Director Steven Soderbergh's third installment in the hit Magic Mike franchise, Magic Mike's Last Dance, eschewed a straight-to-streaming debut and grossed $4.1 million (including Thursday previews) on its first Friday at 1,500 theaters. This is a far cry from the $19 million that the first Magic Mike made on its opening day back in 2012, and the $9.3 million that Magic Mike XXL made on its first day, which happened to be a Wednesday. Unlike the first two entries, which were produced for a modest $7 million and $14 million, respectively, the third film carries a much heftier price tag, reportedly in the $40 million range. Magic Mike 3 is expected to gross $8 million over the quiet SuperBowl weekend.

If there was ever any need for cosmic proof that director James Cameron is the king of the box office — beyond the statistical, of course — it’s here now. The filmmaker has two movies in the top five at this weekend’s box office, while they both compete with each other over on the all-time worldwide list. With $2.7 million on Friday, the 25th anniversary re-release of Titanic claimed the number two spot at the box office, pushing its running domestic total to over $662 million.

Cameron’s latest blockbuster — Avatar: The Way of Water — took the fourth spot with $1.6 million in its ninth weekend. Titanic is playing in nearly 2,500 domestic theaters in a freshly revamped High Frame Rate version. Originally released in 1997, Titanic dominated the box office for nearly half-a-year and went on to win 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. It established Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet as stars, and established Cameron as one of the world’s most bankable filmmakers — a reputation that has only become stronger since then, after he surpassed himself with 2009’s Avatar. The Way of Water has now made $641 million domestically and $2.175 billion worldwide. On both counts, it was on the verge of overtaking Titanic, before the re-release further increased the gap. On the worldwide list, Titanic is still the third-biggest film of all time, with $2.21 billion. The Way of Water will have to settle for the fourth spot for now.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in Titanic
Image via 20th Century Fox

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Paramount’s astute decision to release the older-skewing sports drama 80 for Brady paid off last week, and the film continued to pull older crowds as it entered its second weekend. Starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Sally Field and newly minted Fast Saga cast member Rita Moreno, 80 for Brady picked up $1.8 million on its second Friday, claiming the number three spot. This takes its running domestic total to $20.8 million.

M. Night Shyamalan’s latest thriller Knock at the Cabin fell to the fifth spot on its second Friday after topping the chart last weekend, and picked up $1.6 million. It came in just $1000 behind The Way of Water, as its running domestic total hit $19.6 million. It’s clear already that Knock at the Cabin isn’t performing as well as Shyamalan’s recent releases, including Old, which debuted at a more precarious time during the pandemic and somehow ended up with nearly $50 million at the domestic box office.

Dreamworks’ Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, which released around the same time as The Way of Water in December, added $1.3 million to its domestic tally on Friday, taking its running total to nearly $155 million. Globally, the animated sequel has grossed nearly $380 million, although it’s still trailing the $555 million lifetime global haul that the first Puss in Boots movie delivered more than a decade ago.

Expect Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania to top the chart next week, with a projected $120 million. You can watch the 25th anniversary trailer for Titanic here, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.