THANKS TO STAR TREK BEYOND WE HAVE A LIVE ACTION MOVIE IN THE TOP SPOT AT THE WEEKEND BOX OFFICE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN SIX WEEKS
Star Trek Beyond was expected to have an opening weekend somewhere between 55 and 57 million. Instead it exceeded those expectations, opening with 59.6 million domestically. As a result we have something other then an animated movie on top of the box office food chain for the first time since June 17th.
But while Beyond’s numbers are healthy, they may still be cause for concern. Beyond was an expensive film to make (an estimated 185 million production budget) and this is the lowest opening among all the rebooted universe movies (2009’s Star Trek opened with 75 million while 2013’s Into Darkness debuted with just over 70 million). What should also concern Paramount is that this total comes during Trek’s 50th anniversary, a time you would figure fans would be flocking to theatres to catch anything Star Trek. Still, a fourth Trek has been green lit (with Chris Hemsworth returning to reprise his role as Captain Kirk’s father) and the franchise is moving forward at warp speed. For now at least.
But while Secret Life of Pets got knocked out of the top spot, it didn’t go far, holding onto second place with a strong 29.3 million performance in its third weekend. Pets has pulled in over 260 million domestically and is raking in mad cash overseas. With a modest budget of 75 million and strong merchandise sales, Universal and Illumination’s bottom line looks better with every passing week.
Last weekend’s number two, Ghostbusters, fell to third, tying Lights Out (another fright fest from the very profitable James Waan/Warner Bros. partnership) with 21.6 million each. Ghostbusters second weekend total fell 53% from its opening weekend and fans of the remake have their fingers crossed that Sony will still deliver on vague promises for a sequel.
Lights Out’s 21.6 million debut far exceeded expectations, with insiders predicting a 15 million dollar premier. Made for only five million (and inspired by a homemade YouTube video) this is the second successful horror movie for Warner Bros. this summer (June’s The Conjuring 2 was the other) and has already managed to turn a respectable profit in just three days of release. Warner has had a lot of success with cheaply produced movies turning in strong performances at the box office this year, and if they can continue that strategy with their successful tent pole franchises (the DC Cinematic Universe, the Lego movies and a reinvigorated Harry Potter) Warner will make both their accountants and their shareholders very happy.
Unable to carve out a place in a summer where animated fare has been one of the box office’s biggest engines, Ice Age: Collision Course only managed to collect a disappointing 21 million in its opening weekend. While the fifth movie in the Ice Age franchise did gross an astounding 140 million in foreign markets (the Ice Age movies have always performed exceptionally well overseas), the tepid North American response demonstrates that the franchise is showing its age. This could very well be the last outing for Manny and the Boys.
Animated juggernaut Finding Dory is still hanging in there, clinching sixth place more than a month after release. Dory brought in another 7.2 million to pass the 460 million mark. Already the highest grossing movie of 2016 and the highest grossing animated movie in history, Pixar’s latest gravy train just keeps swimming along.
The Legend of Tarzan swung to another 6.4 million, pushing it past 115 million domestically. A strong performance overseas will allow the Warner Bros. adventure to turn a profit despite its 180 million price tag. Can Tarzan’s numbers be an omen for two more big budget Warner Bros adventures coming out next March? Can they expect similar performances from King Arthur: The Legend of the Sword and Kong Skull Island? Considering some of the other titles Warner’s got on slate for 2017, it might not be the end of the world if they can’t.
Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates collected another 4.4 million and its 40 million dollar total has passed it’s 33 million dollar budget, something few that it would do based on it’s weak opening a few weeks ago. Political propaganda film Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party netted just over 3.7 million in its first week of wide release, ironically coinciding with the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Written and directed by Conservative filmmaker Dinesh D’Sousa, Hillary’s America will probably bounce around theatres until this November’s Presidential election and will likely be the highest grossing documentary of 2016.
The Infiltrator, which debuted in eighth place last week, rounds out this weekend’s top ten performers. The Brian Cranston vehicle added another 3.3 million to it’s resume, bringing its total to 12.2 million. Not terrible for a small budget, small studio flick, but not great for Cranston’s brand. Although releasing a movie like this in the heart of summer blockbuster season wasn’t the smartest idea either.
This was only the second weekend this summer where the top five movies grossed 20 million or more, offering some hope to a mediocre box office summer. While no one’s forgetting about Jason Bourne and Bad Moms debuting next weekend, plenty of eyes are looking forward to Suicide Squad, which is currently tracking huge. Present estimates have the next entry in the DC/Warner Bros super hero universe opening over the 100 million dollar mark. If it performs to that level, it will break the record for an August opening that Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy set in 2014 with a 94.3 million debut.
It should be an interesting chapter in what has proven to be a one sided story so far.
Shayne Kempton
Photo: Paramount Pictures
Leave a Reply