‘Equalizer 3’ Cleans Up, While ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ Score New Records 

This image released by Sony Pictures Entertainment shows Denzel Washington, left, and Andrea Dodero in a scene from "The Equalizer 3." (Sony Pictures Entertainment via AP)
This image released by Sony Pictures Entertainment shows Denzel Washington, left, and Andrea Dodero in a scene from "The Equalizer 3." (Sony Pictures Entertainment via AP)
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‘Equalizer 3’ Cleans Up, While ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ Score New Records 

This image released by Sony Pictures Entertainment shows Denzel Washington, left, and Andrea Dodero in a scene from "The Equalizer 3." (Sony Pictures Entertainment via AP)
This image released by Sony Pictures Entertainment shows Denzel Washington, left, and Andrea Dodero in a scene from "The Equalizer 3." (Sony Pictures Entertainment via AP)

The third installment in the Denzel Washington-led “Equalizer” franchise topped the domestic box office this weekend with $34.5 million according to studio estimates Sunday. By the end of the Monday holiday, Sony expects that total will rise to $42 million.

Labor Day signals the end of Hollywood’s summer movie season, which will surpass $4 billion in ticket sales for the first time since the pandemic thanks in no small part to “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” which are still netting records even after seven weeks in theaters.

This weekend, Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” officially became the biggest movie of 2023 with over $1.36 billion globally, surpassing “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” while Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” sailed past $850 million globally to become the No. 3 movie of the year and Nolan’s third highest grossing.

“The Equalizer 3” arrived at a fraught time for Hollywood, with actors seven weeks into a strike for fair contracts with major entertainment companies and movie theaters bracing for a somewhat depleted fall season as a result.

The ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike meant Washington was unable to stump for the movie, which was directed by his frequent collaborator Antoine Fuqua and brings his vigilante character Robert McCall to Italy’s Amalfi coast.

While the lack of a major star on a promotional tour would normally be considered a liability for a film’s box office potential, “Equalizer 3” may be the rare exception that could withstand a rollout without Washington’s help simply because it’s a recognizable franchise.

“One of the biggest movie stars in the world took us out on a high note,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “Studios often coast to Labor Day, but Sony was smart to choose this weekend to open ‘The Equalizer 3.’”

Sony opened the R-rated “Equalizer 3” in over 3,900 locations in North America, including on IMAX and premium large format screens, where it opened in line with the previous two films which both went on to make over $190 million globally.

With co-financing from TSG and Eagle Pictures, the film carried a $70 million production price tag. The film received generally positive reviews from critics (76% on Rotten Tomatoes) and overwhelmingly positive reviews from audiences, who gave it an A on CinemaScore and a five-star PostTrak rating.

“It’s uncanny the consistency of the Equalizer franchise,” Dergarabedian said.

Overseas, it made $26.1 million, contributing to a $60.6 million global debut.

In second place, “Barbie” added $10.6 million over the weekend in the US and Canada, pushing its domestic total to $609.5 million. Warner Bros.’ other main theatrical offering, “Blue Beetle” added $7.3 million to take third. The DC superhero film has grossed $56.6 million in three weekends in North America.

Fourth place went to Sony’s “Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story,” which is projecting $6.6 million through Sunday, down 62% from its first place opening weekend, and $8.5 million including Monday.

“Oppenheimer” landed in fifth place on the domestic charts with an estimated $5.5 million ($7.4 million including estimates for Monday) from 2,543 theaters. This brings its domestic total to $310.3 million and its global take to $851 million.

The Universal film opened in China on Wednesday, playing on 35,000 screens, where it is estimated to have made $30.3 million in its first five days. A significant portion of that ($9.3 million through Sunday) came from 736 IMAX screens.

IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond said in a statement that “Oppenheimer’s” China debut showed that “it’s nowhere near finished dazzling audiences worldwide.” Gelfond added that its success also offers “a powerful demonstration of our surging market share around the world.”

That the 18-week summer movie season hit $4 billion is significant for an industry still recovering from the pandemic and facing uncertainty in the fall if the actors and writers strikes continue. Before the pandemic, $4 billion summers had become the standard for the industry and generally accounted for at least 40% of the total box office for the year. Last summer netted out with $3.4 billion.

And this summer had its share of hits, flops and surprises, with “Barbenheimer” accounting for over $900 million of the $4 billion haul.

“The summer box office is vitally important and a strong indicator of the health of the industry,” Dergarabedian said. “Many were really skeptical that we could get to $4 billion. We’re hitting it literally in the final days of the summer. It’s a reminder that any hit or miss makes a profound impact on the bottom line.”



Comic-Con 2025 Kicks off with New 'Freddy's,' 'Toxic Avenger' and Thousands of Costume-Clad Fans 

Peter Dinklage, left, and Elijah Wood attend a panel for "The Toxic Avenger" during Comic-Con International on Thursday, July 24, 2025, in San Diego. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Peter Dinklage, left, and Elijah Wood attend a panel for "The Toxic Avenger" during Comic-Con International on Thursday, July 24, 2025, in San Diego. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
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Comic-Con 2025 Kicks off with New 'Freddy's,' 'Toxic Avenger' and Thousands of Costume-Clad Fans 

Peter Dinklage, left, and Elijah Wood attend a panel for "The Toxic Avenger" during Comic-Con International on Thursday, July 24, 2025, in San Diego. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Peter Dinklage, left, and Elijah Wood attend a panel for "The Toxic Avenger" during Comic-Con International on Thursday, July 24, 2025, in San Diego. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

Tens of thousands of fans — many in costumes — descended Thursday on Comic-Con International, the four-day pop culture spectacle that will feature updates on the new “Predator” movie, “Alien” series and a special appearance by George Lucas.

Fans packed into the convention's famed Hall H for updates on the “Five Nights at Freddy's” sequel and the “Toxic Avenger” reboot, with a panel on “South Park” coming later in the day.

The convention won't have major news about any upcoming Marvel movies or what's next for the hit relaunch of DC's high-flying “Superman” franchise. Both studios are sitting out Comic-Con 2025, as far as their film slates go.

An estimated 135,000 people will attend the convention, which will greet Lucas on Sunday for his first Comic-Con appearance. The “Star Wars” creator will discuss his new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art that will open next year in Los Angeles.

Fans of the “Alien” and “Predator” franchises will have plenty to cheer. Elle Fanning, star of “Predator: Badlands,” will discuss the film this week. FX will also bring the stars and creators of “Alien: Earth,” a series that will unleash the Xenomorph species on Earth next month.

“Alien: Earth” will be one of the projects that brings a massive interactive experience to San Diego, with a replica of spacecraft from the series. The attraction will feature what's described as a terrifying mission at night.

Marvel may not be presenting new movies, but it will have a “Fantastic Four: First Steps” attraction near the convention, a tie-in to Friday's release of the latest attempt to successfully launch its “first family” in theaters.

A main feature of the convention is its 460,000-square-foot (42,700-square-meter) exhibitor section, which features exclusive merchandise, comic book art and exhibits from brands like Star Wars, Lego, Nickelodeon, Paramount and more.

'Five Nights at Freddy's 2'

More pizzerias and murderous bots No animatronics — or humans — were harmed when “Five Nights at Freddy's 2” came to Comic-Con.

That wasn't necessarily the case on the movie set for the robots.

“They're there, you can actually hug them,” star Piper Rubio said. But she noted that the animatronics sometimes malfunctioned, whether it was odd facial expressions, “fingers falling off or the occasional foxes catching on fire.”

The movies are based on the popular Five Nights at Freddy's video game about a cursed pizza restaurant with possessed, murderous animatronic characters.

The first film was Blumhouse's biggest opening when it dual-launched in theaters and on the Peacock streaming service in 2023, earning $130.6 million globally in its first weekend.

Director Emma Tammi said the second movie has three times the number of animatronics as the first. Star Josh Hutcherson said the movie also features multiple Freddy Fazbear's Pizza franchises and new animatronic characters, like Mangle.

Teo Briones, who's starred in “Final Destination Bloodlines” and “Chucky,” is a newcomer to the series and said he was immediately excited to be part of a movie based on a game he played as a child.

“It's really special to be a part of something that has been such an important cultural thing for my generation,” he said.

“Five Nights at Freddy's 2” will be released Dec. 5.

From the wastes to Hall H for 'The Toxic Avenger”

A year ago, “Toxic Avenger” seemed lost in the waste. But on Thursday, the earnestly gory reboot of the classic 1984 B-movie from Troma Entertainment was in Comic-Con's vaunted Hall H like it was a regular blockbuster.

The movie was shot in 2021 and had a festival premiere in 2023, but struggled to find a distributor. It had been deemed unreleaseable by some with its ultra-graphic, though weirdly warm comic violence, most of it incurred by the tutu-wearing title character's toxic mop.

Cineverse is now giving it an unrated wide release on Aug. 29.

Blair said he had a few non-negotiables that were gladly granted when he agreed to make the film.

“He had to have a tutu. He had to have a mop,” the director said, and, he said. No CGI.

“I was pretty insistent that we had to have a performer in a suit,” Blair said.

Peter Dinklage plays the hero in his pre-toxic form and provides the voice throughout the film that also stars Elijah Wood, Taylour Paige and Jacob Tremblay. All but Bacon were on the stage.

“There's other people up here!” Dinklage said after the first bunch of questions during the Q&A were all for him. “Ever seen 'Lord of the Rings?!' I wasn't in that!”

Wood, the “LOTR” star sitting next to him, laughed as much as anyone in the room.

Comedy takes over Hall H

Comedians Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias and Jo Koy whipped Hall H into a frenzy during a mostly-packed session to promote their massive 2026 comedy show at Los Angeles' SoFi Stadium.

The pair traded light — and mostly family-suitable — banter about their inspirations and heroes (Iglesias cited his mother, which led Koy to want to change his answer from Eddie Murphy) and their passionate fan bases.

They said their show would involve each doing at least 90-minute sets, special guests and befitting a show at a football stadium, probably some tailgating. They said fans should expect to be there all day.

Koy joked that it was “challenging to get back here" and that he was ignoring calls from family and friends to get them passes to the convention.

They ended the session handing out autographed Funko collective figures of their likenesses and a selfie with the crowd. They warned anyone who was there with someone they shouldn't be to take cover. “We're not Coldplay,” Iglesias joked, citing the viral kiss cam saga involving a tech company CEO captured embracing an employee at one of the band's concerts.