation Wealth,&quot; bowed on four screens with $33,602 for a per-theater-average of $8,401.

In a twist ending straight out of a movie, "The Equalizer 2" shot past "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again' to steal the box office crown.

In a twist ending straight out of a movie, "The Equalizer 2" shot past "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again' to steal the box office crown.

'Equalizer 2' narrowly edges past 'Mamma Mia 2' to land at No. 1

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'Equalizer 2' narrowly edges past 'Mamma Mia 2' to land at No. 1

Rebecca Rubin,

Variety.com via Reuters

Published Jul 23, 2018 12:41 AM PHT

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The Equalizer 2

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

box office

Hollywood

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