After first half of the year, the box office is suddenly booming.
the Illumination Animation sequel, led the way over the holiday weekend with $75 million in ticket sales Friday through Sunday and $122.6 million since opening on Wednesday, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The Independence Day holiday weekend haul for the Universal Pictures release further extends the considerable box-office reign of the Minions, And it also kept a summer streak going for Hollywood.
Though overall ticket sales were down more than 40% from levels prior to the COVID 19 pandemic, heading into the summer moviegoing season, theaters have lately seen a succession of hits. After Sony含羞草研究社檚 , Pixar含羞草研究社檚 含羞草研究社淚nside Out 2含羞草研究社� worldwide, making it the first release since 含羞草研究社淏arbie含羞草研究社� to reach that mark. Last weekend, the Paramount prequel 含羞草研究社淎 Quiet Place: Day One含羞草研究社� also came in above expectations.
With 含羞草研究社淒eadpool & Wolverine含羞草研究社� tracking for a $160 million launch later this month, Hollywood含羞草研究社檚 summer is looking up.
含羞草研究社淚f you look at the mood of the industry about eight weeks ago, very different than today,含羞草研究社� says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. 含羞草研究社淭he song says what a difference a day makes. What a difference a month has made.含羞草研究社�
It helps to have the Minions at your disposal. Since first debuting in the 2010 original 含羞草研究社淒espicable Me,含羞草研究社� each entry of the franchise 含羞草研究社� including two sequels and two 含羞草研究社淢inions含羞草研究社� spinoffs 含羞草研究社� has been seemingly guaranteed to gross around $1 billion. The four previous movies all made between $939 million (2022含羞草研究社檚 含羞草研究社淢inions: Rise of Gru含羞草研究社�) and $1.26 billion (2015含羞草研究社檚 含羞草研究社淢inions含羞草研究社�) globally.
That run has helped give Illumination founder and chief executive Chris Meledandri one of the most enviable track records in Hollywood. 含羞草研究社淒espicable Me 4,含羞草研究社� directed by Chris Renaud and Patrick Delage, returns the voice cast led by Steve Carell and Kristen Wiig and doubles down on more Minion mayhem. Reviews (54% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) weren含羞草研究社檛 particularly good for the latest installment, which includes a witness protection plot and a group of Minions transformed into a superhero squadron. But in their 12-year run, little has slowed down the Minions.
含羞草研究社淭his is one of the most beloved franchises, quite frankly, in the history of film, and certainly animation,含羞草研究社� said Jim Orr, distribution chief for Universal. 含羞草研究社淐hris Meledandri and Illumination have their finger on the pulse of what families and audiences around the world want to see.含羞草研究社�
Family movies are powering the box office. 含羞草研究社淒espicable Me 4含羞草研究社� performed strongly despite the still considerable drawing power of In its fourth weekend of release, the Pixar sequel added another $30 million domestically and $78.3 million overseas.
含羞草研究社淚nside Out 2,含羞草研究社� with $1.22 billion in ticket sales thus far, is easily the year含羞草研究社檚 biggest hit and fast climbing up the all-time ranks for animated releases. It currently ranks as the No. 5 animated release worldwide.
Instead of cannibalizing the opening weekend for 含羞草研究社淒espicable Me 4,含羞草研究社� 含羞草研究社淚nside Out 2含羞草研究社� may have helped get families back in the habit of heading to theaters.
含羞草研究社淲hat happened, I think, is the release calendar finally settled into a nice rhythm,含羞草研究社� said Dergarabedian, referencing the jumbled movie schedule from 含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 all about momentum.含羞草研究社�
The continued strong sales for 含羞草研究社淚nside Out 2含羞草研究社� were enough to put the film in second place for the domestic weekend. Last week含羞草研究社檚 top new film, 含羞草研究社淎 Quiet Place: Day One,含羞草研究社� slid to third with $21 million in its second weekend, with another $21.1 million from overseas theaters. That was a steep decrease of 60%, though the Paramount prequel has amassed $178.2 million worldwide in two weeks.
The run of hits has caused some studios to boost their forecasts for the summer movie season. Heading into the most lucrative season at theaters, analysts were predicting a $3 billion summer, down from the more typical $4 billion mark. Now, closer to $3.4 billion appears likely.
The weekend含羞草研究社檚 other top new release was the third in a string of slasher films from A24 starring Mia Goth. In 2,450 locations, 含羞草研究社淢aXXXine含羞草研究社� collected $6.7 million in ticket sales, a franchise best. The film, which follows 含羞草研究社淴含羞草研究社� and 含羞草研究社淧earl含羞草研究社� (both released in 2022), stars Goth as a 1980s Hollywood starlet being hunted by a killer known as the Night Stalker.
Angel Studios, which last year released the unexpected summer hit 含羞草研究社淪ound of Freedom,含羞草研究社� struggled to find the same success with its latest Christian film, 含羞草研究社淪ound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot.含羞草研究社� It debuted with $3.2 million.
didn含羞草研究社檛 do much to turn around its fortunes in its second weekend. The first chapter in what Costner hopes will be a four-part franchise 含羞草研究社� including a chapter two Warner Bros. will release in August 含羞草研究社� earned $5.5 million in its second weekend. The film, which cost more than $100 million to make, has grossed $22.2 million in two weeks.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. 含羞草研究社淒espicable Me 4,含羞草研究社� $75 million.
2. 含羞草研究社淚nside Out 2,含羞草研究社� $30 million.
3. 含羞草研究社淎 Quiet Place Day One,含羞草研究社� $21 million.
4. 含羞草研究社淢aXXXine,含羞草研究社� $6.7 million.
5. 含羞草研究社淏ad Boys: Ride or Die,含羞草研究社� $6.5 million.
6. 含羞草研究社淗orizon: An American Saga, Chapter 1,含羞草研究社� $5.5 million.
7. 含羞草研究社淪ound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot,含羞草研究社� $3.2 million.
8. 含羞草研究社淜aiki 2898,含羞草研究社� $1.8 million.
9. 含羞草研究社淭he Bikeriders,含羞草研究社� $1.3 million.
10. 含羞草研究社淜inds of Kindness,含羞草研究社� $860,000.
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