Meryl Streepis no match forDenzel Washington, apparently. While it looked as though the Meryl-lite sequelMamma Mia: Here We Go Again!was on the road to victory at the weekend box office, the numbers for Washington’s first-ever sequelThe Equalizer 2rose significantly on Saturday, and theAntoine Fuqua-directed thriller is now expected to take the top slot with a weekend estimate of $35.8 million. That’s a hair over the $34.1 million that the firstEqualizerpulled in its opening weekend, which went on to gross nearly $200 million worldwide.
Indeed the gritty thrillerThe Equalizerwas a surprise hit when it opened in 2014, so I suppose it’s fitting thatThe Equalizer 2pulls off a surprise of its own. The thriller was a hit with its targeted audience to the tune of an A CinemaScore, and ultimately surpassed initial projections of just how farThe Equalizer 2would climb in its opening weekend. Sony must be happy, and it’ll be interesting to see how the movie fares in the following weeks as it faces stiff competition fromTom Cruisein the form ofMission: Impossible – Fallout.
But theMamma Mia!sequel was no slouch. The film—which brings Streep back for flashbacks only asLily Jamestakes center stage as the younger version of Streep’s character—grossed an estimated $34.4 million for the weekend. That’s well above the $27.7 million to which 2008’sMamma Mia!debuted, which went on to gross an insane $609 million worldwide.
Elsewhere,Ant-Man and the Wasppulled in another $16 million to bring its domestic total to $164.6 million thus far. It continues to roll out internationally, and the Marvel sequel’s worldwide total now stands at $353.5 million.
Check out the full Top 10 below, and check back next week whenMission: Impossibleenters the summer box office fray.
The Equalizer 2
$35,825,000
Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!
$34,380,000
Hotel Transylvania 3
$23,150,000
$91,089,268
Ant-Man and the Wasp
$16,126,000
$164,624,292
Incredibles 2
$11,520,000
$557,335,440
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
$11,005,000
$383,904,505
Skyscraper
$10,960,000
$46,749,120
The First Purge
$4,980,000
$60,191,365
Unfriended: Dark Web
$3,495,000
Sorry to Bother You
$2,823,000
$10,252,204
