I’m surprised that Rings (aka The Ring 3) is doing so well in theaters. While The Ring stayed in the Top 10 for eight weeks and was the #18 movie of 2002, its sequel The Ring 2 only performed half as well in 2005. Besides the 2016 Japanese mash-up Sadako vs. Kayako, the American remake franchise has laid dormant for 12 years and I don’t think Samara ever reached the level of icon of fright status. In other words, I didn’t think there was very much interest in this series and Rings was delayed several times until it finally saw theaters on February 2, 2017. Weekend estimates are in, though, and it appears that 12 years later this death by video tape saga still has life to it.
Released to 2,931 theaters across America – which is slightly below average – by Paramount Pictures, sources are reporting that Rings took in about $13,000,000 during its first three days at the box office. On the weekend chart, the new horror movie is sandwiched between Split and A Dog’s Purpose, coming in at #2. What’s interesting is that Rings has the chance to leap frog Split and keep A Dog’s Purpose at bay long enough to become the #1 movie or the #2 movie of the week. Strong word of mouth is going to be the deciding factor here, so make sure you go out and see it! This puts it roughly in the same league as Underworld: Blood Wars and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, which made $13,688,000 and 13,601,000 during their opening weekends.
Now, here’s where it gets a little negative. Rings was produced on a budget of $25,000,000, but you have to factor $20,000,000 into that for marketing and promotional costs. So, we’re looking at a budget of $45,000,000. Should Rings pass the $20,000,000 mark by weeks end, that would be a terrific first week of ticket sales, but it could be front loaded. If it falls into the typical release and gross schedule, it’ll see a steep decline in ticket sales in week two and will struggle to make its overall budget back, again, much like Underworld: Blood Wars and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter. Box Office Mojo is also predicting the same struggle. Let’s hope that this movie does well so the trilogy can go out on top.
Have you seen the new movie yet? What did you think?
Top 5 Over the Weekend:
1. Split – $14,458,000
2. Rings – $13,000,000
3. A Dog’s Purpose – $10,824,000
4. Hidden Figures – $10,100,000
5. La La Land – $7,450,000
