'Candyman' Takes Top Box Office Position From 'Free Guy'

“Candyman,” the reboot of the 1990s slasher film franchise, dominated the weekend U.S. box office with $22.37 million from 3,569 theaters in its first three days of release.

What Happened: The R-rated film from director Nia DaCosta and writer-producer Jordan Peele also brought in $5.23 million from 51 international markets – effectively earning back its $25 million budget in its opening weekend. “Candyman,” was financed by MGM and released domestically by Comcast’s CMCSA Universal Pictures, was also the sole new release going into a nationwide opening over the weekend.

“Free Guy” from The Walt Disney Company DIS dropped to second place after two weeks as the nation’s top grossing film. The science-fiction comedy generated $13.5 million in ticket sales from 3,940 theaters.

Rounding out the top five box office films were third place “PAW Patrol: The Movie” from ViacomCBS’ VIAC Paramount Pictures with $6.6 million from 3,189 theaters for its second week in release; Disney’s “Jungle Cruise,” now in its fifth week in theaters, with $5 million from 3,370 screens; and Sony’s SONY “Don’t Breathe 2,” now in its third week in release, with $2.8 million from 2,703 theaters.

What Happens Next: Disney’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” is the only title going into nationwide release for the Sept. 3 weekend – as with “Free Guy,” the studio is releasing this title as a theatrical-exclusive offering for 45 days before making it available on the Disney+ streaming service.

Lionsgate’s (NYSE: LGF-A) crime thriller “The Gateway” will be opening on Sept. 3 in a simultaneous limited theatrical release and on-demand presentation, while streaming-exclusive releases are scheduled for Amazon’s AMZN new musical version of “Cinderella” and Netflix’s NFLX offering of the 9/11-inspired drama “Worth” starring Michael Keaton, which had its premiere in 2020 Sundance Film Festival but never secured a distributor for a theatrical release.

What Else Is Happening: The 80th anniversary of Orson Welles’ masterpiece “Citizen Kane” has brought about new presentations, with The Criterion Collection issuing a 4K restoration of the work and Fathom Events coordinating a special theatrical release on Sept. 19 and Sept. 22.

Welles’ 1942 film “The Magnificent Ambersons” is also back in the news with documentary filmmaker Joshua Greenberg tracking down a possible lead that the long-lost 131-minute director’s cut might still be extant in Brazil. RKO Pictures re-edited “The Magnificent Ambersons in 1942 while Welles was shooting a film in Brazil – the studio dropped scenes and added new footage, resulting in an 88-minute work that Welles disowned. However, it is known that Welles received a workprint of “The Magnificent Ambersons” while in Brazil and the footage’s existence has been rumored for years.

Grossberg’s documentary on his pursuit of the missing film is scheduled for a 2022 release to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the "The Magnificent Ambersons."

Photo: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in "Candyman," courtesy of Universal.