Box Office: ‘Abigail’ Tops ‘Civil War’ With Anemic $4M Friday as ‘Ungentlemanly Warfare’ Underwhelms

It was a grim weekend for crowdpleasing genre flicks as A24's feel-bad epic remained the season's must-see event movie.

Universal’s Abigail was the top movie at the domestic box office. The bad news is that the R-rated horror flick about a group of kidnappers who grow to realize that the 12-year-old girl they’ve snatched away is a vampire, only earned $4 million. That is A) lower-than-hoped for the well-reviewed $28 million genre offering and B) low enough to likely lose the weekend crown to A24’s Civil War, which earned $3.3 million (-70%). 

The feel-bad action thriller will likely top the weekend by default with $11 million, which is a pretty good 56% hold, considering it’s the opposite of cinematic escapism. Meanwhile, Lionsgate’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare earned just $3.75 million on Friday for a likely $9 million debut weekend. Even the anime film Spy x Family Code: White only earned $2.2 million for a likely $4.4 million weekend.