OPENINGS: DEADPOOL AND WOLVERINE (Marvel/Disney) landed at the top of sky-high expectations with $205M in the US and $233.3M overseas, the best US (and MCU) start since Spider-Man: No Way Home in 2021, the best worldwide launch since Avatar: The Way of Water in 2022, and by far the biggest opening ever for an R-rated release, leaving Deadpool 2‘s $125.5/$176.3M in the dust. With little competition through August, a $1B+ worldwide total seems fairly certain, and the question now is whether this was a wildly successful one-off stunt, or whether the MCU is truly “back,” which won’t become clear until Captain America: Brave New World opens in February 2025.
An attempt to counterprogram Deadpool and Wolverine for the older women audience fell flat, as THE FABULOUS FOUR (Bleecker Street) could only manage $1M at 1045 theaters, a sub-$1K weekend per-theater average.
HOLDOVERS: Considering that it lost most if not all of its premium screens, a 57% drop to $35.3M for TWISTERS (Warners/Universal) wasn’t too bad, and the disaster epic could reach $250M in the US. However, it continued to be far weaker overseas, with only $66.3M after an $11.7M weekend in 76 markets. A $350M worldwide total against $250M in production/marketing costs may not get it much past breakeven.
DESPICABLE ME 4 (Illumination/Universal) dipped 42% to $14.2M in its 4th weekend, still on its way to $330M in the US, a bit below the $368.1M for Despicable 2. The international total is $386.7M after a $37.6M weekend in 80 territories, and it will be significantly under the $602.7M/$770.2M for Despicable 2/3.
INSIDE OUT 2 (Pixar/Disney) lost 35% to $8.3M in its 7th weekend, pushing its US total to a record $613.4M (passing The Incredibles 2‘s $608.6M) with gas left in the tank. The overseas total is $892.2M after a $22.6M weekend in 51 markets, and it won’t match the $1.1B earned by the 2019 CG Lion King.
LONGLEGS (Neon) continued to have strong holds for the horror genre, down 43% to $6.8M in its 3rd weekend and headed to $75M in the US. (It’s claiming to be the highest-grossing indie horror movie of the last decade, carefully parsed so as to avoid comparisons with The Blair Witch Project, which took in $140.5M in 1999.) It’s still in limited release overseas, where it has $7.1M.
A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE (Paramount) fell 52% to $3M in its 5th weekend, on its way to $145M in the US, slightly less than the $188M/$160.1M of its predecessors. The international total is $119.5M after a $2.1M weekend in 64 territories and will be similarly close to the earlier films’ $152.9M/$137.3M.
BAD BOYS: RIDE OR DIE (Columbia/Sony) shed 52% to $1.3M, still on track for $195M in the US. Overseas, it has $203.5M.
LIMITED RELEASE: DIDI (Focus/Universal) had a solid start in 5 NY/LA locations with a $40K weekend per-theater average. JANET PLANET (A24) expanded to 292 with a dreadful $80 average.
NEXT WEEKEND: M. Night Shyamalan’s TRAP (Warners) will do battle with the 2nd weekend of Deadpool and Wolverine, while HAROLD AND THE PURPLE CRAYON (Columbia/Sony) will aim at family audiences.
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