‘Sully’ rises above this week’s newcomers

Weekend Box Office Sept. 16 -18, 2016

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV)- Neither “Blair Witch” nor “Bridget Jones’s Baby” came close to unseating “Sully,” as the Clint Eastwood and Tom Hanks film added an additional $22 million to its coffers. The biopic tells the story of the “Miracle on the Hudson” from the perspective of its hero, Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger. The movie has now earned $70.5 million.

“Blair Witch” had to settle for $9.7 million, a far cry from the $29 million that 1999’s “The Blair Witch Project” brought in on its first wide-opening weekend. The silver lining here is that “Blair Witch” only cost $5 million to make. The bad news is that CinemaScore has audiences giving the film a D+. The movie will still turn a profit, but considering it was expected to open to $20 million this weekend, Lionsgate might be questioning its marketing campaign.

It’s been 12 years since we had a Bridget Jones film and it would seem that the once-popular franchise might have overestimated its shelf life as “Bridget Jones’s Baby” opened to $8.2 million. With a budget of $35 million, all eyes will be on its international numbers. I suspect that the U.K. won’t give the film a cold shoulder, but will it be enough to see Renée Zellweger return to the role for a fourth time?

Opening in fourth place is Oliver Stone’s “Snowden.” The film was always considered something of a wildcard. The movie is certainly better than Stone’s recent efforts, but Edward Snowden remains a fairly controversial figure. The film, which is purported to have cost $50 million, managed only $8 million. That’s actually higher than initial estimates suggested, but it does appear that someone is going to lose their shirt on this gamble, as I don’t see this movie getting any awards season buzz.

Fifth place goes to Sony’s thriller “Don’t Breathe” with $5.6 million. The surprise hit has now earned over $75 million against a $10 million budget.