Warner Bros.' Ocean's 8 had no trouble fending off the competition this weekend, debuting atop the box office with $41.5 million. The Ocean's Eleven spin-off had been projected to debut within the $40 million range in its first frame, and it managed to match those expectations with an impressive debut, ending the two-week winning streak of Disney/LucasFilm's Solo: A Star Wars Story, which dropped to a distant second place with $15.1 million. Ocean's Eight's reign may be a short one, with The Incredibles 2 arriving next weekend and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom in the frame after that, but its debut is still impressive nonetheless.
The $41.5 million debut at the box office represents more than half of Ocean's 8's $70 million budget, and even though it only earned $12.2 million overseas for a global opening weekend tally of $53.7 million, it should have no trouble eclipsing its budget and making a solid profit. The opening weekend also managed to be the best in Ocean's franchise history, beating the debuts of 2001's Ocean's Eleven ($38.1 million), 2004's Ocean's Twelve ($39.1 million) and 2007's Ocean's Thirteen ($36.1 million). We projected a $210 million domestic total for Ocean's Eight in our summer movie predictions piece, and it should easily be able to match or exceed that projection after this opening weekend.
Ocean's 8 opened in 4,145 theaters this weekend, pulling in an impressive $10,012 per-screen average. Dropping to second place this weekend was Disney/LucasFilm's Solo: A Star Wars Story, which took in $15.1 million in its third frame, bringing its domestic total to $176.1 million, followed by Deadpool 2, which earned $13.6 million in its fourth frame, bringing its domestic total to $278.6 million. Debuting in fourth place is Hereditary with $13 million, earning a decent $4,399 per-screen average from 2,964 theaters. Avengers: Infinity War rounds out the top 5 with $6.8 million, bringing its domestic total to $654.7 million after seven weeks in theaters.
Rounding out the top 10 is Adrift ($5 million), Book Club ($4.2 million), Hotel Artemis ($3.1 million), Upgrade ($2.2 million) and Life of the Party ($2.1 million). Hotel Artemis fell far short of expectations, opening in 2,407 theaters but earning a paltry $1,309 per-screen average. Also opening in limited release this weekend was Focus' Won't You Be My Neighbor?, which debuted with an impressive $470,000, earning a $16,207 per-screen average from just 29 theaters, while Well Go USA's Believer earned $144,000 from 32 theaters for a decent $4,500 per-screen average and Gunpowder & Sky's Hearts Beat Loud took in $74,053 from four theaters for an $18,513 per-screen average.
Looking ahead to next weekend, Ocean's 8 reign at the top will most likely be cut short by the long-awaited Disney Pixar sequel The Incredibles 2. The Incredibles 2 is projected to open in roughly 4,200 theaters, while Warner Bros.' Tag is expected to open in 3,300 theaters while the foreign sequel Race 3 from Yash Raj is also expected to open wide. Take a look at the top 10 estimates below, courtesy of Box Office Mojo, and check back on Tuesday for next weekend's predictions.
Ocean's 8 $41.5 million
Solo: A Star Wars Story $15.1 million
Deadpool 2 $13.6 million
Hereditary $13 million
Avengers: Infinity War $6.8 million
Adrift $5 million
Book Club $4.2 million
Hotel Artemis $3.1 million
Upgrade $2.2 million
Life of the Party $2.1 million