Dunkirk Rules the Weekend Box Office While Valerian Flops

Girls Trip crushes in its debut.

By Alex Osborn

Dunkirk had a strong opening weekend in domestic theaters, exceeding expectations with an estimated debut  of $50.5 million.

While Christopher Nolan's World War II drama performed slightly better than the director's prior film, Interstellar, which opened to $47.5 million in 2014, Dunkirk will need to maintain its current momentum to make back its approximate $150 million production budget and be considered a success.

Meanwhile, Girls Trip bucked the current trend of R-rated comedy flops and enjoyed a strong second place opening, earning an estimated $30.4 million in its domestic debut.

Conversely, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets was a major bomb at the domestic box office. The Luc Besson-directed sci-fi movie, based on Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mezieres comic series Valerian and Laureline, opened in fifth place with an estimated $17 million. Valerian has a long way to go before it reaches profitability, as the film reportedly cost $180 million to make.

War for the Planet of the Apes, which debuted in first place last weekend, slipped to fourth place in its second weekend. Director Matt Reeves' trilogy-capper suffered a 64 percent drop and earned an estimated $20.4 million.

Here are this weekend's Top 10 North American box office estimates via comScore:

1. Dunkirk $50.5 million

2. Girls Trip $30.4 million

3. Spider-Man: Homecoming $22 million

4. War for the Planet of the Apes $20.4 million

5. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets $17 million

6. Despicable Me 3 $12.7 million

7. Baby Driver $6 million

8. The Big Sick $5 million

9. Wonder Woman $4.6 million

10. Wish Upon $2.5 million

Alex Osborn is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

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