The world was not ready to “finish” their love affair with “The Devil Wears Prada 2.” Despite the hyped entry of “Mortal Kombat II” into the marketplace, the 20th Century Studios comedy pulled in another $43 million to remain no. 1 in the U.S. and overseas with $144 million domestic and $433 million worldwide. The film also assisted Walt Disney Studios in becoming the first U.S. distributor to cross the $2 billion mark this calendar year.
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Incredibly, the Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci reunion has already surpassed the complete run of the original 2006 film’s $326 million. At a reported $100 million production cost and an equally expensive marketing campaign, “Devil” has arguably already sashayed into the black. The only real competition it faces until Memorial Day weekend won’t come from new releases, but a smash already in the marketplace, Lionsgate and Universal Pictures’ “Michael.” But more on that in a minute.
Opening right behind “Devil” was Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema’s “Mortal Kombat” sequel with $40 million in the U.S. and a slightly disappointing $23 million overseas for a $63 million global tally. The first installment dropped at the tail end of the stay-at-home pandemic in 2021 and earned just $84.4 million. It was also a day-and-day release on HBO Max in the U.S. and, at the time, the biggest debut on the service. WB was so keen on the box office potential of the sequel that they delayed it from its original October 24 release to this early summer weekend. Surprisingly, the video game adaptation came in under pre-release tracking (it was hovering at around $50 million at one point) with mixed reviews and a weak B CinemaScore grade. At a reported $80 million production budget, break-even may be difficult in its current theatrical release window.
Continuing to sing in third place was the aforementioned Michael Jackson biopic, “Michael,” with another $36.5 million down just 33% in its third weekend. The Antoine Fuqua-directed drama has now grossed $240 million in the U.S. and a massive $577 million worldwide. It appears on track to hit the $700 million mark globally, a figure even “Project Hail Mary” is unlikely to achieve. The Lionsgate, Universal Pictures, and Jackson Estate partnership has recouped its $200 million production budget and made history as the highest-grossing musical biopic domestically, surpassing “Bohemian Rhapsody’s” $216 million gross in 2018.
Among new releases, “The Sheep Detectives” opened to $15.9 million domestically and $28 million worldwide (although it debuted in only 70% of its overseas markets). The family-friendly comedy earned very positive reviews (72 on Metacritic, 93% on Rotten Tomatoes) and a solid A- grade on CinemaScore. With a $75 million production budget, Amazon MGM Studios is going to need strong word of mouth and international to overperform at any chance at breaking even. At worst, it’s another solid opener for the studio that should have a long life on Prime Video.
Disappointing somewhat in fifth was “Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard & Soft” with just $7.5 million in the U.S. and $20 million global. Reviews were very good (73 on Metacritic, 93% on Rotten Tomatoes), but the IMAX and 3D-focused rollout couldn’t crack double digits stateside. The James Cameron concert film did land a fan-fueled A CinemaScore, but concert films are traditionally front-loaded. In theory, Paramount has a shot at breaking even on the $20 million acquisition cost and benefiting from a cost-effective targeted marketing campaign, but it’s gonna be close.
In limited release, 1-2 Special opened Ildikó Enyedi’s “Silent Friend” on two screens for $74,440 or a fantastic $37,220 per screen. That’s the highest per screen for an international release since “Sentimental Value” in November and larger than recent comparable openers “Sirat,” “Zone of Interest,” and “Flow.”
New releases on Friday include Focus Features’ horror flick “Obsession,” Black Bear’s “In the Grey,” and Orion Pictures’ “Is God Is.”
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Editor-at-Large Gregory Ellwood is one of the entertainment industry's most respected journalists and critics. Based in Los Angeles, he's the only current awards expert who previously worked on Oscar campaigns at a major movie studio. Over the years, he has written for the LA Times, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and Vox, among others. He also co-founded the entertainment news site HitFix, which spawned a legion of influential Emmy and WGA Award-winning alumni.
