Movie stars don't open movies anymore? Tell that to Denzel Washington and Tom Hanks.
The pair, once co-stars in "Philadelphia," have together dominated the last three weeks of the box office. After Clint Eastwood's Miracle on the Hudson docudrama "Sully," starring Hanks as Captain Chesley Sullenberger, topped ticket sales of the last two weeks, "The Magnificent Seven" rode Washington's star power to an estimated $35 million debut over the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Though both Washington and Hanks are in their early 60s, their box-office clout might be just as potent as ever. The debut of "Sully" was Hanks' fourth best opening of his career; the opening of "The Magnificent Seven," Antoine Fuqua's remake of John Sturges' 1960 Western (itself a remake of Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai"), is Washington's third best.
Both films boasted other enticements. Eastwood is himself a draw. And the ensemble of "The Magnificent Seven" most notably includes Chris Pratt, the "Guardians of the Galaxy" star and a potential heir apparent to Washington and Hanks.
But Washington and Hanks ranked as the overwhelming reason audiences went to see either movie, according to comScore's survey of moviegoers.
"They are the model of consistency and they are the model of quality," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore. "These are guys who can draw a huge audience in any type of movie that they're in. It's not like they're pigeonholed into one kind of franchise. Denzel Washington can be part of a genre, the Western, that doesn't exactly have teenagers scrambling to the movie theater."
Sony Pictures' "The Magnificent Seven" wasn't cheap to make — it cost about $90 million — so its path to profitability isn't assured. Directed by Fuqua (whose "Training Day" and "The Equalizer" also starred Washington), the film made splashy premieres at both the Toronto International Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival.
Coming in at a distant second was Warner Bros.' "Storks," an animated release where the large-winged birds have given up the baby delivery business for online sales. The film, which cost about $70 million to make, opened with $21.8 million. Directed by Nicholas Stoller and Doug Sweetland, its voice cast is led by Andy Samberg.
The rest of the top 10 was populated by holdovers, with "Sully" slotting in at third with $13.8 million in its third week. It has now grossed $92.4 million domestically. A potentially bigger test of Hanks' drawing power awaits the actor next month with the release of "Inferno," in which he reprises his role as Robert Langdon in the Dan Brown franchise.
"The Magnificent Seven" slots in as one of the biggest openings for a Western ever, though the genre's heyday predated modern wide releases. The only Westerns to debut better, not accounting for inflation, bended the genre in other directions: sci-fi in the case of "Cowboys & Aliens" ($36.4 million in 2011) and animation in "Rango" ($38.1 million, also in 2011).
The Western, like Washington and Hanks, has proven quite durable at the box office in recent years. The Coen brothers' "True Grit" (which grossed $171.2 million in total), Alejandro Inarritu's "The Revenant" ($183.6 million) and a pair of Quintin Tarantino releases ("Django Unchained," with $162.8 million, and "The Hateful Eight," with $54.1 million) have all proven the genre's fortitude.
"When you read this script as well as Antoine's vision of it, you knew it was going to be cool and relevant," said Rory Bruer, distribution head for Sony. "When you talk about genres or things that might not, on the surface, look to be the best play, it's always going to about what's in the story and how that story is told."
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Tuesday.
1. "The Magnificent Seven," $35 million ($19.2 million international).
2. "Storks," $21.8 million ($18.3 million international).
3. "Sully," $13.8 million ($6.5 million international).
4. "Bridget Jones's Baby," $4.5 million ($21.9 million international).
5. "Snowden," $4.1 million ($1.7 million international).
6. "Blair Witch," $4 million ($3.5 million international).
7. "Don't Breathe," $3.8 million ($4.3 million international).
8. "Suicide Squad," $3.1 million ($3 million international).
9. "When the Bough Breaks," $2.5 million.
10. "Kubo and the Two Strings," $1.1 million ($1.8 million international).
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to comScore:
1. "Bridget Jones's Baby," $21.9 million.
2. "The Magnificent Seven," $19.2 million.
3. "Storks," $18.3 million.
4. "The Secret Life of Pets," $8.1 million.
5. "Sully," $6.5 million.
6. "A Chinese Odyssey Part Three: The End," $6 million.
7. "Finding Dory," $5.3 million.
8. "S Storm," $5.3 million.
9. "Soulmate," $5.2 million.
10. "Bad Moms," $4.6 million.
