M. Night Shyamalan's Glass tops Split in box office debut but falls short of expectations


Glass topped the Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend box office, giving M. Night Shyamalan his best debut in years but still falling short of expectations.
The thriller, which is the last stop in a trilogy that began with Unbreakable in 2000, took in $47.1 million from Friday to Monday, with $40.6 million coming in its first three days, according to The Hollywood Reporter. That's certainly a solid result for the film, which Forbes notes only cost $20 million to make, and it's Shyamalan's best opening since 2004's The Village, unadjusted for inflation.
The total is, however, below expectations, as tracking last week suggested the movie could make as much as $70 million over its first four days, Variety reported. This may be the result of poor reviews, as Glass earned a Rotten Tomatoes score of 37 percent compared to 76 percent for Split, which opened to $40 million. Universal told The Hollywood Reporter Glass's performance was within "reasonable expectations" but said the weather may have prevented more moviegoers from turning out.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Meanwhile, The Upside, starring Kevin Hart and Bryan Cranston, had a phenomenal second weekend, taking in $18.3 million over four days, per The Los Angeles Times. Its three-day total is a drop of only 23 percent from its already impressive debut, Box Office Mojo reports. There was a lot working against the film, including Hart's homophobic jokes controversy and a low Rotten Tomatoes score, but it has become an unexpected hit.
Aquaman also reached another milestone this weekend, passing the $300 million mark domestically. It is close to overtaking The Dark Knight Rises and becoming the highest grossing D.C. movie ever.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
8 of the best ‘cozy crime’ series of all time
The Week Recommends Murder mysteries don’t necessarily have to make us miserable, and these shows have perfected a feel-good crime formula
-
Youth revolts rattle Morocco as calls against corruption grow louder
THE EXPLAINER Snowballing controversy over World Cup construction and civic services has become a serious threat to Morocco’s political stability
-
Israel intercepts 2nd Gaza aid flotilla in a week
Speed Read The Israeli military intercepted a flotilla of nine boats with 145 activists aboard along with medical and food aid
-
Gold tops $4K per ounce, signaling financial unease
Speed Read Investors are worried about President Donald Trump’s trade war
-
Electronic Arts to go private in record $55B deal
speed read The video game giant is behind ‘The Sims’ and ‘Madden NFL’
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fine
Speed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in Intel
Speed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to China
Speed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with Disney
Speed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance