Retiring Guy's Digest: USA box office on 1st weekend of September (2017-2023)

USA box office on the 1st weekend of September 2023 is up 60% compared to last year when "Top Gun: Maverick" was the top-grossing movie.

But it's down 36% compared to the 2019 peak when "It Chapter Two" was the top-grossing movie.

Source: Box Office Mojo

Headline: Variety, 9/4/2023

While the holiday isn’t traditionally a box office draw, Denzel Washington’s assassin-thriller surpassed the previous Labor Day debut runner-up: Rob Zombie’s 2007 “Halloween” remake, which grossed $30 million through Monday. Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” still holds the Labor Day crown with a $94.6 million four-day opening in 2021.
Nevertheless, “Equalizer 3’s” three-day domestic figure of $34.5 million is nearly the same as its predecessors. The 2015 original grossed $34 million in a traditional three-day frame, while the 2018 sequel scored $36 million. With a $70 million production budget co-financed by TSG and Eagle Pictures, Columbia Pictures’ “Equalizer 3” is targeting a similar performance by the end of its run. The third installment earned an “A” grade on CinemaScore and holds a 75% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Original 9/3/2023 post starts here

USA box office on the Friday of the 3rd weekend in August 2023 is up 200% compared to last year when the re-release of "Spider-Man: No Way Home" was the top-grossing movie.

But it's down 43% compared to the 2019 peak when "It Chapter Two" was the top-grossing movie.

Source: Box Office Mojo

Headline: Variety, 9/3/2023

Denzel Washington’s bloody assassin-thriller “The Equalizer 3” debuted at the top of box office charts with $34.5 million over the weekend and an estimated $41 million through Monday’s Labor Day holiday.
It’s the second-biggest Labor Day opening weekend in modern times, though the holiday isn’t known for bringing people to the movies. After the record-holder Marvel’s 2021 blockbuster “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” ($75 million for the three days, $94.6 million through Monday), the next highest-grossing Labor Day debut is Rob Zombie’s 2007 “Halloween” remake ($26 million for the three days, $30 million through Monday).

Related posts:

2023

Fourth weekend of August. (8/26)

Third weekend of August. (8/19)

Second weekend of August. (8/12)

First weekend of August. (8/5)

Fourth weekend of July. (7/30)

Third weekend of July. (7/23)

Secind weekend of July. (7/16)

First weekend of July. (7/9)

Fourth weekend of June. (6/25)

Third weekend of June. (6/18)