As expected, Disney’s Lilo & Stitch easily took the weekend box office crown, earning $63 million (about what we predicted), pushing its domestic total to an impressive $280 million. To put that into context, the movie was initially planned for a Disney+ debut, the same as Moana 2. With both movies making hundreds of millions in profit, Disney’s new policy to go theatrical is paying off, even if Snow White might have been better off being pushed to streaming, with it a rare misfire for them. Lilo & Stitch should have no problem clearing $400 million domestic – maybe even more.
Meanwhile, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning only fell 57% in week two (the same as Lilo & Stitch) to make $27 million. While the studio no doubt hoped it would hold up a little better (given the huge budget), it’s performing better than Dead Reckoning did two years ago. At $122 million, will it pass $200 million domestically? We’ll see.
Karate Kid: Legends made $21 million, which is a lower result than many expected. Box office pundits thought it could clear $35 million. It didn’t happen, but with the lower budget ($45 million), it should have turned a profit. One wonders why Sony opted to release it during the summer, as it would have certainly performed even better during the winter or fall.
Horror also had a good showing this weekend, with Final Destination: Bloodlines making over $10 million and a $111 million total, which is twice what any other movies made. A24’s Bring Her Back had a more modest opening, with only $7 million, but it did earn a B-plus CinemaScore, which is amazing for a horror movie. Word-of-mouth should turn it into a sleeper, although it’s unlikely to be a runaway hit like Talk to Me was. Maybe the summer release was a mistake, especially with Final Destination cleaning up. But then again, who knew?
Ryan Coogler’s Sinners also continued cleaning up at the box office, making another $5.2 million, for a $267 million total. Despite being spun as a hit, Thunderbolts is hugely underperforming, with it standing at $181 million so far, meaning it won’t cross $200 million domestically. For a Marvel movie, that’s a disaster no matter how they try to spin it.
A24’s also got one of the bigger indie hits this year, with Friendship adding $2.56 million for a $12.36 million total, making it a smart acquisition from last year’s TIFF. Angel Studios’ The Last Rodeo, with $2.1 million and a $10.7 million total, is a nice little hit for them. Finally, the concert film for South Korean rapper J-Hope opened in tenth place with just under a million dollars.
Lionsgate’s John Wick spin-off Ballerina will be released next weekend. Will it be the hit Lionsgate needs? We’ll see.
