‘Ford v Ferrari’ Takes First Place on Debut Weekend While ‘Charlie’s Angels’ Struggles

Ford v Ferrari pulled ahead of the competition in its opening weekend at the box office and never looked back, earning $31 million domestically and $52.4 million worldwide, Deadline reports. The next closest competitor for the James Mangold-directed vehicle starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale was Midway, which came in second with $8.75 million, barely edging out the $8.6 million from Charlie’s Angels.

The last few weeks at the box office have seen one disappointing release after another, but Ford v Ferrari is a rare victory for a film hoping to buck the trend of disastrous starts as it attempts to recoup and hopefully surpass its $100 million price tag. The movie’s success hinged on its ability to appeal to a predominantly male audience given the subject matter, and that group came out in droves, accounting for 62 percent of ticket buyers, according to Variety.

As someone over the age of 25, the film did manage to capture my attention, despite my lack of interest in cars, by promoting the trio of Bale, Damon, and Mangold. That target group made up for nearly 80 percent of sales. 

“We knew it was a real crowd pleaser,” Cathleen Taff, Disney’s president of global distribution, said. “With the caliber of talent from director James Mangold and Christian Bale and Matt Damon, it felt like a must-see movie. We’re thrilled to see it breaking out.”

Charlie’s Angels wasn’t met with the same level of enthusiasm as Ford v Ferrari, and it showed at the box office. However, all is not lost for the Elizabeth Banks-directed reboot. While the film fell short of its $13 million debut weekend projection, its $48 million production budget allows the project to at least break even if word of mouth can propel the movie to a stronger second week showing. With its $19.3 million international haul it’s at a total of $26.1 million currently.