Despicable Me 4 won the weekend box office battle, but Longlegs impressed with a strong haul breaking records for indie distributor Neon.
As expected, Despicable Me 4 had an easy win at the box office this weekend, with the official ComScore numbers reporting that it earned a terrific $44 million plus, a decline of only 40% since last weekend. That’s a strong hold for an animated tentpole hit, with the domestic total currently $211.1 million, meaning this franchise is far from out of gas (indeed, yet another instalment was just set for 2027).
However, the movie that’s in second place, Longlegs, is the one getting most of the headlines this weekend. Budgeted at just $10 million, this indie smash grossed a terrific $22.6 million at only 2510 theatres (by comparison, most blockbusters open with over 3000 screens). That marks indie distributor Neon’s biggest debut ever, with them carving out a solid A24-ish niche in horror, with their film from earlier this year, Immaculate, another solid performer. Longlegs has earned some of the best reviews of the year (our critic Tyler Nichols picked it as his favourite horror film of 2024 so far), with many saying it’s the kind of movie that will propel its director, Oz Perkins and star Maika Monroe, onto the A-list.
Inside Out 2 slipped to third place, with a $20.7 million weekend and an astounding $572 million domestic total so far, meaning it’s currently Pixar’s highest-grossing film ever. Horror holdover A Quiet Place: Day One also had a great weekend, earning $11.8 million for a $116.2 million domestic total, meaning this franchise has better legs than anyone could have hoped for.
However, despite the summer box office currently being on an upswing, there was a notable flop this weekend. Fly Me to the Moon, which is produced by Apple Original Films but released by Sony, only grossed $10 million (something we called earlier this week in our predictions). This despite a $100 million budget and a dream star pairing – Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum. The reviews were solid, and the movie has a good A-minus CinemaScore. What happened? Perhaps audiences have grown to realize that, as a streaming production, the movie will hit Apple TV in pretty short order, so those interested in seeing it have just decided to wait. Apple had decent success in the fall with Killers of the Flower Moon and Napoleon, but Fly Me to the Moon and the recent Argylle are embarrassing flops, making many wonder whether they might have been better off just releasing the films straight to streaming lest they be tainted as failures.
However, Sony’s other recent release, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, continued to do good business, earning $4.4 million for a total of $184 million domestically. It will end its run just a few million short of the previous film’s domestic haul ($206 million).
One of the biggest stories this week on JoBlo was the fact that Horizon: Chapter 2 has been pulled from its planned August release date due to the poor box office showing of Chapter 1. Indeed, the film lost over 700 screens this weekend and fell 54% to $2.4 million, with the total a very underwhelming $27.02 million. While it’s possible audiences may discover it on streaming, it seems unlikely Costner’s planned follow-ups will be theatrical releases, especially with him reportedly footing a lot of the publicity bills himself.
A24’s Ti West movie, MaXXXine, also suffered a catastrophic 80% decline in week two, earning only just over $2 million. That makes one of the biggest week-to-week declines of all time and perhaps spells the end of Ti West’s Maxine Minx saga. Bollywood fare continued to perform well, with Indian 2 making just under $2 million. In comparison, Angel Studio’s The Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot fell a steeper than expected 63% to $1.3 million, with a domestic total of just under $10 million. Despite the name, which suggests it’s somehow related to their breakout hit from last summer, Sound of Freedom, Possum Trot doesn’t seem to be connecting with a non-faith-based audience.
Next weekend sees the release of Twisters, which should dethrone Despicable Me 4 from the top spot. Will Longlegs be able to hold on to its solid footing and not get blown away? Let us know in the comments!