In case there was any doubt, Universal’s animated The Bad Guys proved families are still eager for the theater-going experience. The pic generated $24 million from 4,009 theaters in its opening weekend, enough to take the top spot at the domestic box office, according to Deadline.
Last week’s champ, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, dropped a massive -67% in its second weekend and secured just $15.2 million to bring its domestic total to $145.8 million. The massive decline wasn’t enough to dethrone Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II in that particular category — that pic dropped -72% in its second weekend but that was mostly due to its better-than-expected, then-record $168.5 mllion opening weekend; and it still brought in an impressive $47 million en route to $381M. At any rate, it might be time for Warner Bros. to reevaluate the Beasts franchise as audiences simply aren’t enjoying the final product.
Don’t cry too hard for J.K. Rowling, as Secrets of Dumbledore is still sitting at $280 million worldwide, per Box Office Mojo.
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Elsewhere, Sonic 2 earned another $15.2 million in Week 3 and raised its domestic total to $145.8M. The Jim Carrey family adventure should end up as the top domestic grossing video game flick in the next week or so, unadjusted for inflation.
Focus Features’ The Northman enjoyed a solid opening of $12 million from 3,234 screens, which is a good start for the $70 million production. While the Nicolas Cage comedy The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent managed $7.1 million from 3,036 theaters. Hopefully, word of mouth keeps both films afloat through the upcoming slate of summer pics as each presents the type of counter-programming needed for audiences who have grown tired of superhero fare.
Ditto with A24’s hit Everything Everywhere All at Once, which has used strong reviews and audience scores to reach a stellar $26.9 million after five weeks of release.
Box Office Results: Domestic Top 10
1.) The Bad Guys (Uni) 4,009 Theaters, Fri $8M, Sat $9.3M, Sun $6.6M, 3-day $24M/Wk 1
2.) Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Par) 3,809 (-449) theaters, Fri $4M (-63%), Sat $6.8M, Sun $4.4M, 3-day $15.2M (-48%)/Total $145.8M/Wk 3
3.) Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (WB), 4,245 (+37) theaters, Fri $4.1M (-79%), Sat $6M, Sun $3.9M, 3-day $14M (-67%)/Total $67.1M/Wk 2
4.) The Northman (Foc) 3,234 theaters, Fri $5M, Sat $4.2M, Sun $2.7M, 3-day $12M/Wk 1
5.) Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (LG) 3,036 theaters, Fri $2.9M, Sat $2.5M, Sun $1.76M, 3-day $7.1M/Wk 1
6.) Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24) 2,133 (-87) theaters, Fri $1.55M (-18%)/Sat $2.1M/Sun $1.7M/ 3-day $5.4M (-11%)/Total $26.9M/Wk 5
7.) The Lost City (Par) 2,828 (-602) theaters Fri. $1.3M (-35%), Sat $1.9M, Sun $1.17M, 3-day $4.375M (-30%)/Total $85.4M/ Wk 5
8.) Father Stu (Sony) 2,705 theaters, Fri $1M (-40%), Sat $1.3M, Sun $960K, 3-day $3.3M (-39%), Total $13.9M/Wk 2
9.) Morbius (Sony) 2,306 (-1,156) theaters, Fri $635K, Sat $1M, Sun $615K, 3-day $2.25M (-53%), Total $69.1M/Wk 4
10.) Ambulance (Uni) 1,966 (-1,446) theaters, Fri $530K (-59%), Sat $770K, Sun $500K, 3-day $1.8M (-55%), Total $19.2M/Wk 3