Is “Project Hail Mary” a phenomenon? Not yet, but it’s getting damn close. The Phil Lord and Chris Miller sci-fi epic had a spectacular second weekend, pulling in $54.5 million for $164.3 million in just 10 days. That was down just 32% from its opening weekend. Overseas, “Mary” was down a stunning 5% for $136.5 million and a total global gross of $300.8 million.
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The international grosses for “Mary” are utterly eye-popping. It was up 3% in the U.K., where it’s made $20 million so far, up 8% in China, where it’s earned $19 million, up 12% in Brazil, where it’s taken in $3.2 milion, up 4% in Germany with $8.7 million so far, and up 1% in Mexico with $6.6 million. Even the drops are impressive, with Australia and South Korea down just 11%. The only relative disappointment – and that’s a stretch – is Japan, which was dropping 50% for $5.1 million to date.
At a reported $190 million production cost, “Hail Mary” is looking to top out at over $450 million. It will have stiff competition when Universal Pictures’ “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” opens on Wednesday. That sequel is looking to pull in over $160 million over its first five days. Whether “Hail Mary” can weather that storm with another relatively small drop will have industry onlookers checking their box office updates.
Still bouncing in second place was Pixar’s “Hoppers.” The celebrated animated feature earned another $12.2 million for $138 million domestic and $261 million to date. As with “Hail Mary,” competition from “Super Mario” will affect its tally, but it appears headed for a $350+ million gross. That will end up being a profitable win for Pixar off a reported $150 million production cost.
Arriving in third was Warner Bros.’“They Will Kill You,” which took in just $5 million from 2,778 theaters and earned $9 million global. With a reported $7 million production budget, the Zazie Beetz horror comedy has an excellent shot at breaking even at the worldwide box office. It will likely be a short run, however, as “Kill You” earned a weak B- Cinemascore and mixed reviews (50 on Metacritic, 65% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes).
We’re still scratching our heads about why neither WB nor Searchlight put more distance between “Kill You” and “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come.” The similarly themed films have cannibalized each other’s audiences, and the appeal of “Hail Mary” hasn’t necessarily helped either. Both movies could have done better either earlier or later in the year (“Ready or Not” might have been a better summer play). “Here I Come” dropped 56% from its opening weekend for another $4 million and $16.2 million domestic. Worldwide, “Ready or Not 2” has earned over $20 million. Whether it can recoup its reported $18-19 million production budget remains to be seen, but it should eventually be a big hit on Hulu.
Outperforming both horror flicks was “Dhurandhar: The Revenge,” which battled for another $4.7 million and $22.7 million. The fact its made over $20 million on just 987 screens in 10 days is remarkable and shows how underserved the Hindi audience appears to be in the U.S. “The Revenge” is a massive hit back in India, however, with a global tally of over $144 million so far.
“Reminders of Him” continues its very strong run with another $4.7 million and $41 million in the U.S. and $69 million worldwide. The Collen Atwood adaptation reportedly cost just $25 million and is a nice double down the line for Universal Pictures.
Among other new wide releases, IFC dropped “Forbidden Fruits” on 1,525 screens for a solid $1.1 million or $727 per screen. Focus opened Sundance premiere “The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist,” which took in just $650,000 on 787 for an OK $826 per, demonstrating how difficult it is for docs in the current theatrical environment.
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