【Chilli and Banana】

The Chilli and BananaMagnificent Sevenis No. 1 at the domestic box office this weekend, with an estimated $35 million in ticket sales.

It's in a tight race for the biggest opening of September 2016 with Sully, which opened in the U.S. with just over $35 million. Though that's a debatable accomplishment in what's been a record-low month for Hollywood at the movies.

Current weekend projections bring September's total domestic box office earnings up to $266.6 million (based on numbers from BoxOfficeMojo). That's the weakest performance for the month since 1996 -- when The First Wives Clubruled the box office, along with little else.

Estimates could slide September 2016 up by one spot in the all-time rankings -- the total gross for September 2001 was $268.5 million -- but it was still a poor performance by any measure.

What's the reason for this steep drop-off from 2015, when September's $700.9 million gross became the month's biggest ever?

There's been a dearth of high-profile releases, for one. Sullyand The Magnificent Seven are isolated exceptions in a month that did not heavily feature star-driven releases.

The month was also home to a number of notable sequels that simply failed to land.

Blair Witchwasn't able to recapture the magic of the 1999 found footage horror film that launched an entire sub-genre. Bridget Jones's Babyfell similarly short of bringing back fans of the Renée Zellweger romantic comedy series.

Snowdenhad a shot, boasting both a big-name star in Joseph Gordon-Levitt, a major director in Oliver Stone and the topical weightiness of an awards season player. But crowds didn't turn out for Snowden, and likely won't until it starts to generate some awards buzz.

Coming in behind Seventhis weekend is Storks, a Warner Bros. animated family feature about baby delivery, with an estimated $21.8 million. Neither weekend winner is really a "hit," but Storksgave kid-toting moviegoers an alternative to the ensemble Western from Training Daydirector Antoine Fuqua. It was bound to fill some theaters.

Sully, the Tom Hanks-led, Clint Eastwood-directed "based on a true story" Oscar bait, continues to hang on in the weekend's No. 3 spot. The estimated $13.8 million earned since Friday brings Sully's domestic total up to $92.4 million, the highest of the month.

The charts drop off steeply after that with Bridget Jones's Babyand Snowdencoming next -- $4.5 million and $4.1 million, respectively -- while Blair Witchand Don't Breatheare locked in their own dead heat, with $4 million and $3.8 million, respectively.

The only other surprise of the weekend was more of the big picture variety.