South Africa’s box office: Kong is King

Kong: Skull Island (review) has made itself known with bangs to the chest and a number one debut in South Africa’s box office this weekend. The remake of the Hollywood classic may have received mediocre reviews from critics, but when has that ever stopped South Africans from going to watch the latest blockbuster (spoiler alert: never)? So how did the other films do this weekend (10 to 12 March 2017)?

Kong’s triumphant debut meant that Logan (review), Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine swan song, was pushed down to second place after only one week at the top. Fifty Shades Darker, which dominated the top spot for three weeks before falling to second last week, has seen an even further drop down to fourth. Despite the fall, Fifty Shades remains the film with the highest life-to-date gross, bringing in just over R30-million.

This weekend also saw a rarity: two South African films feature on the top 10 list. Keeping Up with the Kandasamys, a family comedy set in an Indian community in Durban, holds steadfast in third place. Kalushi (review), the story of freedom fighter Solomon Mahlangu, debuted at sixth.

Rock Dog was unable to move pup in the charts this week, sitting still at fifth place. The animated feature about a dog who dreams of being the next big pup star has only received a doggone 40% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Great Wall  fell with a thud this week, down three places from fourth to seventh. But the biggest drop was The Lego Batman Movie (review), which free fell straight off the chart from last week’s seventh place. Time to dim the Bat-Signal: I’m afraid it’s too late.

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

1. Kong: Skull Island (Incl. 3D,4DX & Imax)
2. Logan: The Wolverine (Incl. 4DX & Imax)
3. Keeping Up with the Kandasamys
4. Fifty Shades Darker
5. Rock Dog (incl. 3D)
6. Kalushi
7. The Great Wall (incl 3D & IMax)
8. Fist Fight
9. xXx: The Return of Xander Cage (incl 3D, Imax & 4DX)
10. Hidden Figures

All stats were provided by Ster Kinekor Entertainment.