‘Hustlers’ Shows Strength of Female-Centered Comedies as ‘The Goldfinch’ Fails to Fly

Mid-September is not normally prime box office, but this weekend provided some encouragement as we move into a fall that will determine whether the market will reverse the trend that has domestic results 6% below last year.“Hustlers” planted the flag for the cause of comedies, original projects, and women front and center with a stronger-than-anticipated $33 million.

That was good enough for second place, behind “It: Chapter Two,” which managed to keep its second-weekend drop to reasonable levels and a total just under $41 million that maintained the #1 slot.

A particularly strong group of small-drop holdovers also added to decent results.And then there was the absolutely dreadful #8 with “The Goldfinch,” which grossed $2.64 million.

Its failure, which Warner Bros.

can sustain, will have more long-term impact than most similar high-end duds.What emerged was a weekend total that should end up over $110 million, enough to slightly surpass the same date last year.

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