And thus the 2016 summer movie season ended in a manner that reflected these past few months as a whole :  with a whimper. Despite three new releases, the rapidly tumbling Suicide Squad clung to the top spot, with last week’s runner-up, the raunchy animated film Sausage Party, once again coming in second place. It was a tough weekend for War Dogs, Kubo and the Two Strings, and Ben-Hur, each of which limped into the top 10 with unspectacular numbers.

FilmWeekendPer Screen
1Suicide Squad$20,710,000 (-52.4)$5,278$262,283,000
2Sausage Party$15,325,000 (-55.3)$4,939$65,326,000
3War Dogs$14,300,000$4,389$14,300,000
4Kubo and the Two Strings$12,610,000$3,868$12,610,000
5Ben-Hur$11,350,000 
$3,680$11,350,000
6Pete’s Dragon$11,331,000 (-47.3)$3,061$42,892,000
7Bad Moms$8,068,000 (-29.0)$2,870$85,800,000
8Jason Bourne$7,980,000 (-42.4)$2,764$140,883,000
9The Secret Life of Pets$5,770,000 (-36.3)$2,400$346,722,000
10Florence Foster Jenkins$4,300,000 (-34.9)$2,814$14,405,000

Let’s just start at the top. Suicide Squad made $20 million this week, bringing its current total to $262 million. At this rate, the critically reviled super-villain movie will undoubtedly cross $300 million, but it will do so based on the strength of its marketing rather than audiences actually embracing the film. Like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, it’s the kind of hit money can buy, not the kind of hit audiences love.

In second place, Sausage Party party dropped a sizable (but not disastrous) 55%, grossing $15 million for a $65 million total. Although CG-animation is typically expensive, this one was brought in for a reported $19 million, so it should be a long way toward profitability. It should cross $100 million in the next two or three weekends, which is impressive for a movie so odd and gleefully offensive.

Third place brings us to War Dogs, which opened with a weak $14 million. Todd Phillips’ film was produced for a moderate budget, so unless it sees a gigantic drop-off next week, it still stands a chance of breaking even. No one expected Hangover-sized numbers for this one, but this is a slow start for a film made by a man who has his fair share of box office juggernauts under his belt.

Kubo and the Two Strings opened in fourth with a disappointing $12 million, but it’s not quite as disastrous as it may look. Like Laika’s previous stop-motion animated movies, this one was produced for a more modest $60 million. Then there’s the fact that Coraline, ParaNorman, and The Boxtrolls all opened to similar numbers and ended up revealing strong legs, hanging around just long enough to become sleeper hits. Kubo won’t be a huge movie, but with summer at an end, it may have the room to stick around and make its money back.

And that brings us to Ben-Hur in fifth place, the $100 million remake of a beloved Hollywood epic that nobody wanted to see. With only $11 million in its first three days, the audiences have spoken: no one wanted to see a modern, action-packed take on this material. This would feel like an even bigger disaster if wasn’t one of many similar dead-on-arrival box office bombs to arrive over the past three months.

Spots six and seven went to Pete’s Dragon ($11 million) and Bad Moms ($8 million) and hopefully the former will follow in the footsteps of the latter. After all, Bad Moms opened modestly and has showcased strong legs  —  it currently stands at $85 million and will cross $100 million soon. Pete’s Dragon didn’t open especially well last week, but the response has been enthusiastic and the drop-off this week wasn’t disastrous. With $42 million in the bank right now, can it rally and become a slow-burning hit? That’s the question to ponder as we head into September.

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