Denzel Washington outshines ABBA as ‘Equalizer 2’ beats ‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again’ in a box office upset

Sequels dominated the box office this weekend, with every film in the top five (and eight out of the top 10) a continuation of an already-established franchise.

In a surprising upset, Sony’s “The Equalizer 2” beat out Universal’s “Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again” for the top spot, opening with $35.8 million in the U.S. and Canada, according to figures from measurement firm ComScore.

“It’s a surprise No. 1 for us,” said Adrian Smith, head of domestic distribution at Sony. “All the industry predictors had us in second place. But the film totally delivered.”

Friday box office analysts projected that the PG 13-rated sequel to 2008’s “Mamma Mia” would be the No. 1 film over the R-rated thriller. Though both films opened bigger than their predecessors, “Equalizer 2” continued to grow past the $25 million to $30 million analysts expected.

A follow-up to 2014’s “The Equalizer,” the film stars Denzel Washington in his first sequel ever as a retired special ops agent who doles out violent justice as he sees fit. It’s a big box office comeback for Washington, whose most recent picture, the lower-key drama “Roman J. Israel, Esq.,” earned him an Oscar nomination but but was one of his lowest-grossing films.

“It speaks to the power of Denzel,” said Smith. “He’s one of a very few group of bankable movie stars in our industry and the combination of Antoine [Fuqua, the director] and Denzel is something very special.”

In addition to directing “The Equalizer,” Fuqua also directed Washington’s Oscar-winning performance in 2001’s “Training Day.”

The original “Equalizer,” based on an 1980s television show starring Edward Woodward, opened with $34.1 million domestically before going on to gross $101.4 million in North America. The latest entry earned mixed reviews from audiences and critics with an A rating on CinemaScore and a 51% “rotten” rating on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.

“Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” debuted in second place with $34.4 million. The $75-million film matched analysts’ predictions of $30 million to $35 million.

Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried and Pierce Brosnan return for the Abba-centric musical starring Lily James (“Cinderella”) as the younger version of Streep’s character and Cher as her estranged mother. Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard and Dominic Cooper (“Preacher”) also star.

The original “Mamma Mia” opened with $27 million before going on to gross $144 million in North America and $600 million globally, with 76% of its ticket sales coming from international sales. “Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again” earned an A- rating on CinemaScore and a 79% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

In third place, Sony’s animated “Hotel Transylvania 3,” now in its second weekend, added $23.1 million in ticket sales for a cumulative $91 million.

Disney’s “Ant-Man and The Wasp” came in at No. 4, adding $16.1 million in its third weekend for a cumulative $164.6 million.

Rounding out the top five, the studio’s “Incredibles 2,” now in its sixth weekend, added $11.5 million in ticket sales for a cumulative $557.3 million.

Also new this week, BH Tilt’s “Unfriended: Dark Web” earned $3.5 million. A sequel to 2015’s $1-million supernatural thriller “Dark Web” follows in the style of the original by taking place entirely on a character’s computer screen.

The film came in below analysts’ predictions of $6 million to $8 million and well below the $16 million debut of the original film which went on to earn and impressive $64 million globally.

“Dark Web” earned negative reviews from both audiences and critics with a C rating on CinemaScore and a 57% “rotten” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

In limited release, Annapurna Pictures’ “Sorry to Bother You,” now in its third weekend, added $2.8 million and 245 locations (for a total of 1,505) for a cumulative $10.2 million.

The first nondocumentary limited release breakout of the summer, the film stars Lakeith Stanfield as a telemarketer who quickly climbs the ranks of his oppressive company after learning to lead with his “white voice.” Directed by musician Boots Riley, the film also stars Armie Hammer, Tessa Thompson and Steven Yeun.

A24’s critically-acclaimed “Eighth Grade” continues to impress with an added $794,370 in its second weekend, a per-screen average of $24,072 and a cumulative total of $1.2 million.

Lionsgate’s “Blindspotting” had a respectable opening of $332,500 across 14 theaters (a per-screen average of $23,750), though it was significantly lower than the debut of the fellow Oakland-set “Sorry to Bother You,” which opened with $727,266 in roughly the same number of theaters.

Next week, Paramount unveils the action flick “Mission Impossible: Fallout” and Warner Bros. premieres the animated “Teen Titans Go! To The Movies.”

sonaiya.kelley@latimes.com

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UPDATES:

11 a.m.: --This story was updated at with an interview with Sony executive Adrian Smith

This story was originally published at 10:30 a.m.