Universal made a rather bold move at CinemaCon this April. In addition to showing the audience their How to Train Your Dragon live-action remake in full, they also announced that the movie would get a sequel. Of course, this makes sense as the original animated film had two well-received sequels. Indeed, it proved to be a smart move, as the live-action remake blew away most box office predictions (including our own) to open with the highest launch of the franchise to date – $83.7 million. It’s also star Gerard Butler’s top opener – not adjusting for inflation (if so, 300 would have it beat). That’s a strong result for a movie many considered unnecessary, as it’s a scene-for-scene remake of the original. At the end of the day, people wanted this kind of remake, with it also earning a terrific A CinemaScore, which promises steady box office over the next few weeks (unless Pixar’s Elio is a smash).
Meanwhile, another live-action remake of an animated classic, Disney’s Lilo & Stitch, was in second place with $15.5 million and a superb $388 million domestic haul. So far, it’s the second highest grossing movie of the year domestically (after A Minecraft Movie), and the third highest grossing internationally (both it and Minecraft were dwarfed by the Chinese smash Ne Zha 2, which is closing in on an incredible $2 billion).
Number three at the box office was a pleasant surprise, with A24 having a solid hit with Materialists, which grossed $12 million, bolstered by excellent reviews. It’s a welcome success for A24, which is coming off a string of flops that include Opus, Death of a Unicorn, The Legend of Oshi, Warfare and Bring Her Back – none of which have broken out beyond the cult audience that supports the indie studio. The Tim Robinson/ Paul Rudd comedy Friendship was their only other quasi-hit this year.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning continues its so-so domestic run, with $10.3 million and a $166.3 million haul. It won’t come close to the $200 million-plus earned by Mission: Impossible – Fallout. Luckily, it’s been a global hit, with it cracking the $500 million mark this weekend, far outperforming Marvel’s Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts (which dropped off the top 10 this weekend). Lionsgate’s John Wick spinoff, Ballerina, had a disappointing second weekend, falling a significant 62% to fifth place, with only $9.4 million and a $41.8 million haul. That’s a poor result for the studio, which no doubt hoped this would give birth to a whole slew of John Wick spin-offs.
Karate Kid: Legends is another franchise spinoff that’s struggling, with it earning $5 million for a weak $44.1 million haul. It will top out at around $50-55 million domestically, making further instalments unlikely. Yet, another franchise revival, Final Destination: Bloodlines, has proven to be a smash, with it earning another $3.9 million for a superb $130.6 million haul.
Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme is only performing so-so business compared to his other movies, with it losing over 50% of its audience in its second wide weekend, with $3 million and a $12.7 million total. It will be lucky to top $17 million domestically. Neon’s Life of Chuck also proved to be a bit of a flop, with it only grossing $2.1 million in its wide expansion. Neon’s struggling to find this one an audience, as typically their strength relies in the genre or prestige drama sphere. Life of Chuck is neither. Finally, Ryan Coogler’s Sinners added another $1.47 million to its $275 million-plus domestic haul. Expect this one to stick around for a bit, as it’s proving to be a bit of an IMAX perennial – like Christopher Nolan’s movies.
Next weekend sees the release of Pixar’s Elio and Sony’s 28 Years Later. Who’s going to take the top spot? Let us know in the comments!
