Just as we predicted earlier this week, last weekend’s Memorial Day box office champ, Lilo & Stitch, will easily take the top spot once again, with it on track to make $60-64 million as per Deadline’s early numbers. While that was expected by all, many box office pundits (but not us) felt that Sony’s Karate Kid: Legends had an opportunity to claim second place over Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. Alas, Tom Cruise’s star power hasn’t dimmed, with his last go-round as Ethan Hunt having a better hold than expected, with it looking at a 58% decline for a $27 million second weekend.
Karate Kid: Legends, despite featuring Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan, will only be a distant third place opener, with it looking at between $20-21 million. That’s not a bad result for a modestly budgeted movie, but why did Sony opt to open it during the summer movie season? Given how modest a film it is, an off-season opening in the fall or winter would have made more sense. It’s also worth noting that the many fans of Karate Kid’s Netflix spin-off, Cobra Kai, likely don’t have much interest with none of the show’s new characters appearing in the new film. That said, the CinemaScore A-minus rating isn’t bad (considering how much we disliked it).
A24’s Bring Her Back is off to a so-so start, with it looking to open with about $7 or 8 million. This could be a word-of-mouth sleeper, as the CinemaScore is B+, which is far above average for a horror flick, proving that audiences are digging Danny and Michael Philippou’s follow-up to their hit Talk to Me. Final Destination: Bloodlines should manage to outgross it with $11 million, and a $111 million domestic total. Expect another installment of this franchise to hit theatres very quickly.
We’ll be back tomorrow with a full box office report!
