eNCA | South Africa’s box office: Spider-Man swings into first
JOHANNESBURG – Spider-Man: Homecoming (review) came swinging into first this weekend, but as an ultra-popular franchise, and the only big budget to debut, that was never going to be difficult for the superhero.
Parents beware! The latest Spiderman film contains a deadly drop of poison… pic.twitter.com/28gXWU3Rbg
— LifeSiteNews.com (@LifeSite) July 11, 2017
Though Homecoming did not have the strongest global Spider-Man opening (that record is held by Spider-Man 3), it did pull in the biggest South African opener of the franchise.
It’s official… @TomHolland1996 is my favorite #SpiderMan .. I’ll continue to support u all the way.. wherever u are .. I’m so proud of you pic.twitter.com/RzkpnErlR0
— T-Holland (@mccall9190) July 11, 2017
Unfortunately for Wonder Woman (review), that means her time as the newest superhero has come to an end. The Patty Jenkins film has fallen two places down to six, making this its first week outside the top five. The film is still 2017’s top superhero movie, though, ahead of of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Spider-Man.
But who else did Spider-Man catch in his web this weekend?
A hint: it isn’t buff topless men. In fact, Baywatch moved up one to fourth in its fifth week on the chart, despite working on the smallest budget of the top six.
Turn up the heat this weekend and see Baywatch: https://t.co/YHTBuW97lN pic.twitter.com/sIWA3c03z3
— Baywatch Movie (@baywatchmovie) June 9, 2017
Dwayne “the Rock”? More like Dwayne “the box… office champion”. I’ll see myself out.
Despicable Me 3 also had a great week. Though it fell one spot into second, the film managed to pick up the highest life-to-date gross with sales of R20 720 540 in just two weekends.
FILM: ‘Despicable Me 3’ looks set to be 2017’s big SA earner with R21mil already earned in just 2 weeks. Already no.6 film of the year! pic.twitter.com/HDlCqhXh6S
— Phil Mphela (@PhilMphela) July 11, 2017
Its only competition in the way of kids films, Cars 3, dropped from third to fifth this week. The sequel is currently ranked third in the franchise and would have to pull a small miracle to overtake Cars 2.
Amy Poehler and Will Ferrell’s The House debuted in seventh spot this week. The film, which sees a married couple open an illegal casino to pay for their daughter’s tuition, only brought in half of its US$40-million budget globally. The comedy debuted just as Rough Night fell off the charts.
Red. Stealthy. Blink & you might miss him. See Lightning McQueen in theatres in 3D in #Cars3 this weekend! Get tix: https://t.co/oadmiscSkA pic.twitter.com/61yK6VUx0v
— Disney•Pixar’s Cars (@pixarcars) July 7, 2017
Finally, South African drama Nul is Nie Niks Nie (roughly translated to “Zero isn’t nothing”) opened in ninth spot, marking the first local entry in months. The Afrikaans flick is based on a novel by Jaco Jacobs and tells of three friends determined to make sick Drikus’ last wish, making a zombie film come true.
FILM: Afrikaans film ‘Nul Is Nie Niks Nie’ is the top local film on circuit now with R459k ticket sales in its first wknd from 43 screens. pic.twitter.com/GIAoQAh4rO
— Phil Mphela (@PhilMphela) July 11, 2017
Here are ten most-watched movies in SA this past weekend:
Spider-Man: Homecoming (Incl. 3D, 4DX & IMAX)
Despicable Me 3 (Incl. 3D)
Transformers: The Last Knight
Baywatch
Cars 3 (Incl. 3D)
Wonder Woman (Incl. 3D & Imax)
The House
The Mummy (Incl. Imax)
Nul is Nie Niks Nie
Everything, Everything
Memeburn