SA’s box office: ‘It’ floats to the top of the charts

The Stephen King adaptation It has smashed into top spot at South Africa’s box office after bringing in over R5-million — officially making it the largest opening for a horror film ever.

The film has already broken plenty records: It‘s the highest-grossing film ever released in September in the US, the highest-grossing Stephen King film ever, it has the widest R-rated release, and it looks set to overtake The Exorcist as the highest-grossing horror film of all time.

But with Pennywise pulling us all down to the sewers, how did the other films manage this weekend? (15 – 17 September)

‘It’ has already broken plenty records: it’s the highest-grossing film ever released in September in the US

Stephen King took home gold and silver this weekend as The Dark Tower — his other adaptation — was pushed down to second place. The author seems unperturbed by his shining moment, though, and has been using his popularity to tweet about US politics.

In at third place is newcomer American Assassin, knocking indie animation The Son of Bigfoot from its five-week long reign at number three down to five. Assassin has had a fairly disappointing opening (so far it’s only pulled in US$21-million from a US$33-million budget), and critics have panned the thriller as generic, flat and crass.

Reese Witherspoon’s romantic comedy Home Again hasn’t won many critics’ hearts either, but as the most lighthearted opener this week, it managed to sneak its way into fourth place.

The biggest drop of the week came from former number one The Hitman’s Bodyguard, which fell from second to sixth. It wouldn’t be ridiculous to assume that its hold on the top was due to little more than having no competition, and as viewers have been allowed more intriguing options, the comedy has faded quickly into distant memory.

Behind The Hitman’s Bodyguard sits American Made, Girls Trip, Logan Lucky, and Annabelle — all down three spots, unable to compete with the newcomers.

Here are ten most-watched movies in SA this past weekend:

1. It (Incl. IMAX & 4DX)
2. Dark Tower (Incl. 4DX)
3. American Assassin
4. Home Again
5. Son of Bigfoot (Incl. 3D)
6. The Hitman’s Bodyguard (Incl. 4DX)
7. American Made
8. Girls Trip
9. Logan Lucky
10. Annabelle

The above list was provided by Ster Kinekor Entertainment.