Home Movie News ‘Magic Mike’s Last Dance’ Delivers $8.2 Million Debut at the Domestic Box Office

Elsewhere, director James Cameron claimed the second and third spots with ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ and ‘Titanic’.

Image via Warner Bros

As per the norm before a major blockbuster is released, studios cleared the way at the box office. With Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania scheduled to land next week, and audiences busy with the Super Bowl weekend at home, it was a quiet time in theaters. Warner Bros.’ third installment in the hit Magic Mike franchise, Magic Mike’s Last Dance, took the top spot with a ho-hum $8.2 million across three days (including previews). Granted, it received only a semi-wide release.

This is a significantly lower debut than either of its two predecessors — Magic Mike ($39 million in 2012) and Magic Mike XXL ($27 million across a five-day extended debut in 2015). At a reported $7 million and $14 million, both the first and second Magic Mike movies also cost way less than Magic Mike’s Last Dance, which comes with a reported price tag of around $40 million.
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W.B. made the decision to debut the film in 1,500 domestic theaters, after having initially announced it as a direct-to-streaming release. This is director Steven Soderbergh’s first theatrical release since 2018’s Unsane. He has since helmed movies for Netflix, HBO Max, and Prime Video. As things stand, it’s unlikely that Magic Mike 3 hits the stupendous $167 million and $117 million worldwide hauls of the first two films, starring Channing Tatum as a stripper.

Image via Warner Bros.

RELATED: 10 Movies About Stripping You Should Watch After ‘Magic Mike’s Last Dance’

James Cameron Remains the King of the Box Office
Two James Cameron blockbusters took the second and third spots. Holdover hit Avatar: The Way of Water grossed $7 million in its ninth weekend of release, pushing its running domestic total to $647 million, and $2.213 billion globally. The filmmaker’s 1997 classic Titanic was re-released in nearly 2,500 theaters in celebration of its 25th anniversary. The iconic hit grossed $6.3 million across three days, pushing its domestic tally to $665 million. Ironically, had Titanic not been re-released this weekend, The Way of Water would’ve overtaken it on the all-time chart, but the status quo remains unchanged for now. Titanic is still the third highest-grossing movie in history, with The Way of Water trailing just $1 million behind.

Elsewhere, Paramount’s older-skewing comedy drama 80 for Brady registered a strong hold after debuting at the number two spot in its opening weekend. The film slipped to the fourth spot, with $6 million from nearly 4,000 theaters. Like Magic Mike’s Last Dance, 80 for Brady was also destined for a streaming debut, which was eschewed in favor of a theatrical release. In this case, the gamble appears to have paid off, with the film having grossed nearly $25 million domestically.

The top five was rounded out by director M. Night Shyamalan’s latest thriller, Knock at the Cabin, which fell to the fifth spot after debuting at number one last week. This isn’t a particularly encouraging sign, especially when you take into account the hefty 69% drop from the last weekend. In fact, Knock at the Cabin might ultimately be overtaken by Universal’s Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, which is also tracking for a $5.5 million weekend. The only difference is that the animated sequel is in its eighth weekend, and has grossed nearly $160 million domestically so far, while Shyamalan’s film has grossed $23 million.

Ant-Man 3 is projected to deliver a $120 million debut next week, as Marvel attempts to continue its winning streak at the box office. You can watch our interview with Shyamalan here, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.