'Girls Trip' Passes $100 Million Mark; First Comedy Of The Year To Mark Milestone In Gloomy Summer At Disrupted Box Office

It’s been a bummer of a summer at the box office — among the worst in a quarter century — but the fact that “Girls Trip” tiptoed over $100 million domestically should teach Hollywood, and America, some lessons.

The raunchy comedy, centered on the New Orleans adventures of four women of color, has been the sleeper hit of a somnolent season of big-budget backfires. It was the first comedy of the year to cross the magic $100 million threshold in a country consumed by debate about violence and race.

Glimmer Of Hope In Gloomy Times

The R-rated “‘Girls Night’ struck a chord with audiences who embraced the film and were drawn by the cast, the concept and were wowed by a terrific marketing campaign,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at comScore, Inc.

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The movie stars Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith and Tiffany Haddish. The Malcolm D. Lee-directed movie — written by Erica Rivinoja, Kenya Barris and Tracy Oliver — is the first all-African American team to cross the nine-digit mark. After pulling in $3.9 million on its fourth weekend, its total domestic gross was $107.2 million.

The movie’s milestone comes at a turbulent time; the Aug. 19 clash between white supremacists and count-demonstrators in Charlottesville, Virginia, left one dead and dozens injured and sparked a heated debate about race relations.

In another slow weekend at the theaters, “Hitman’s Bodyguard” by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (USA) LGF finished first domestically with $21.6 million.

Theater Industry Slumping Badly

With major media companies snapping up original content providers and gearing their efforts toward internet users, theaters have been struggling.

The publicly traded theater chains all were down last Friday after a Bloomberg report said Time Warner Inc TWX and Universal Pictures were in talks with Apple Inc. AAPL and Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA about introducing premium video on demand on their own, completely bypassing exhibitors.