*Although many critics panned Universal’s “Night School” comedy starring Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish, the film had a strong $28 million opening weekend — beating out Warner Brothers’ “Smallfoot” for the No. 1 spot — which is definitely a win.
Released on 3,091 screens, “Night School,” centers on Hart, a student in an adult education class and Haddish plays his teacher. A.O. Scott of nytimes.com wrote: “The plot zigs and zags and sometimes accelerates in the direction of genuine hilarity only to downshift into sloppy, easy jokes and gags.”
According to TheWrap: “Night School” posted the best opening for the genre this year, and is only a few paces behind the $31 million opening for “Girls Trip,” the previous collaboration between Haddish, director Malcolm D. Lee and producer Will Packer.
OTHER NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED: David Alan Grier Always One of ‘The Cool Kids’ (EUR Exclusive!)
“Smallfoot,” which features Common, Zendaya and other stars voicing animated yetis, brought in about $23 million domestically.
Third place went to Universal’s PG-rated fantasy “The House With a Clock in Its Walls,” which brought in about $12.5 million in North America this weekend, bringing its total to about $44.8 million.
Rounding out the top five: Lionsgate’s comedic mystery “A Simple Favor,” with an estimated domestic gross of $6.6 million in its third weekend, and Warner’s horror “The Nun” added $5.4 million to its domestic total of about $109 million, the NY Times reports.
“Night School” will face tough competition next week when Sony drops its Marvel film “Venom” starring Tom Hardy and Warner Bros. releases awards contender “A Star Is Born” featuring Lady Gaga.
We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!
