Can The Circle Stop Fate of the Furious at the Box Office?

Even while facing a steep second-weekend decrease of 61.1%,The Fate of the Furiousstill managed to come away with an easy win, taking in $38.4 million against five new releases, two of which didn’t even crack the top 10. This weekend it will only face one newcomer in a true wide release, STX Entertainment’sThe Circle, with Pantelion’s latest comedyHow to Be a Latin Loverand Blumhouse Tilt’sSleightalso opening in several national markets, but with a much lower theater count. WhileFast 8will likely suffer another sizable drop in its third frame, it should come out on top with a projected take of $18.2 million.

Last weekend,Fate of the Furiousactually added 19 more theaters for a grand total of 4,329, which was still nearly twice the rollout of most of last weekend’s newcomers. This weekend,Box Office Mojoreports thatThe Circlewill arrive in more than 2,800 theaters, whileHow to Be a Latin Loverarrives in 1,000 theaters andSleightdebuts in 550 theaters. As of now, not enough reviews have been posted forThe CircleorHow to Be a Latin Lover, butSleightis clinging on to a Fresh rating with a 60% score on Rotten Tomatoes. We’re projecting thatThe Circle, starringTom Hanks, Emma Watson and John Boyega, will debut in second place with $15.6 million, with the top 5 rounded out byThe Boss Baby($7.2 million),Beauty and the Beast($5.8 million),How to Be a Latin Lover($4.2 million).

The real story as of late, though, is howThe Fate of the Furioushas simply dominated overseas, while seemingly losing a step or two at the domestic box office.The Fate of the Furiousopened with an easy domestic win with $98.7 million, a whopping $48.4 million under its predecessor’s April opening weekend record of $147.1 million. However, based on its massive strength overseas, the action sequel broke thebox office recordfor biggest global debut in history with $532.5 million, beating out the $529.1 million worldwide debut ofStar Wars: The Force Awakens. As of now,Furious 8has taken in $908.3 million worldwide, with just 18% ($163.3 million) coming from North America. At some point this week, the high-octane sequel will likely cross the $1 billion, but unless it can accomplish that feat by the end of the day today, which seems unlikely, it won’t breakStar Wars: The Force Awakens' record of passing $1 billion in just 12 days.

The Circlefollows Mae Holland (Emma Watson), who seizes the opportunity of a lifetime when she lands a job with the world’s most powerful technology and social media company. Encouraged by the company’s founder (Tom Hanks), Mae joins a groundbreaking experiment that pushes the boundaries of privacy, ethics and personal freedom. Her participation in the experiment, and every decision she makes soon starts to affect the lives and futures of her friends, family and that of humanity. James Ponsoldt directs from his own adapted screenplay, based on Dave Eggers' novel, with a supporting cast that includes Ellar Coltrane, Glenne Headly, Nate Corddry, Karen Gillan, Patton Oswalt and the lateBill Paxton.

How to Be a Latin Loverfollows Maximo (Eugenio Derbez), who gets the surprise of his life when his wealthy, 80-year-old wife dumps him for a younger car salesman. Forced out of his mansion, he must now move in with his estranged sister Sara (Salma Hayek) and her nerdy but adorable son Hugo (Raphael Alejandro). Anxious to return to the lap of luxury, Maximo hatches a scheme to seduce a widowed billionaire (Raquel Welch) and live the high life once again. The supporting cast also includes Kristen Bell, Rob Lowe, Michael Cera, Rob Riggle, Rob Huebel, Renee Taylor and Linda Lavin, with beloved character actor Ken Marino directing from a script by Jon Zack and Chris Spain.

Sleightcenters on a young street magician (Jacob Latimore), who, after his mother’s death, turns to dealing drugs at parties to support his little sister. When she is kidnapped by his supplier, he uses his sleight of hand and keen intelligence to find her. The supporting cast includes Dule Hill, Seychelle Gabriel, Lyndsi LaRose, Brandon Johnson, Sasheer Zamata and Donzaleigh Abernathy. We’re predicting that the top 10 will be rounded out byBorn in China($3 million),Going in Style($2.7 million),Smurfs: The Lost Village($2.5 million),Unforgettable($2.1 million) andSleight($1.9 million). Also arriving in limited release is Gunpowder & Sky’sBelow Her Mouth, Well Go USA’sBuster’s Mal Heart,Grey Lady, Well Go USA’sThe Ladyand Oscilloscope Pictures’One Week and a Day.

Next weekend marks the start of the summer movie season, with Marvel’sGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2opening nationwide, with no other movies challenging it in wide release. There will be a number of indie films arriving in limited release though, with The Weinstein Company’s drama3 Generations, The Orchard’s thrillerThe Diner, A24’s romantic comedyThe Lovers, Argot Pictures' documentarySacredand Well Go USA’s romantic comedyThis Is Not What I Expected. Take a look at our predictions for the top 10 in the weekend of April 28, and check back this Sunday for the box office estimates.