Huh.

Civil War pretty much performed exactly where tracking ahead of the weekend had it, grossing $25.7 million. As you’re going to read everywhere else, this is by far the best opening ever for A24, so we have to call that a win. The “bad news” is that Civil War is also A24’s most expensive movie ever, with a budget reported upwards of $50 million before any marketing is taken into account. And it’s worth mentioning that A24, which tends to make films with an extremely niche audience, only turns in a profit because they know how to count pennies.

So the concern could be if Civil War is frontloaded or not, and that is anyone’s guess. Deadline in their report this week compared this to the debuts of politically charged outings like World Trade Center and Zero Dark Thirty, but I think they’re missing the most obvious comparison, which is 2013’s The Purge. Like Civil War, that thriller was 100% sold on its high concept, and I feel confident saying that was its biggest strength. Sure, Kirsten Dunst provided a little star power, but she’s been doing nothing but independent dramas in recent years, so I doubt she played that much of a factor as far as filling seats is concerned. What’s moving Civil War along is its conversation factor, even if I’m not sure if the movie itself delivers on its supposed controversy.

You see, the RT rating for Civil War is great at 83% “fresh” as I type this, but when you actually read the reviews, a lot of them say the movie plays it extremely safe as far is its hot button topics go. In other words, it’s a political film that…doesn’t want to get political. On the one hand, that’s admirable. On the other hand…does it really make sense for something like this to be afraid to offend people? Look, without going too PT here (that will make no sense to those of you just found this article somehow and don’t post on the site), I don’t enjoy the division in this country at all, and don’t applaud anyone wanting to encourage it. That being said, if the only statement your movie about America becoming so torn apart it goes to fucking war with itself makes is “journalists, they sure are brave,” is it even making waves anymore? For those curious, Civil War has a B- CinemaScore.

That’s pretty much it as far as newcomers go this weekend, although Shrek 2 did come back to theaters, so that’s cool, but it only made $1.3 million, so take that however you will. Also, the ultra-violent Indian actioner Suga Agust D Tour ‘D-day’ made it into the top ten, as did something called The Long Game, which I can somehow tell from the title alone is a Christian flick.

As for leftovers, Godzilla x Kong: The Empire on Crack continues to not show the greatest legs, but it’s made enough money to justify another monster brawl, which is good enough for me. It currently has a total of $158 million. Similarly, Ghostbusters: Damn, Another Movie With Empire in the Title? is going to surpass the $100 million mark soon, which may be disappointing, but not bad enough to proclaim the franchise dead. That’s sadly more than I can say for The First Omen, which had great reviews, a terrific marketing campaign, and a solid IP behind it. I don’t get why this is bombing! See good horror films, people!

Anyway, the top ten, via Deadline

1.) Civil War (A24) 3,838 theaters, Fri $10.8M, Sat $8.7M, Sun $6.1M, 3-day $25.7M/Wk 1

2.) Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (Leg/WB) 3,847 (-101) theaters, Fri $3.9M Sat $7M Sun $4.55M 3-day $15.4M (-50%)/Total $157.9M/ Wk 3

3.) Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (Sony) 3,350 (-485) theaters, Fri $1.4M Sat $2.7M Sun $1.7M 3-day $5.8M (-36%), Total $96.9M/Wk 4

4.) Kung Fu Panda 4 (Uni/DWA) 3,104 (-294) theaters, Fri $1.37M Sat $2.5M Sun $1.55M, 3-day $5.5M (-29%), Total $173.6M/Wk 6

5.) Dune: Part Two (Leg/WB) 2,401 theaters (-435), Fri $1.1M Sat $1.9M Sun $1.2M, 3-day $4.32M (-42%)/Total $272.1M/Wk 7

6.) Monkey Man (Uni) 3,037 (+8) theaters, Fri $1.27M, Sat $1.7M, Sun $1.1M, 3-day $4.1M (-59%), Total $17.7M/Wk 2

7.) The First Omen (20th/Dis) 3375 theaters, Fri $1.15M Sat $1.6M Sun $1M, 3-day $3.78M (-54%), Total $14.6M Wk 2

8.) The Long Game (Mucho) 1030 theaters, Fri $638K Sat $385K Sun $367K 3-day $1.39M /Wk 1

9.) Shrek 2 (re) (Uni) 1,512 theaters, Fri $480K, Sat $530K, Sun $340K, 3-day $1.35M/Wk 1

10.) Suga Agust D Tour ‘D-day’ (Traf) 787 theaters, Sat $990,8K, 3-day $990,8K, Total $2.2M/Wk 1