“Tenet III” debuts to $58.7 million

“Tenet III” was a smash at the domestic box office in its first weekend in theaters. The MGM release knocked Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum of Madness to No. 1, well ahead of industry expectations and the opening weekends of the first two films in the franchise.

“Tenet III” played in 4,007 locations in North America, earning an estimated $58 million, according to studio estimates on Sunday. Heading into the weekend, analysts expect the movie to take in around $30 million. The first “Tenet” debuted in 2015 with $29 million, and “Tenet II” opened in 2018 with $35 million.

Michael B. Jordan made his directorial debut with “Creed III,” in which his characters Adonis and Jonathan Majors Playing childhood friend Dame (Dame) launched a contest. It’s the first Rocky/Tenet movie not to feature Sylvester Stallone, who chose not to return due to creative differences.

Strong reviews helped “Tenet III,” which currently holds an 87% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while audiences gave it an A- on CinemaScore. According to exit polls, the audience is predominantly male (63%), diverse (36% Black, 28% Latino, 23% White and 13% Asian/Other) and young (55% between the ages of 18 and 34 ).

It’s also the most expensive “Tenet” movie, with a reported production budget of $75 million, compared to the $35 million and $50 million production budgets of the other two films. Internationally, “Tenet III” grossed $41.8 million in 75 markets, with a worldwide debut of $100.4 million.

“Ant-Man 3” dropped to No. 2 with $12.5 million in North America and $22 million internationally in its third weekend. The Marvel and Disney film is currently at $419.5 million worldwide.

In third place was Universal’s “Cocaine Bear,” which added $11 million in its second weekend, bringing its domestic tally to $41.3 million.

Crunchyroll’s “Demon Slayer: Demon Slayer: To The Swordsmith Village” came in fourth with $10.1 million. Based on the manga by Koyoharu Gotoge, the series tells the story of a boy who seeks revenge for his family.

Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company’s “Jesus Revolution” rounded out the top five with $8.7 million. The 1970s Priest film starring Kelsey Grammer made $30.5 million in its two weekends in theaters on a production budget of $15 million.

Rounding out the top five is Guy Ritchie’s “Operation Fortune: Ruse,” a spy thriller with Jason Statham, Hugh Grant and Aubrey Plaza, Ben The weekend grossed $3.2 million from 2,168 locations. Originally distributed through STX, the film was in distribution trouble for a while. Lionsgate recently stepped in to oversee the domestic promotion.