Taking the No. 1 spot this weekend and making some box-office history is "Crazy Rich Asians," bringing in an estimated $25 million in its debut weekend. This highly anticipated romantic comedy actually opened in theaters on Wednesday, putting the five-day box-office total closer to $34 million. Either way, this film exceeded expectations.
But the box office-numbers are in many ways the least important part of this debut. It's been 25 years since a predominantly Asian cast took the silver screen in a nationwide release. "The Joy Luck Club" debuted in 1993 and ultimately made $33 million at the box office.
"Crazy Rich Asians," on the other hand, has already made $34 million in its first five days. Couple that with an extremely reasonable production budget and rave reviews from the film nerds and you get a very successful film — with the potential for multiple sequels.
Along with being a critical hit, Crazy Rich Asians is also a milestone for the romantic comedy genre. It's been a full four years since a romantic comedy topped the box office during its debut weekend. "Think Like A Man Too" premiered in June 2014 bringing in $29 million, and "Crazy Rich Asians" is the first rom-com to top the box office since.
And just in case you missed it, both of those films feature a diverse ensemble cast. Hollywood, there may be a pattern here.
Falling to the No. 2 spot this week is "The Meg," bringing in an estimated $21 million in its sophomore weekend. "The Meg" continues to thrive at the foreign box office, and while it's not the No. 1 film in America this weekend, it is the top grosser across the world, passing $300 million at the foreign box office.
Last but not least this week is Marky Mark in "Mile 22," bringing in an estimated $13.6 million in its debut weekend. That's a smaller debut than analysts expected, but probably what this film deserves.
"Mile 22" managed a particularly awful 20 percent on the Tomatometer and inspired headlines like, "'Mile 22' Manages to Fail on Every Front." So needless to say, maybe wait until this one heads to DVD.
As for next week, Melissa McCarthy ruins "Sesame Street" for us all.
