This Labor Day weekend sees the release of just one new wide entry to theaters with the trilogy capper The Equalizer 3 starring Denzel Washington. The franchise, loosely based off the TV series of the same name that aired on CBS from 1985-1989, launched on September 26, 2014 where it opened with $34.1 million on its way to a $101.5 million domestic finish ($192.3 million worldwide). The sequel, 2018’s The Equalizer 2, would release in a prime summer slot of July 20 and open in first place with $36 million on its way to a $102 million domestic finish ($190.4 million worldwide). Those numbers are bolstered by the fact that director Antoine Fuqua keeps his budgets down with each film costing between $55- $75 million. Tracking for the film has it opening in the $30 million range and since that is about where the other two opened, that is what I will stick with for its 3-day take. 

The film is currently seeing some decent reviews including an 8/10 from our own Chris Bumbray who enjoyed this third outing so much he hoped they would reconsider making this the final chapter in the lucrative franchise. Another factor that may help propel The Equalizer 3 to financial glory is its runtime. At 103 minutes it is the shortest film in the series by almost 20 minutes (Equalizer had a runtime of 132 minutes while Equalizer 2 carried a 121 minute run time). The film will also take over most of the PLF (Premium Large Format) screens this weekend from Gran Turismo and let us not forget that people enjoy a good piece of revenge cinema as just a few months ago we saw the excellent John Wick Chapter 4 pull in $187.1 million domestic with a $426.5 million worldwide gross. Equalizer 3 won’t hit those types of numbers, but it does show that when a series continues to put out quality, audiences will show up, and by most accounts Equalizer 3 is quality. 

Speaking of Gran Turismo, many expect the based on a true story car racing tale to have a significant drop in its second weekend from its already lackluster opening. The thing is: the film carries a stellar 98% audience score with an A cinemascore, meaning word of mouth for this one should be strong. Having seen the film just last night (in IMAX) I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and think it deserved to do far better than it did in its opening weekend. The movie blended the visual style of the game with the real life story that inspired the film perfectly. Even though it carries a PG13 rating, I found this to be a pretty solid family film (although there is one F bomb for those who may not like such things.) But the story of a kid with a dream who is given the chance to achieve that dream is a tale as old as time, and in the hands of a skilled filmmaker like Neill Blomkamp and excellent performances by Archie Madekwe, Dijon Hounsou, Orlando Bloom and especially David Harbour (and even Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, aka Ginger Spice, puts in a solid performance as the lead character Jann’s mother. It was so good I didn’t even realize it was her until reading Chris Bumbray’s 8/10 review!) make the film a must see in theaters where you will get the full experience of the amazing race car sound design and mixing. 

Gran Turismo actually did decent business during the week, of course that business wasn’t as good as Barbie which finished in first place on Monday and Tuesday. So it is likely that Barbie will continue her amazing run with a second place finish and around $13 million in receipts. The Margot Robbie/ Ryan Gosling led film became Warner Bros highest grossing film of all time this week, taking down Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, as it passed that films $1.342 worldwide gross. I wonder if Warner Bros is rethinking their plan to release the film to digital platforms on September 5 as it seems there is still a lot of gas in the tank for this one at the box office. 

Fourth place should go to the DC film Blue Beetle with around $6-$7 million in receipts as the film struggles to hit the $100 million domestic mark, a mark I don’t believe it will achieve when all is said and done. At the end of the day, the movie just wasn’t very good and audiences are telling the studio as much by not going to see it. Even though James Gunn said that Blue Beetle will feature in his new DCU, I think he needs to cut ties with all previous characters and start fresh with his new Superman. There is already enough confusion among audiences in terms of the DCEU and the DCU, to where a new 100% fresh start with 2025’s Superman: Legacy is needed to get audiences back on one singular track going forward. 

Rounding out the top five should be Oppenheimer with an additional $6-$7 million. What is amazing for this Christopher Nolan directed film is that even after it lost its big theater chain IMAX screens (the film has seen its run extended in its 70mm IMAX screens) it has maintained its momentum with small week to week drops meaning that it wasn’t just the larger than life screen spectacle that people have responded to, it is the film itself. As we enter the fall movie season where more and more awards contenders are released, you can expect Oppenheimer to continue to have a presence as Universal will certainly not want to lose momentum as this movie has a genuine shot at breaking (or at least tying) the record for most Academy Award nominations (which currently sits at 14 for Titanic, All About Eve and La La Land). 

Out of the top five but worth noting is the expansion of the film Bottoms. The R rated sex comedy opened last week on just ten screens where it pulled in a stellar $461,052, which equates to a $46,105 per screen average. The film is getting an expansion this week and depending on word of mouth could potentially hit the top ten.

Do you plan on hitting up theaters this weekend? If so, let us know in the comments what you plan on seeing and don’t forget to check back on Saturday when we have a brief update on where the box office numbers are heading.

TOP FIVE PREDICTIONS

1. The Equalizer 3– $30 Million
2. Barbie– $13 Million
3. Gran Turismo– $9 Million
4. Blue Beetle– $6.5 Million
5. Oppenheimer– $6 million

The Barbie cast includes many of Hollywood’s heavy hitters and fresh faces, including Margot Robbie (The Suicide Squad) and Ryan Gosling (La La Land) as Barbie and Ken, alongside America Ferrera (End of Watch), Kate McKinnon (The Spy Who Dumped Me), Michael Cera (Arrested Development), Ariana Greenblatt (Borderlands), Issa Rae (Insecure), Thea Perlman (Matilda), and Will Ferrell (Elf). The film also stars Ana Cruz Kayne (Little Women), Emma Mackey (Sex Education), Nari Nef (Transparent), Alexandra Shipp (the X-Men films), Kingsley Ben-Adir (Secret Invasion), Simu Liu (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), Ncuiti Gatwa (Doctor Who), Scott Evans (Grace and Frankie), Jamie Demetriou (Cruella), Connor Swindells (Emma), Sharon Rooney (Dumbo), Nicola Coughlan (Bridgerton), Ritu Arya (The Umbrella Academy), Dua Lipa, and Helen Mirren (The Queen).

Greta Gerwig directs Barbie from a screenplay she wrote with Noah Baumbach, based on Mattel’s rich history with the Barbie toy brand. The film’s producers are Oscar nominee David Heyman (Marriage Story, Gravity), Robbie, Tom Ackerley, and Robbie Brenner, with Michael Sharp, Josey McNamara, Ynon Kreiz, Courtenay Valenti, Toby Emmerich, and Cate Adams serving as executive producers.

Are you surprised by the magnitude of Barbie‘s success? How much money do you think the film will add to its total when it hits digital retailers next month? Let us know in the comments below.

In a promo video released two weeks ago, Chucky the killer doll informed fans that “D.C. is gonna get Chucked up” in Chucky season 3, which is scheduled to begin airing on October 4th. Now a teaser trailer has arrived online to show us that Chucky will indeed be raiding the White House in the new episodes, sharing the Oval Office with the President of the United States – who happens to be played by Devon Sawa, taking on the fourth role he has played over the course of this series. You can watch the teaser trailer in the embed above.

New episodes of Chucky season 3 will air on Wednesdays at 9pm ET/PT on both Syfy and USA – and then they’ll be available to stream on Peacock the following day.

A follow-up to all of the Child’s Play movies (remake excluded), Chucky picks up where Cult of Chucky left off. Don Mancini, who has written every film in the franchise (except that remake) and directed a few of them, developed Chucky with producer David Kirschner. Mancini and Kirschner are executive producing Chucky with Harley Peyton, Alex Hedlund, and Nick Antosca. The first season had Chucky terrorizing Hackensack, New Jersey, then he was sent off to a Catholic boarding school for season 2. Now it’s D.C.’s turn to experience some Chucky trouble.

Here’s the season 3 synopsis: In Chucky’s unending thirst for power, season 3 now sees Chucky ensconced with the most powerful family in the world — America’s First Family, inside the infamous walls of the White House. How did Chucky wind up here? What in God’s name does he want? And how can Jake, Devon, and Lexy possibly get to Chucky inside the world’s most secure house, all while balancing the pressures of romantic relationships and growing up? Meanwhile, Tiffany faces a looming crisis of her own as the police close in on her for “Jennifer Tilly’s” murderous rampage last season.

The series stars Jennifer Tilly (as serial killer Tiffany Valentine, now inhabiting the body of actress Jennifer Tilly), Zackary Arthur (as Jake Wheeler), Alyvia Alyn Lind (as Lexy Cross), Fiona Dourif (as Nica Pierce), Björgvin Arnarson (as Devon Evans), Alex Vincent (as Andy Barclay), Christine Elise (as Kyle), Barbara Alyn Woods (as Mayor Michelle Cross), Lachlan Watson (as Glen/Glenda), Carina Battrick (as Caroline Cross), and Brad Dourif (providing the voice of Chucky). 

What did you think of the teaser trailer? Will you be watching Chucky season 3 when it starts airing in October? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

As I’ve said before, I enjoyed the first season of Chucky, didn’t enjoy the second, but will still be tuning in for the third. I’ve been following the adventures of Chucky since I was a little kid, I don’t intend to miss out on any chapters of his story.