Denzel Washington has managed to avoid sequels and franchises for most of his career, but there is one exception: "The Equalizer," a movie reboot of the 1980s TV series that has since become Washington's first movie trilogy. All three movies were directed by Antoine Fuqua, whose working relationship with Washington dates back to 2001's "Training Day." Now, the early box office numbers for "The Equalizer 3" -- ostensibly the final outing for Washington's Robert McCall -- are in, and they're ending the 2023 summer box office on a high note.

More specifically, they've pushed the box office to its first $4 billion summer since the pandemic began, per The Hollywood Reporter. The movie grossed $13.1 million on its opening day and is expected to make between $42 million and $43.5 million over the Labor Day weekend, with a three-day total of $35 million. It's outperforming expectations from earlier in the week, when Variety predicted it...