The studio said by the end of the Monday holiday (Labor Day) it expects the total box Office Ticket Sales to rise to $42 million.

Overseas, the film has made $26.1 million in ticket sales, contributing to a $60.6 million global debut.

The vigilante action film, co-financed from TSG and Eagle Pictures, carried a $70 million production price tag.

According to a report by news agency Associated Press, Hollywood’s summer movie season will surpass $4 billion in ticket sales for the first time since the pandemic, thanks to “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer”, which are still netting records even after seven weeks in theaters.

This weekend, Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” officially became the biggest movie of 2023 with over $1.36 billion globally in ticket sales, surpassing “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”, while Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” become the No. 3 movie of the year after $850 million in ticket sales globally.

The “Equalizer 3″ was opened in over 3,900 locations in North America, including on IMAX and premium large format theaters.

In the movie, also starring Dakota Fanning, Washington is playing a retired US Marine and drug-enforcement agent, this time taking on a gang in Italy.

“Denzel is an international movie star,” filmmaker Antoine Fuqua had told The Associated Press last week. “We thought it would be nice to see a man of color in a story that’s more international. Why not take this character around the world? Luckily, Sony loved the idea.”

The film brings together a core team with decades of history, including producers Todd Black and Jason Blumenthal. In addition to the “Equalizer” films Fuqua directed Washington in “Training Day,” which would win him his first lead actor Oscar, as well as in the recent remake of “The Magnificent Seven.” 

(With inputs from AP)

Updated: 04 Sep 2023, 01:57 AM IST