‘Red Sparrow’ is No Box Office Match for ‘Black Panther’

LOS ANGELES — The Twentieth Century Fox thriller “Red Sparrow” flew low at the domestic box office over the weekend, collecting an estimated $17 million and becoming the third lackluster opening in a row for Jennifer Lawrence.

“Red Sparrow,” starring Lawrence as a Russian intelligence operative who specializes in sexual manipulation, ran into stronger-than-expected competition from “Black Panther,” which remained a huge No. 1 at North American theaters in its third weekend. “Black Panther” (Disney) collected about $65.7 million, for a new domestic total of $501.1 million; worldwide ticket sales now stand at roughly $900 million.

But the R-rated “Red Sparrow,” which cost Fox at least $100 million to make and market, divided critics and received a lukewarm B grade from ticket buyers in CinemaScore exit polls. “Red Sparrow” had the hardest time attracting young adults; 79 percent of its audience was over the age of 25, according to Fox.

Lawrence, one of Hollywood’s most popular and highest-paid actresses, was last seen in Darren Aronofsky’s “Mother!” Released in the fall by Paramount, “Mother!” failed in wide release. Before that, Lawrence co-starred with Chris Pratt in Sony’s expensive “Passengers,” which arrived to a wobbly $14.9 million in 2016. Sony ultimately pushed “Passengers” to about $100 million in domestic ticket sales.

The weekend’s other new wide-release movie, “Death Wish” (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer), sold an estimated $13 million in tickets, according to comScore, which compiles box office data. A remake of the 1974 movie of the same name, “Death Wish,” starring Bruce Willis, cost at least $30 million to produce and received withering reviews. The film, which celebrates a vigilante shooter, arrived in the wake of the school massacre in Parkland, Florida. Some people complained on social media that trailers advertising “Death Wish” continued to run in theaters.

In other box office news, Hollywood’s awards season came to a close on Sunday with mixed results. Of the nine movies nominated for best picture at the 90th Academy Awards, which ABC will broadcast on Sunday night, seven were released during the last four months, Hollywood’s traditional awards corridor. Steven Spielberg’s newspaper drama “The Post” (Twentieth Century Fox) did the best, collecting about $80 million.

Then came “The Shape of Water” (Fox Searchlight) with $57.4 million in domestic ticket sales; “Darkest Hour” (Focus Features) with $55.4 million; and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” with $52 million. “Lady Bird” (A24) followed with $48.3 million.

The least-seen were “Phantom Thread” (Focus), which collected about $20 million, and “Call Me by Your Name” (Sony Pictures Classics), which put together roughly $17 million.

By art house standards, all were quite successful. But none of these prestige-minded movies was widely embraced by mainstream ticket buyers — as when the 2011 best picture nominee “Black Swan” collected about $120 million, after adjusting for inflation; or Spielberg’s “Lincoln” reached nearly $200 million in 2013.

The other two films nominated for best picture at Sunday’s Academy Awards arrived outside of the awards corridor and were both domestic blockbusters. “Get Out,” which was released a year ago, generated $176 million in ticket sales. “Dunkirk,” a summer release, had $188.4 million.