M. Night Shyamalan’s Glass entered the Martin Luther King weekend with some lofty expectations, as some estimates placed the film’s debut in the $60 to $70 million range. Unfortunately, that Glass wasn’t shatter-proof, as the latest twist-filled film from Shyamalan generated only $40.5 million over the Thursday to Sunday frame.
Shyamalan (a director with a more than inconsistent track record for both box office and critical successes-anyone remember his adaptation of The Last Air Bender?) faced virtually no new competition over the long weekend, as studios believed the hype and intentionally kept their films away from the sequel to Split and Unbreakable. The reviews for Glass certainly didn’t help its performance, as the film currently clocks in with a 35% fresh rating (and 24% from top critics) on Rotten Tomatoes. Combine those stats with a lukewarm audience response, with a “B” grade from exit polling company Cinemascore, and you have a recipe for disaster only rivaled by the director’s brief foray into the seedy world of education reform (in 2013, Shyamalan tried to cash in on the trend with his expose entitled I Got Schooled). Glass should continue to turn a modest profit, as it faces little competition over the next few weeks, but Shyamalan’s performance may serve as a bump in the road for his comeback tour (and no one is asking for sequels to After Earth, The Village, or Lady in the Water).
The big surprise winner of the weekend came in the unlikely form of Dragon Ball Super: Broly. The latest installment in the never-ending Dragon Ball franchise shocked entertainment reporter around the country with $10.6 million (and a $21 million total since Wednesday’s early release) and a third place finish for the weekend. What is even more impressive is the fact that the Super Saiyans accomplished this feat while screening in only 467 theaters (compared to Glass’ 3,841 theaters). Broly’s success will certainly lead the way to more home releases appearing on the big screen first before they hit stores, as the appetite for cosmic anime slug fests still seems pretty high.
In a similar vein, Escape Room continues to impress with less screens than the competition (currently 2,709), finishing 7th this weekend, with an additional $5.25 million and a $40 million domestic gross so far. The film is also beginning to screen in more markets worldwide ($13 million so far overseas) and this expansion will certainly add to Escape Room’s already profitable numbers.
Be sure to check back next week for the verdict on Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway’s thriller Serenity and be sure to keep informed about all of the new genre releases coming your way this winter with our handy guide.
