Behind the US/Worldwide Weekend Box Office – 6.17.2018

• Tweet
• Email

• Tweet
• Email

OPENINGS:  INCREDIBLES 2 (Pixar/Disney) resoundingly became the highest-opening animated film of all time with a giant $180M weekend, more than 30% higher than the $135.1M for Finding Dory.  Its Saturday behaved similarly to Dory, down 18% from Friday compared to Dory‘s 17%, although Incredibles 2 is looking for a better Sunday hold, down 16% compared to 24%, and that may be justified because the superhero nature of Incredibles 2 makes it more Fathers Day-friendly.  As with many animated releases, overseas will be gradually rolled out through the summer, and so far Incredibles 2 has $51.5M in 25 territories, with roughly 3/4 of the world to come.  More Incredibles sequels are sure to follow, and the only question for Pixar looking forward will be whether the now-permanent absence of John Lasseter will affect the studio’s product (as well as that of Disney Animation).

TAG (New Line/Warners) had a lukewarm $14.6M start, somewhat below the $17M for Game Night, and with a worrisome 9% Saturday drop, compared to a word-of-mouth-fueled 25% increase for Game Night‘s second day.  Tag is also looking for a strong Fathers Day, claiming a 15% Sunday drop compared to 37% for Game Night, and if that doesn’t come through, the numbers will get worse.  At best, Tag has a long road ahead before it can reach breakeven.  Tag dipped a toe overseas in 7 markets with a $1.4M weekend.

SUPERFLY (Screen Gems/Sony) flopped with $6.3M for the weekend, putting its total since Wednesday at $8.4M.  Even with relatively low costs, a $20M US total and limited international prospects will keep the unwanted remake in red ink.

GOTTI (Vertical) opened at a barely-wide 503 theatres with $1.7M, and may not get past $5M in theatres before it heads to smaller screens.

Still a week away from its US opening, JURASSIC PARK: FALLEN KINGDOM (Legendary/Universal) piled up another $173.6M overseas for a $370M total to date.  About 2/3 of that weekend number came from its China opening, and with the film already in 51 markets, it isn’t clear whether Kingdom will have the stamina to get near the $1B international gross for Jurassic World 3 years ago.

HOLDOVERS:  OCEAN’S EIGHT (Village Roadshow/Warners) dropped 53% to $19.6M.  That’s a steeper drop than the 42-45% for Eleven and Thirteen, and although it’s roughly the same as Twelve, that film was heading into the bonanza of Christmas week.  Despite having the biggest opening of the franchise, Eight will likely end up around the US totals of Twelve ($125.5M) and Thirteen ($117.2M)  Overseas, it’s at $37.1M after a $19.3M weekend in 36 markets.

SOLO (Lucasfilm/Disney) is claiming an extremely strong Fathers Day, down just 6% from Saturday, and thus a 42% weekend drop to $9.1M  Even if that number turns out to be accurate, it still won’t put the picture on track for more than $210M in the US.  It’s at a painful $146.7M overseas after a $5.2M weekend in all major territories except Japan, and may not reach $400M worldwide.

DEADPOOL 2 (20th) is also counting on a powerful Fathers Day, down a mere 2% from Saturday, which would give it a 37% weekend drop to $8.8M, on its way to $310M in the US.  It’s at $394.9M overseas after a $9.8M weekend in all markets except China (where it won’t be permitted to open).

HEREDITARY (A24) had a fairly good hold for the horror genre, down 48% to $7M (although not as strong as the 42% Weekend 2 drop for The Witch, let alone the 34% for A Quiet Place), and will hope to get past $40M in the US.

In its 8th weekend, AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (Marvel/Disney) had the best hold in the Top 10, down 27% to $5.7M, with $675M in its sights.  It’s at $1.36B overseas after a $3.1M weekend.

LIMITED RELEASE:  The Indian-langauge RACE 3 (Yash Raj) opened at 315 theatres with a $5200 per-theatre average.  WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR (Focus/Universal) expanded impressively to 96 with a $10.3K average.  There were $3K averages for the widening HEARTS BEAT LOUD (Gunpowder & Sky), now at 83, and AMERICAN ANIMALS (Orchard/MoviePass) at 72.  THE SEAGULL (Sony Classics) crashed badly as it went to 211 with a $700 average.

NEXT WEEKEND:  No wide release is getting in the way of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom as it finally makes its way to the US.  Limited releases include BOUNDARIES (Sony Classics) and THE CATCHER WAS A SPY (IFC).