Movies: "The Meg" Takes A Big Bite out of Box Office

Warner Bros.’ “The Meg” has snuck up on an unsuspecting box office and

devoured a $44 million opening weekend from 4,119, well above the $25 million projected by box office trackers this past week.

While some analysts thought the film might end up having a front-loaded weekend with numbers dropping on Saturday and Sunday, “The Meg” was able to match its $16 million opening day total on Saturday. It is the only film this weekend with a per screen average of over $10,000 aside from the single-screen opening of Magnolia Pictures’ “Skate Kitchen,” and it is now Warner Bros.’ biggest opening of 2018, passing the $41.8 million of “Ready Player One.” While critics were mixed with a 52 percent Rotten, and a B+ Cinemascore audiences.

The film is also showing strong results overseas, giving it a chance to find profitability with a reported net production budget of $130 million. Overseas, the film grossed $97 million from 42 markets for a global start of $141.3 million. Just under 10 percent of that gross came from IMAX screenings, with $4.1 million coming from the U.S. and a total of $13.6 million

Analysts who spoke with TheWrap say that the film needs at least $400 million worldwide to break even, though Warner Bros. says the break-even point is lower. It notes that with this start, domestic grosses will share more of the weight, as “The Meg” is now considered likely to gross at least $100 million in its U.S. run. China Media Capital’s Gravity Pictures co-financed the film and is handling distribution in China, where the film opened to $50.3 million ($7 million from IMAX) in a very competitive late summer season in that market.