‘Expend4bles’ opens with epic flop while ‘Nun 2’ claims top spot again at the box office

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr.
AP Entertainment Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham weren’t enough to save “ Expend4bles ” from a debut box office flop. The fourth installment suffered the action-packed franchise’s worst opening weekend while “ The Nun 2 ” took home the top spot for a third straight week, Comscore reported on Sunday.

The Lionsgate and Millennium’s film, also known as “Expendables 4,” pulled in a mediocre $8.3 million for the big-budget project. It starred several popular names, including Stallone, Statham, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Megan Fox and Dolph Lundgren. It’s been nearly a decade since the franchise released a film, which opened with $15.8 million and eventually grossed $214 million globally.

But times have certainly changed, as the film barely placed second behind “The Nun 2,” a horror movie that earned $8.4 million in its first week. It’s been a solid start for that Warner Bros.’ project — a spinoff from the lucrative “Conjuring” franchise. So far, the Michael Chaves-directed sequel has grossed more than $69 million.

In third, “ A Haunting in Venice ” earned $6.3 million. Kenneth Branagh’s third Agatha Christie adaptation, following 2017’s “Murder on the Orient Express” and 2022’s “Death on the Nile,” has drawn in over $25.3 million after two weeks.

“ The Equalizer 3,” starring Denzel Washington, only dropped to fourth place with $4.725 million. In four weeks, it has grossed $81.1 million domestically.

“ Barbie,” the biggest movie of 2023, is still carrying some momentum from the summer into the fall season. The Greta Gerwig box-office smash ranked in the top five, earning $3.2 million this week and a domestic total of more than $630 million after a 10-week period.

Sixth place went to “ My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3,” with $3 million, while “It Lives Inside” opened its first week with $2.6 million. The Sony film “ Dumb Money,” a dramatization of the GameStop stock frenzy, stayed put in the eighth position for a second week in a row with $2.5 million.

“Blue Beetle” fell to ninth, with $1.8 million, and “ Oppenheimer ” rounded out the top 10 with $1.6 million. The Christopher Nolan film has garnered $321 million domestically.

In all, it was another slow output for box office figures as many Hollywood projects are still on hold due to the ongoing Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and Writers Guild of America strikes.

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Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. “The Nun II,” $8.4 million.

2. “Expend4bles,” $8.3 million.

3. “A Haunting in Venice,” $6.3 million.

4. “The Equalizer 3,” $4.7 million.

5. “Barbie,” $3.2 million.

6. “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3,” $3 million.

7. “It Lives Inside,” 2.6 million.

8. “Dumb Money,” $2.5 million.

9. “Blue Beetle,” $1.8 million.

10. “Oppenheimer,” $1.6 million.