Death on the Nile premiered this Valentine's Day weekend, directed by Kenneth Branagh, as a follow-up to his 2017 Agatha Christie adaptation Murder on the Orient Express. The film won the domestic box office with solid numbers in light of the pandemic and the distraction the Super Bowl presented for Sunday moviegoers, but minimal compared to its pre-pandemic predecessor, which accumulated an opening weekend total of $28.6 million.
20th Century Studios' Death on the Nile was initially supposed to land in theaters on December 20, 2019, but the ongoing pandemic compounded with the Armie Hammer controversy led to the film's continuous delay until its eventual release on February 11, 2022. The film opened Friday and ended the night with a total of $5.1 million, which slightly increased on Saturday as the box office number rose to $5.8 million. However, Sunday ended with an accumulated total of $1.9 million, a dip in numbers compared to the film's performance the previous two days. The result was an average opening weekend total of $12.8 million, which was still enough to top last week's previous number one, Jackass Forever, which earned $8.05 million.
Death on the Nile starred Branagh, reprising his standout role as detective Hercule Poirot, alongside Gal Gadot, Tom Bateman, Letitia Wright, Emma Mackey, the disputed Armie Hammer, and others. The Death on the Nile reviews and criticisms have been moderately average, earning a 66% from Rotten Tomatoes and a B from CinemaScore. Overseas, the Branagh film debuted with an opening weekend total of $20.7 million, which brought its globally generated total to $34 million. After the success of the Murder on the Orient Express, the performance of the sequel seemed primed to mirror the results of the first film, but the revenue fell beneath projections due to multiple obstacles standing in Death on the Nile's way.
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In addition to Death on the Nile, the weekend saw the release of the Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson-led film Marry Me, which ended third in the domestic box office standings. The film opened Friday, earning $3 million, which slightly rose Saturday as the film generated $3.6 million. Sunday equally proved to be a tipping point for this film, reigning in $1.4 million to bring its weekend total to $8 million. In addition to a theatrical release, Marry Me also became available simultaneously on the Peacock streaming service, giving audiences the option of staying home to experience the narrative. In terms of reviews, the film earned a 58% on Rotten Tomatoes and a B+ from CinemaScore.
The third-place finish for Marry Me places it above the highly discussed Spider-Man: No Way Home, which ended with a weekend total of $7.15 million. This is the second week in a row the webslinging hero has failed to reclaim the domestic box office weekend throne, but the numbers continue to push the film closer to more significant heights. The $7.15 million total makes the film's overall domestic total $759 million, inching it closer to Avatar's $760.5 million. Suppose Spider-Man: No Way Home generates a similar box office performance this upcoming weekend. In that case, the film will surpass Avatar, claiming the seat as the third-highest-grossing movie ever domestically. The Marvel Studios and Sony film only needs $1.5 million to make the historic leap.
Things seem to be starting slowly in the early stages of February with Death on the Nile and Marry Me, but the release of Uncharted this upcoming weekend may generate the desired domestic box offices numbers. The Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg film opened internationally this past weekend, bringing in a solid $21.5 million. However, it's unclear how the film will perform domestically, especially if the project's target demographic fails to show up to theaters. Nevertheless, movies are starting to arrive, and it'll be interesting to see how the remainder of the month plays out.
Death on the Nile is currently playing in theaters.
Source: Deadline
