Horror film Don’t Breathe dethroned Suicide Squad for the top spot at the box office, earning a strong $26.1 million from 3,051 theaters – more than double of the early prediction numbers.
“This film is going to be a big moneymaker for us,” said Rory Bruer, Sony’s distribution chief. “We knew we had something special here. This is a film that’s all about keeping people jumping out of their seats and holding onto the person next to them.”
Don’t Breathe follows a group of teenagers who break into the home of a wealthy blind man, thinking they’ll get away with the perfect heist. Instead, the teens find themselves trying to escape from his home, desperately trying to stay alive. The film stars Stephen Lang, Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette, as well as Daniel Zovatto.
The summer thriller received an 86 percent “fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and a B-plus CinemaScore from moviegoers.
Suicide Squad slid down to the second spot on the charts with $12.1 million, rounding out its overall total to $282.9 million. In third place is family film Kubo and the Two Strings with $7.9 million, which currently has a haul of $24.8 million domestically.
Rounding out the fourth and fifth place is Sausage Party and the other weekend newcomer Mechanic: Resurrection, with $7.7 million and $7.5 million, respectively.
Mechanic: Resurrection rolled out in 2,258 theaters over the weekend, debuting less than 2011’s hit The Mechanic ($11.4 million). The sequel follows assassin (Jason Statham) who is lured out of retirement when his most formidable foe kidnaps the love of his life. It co-stars Tommy Lee Jones, Michelle Yeoh and Jessica Alba.
Resurrection received a B-plus CinemaScore from moviegoers and a meager 24 percent “fresh” Rotten Tomatoes score from critics.
Top 10 Films at Weekend Box Office: August 26-28
- Don’t Breathe — $26.1 million
- Suicide Squad — $12.1 million
- Kubo And The Two Strings — $7.9 million
- Sausage Party — $7.7 million
- Mechanic: Resurrection — $7.5 million
- Pete’s Dragon — $7.3 million
- War Dogs — $7.25 million
- Bad Moms — $5.7 million
- Jason Bourne — $5.2 million
- Ben Hur — $4.5 million
