If you're not 'LEGO Batman,' you aren't #1 at the weekend box office

Weekend Box Office for Feb. 17 -19, 2017

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) - We won't see official numbers until after President's Day, but I feel very confident in saying that "The LEGO Batman Movie" dominated the field of new releases(with a little help from the surprisingly resilient "Fifty Shades Darker").

Don't call it a comeback, but "The LEGO Batman Movie" appears headed for a $44 million four-day weekend. That will push its domestic total over $100 million and keep it in first place during its second frame. Considering next week's new releases, "Get Out," "Collide" and "Rock Dog," we just might see the mini-caped crusader three-peat. Why? Because he's Batman.

Not to be outdone, "Fifty Shades Darker" is looking at a four-day weekend of $24 million. Frankly, that's far better than I would have expected considering Valentine's Day is firmly in the rear-view mirror. It would seem that there are still plenty of curious individuals out there. Just keep in mind that curiosity killed the cat.

Of this week's new releases, "The Great Wall," a rather disappointing Chinese epic starring Matt Damon as a mercenary looking for gunpowder in ancient China, proved the strongest and will bring in around $22 million. This suggests that the film will ultimately be a bomb stateside (despite actually performing better than originally thought), but its international numbers are robust enough that the film, despite a $150 million budget, will be profitable regardless of how well it does stateside. Currently the worldwide total has already surpassed $250 million and, depending on how popular the film remains in China, could easily be over $300 million by this time next week.

"John Wick: Chapter Two" will finish Monday around $18 million richer than it was before the holiday weekend. That pushes its domestic total to around $60 million. The well-received action thriller has already out-earned the original film as it rockets towards a $100 million worldwide total. Seems Lionsgate/Summit have a legitimate franchise brewing.

Another newcomer, "Fist Fight," a comedy starring Ice Cube and Charlie Day as brawling high school teachers, looks to open around $15 million for the four-day weekend. That's well short of expectations as the experts thought the film would challenge "Fifty Shades Darker" for second place with a total above $22 million.

However, no matter how poorly "Fist Fight" performs, it will be "A Cure for Wellness" that will be in the least desirable position as the $40 million film will only bring in around $5 million. International numbers might save this poorly constructed horror fantasy, but it certainly won't be the hit that director Gore Verbinski hoped for.