Box Office Wars: A Sequel Square-Off

Over this past weekend, there were two sequels that would be battling it out for the number one spot at the box office. The Hollywood Reporter, as well as many fans, proposed that the sequel to ‘Mamma Mia’ would be the one to rake in the number one spot, with an estimated 30-35 million dollars nationally. Meanwhile, Denzel Washington made his first sequel appearance in his acting career with ‘The Equalizer 2’ and critics weren’t sure just how well it would resonate.

Turns out, these two wildly different films pulled almost identical numbers. But, as we all know there can only be one winner. And that, my friends, was Washington’s ‘Equalizer.’ That’s right, by a mere $2 million, ‘The Equalizer 2’ brought in $36 million, with ‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again’ garnering a solid $34 million. The musical film, starring huge names like Cher and Meryl Streep, is expected to have a bigger run in the foreign box office, as its open weekend outside of the U.S. brought in $42 million.

Regardless of the numbers, moviegoers will be more focused on which movie was better. And no, not between the ‘Equalizer’ and ‘Mamma Mia’ franchises. Critics and fans alike will be rallying beside which was better: the original, or the sequel. Newsy Studios predicts it to be unlikely that “lightning will strike twice” for ‘Mamma Mia,’ as the first film made $460 million internationally off of a $52 million budget.

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6 years ago
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